The rumors about Jason Kidd and the New York Knicks persist, and every time it's a different rumor. One hour, there's "mutual intrigue" between the two sides; the next, New York may not even submit permission to interview him because they expect the Dallas Mavericks to deny the request.
But there are valid reasons the rumors continue because he's clearly one of the Knicks' top candidates. A new reason has surfaced and it makes a lot of sense.
Some may remember when Nico Harrison and the Mavericks traded away Luka Doncic in the middle of the night in February. At the press conference in Cleveland the next day, Harrison only addressed the media for about three minutes and then left Kidd up there to fend off the wolves by himself. Apparently, Kidd wasn't happy about trying to be the voice of reason all season.
James Edwards III of The Athletic reported all he knew of the situation between the Knicks and Kidd, and he reported that "Kidd didn’t always enjoy being Dallas’ spokesperson in the aftermath of the franchise trading Luka Dončić, per league sources.
"In a Feb. 10 game against the Kings, Mavericks center Daniel Gafford got hurt. In the middle of the injury crisis, multiple fans were also ejected for protesting the Dončić trade. Kidd didn’t address the media afterward.
“'I just needed a break,' Kidd explained Feb. 12 — two days later."
Throw that situation on top of Kidd's familiarity with Casey Smith and Jalen Brunson, and there are certainly reasons to depart for Madison Square Garden.
However, Kidd has said multiple times he's looking forward to the "kid from Duke" in reference to Cooper Flagg, the prospect the team is expected to draft first overall in a few weeks. Landing that first pick may be the biggest reason Kidd wants to stay, even if there may be some tension between him and the front office.
