Just My Type
JASON KIDD
THIS IS 40
The 10-time All-Star hit the milestone birthday on March 23 and retired after the Knicks fell in the second round of the playoffs. On June 12 he was named coach of the Nets.
DAN PATRICK:Were you surprised you got the job so quickly after retiring?
JASON KIDD: I was a little surprised.
DP:Did you wow them with something like a PowerPoint presentation?
JK: No, no, no [laughs]. It was just me talking about basketball. That's something I've done my whole life.
DP:Can you yell at players?
JK: I'm not a screamer or a yeller. To get my point across is just to talk straightforward. I want my guys to understand that I want them all to be successful. I'm not the enemy. If things aren't going well, you can use that bench and get your point across fast.
DP:Have you been able to spend time with owner Mikhail Prokhorov?
JK: I have not.
DP:Have you met him?
JK: I met him once in Dallas at the All-Star Game [in 2010].
DP:You played 19 seasons in the NBA. Do you have any grudges left over?
JK: No, I got along with everybody.
DP:Everybody?
JK: Even if a guy missed a layup, I didn't get mad. That was my teammate.
DP:What about opponents?
JK: You're trying to win a game. It's not a hatred or dislike. That's your opponent for that night.
DP:Best point guard to ever play the game?
JK: John Stockton and Magic Johnson.
DP:What did Stockton do better than you?
JK: I think he had 5,000 more assists.
DP:That's it?
JK: And [more] steals. When you look at those records, it's just amazing. I don't think he gets the credit he deserves.
DP:That's because he played in Utah.
JK: That's fine, but sometimes he's left off the list of great point guards.
DP:So if you had to pick five guys for your alltime team, would Stockton be your point guard?
JK: Yes.
DP:Your two guard?
JK: Michael Jordan.
DP:Power forward?
JK: Tim Duncan.
DP:Small forward?
JK: I'm gonna go with Scottie Pippen.
DP:No LeBron?
JK: LeBron? I could play him at the five.
DP:C'mon. Who's your center?
JK: I would have to go with Shaq.
DP:Are you and Mark Cuban O.K.?
JK: Yeah, Mark reached out once I announced my retirement and asked what I was thinking about doing.
DP:Then why were there reports out there that he was upset with you?
JK: He thought I was going to finish my career in Dallas. I decided to go to New York.
DP:Did he offer you an opportunity to coach?
JK: He wanted to talk about doing some different stuff in the front office. I told him I would definitely give him a call. Things happened so rapidly with the Nets that we didn't get to talk.
DP:Will you suit up in practice?
JK: I'm not going to suit up in practice, even if we're shorthanded. I can't put the uniform back on. And I'm not going to have the uniform on under my suit.
"The foreign-born players are more interested in team and winning. Some of these young guys want to show what they can do. This is not about showing what you can do. This is about making your team better. That does tend to be a problem with a lot of American players."
—DAVID ROBINSON, former Spurs great, on why San Antonio's Gregg Popovich likes to coach foreign players
GUEST SHOTS
SAY WHAT?
ESPN's Dick Vitale, 74, talked candidly about retirement. "That day is going to come," Vitale told me. "If I didn't look in the mirror and see how I really look ... I feel like I'm 25. I'll match my energy with any 25-year-old. But you can't hide the number." ... NBC analyst Pierre McGuire argued that NHL players are more grounded than other pro athletes. "Kids have to leave home at such an early age," McGuire said. "It's a hard-edge life. Hockey's difficult to make it in. That sense of entitlement doesn't exist in the NHL." ... In honor of Father's Day, Jack Harbaugh, a former college coach, shared stories about his son Jim and the impact of moving often: "We moved to Iowa. Jim came in one day and said, 'Dad, have you got any job offers? It's about time you get one. I just lost my last friend. It's time to move.'" ... Another famous NFL dad, Archie Manning, had a different problem. He had to adjust to his son Peyton's switching teams. "I got my [Colts] T-shirts, sweatshirts, caps. I sacked it all up. I thought about sending it to Oliver [Luck, Colts QB Andrew 's dad], but he doesn't want used clothes."
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MICHAEL J. LEBRECHT II FOR SPORTS ILLUSTRATED (DAN PATRICK)
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JOHNNY NUNEZ/WIREIMAGE (KIDD)
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DAVID KENT/FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM/MCT/GETTY IMAGES (VITALE)
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ISAAC BREKKEN/GETTY IMAGES (MCGUIRE)
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VIVIEN KILLILEA/GETTY IMAGES FOR STARTER (HARBAUGH)
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ELSA/GETTY IMAGES (MANNING)