Mavericks owner Mark Cuban reacted with total (and passionate) support for his coach when Avery Johnson benched
Jason Kidd for the final 30 seconds of a one-possession loss Feb. 28 in San Antonio.
"It's five games in," Cuban exclaimed at the time. "I didn't make this [trade with] a five-game window.
"Thirty-four seconds does not an "I'm Gellin' " commercial make," Cuban continued. "[Johnson is] going to get more and more comfortable with J-Kidd ... and we'll be gellin' like Magellan by the time the playoffs come along."
Not even three weeks later?
Cuban hasn't erupted often this season, but he let loose with some vintage fury when the Mavs no-showed for a half Tuesday against the Lakers. L.A.'s own broadcast team caught Cuban glaring at Johnson repeatedly during the second quarter. Kidd then sat out much of the second-half resurrection as the hosts gradually erased a 25-point deficit, only to come away with a bitter two-point defeat.
During one timeout, Cuban bounded out of his baseline seat and onto the floor to find Kidd for a brief word on the other side of the huddle, presumably to assure his new star that he'd be addressing the situation. It then emerged that Cuban blistered Johnson in a heated postgame meeting, apparently furious that Kidd played so little and that a struggling
Brandon Bass played so much.
I'll never understand Johnson's reasoning in the San Antonio case, as we've discussed plenty in
this cyberspace. I also would say that Johnson got it absolutely right in the L.A. case, as Dallas went on a 23-3 run when
Tyronn Lue replaced the ineffective Kidd, earning Lue every right to see how long he could make his effectiveness last.
Even so, there's no denying that (A) Dallas has a
lot of gellin' to do in the next four weeks to get to where Cuban envisioned by April 19 and (B) Johnson is facing unprecedented pressure in Big D these days after absorbing only small slices of criticism following the playoff unravelings against Miami and Golden State.
We said it from the start and will continue to say that the success of this trade depends on Johnson restraining his controlling instincts, putting the ball in Kidd's hands without reservation and relinquishing his status as the Mavs' lead offensive decision-maker.
You certainly can question Kidd's occasional hesitation and lack of offensive aggression since the trade. Boston's Doc Rivers, furthermore, might be exactly right in supporting his close friend Johnson when he says that bringing in a point guard at midseason is the most complex change a team can make, perhaps even tougher than what the Suns are doing with the integration of
Shaquille O'Neal and a whole new style. Yet I cling to the belief that the Mavs' issues gradually will vanish once Kidd gets more freedom and the halfcourt sets include more motion, assuming that Johnson can indeed make those concessions.
I initially thought the loud backlash from the San Antonio situation would speed up Johnson's backing-off process. But it hasn't. And if it doesn't start happening soon, Dallas will be looking at two expensive problems.
Cuban didn't just part with five players, two first-round picks and $3 million to acquire Kidd from New Jersey ... as well as take on an extra $11 million in financial obligations this season alone to save the trade after his first deal collapsed. He also is contractually committed to Johnson for $4-plus million annually for the next three seasons after they reworked Johnson's contract following the trip to the NBA Finals in 2006. So there's a cost involved, should things fail to improve, if the Mavs reach the point that they think they need a more Kidd-friendly coach.
The time factor is another issue for the Mavs. Gellin' in time for the playoffs, in today's West, is an ambitious goal, although Phoenix is starting to inch in that direction after following up its recent home win over San Antonio with five more double-digit victories. (The Suns also have quietly outrebounded the opposition 13 times in Shaq's first 15 games, after doing so just 12 times in the preceding 53 games.)
"It would have been great if we had a whole training camp with Jase,"
Dirk Nowitzki said. "But we don't."
There are some more numbers to complicate matters. Numbers that suggest Dallas might not have a window beyond this coming offseason to sort all this out.
Nowitzki turns 30 in June. Kidd turns 35 next week.
Jason Terry turns 31 in September,
Erick Dampier turns 33 in July and
Jerry Stackhouse turns 34 in November. Even
Josh Howard turns 28 in April.
Concerns about age, in other words, are not exclusive to San Antonio and Phoenix.
Your Arizona Cardinals now hold the 16th pick in the 2025 NFL Draft
ShaneMy time of year!