* Jason Kidd wants out of New Jersey. “It used to be if I got a triple-double, that was an automatic win,” Kidd told ESPN the Magazine. “That’s just not the case now. We tried to make this work. We’ve found out it doesn’t. It’s time for us all to move on.”

* The Lakers, Mavericks and Cavs are the early front-runners in the Kidd sweepstakes. The Mavs could offer Devean George, DeSagana Diop, Jerry Stackhouse and some combination of draft picks in a package - but they wouldn’t include Devin Harris, according to the Star-Ledger’s Dave D’Alessandro.

* Don’t expect Kidd to be packing his bags just because he said he wants out. Rod Thorn will covet one of his biggest bargaining chips until the right offer is on the table. “Rod [Thorn] is not going to make a stupid deal, and that’s all he’s getting — we’re talking 10-cents-on-a-dollar kind of stupid,” said an NBA executive. “The only teams interested are teams that could win it all. And those are teams that don’t want to give up pieces.”

* After New Orleans routed his ‘Melo-less Nuggets 117-93 last night to win their ninth straight game, George Karl realized that these Hornets are something special. “One can argue that they have an all-star player at four positions,” Karl said. “Other than the Boston game, I don’t think I have been as impressed with a team. We are not the only team that has been whipped in here; it is becoming a consistent thing. I am not ready to jump on their bandwagon, but they are pretty good, and I’m not sure what weakness they have.”

* Allen Iverson was blitzed with double-teams every time he came off of a screen last night - what’s the difference between the old Sixers and these Nuggets when Anthony is on the bench? “It seemed like I was running for my life,” Iverson said. “Every time I ran a pick-and-roll or tried to isolate, they sent two guys at me. It was kind of frustrating. It felt like I was in Philly all over again.”

* Damon Stoudamire cleared waivers at 6:00 PM ET yesterday, and will become an unrestricted free agent at 6:00 PM ET on Wednesday. There are rumblings that Stoudamire could join the Celtics, but just as likely could become a member of the Spurs or Raptors - and it will happen quickly. “We want to have him to be able to join his new team and be ready to go the following day,” said Damon’s agent, Aaron Goodwin.

* Acquiring Stoudamire would eliminate the C’s from adding Sam Cassell to their puzzle. But other teams are in the running. “The latest one that caught my ear tonight had him going to Denver for J.R. Smith and Eduardo Najera,” writes Hoop World.

* Chris Webber will receive the $1.2 million veteran’s minimum salary pro-rated for the rest of this year - about $600,000. But he might need to spend some of that if he’s going to get his old #4 jersey back from C.J. Watson. “If he wants it back,” Watson joked, “I’m taking all wagers.”

* The Mavs were piping hot last night en route to a 103-84 routing of Memphis, as they hit 70% of their attempts in the first quarter and greater than 63% of their shots in the first half. “Josh [Howard] was amazing, starting out 8-for-8,” Dirk Nowitzki said. “He’s been our catalyst all year long. He’s been unbelievable, not only scoring, but overall. He’s got to go [to the All-Star Game].”

* As the Clippers fell 107-100 to Charlotte, they only had eight players available last night, as Chris Kaman and Corey Maggette were sidelined with various illnesses and injuries. “For a split-second Monday, with a couple of substitutes heading in, Cassell was the only player sitting on the Clippers’ bench,” writes Jonathan Abrams. “No other players were dressed for the game.” But that was just the start of the issues. The Clips put up a big donut hole from beyond the arc. “The big difference in the game was 21 points off of three-pointers to zero,” said Mike Dunleavy, Sr. “That’s a tough pill to swallow.”

* With the protection of hundreds of miles, Antoine Walker shared his thoughts about the Heat’s wildly disappointing season, blaming Pat Riley for the team’s troubles. “Honestly, the Miami situation is something Pat Riley put on himself,” Walker said. “You can’t change the team like that. All the good teams, the teams contending for championships, look at Detroit, San Antonio, they have been teams that have kept their core guys together for three, four, five, six years. For some apparent reason, Coach felt like he needed a change.”

* If Gregg Popovich is looking for someone to blame for last night’s 97-91 loss to the Jazz, he can look directly at Ime Udoka. According to Udoka, he was jabbering with Andrei Kirilenko when the ref hit him with his second technical foul with less than two minutes left in a six-point game. “He was talking to me for, like, five minutes. I don’t know what he wanted. He kept saying, ‘Stop flopping, stop flopping.’ But he push me in the back. That was the reason I was flopping,” said Kirilenko. “I don’t like to talk to players, you know? He can talk whatever he wants. He was like, he just keep talking and keep talking. Finally, I guess, the referee doesn’t like it.”