Jason Kidd, the Hall of Fame point guard, might deserve credit for Jalen Brunson’s new four-year, $104 million contract with the Knicks.
Was it any coincidence Brunson, a 2018 second-round draft pick by Dallas, had his career year and spectacular playoff run this past season with Kidd in his first season as Mavericks head coach? In 18 playoff games, Brunson averaged 21.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.7 assists.
Kidd, a triple-double threat every time he took the court during his 19-season NBA career, which included seven seasons with the Nets and one with the Knicks, took satisfaction in Brunson’s deal.
“The biggest thing is I’m happy he got paid,’’ Kidd said on the “All the Smoke’’ podcast. “He helped us. I know [Mavericks owner Mark] Cuban doesn’t like this, but I love when I can get a player get paid.’’
After playing mostly as a backup prior to the 2021-22 season, Brunson emerged as Dallas’ second-best player and formed a dynamo tandem with Luca Doncic.
“I tell a player on the first day of camp, ‘Tell me what you want,’ ” said Kidd, who was the runner-up when the Knicks hired Tom Thibodeau as head coach in July 2020. “Everyone wants shots. Everyone wants minutes. But that’s not the truth. They want to get paid and want to play.
“Cool. I can help you do that. The other part of that is I’m going to ask for a couple of things. Trust, communicate and play hard. If you ask Brunson, he will tell you he listened [to me] and good things happened. I just want to put people in position to be successful.’’
No, Cuban isn’t as happy as Kidd, who will attempt to replace Brunson with former Net Spencer Dinwiddie.
The NBA is investigating whether the Knicks tampered with Brunson before free agency began. One clue is the Brunson family was vacationing in Jamaica when free agency opened and had no interest in meeting or talking to the Mavericks to hear their counteroffer.
The Knicks are likely going to be punished by forfeiting a draft pick.
“There’s 30 companies in the NBA,’’ Kidd said. “We all can’t stay in the same company. For him to go to New York to get paid and an opportunity to run his own team. I’m happy for him.’’
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