Charles Barkley: Jason Kidd Is At The End of the Road
I didn’t think that Jason Kidd‘s 19-point, 9-assist night was deserving of criticism. In fact, after he sunk his fifth trey I remember thinking that he could prolong his career if he adds a more consistent three-ball to his game. Even if he shot three’s like he did during these playoffs (44.6% 3FG, 2.1 three’s per game) he’d give himself value for years to come. Sure he got carved up by Chauncey Billups for 28 points and 12 boards, but Big Shot has been doing that to everyone put in front of him recently.
Despite Kidd’s solid showing, Charles Barkley came out today saying that Kidd’s days of glory are over with.
“I don’t think he can be the point guard on a championship team,” Barkley said. “I think he can be a guy coming off the bench. He can be a great influence in the locker room. But as far as him being a starting point guard against the elite point guards in the NBA, those days are past him.
“I mean, there’s a reason Chauncey Billups went ballistic tonight. He can’t stay in front of those guys any more. Jason’s my guy, but for everybody, there’s light at the end of the tunnel. Sometimes that’s a train.”
Sir Charles is the only guy out there who can get away with insulting one of his boys and not really offending him. It’s no secret that Kidd is past his prime. But the notion that he can’t be the point guard on a championship team is flawed. Imagine putting him at the point in Cleveland. He, Mo Williams and Delonte West could all spend time running together in the backcourt. Maybe he wouldn’t be the 40-minute per night PG on that squad, but there’s no doubt that he could start.
However, it looks as though Mark Cuban will try to bring Kidd back to Dallas for no other reason than to save face after the Devin Harris deal.
Source: Dallas News
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May 14th, 2009 at 11:52 am
Bron42 aka Had springs before slamball says:
charles is 100% right. I mean he could start on the team but hes not going to be dominant or at most points a bigger difference maker. Hes still an above average guard but hes not the elite guard who would put a team over the top like he was say 2 years ago. He has not become the savy veteran you keep NFL style to mold your young guy and pass the torch.
May 14th, 2009 at 11:53 am
dmitry of jersey says:
being a Nets fan, i love J Kidd. but barkley is 100% right. and andrew, your argument of putting Kidd on cleveland is completely flawed because in that scenario he would become a role player just like chuck is saying.
bill simmons made a very valid point about Kidd: with the new rules, you can’t win without a penetrating point guard. 2003 Kidd had no problem getting in the lane. for 2009 Kidd, the lane is like corie blount smoking all that herb.. not happening.
May 14th, 2009 at 12:05 pm
Lakers Nation says:
Kidd is Ron Harper on the Lakers with out the J . . . remember that nick name – ason Kidd on the allas Mavericks . . . If I were him, I’d go to the Blazers and mentor the kids . . .
May 14th, 2009 at 12:14 pm
JEH says:
Kidd’s D is obviously not at the same level as it used to be…but can he lead a team to a championship? The simple answer: Depends on who surrounds him. For example, look @ the gold winning Olympic team. Granted international competition isn’t the same as the NBA. Kidd is still a better PG than most and I wouldn’t mind having him lead my team.
May 14th, 2009 at 12:15 pm
ADAP says:
“I mean, there’s a reason Chauncey Billups went ballistic tonight.
. . . do u remember what Billups did 2 CP3 in the 1st round this year?
May 14th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
JEH says:
A PG is judged on the amount of W’s…not individual stats. I wonder though…could a D. Harris led Maverick team have done any better this year? Maybe they lose to Denver 4-2 instead of 4-1 with Harris on their side.
May 14th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
dapro says:
He could lead a team to ring provided he has certain players around him i.e
A quicker sg to play against the elite pgs of the L
Athletic wings and/or shooters to spread the floor
Return to the post against oppossing pgs who are too small the guard him or continue to shoot the open 3 ball
The thing that makes Kidd most valuable is his ability to find the best shot for his teammates. His unselfishness rubs off on on a team, he was never a lockerroom type of guy he lead by example. Having Jkidd on the bench negates his best attributes
May 14th, 2009 at 12:26 pm
dapro says:
Although Devin is younger I still don’t see them making any noise vs having Jkidd
How does Harris make them better? No way he runs a team like J kidd.
Harris is scorer with some play making skills. That’s not what Dallas needed
May 14th, 2009 at 12:38 pm
Chaos says:
kidd needs to turn him self into mentor jason kidd. dallas needs to go out and get a young pg via draft or trade and mentor him to be his successor cuz barea aint it. he can still start and run a team but not 40 min a night. maybe at 30 and have a younger guard come off the bench for a spark. kidds chance has passed to get the championship as a starter
May 14th, 2009 at 12:52 pm
A$$Cube aka Da Kidd says:
Here are teams that should make a run at JK :
1. Cleveland: For no other reason that Kidd is buddies with Bron. He would start alongside Mo, who would enjoy not having to run the offense anymore.
2. Porland: Their so close. A natural point guard would allow a lot of their young players to take the next step forward. I think it would happen via a S&T with Dallas getting either Blake + Outlaw back.
3. Miami: The Heat have to make something happen for Flash to stay over there. Chalmers could learn a lot from Kidd, and Wade would be able to not focus on creating plays for his teammates to! Is that me or a S&T for Haslem would be attractive to Dallas? He’s a banger, just what Dirk needs.
4. Lakers: I really don’t know about that. The Lakers really did not do it for an older Payton. Sure Kidd would be able to go deep in the Playoffs but I think he would get bored in the Lakers system. Plus Kobe would have to cover for Kidd’s defensive misteps.
5. San Anton: This one’s cleary a long shot. Kidd would have to settle for being the backup of All-NBA guard Tony Parker. But Kidd acknowledged he should have signed with the Spurs in 2003. Coming of the bench with Manu to help both TP and TD get a final ring together would not be such a bad idea after all.
May 14th, 2009 at 1:02 pm
Big Shot BOB says:
Kidd is my favorite player (coming from the bay and all)in the NBA right before KG. That being said I think he is past his prime but so was his mentor GP and he won a ring his last year. I think his game is so that he can still lead a team to a championship. Experience counts for a lot in this league and this guy has it for days. All those trips the the finals count for something. And hey were talking about a guy that just lead his team to the semi’s and won a gold medal in the summer. In fact everyone on team USA said he was the biggest difference in winning the medal. Not to mention he still gets triple doubles how can a guy be past his prime putting up triples? Like some other poeple posted put him in the right situation and he can still lead a team. Let’s look at the starting guards he’s still better than IMO:
Fisher
Bibby
Calderon
Conley
Telfar
Alston
Ridnour
Miller
Duhon
Jack
Blake
Stuckey
Westbrook
Udrich
Felton
May 14th, 2009 at 1:39 pm
G says:
CP3 couldnt stay in front of Billups either and hes at the other end of the age spectrum
May 14th, 2009 at 2:34 pm
dk says:
@8 Yup, your almost right, I think he has some gas left in the tank. They need to go out and find a Devin Harris type of PG, he would fit perfectly in to Dallas’s system.
May 14th, 2009 at 2:38 pm
dk says:
@5 Maybe they win in 7 also, the Mavs… Maybe have a super quick PG putting up 20 plus would have put alot of extra pressure on Denver’s supperior defense. MAybe the vaunted mile high attack would have been outscored and maybe, Bush could run fo another term!
May 14th, 2009 at 2:55 pm
Rainbow says:
They get old soo quick. I’m gonna go watch that game against Steve Nash again !!!
May 14th, 2009 at 2:55 pm
barons beard says:
The Mavs are the wrong fit for J-Kidd, and that has played a part in his drop in production. In the right team, in the right system, his court vision, timing and know-how will be a real asset and could take a team to a ‘chip
May 14th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
dagwaller says:
Kidd > Harris for now. That trade was a good one. Mavericks, in a competitive second round series (could’ve been 2-2 after game 4 if it weren’t for a bad call). Nets, Lottery.
How does Harris make a team better? They had the same amount of wins this season as they did last season (his first with the team), and both are seasons with less wins than any since 00-01. To put it bluntly, Jason Kidd arrives, they start to win, he leaves, they stop winning. The Mavericks don’t seem to have any drop off.
May 14th, 2009 at 4:20 pm
doc says:
haha lebrons tired of doing point guard duties?? you’ve gotta be kiddin right. you do know that’s the only way he’s gonna average those numbers he does. with a point guard actually HANDLING the ball his assists numbers will dwindle and the media will no longer RIDE HIS dick
May 14th, 2009 at 4:36 pm
hucklebuck says:
Jason Kidd is good.
He can still be effective as a starter, he in my opinion is better today than Nash is.
This series fall on Dallas’ front line.
Aside from Dirk, who doesn’t get the full credit for playing tough this year in the playoffs, the rest of Dallas’ frontline was booty. Nene, Martin, and Birdman did whatever they wanted to on the rebounds.
Kidd was good, he is not to blame for the weaksauces Dallas has on their frontline *minus Dirk*
May 14th, 2009 at 4:50 pm
dagwaller says:
hucklebuck, I completely agree. Dampier did a good job against Duncan this playoffs, but has been a pretty big underachiever considering his contract. He simply doesn’t do enough to warrant the chunk of the cap he takes up.
May 14th, 2009 at 5:53 pm
doc says:
Well if u just put him on Cleveland thats backing up Charles statement aint it.Because we know he aint starting shit but a pregame funny moment with Bron on that team.
May 14th, 2009 at 5:58 pm
doc says:
Start over Delonte?Really?Their defensive stopper on the perimeter.I think not.An d Devin Harris wouldnt have changed a thing in this series.Tell him to step them bum ass Nets up.Kidd was just taking them bums to the playoffs yearly.
May 14th, 2009 at 6:25 pm
dk says:
16 ppg 10 apg 7 rpg 2 stl… Thlse are great numbers. I have no idea what you guys are on but hes got plenty of gas left in the tank with averages like that!
May 14th, 2009 at 6:26 pm
dk says:
Oops sorry, that was in 1998….
May 14th, 2009 at 11:22 pm
adfaff says:
@ chaos, barea is a playmaker, and he can score despite his size. The only problem is his size but allen iverson aaron brooks and chris paul are like 1 or 2 inches taller than him and they get it done. I think they are set at pg, they need to trade howard and terry for another legit star player.
May 15th, 2009 at 12:24 pm
Dave says:
I think Kidd is still a high quality player. No longer an All-Star, but still very productive and a good starter. I think he’ll be a big part of a Contender next season.
I’m hoping he goes to Portland or LA.