Jason Kidd is back in Brooklyn for the first time since leaving the Nets for the Milwaukee Bucks this past summer over an alleged power struggle within the organization. Kidd denied reports that he attempted to gain control of basketball operations in Brooklyn, but his pregame comments showed he doesn’t have much of a relationship left with the people who hired him with the Nets.
Jason Kidd said he had no relationship with Billy King
The former Nets coach is back in Brooklyn on Wednesday night leading the Milwaukee Bucks.
Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports
Ricky O'Donnell has covered basketball at all levels for more than a decade at SB Nation. He’s currently the Associate Director of Programming.
On the subject of Nets GM Billy King, Kidd said:
“He’s management. So that’s- my relationship with Billy was to figure out how to get things right when he was around. So. There was really no relationship.”
The Nets hired Kidd just months after he retired as a player from the league, and the team enjoyed a successful season even without starting center Brook Lopez, who was recovering from a foot injury. The Nets won 44 games to finish sixth in the Eastern Conference and defeated the Toronto Raptors in the first round of the playoffs. Brooklyn’s season would end in five games to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
While Kidd maintained that he was over his exit in Brooklyn, his quotes sound passive-aggressive.
“I think it really helped me to see what I was dealing with, what type of people I was dealing with.” Kidd added. “Give me a fair chance to coach a team that had injuries, we make a big trade. But I think, understand that they did want to fire me in December. So I think it just shows what type of people I was dealing with.”
Kidd is now the head coach of the Bucks, who head into the game with Brooklyn at 6-5. The Nets are 4-6 in their first season under coach Lionel Hollins.
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