This morning Mark Cuban joined The Ben and Skin Show on ESPN Radio 103.3 FM for an hour. In the last few minutes Ben and Skin decided to ask Mr. Cuban if Jason Kidd would ever get a rafter spot and Cuban replied, “no chance.” A rafter spot is an area in the arena that great player’s for that team get their jersey hung.
This summer Jason Kidd was a free agent and the Dallas Mavericks were looking to resign him to a 3-year deal. On the morning of July 5, 2012 Jason Kidd talked with the Maverick’s organization he was going to stay. Then that afternoon Kidd changed his mind and decided to go play for the New York Knicks who offered him a similar deal, 3-years for $9 million. As a point guard, Kidd believed that the Knicks had more “pieces to work with.” Cuban said that Kidd called him that afternoon, but Cuban could not take the call because he was with his family at a museum in Washington D.C. It was not till later that day that Cuban found out Kidd changed his mind and went to the Knicks for a similar deal. Mr. Cuban told Ben and Skin that what Kidd did “hurt my feelings.” Cuban said, “I was more than upset. I thought he was coming. I was pissed.”
Mark Cuban was not happy with how Jason Kidd changed his mind so quickly. Cuban said, “J. Kidd is a big boy; he can do whatever he wants. But you don’t change your mind like that. That was … yeah. I’m sure I’ll get over it at some point, but as of now, I wouldn’t put J. Kidd’s number in the rafters.” Cuban later added, “He’s a good guy, but I just thought that was wrong. You can’t put a guy’s number in the rafters when he decides he doesn’t want to be there.”
I agree with Cuban’s decision that Kidd’s number will not be in the rafters when he retires. Kidd played for the Mavericks for 4 seasons, from 2008-2012 (not including the 3 seasons starting his NBA career from 1994-1997) and then just decided he would like to play for the Knicks more. With the two offers being the same number of years and same amount of money someone would think a player would stick with their original team. I guess I understand he is looking to be on a team that has a better chance at winning the next championship, but I mean come on Kidd … you are about to be 40! I feel that it is probably time for Kidd to be on the team he wants to retire with, which I thought would have been the Mavericks or the Nets. It was wrong the way Kidd changed his mind so quickly so it is understandable that Cuban is hurt/upset by it.
Cuban did list a couple of players he thinks will have a chance to have their numbers in a rafter spot. Cuban said, “I’ve always said my prerequisite was that you played on a championship team for the Mavs. I’d say Jet’s got a shot, Dirk’s an obvious, but as of right now I wouldn’t put J. Kidd up there.”
During the summer Terry was also a free agent and left to join the Boston Celtics. The difference between Terry leaving and Kidd leaving is that Terry and Cuban had many talks throughout the year. They meet many times and were very honest with each other. So when the time came that Terry accepted the Celtics offer, Cuban was well-informed and was happy for him. Terry ended things on good terms, was a true Maverick, and really did want to stay. Cuban even told Ben and Skin that if Terry returned after retiring and was looking for a job he would help him get one with the Mavs organization.
Extra:
To hear Cuban on Ben and Skin click here and download the audio. Or you can check out Ben and Skin’s home page and look for the Mark Cuban Audio.
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