Saturday, July 12, 2003
Sports Kidd stays for $99 million Associated Press
Jason Kidd picked the New Jersey Nets over the defending champion San Antonio Spurs in hopes of winning his first NBA title. Kidd ended 11 days of free agency angst for the resurrected Nets when he spurned an offer from the Spurs on Friday and agreed to a six-year, $99 million deal with New Jersey. "After great thought and consultation with the important people in my life, I have decided that I want to remain a New Jersey Net," said Kidd, the perennial All-Star point guard who was the biggest catch of the free-agent market this off-season. "I have enjoyed being here the past two years, I have worked hard with my teammates and believe in our future," Kidd also noted in a statement released by his agent, Jeff Schwartz. "I've been fortunate to have had significant interest from other great organizations, but ultimately I want to finish what we started here and bring a championship to the Nets." His decision came the same day that word emerged that center Alonzo Mourning would join the Nets as a free agent. Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said in an e-mail that Mourning wouldn't sign with Dallas and instead had chosen New Jersey. Nets president Rod Thorn said the league's rules on free agency prevented him from commenting on either Kidd or Mourning until next week. A call to Mourning's agent, Jeffrey Wechsler, was not immediately returned. Mourning -- out of the NBA last season because of a kidney ailment -- can't officially sign with the Nets until Wednesday, nor can Kidd. The Spurs and Nets were the only teams with a legitimate chance to sign Kidd. Both teams had the money, and both are legitimate title contenders. The Spurs could offer about $92 million over six years, which was $6 million-to-$7 million less than the Nets. However, the difference wasn't as much because Texas does not have an income tax. San Antonio also had the attraction of playing with two-time MVP Tim Duncan. Larry Bird and Isiah Thomas shook hands on their first day as boss and coach. Neither smiled. Bird, hired as the Indiana Pacers' president of basketball operations, said he looked forward to working with Thomas, who succeeded Bird three years ago. The contentious rivals from their days leading the Boston Celtics and the Detroit Pistons to NBA titles say their focus is on doing the same for the Pacers. "We've not sat down yet," Bird said. "Hopefully, we're on the same page." Bird was the NBA's coach of the year in 1998 and left the Pacers when his three-year contract ended. In 2000, he guided the team to its only appearance in league finals. Bird will take over day-to-day decision-making from Donnie Walsh, who has led the franchise since 1986 and will stay on as chief executive.
Bird returns to Pacers