Jason Kidd on strike.

[Pugz]

New York Post -
Jason Kidd was "on strike," last night several team sources claimed, and he essentially called in sick, perhaps in an effort to force a trade from the Nets or get a contract extension.

According to the New York Post, Coach Lawrence Frank said Kidd phoned him complaining of a migraine yesterday at about 2 p.m. Kidd never showed for last night's 100-93 defeat against the Knicks, also short-handed, in the Meadowlands.

Maybe it was the contract extension he sought and did not receive. Maybe it is the general state of the team. Maybe it is a desire for a trade. Whatever the reason, whatever the cause, Kidd chose a game against the division rival Knicks to state his case. And the Nets certainly proved how much they need Kidd, losing to the 6-11 Knicks who were without Eddy Curry and Stephon Marbury.

"He's on strike," on team source said.

Kidd's teammates were tight-lipped, though one claimed, "I can't picture Jason doing that. I would be disappointed if he did."

But another source said the Nets were planning on - if not already - talking to Dallas, the Lakers and perhaps Cleveland about a trade. Kidd nearly was traded to the Lakers last February.

Kidd played 30 minutes Tuesday in Cleveland and chatting with LeBron James afterward.

 

[A.E]

P*SSY!

 

[Pugz]

P*SSY!

How is he a pu$$y he just wants an extentsion and or to be traded and plus migranes hurt.

 

[DJT]

But didn't he turn down the extension they offered him?????

 

[Pugz]

But didn't he turn down the extension they offered him?????

No he wanted an extentsion for a extra year witch he would have gottne 24mill for and the Nets said no.

 

[DJT]

Nets' Kidd refutes reports that he is 'on strike'

ESPN.com news services

Updated: December 6, 2007, 4:42 PM ET

Is Jason Kidd On Strike?

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Jason Kidd insisted a migraine caused him to miss a New Jersey Nets game, brushing aside reports he was staging a personal one-day strike to induce a trade or force a new contract.

"I didn't miss a game due to unhappiness, that's the first thing to clear up," the All-Star guard said Thursday at a news conference he called at the Nets' headquarters.

Kidd said he was hit in the mouth Tuesday night in a game against Cleveland, and he later developed a migraine. He alerted trainer Tim Walsh about the problem Wednesday about noon, and he later called and said he could not play against the New York Knicks. The Nets lost 100-93.

"I am human, at the end of the day, I am human," said Kidd, who didn't seem angry with all the attention the reports created. "I went out and played with one leg. I played with a broken rib and yesterday, I just couldn't go. There was no plan of me not going. I felt that I couldn't help the team."

Kidd's unexpected absence created instant headlines.

A source told the New York Post that Kidd was "on strike." Yahoo reported that he was looking to be traded to Cleveland to play with LeBron James. There also were reports that Kidd wanted his contract renegotiated.

Kidd said he learned of the fuss after receiving a telephone call from his mother.

He insisted he never asked to be traded, noting recent comments he made about playing with James and Kobe Bryant were just no-brainer answers to questions posed about whether he would like to play with them at some point.

"I am having one of my best seasons," Kidd said. "Why would I want to be asked to be traded? And as a team we are doing better than last year."

New Jersey is 9-10 on the year.

Kidd is under contract through the end of next season, making $19.7 million this year and $21.3 million next. He and Nets president Rod Thorn refused to discuss any current contract talks.

Kidd did tell WFAN-AM radio in New York on Thursday that he and the Nets have been discussing a contract extension though.

"I'm not upset," said Kidd, who was the subject of trade rumors involving the Los Angeles Lakers in February. "Everything has been taken out of context. I was sick yesterday and I couldn't play. Everyone has come up with their own theory of me being upset."

Even if Kidd were upset, he could not come out and say it. The team could fine him for deliberately missing a game, a penalty that would cost him $240,585.37, his game-day salary.

"I would never abuse the game of basketball," Kidd said.

Thorn had no reason to doubt Kidd, adding he would not desert his teammates to make a point.

"He was sick," Thorn said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "He was very hurt about some of things in some of the articles."

Kidd said he watched the game in a dark room at home on Wednesday night and then went to bed. He still had a headache on Thursday. He hoped to play here on Friday against the Houston Rockets.

"It's not something that needs to be a big deal, but somehow it has turned into a bigger deal than it is," Kidd said. "We'll move forward and hopefully the migraine will go away."

The 13-year veteran is currently second in the league to Phoenix's Steve Nash, averaging 10.4 assists. He is averaging 11.3 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.67 steals.

"I am an old point guard, as most of you guys have written, that can't do it anymore," Kidd said. "For me to get all this attention is kind of funny. I'm glad you showed up."

The Nets had high hopes they'd challenge the revamped Boston Celtics in the Atlantic Division this season. However, they have lacked consistency in a season marked by the struggles of center Nenad Krstic to return from major knee surgery and Vince Carter missing five games with a sprained ankle. The Nets lost all five games.

"I am not frustrated," Kidd said. "I think we are all disappointed with the way we have been playing as a team. We have been very inconsistent and that falls on my shoulders. I am the captain. You have to try to get guys to play at higher level. Maybe, it's not me, but it's my fault in that sense and I take that responsibility."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Well Kidd doesn't think he's on strike, or he doesn't want people to think he's on strike. And I myself used to get a lot of migraines, and they hurt way bad and just made you feel sick, but I don't know that I would sit a basketball game out over it.

 

[Giantmetfan07]

it was a message to his club. He wanted to see his team fall apart against the terrible Knicks (I can say that for I am a big Knicks fan) and showed them how they would be without him.
And wow... could we be seeing a Kobe-Kidd swap in the making? If both want to leave their team's it's possible.

 

[The Guid]

it was a message to his club. He wanted to see his team fall apart against the terrible Knicks (I can say that for I am a big Knicks fan) and showed them how they would be without him.
And wow... could we be seeing a Kobe-Kidd swap in the making? If both want to leave their team's it's possible.

I thought Kobe wanted to go to a team where he could win, if he was traded...?

 

[DJT]

I thought Kobe wanted to go to a team where he could win, if he was traded...?

Yea but what he doesn't realize is either the Lakers would get screwed on a deal, or the team he is going to would get depleted and therefore he'd be in the same situation.

 

[The Guid]

Yea but what he doesn't realize is either the Lakers would get screwed on a deal, or the team he is going to would get depleted and therefore he'd be in the same situation.

which is why I think he won't be traded unless it's a really good deal...I don't believe the Nets can do that w/o giving up the players they would need to win a championship with Kobe

 

[Giantmetfan07]

Well yes he wants to go somewhere he can win. But a deal ALMOST went down with the Lakers. Anything is possible and if Garnett, Allen or Pierce gets injured he may be ready to move to the East and try and build up the players around him in Jersey to try and grab the Atlantic.

 

[$tunna]

if he even does leave I wonder what team he would go to? most likely he'll stay cause thats wat happened to Kobe,All Hype and No Deal

 

[Mexi]

KOBE FOR KIDD!!!!!!
thats just f'n HILARIOUS

 

[MapleLeaf]

I love Kidd, wouldn't mind him back in Dallas where it all began for him. But then we'd have to release a lot of young players and really go all for it since Kidd isn't getting any younger

 

[A.E]

Some of you guys need to stop defending these over-paid, pansy-@ss athletes so much. Kidd is playing games, plain and simple. Even if he is try to proving a point b/c he wants an extension, how does that make it acceptable? The last time I checked, he is currently under contract to do a job...so he should just freakin do it. I mean holy sh*t, if only I could not go to work and when my Boss calls me, I could tell him that I am not coming back until I get a raise. Oh wait...I'm no celebrity...I would get fired in a heartbeat.

 

[Giantmetfan07]

I'm not saying just Kidd for Kobe, I'm saying the two possibly involved in a multi-player swap, or possibly a multi-team deal. Just an idea, doubt it would happen.

 

[MapleLeaf]

From Mark Stein - ESPN.com

The leading Kidd suitor at this juncture, then, would have to be Dallas. Kidd has quietly maintained a long-standing interest in returning to the team that drafted him and the Mavericks, according to one team source, strongly believed after Steve Nash's controversial departure in the summer of 2004 that they were close to getting him back. It didn't happen then and the Mavs resisted calls to make another run at Kidd after their first-round flameout to Golden State, claiming that they'd have been overreacting to change too much from a 67-win team.

No one's saying that now, though. Not with team morale, according to club sources, suddenly approaching new lows in the wake of this 3-6 skid, reinforcing my belief from the start that this group needed a bigger shakeup after two such disheartening playoff endings back-to-back. With the Mavs' lack of a proven winner/killer/closer in Kidd's class never more evident, Charles Barkley aptly concluded on TNT's postgame show Thursday: "Dallas is in trouble, man. They gonna have to do something.'"

5. Do the Mavs actually have enough to entice New Jersey?

Yes. The sticking point in a straight two-team swap would be Josh Howard -- Howard would be the first player New Jersey asks for and the guy Dallas is apt to deem untouchable a la Bynum -- but Dallas has two other key pieces to get the conversation cranked up: Devin Harris, as the promising young point guard to replace Kidd, and the ability to create a lucrative expiring contract to provide salary-cap relief and make the trade math work by giving a three-year deal (with only the first year guaranteed) to the unofficially retired Keith Van Horn.

Harris is a Mark Cuban favorite and a proven nuisance to San Antonio as Dallas' answer to Tony Parker. But Harris is not an Avery Johnson favorite and, after a promising start to the season, is again struggling to run the team to the demanding coach's specifications. So …

Would New Jersey take Harris, Jason Terry, Van Horn's cap-friendly deal and future draft considerations for Kidd? Would Dallas part with Harris and Howard for Kidd? Probably not in either case. Yet even in three- or four-team scenarios, it's difficult to imagine New Jersey getting back a better young heir to Kidd than Harris, who could probably use a fresh start as much as any Mav.

 

[.loggie]

I wouldn't want to see Kidd playing in Dallas though, I think Harris fits the system better.

 

[Mexi]

From Mark Stein - ESPN.com

thats funny, another guy on ESPN had the Lakers in the lead...

 

[MapleLeaf]

Yeah but everytime some big time player might get traded the Lakers are always mentioned, but they rarely ever go through with it. Plus the Mavs have the pieces they want. Young players, expirings, etc.