Kidd and Shaq: Were They Worth It?

After 5 games each, the Suns and the Mavs have both been given the boot from the first round of the Playoffs.  It’s really ironic that both teams made blockbuster trades during the trade deadline and it has backlashed against them.  Now they have both stumbled into the offseason.  

Jason Kidd was a whiner who gave up on the Nets even while they still had a realistic chance to make it to the playoffs in the weak east.  He drove Byron Scott out of New Jersey and made the Nets brass decide between him or Scott.  Then he feuded with Lawrence Frank and cried his way out of the swamp in NJ.  He was supposed to be the missing link for the Mavs and Mark Cuban was willing to gamble and take on the title as the team with the highest payroll.  But Kidd never brought his magic with him to the Mavericks.  Now, less than 24 hours after the game 5 loss to the Hornets, his newest coach is gone too.  Does Avery Johnson deserve the blame for the loss.  Sure, every coach gets blamed for not winning a championship.  But, I really believe that Cuban and the Mavericks management opted to keep players such as Kidd happy rather than Johnson.  Granted Johnson was going to get fired anyways after three disappointing playoff appearences; however,  I believe a large reason for his firing was because of Kidd’s contract on the payroll and his lack of defensive presence on the court.  If the Mavs did not trade for Kidd, they would have still had Devin Harris and Diop.  While they are not superstars, they are young players that knew how to play their specific roles on the team.  Harris would not have been able to stop Chris Paul either, but atleast he would have been able to stay in front of Paul unlike Kidd’s creaky knees.  Diop, one of the most unpolished offensive players in the league who makes Shawn Bradley look like Tim Duncan in the post would also have had an impact. His athleticism would have kept Tyson Chandler off of the boards and prevented the Hornets from getting so many offensive rebounds.  Jason Kidd couldn’t fulfill the Mav’s wishes when they agreed to take on his huge contract and now he has indirectly caused another coach to be fired.  Byron Scott was probably so glad that Kidd was traded to the Mavs, because Chris Paul has allowed him to enjoy sweet revenge against Kidd.

On the flip side, the most dominant big man to play the game in this generation, Shaquille O’Neal gave up on the Heat early in the season.  When Wade went down early in the season, Shaq refused to pick up the slack to carry the team until Wade recovered.  Sure, he’s older and fatter now, but the effort was never there.  Like Kidd, he cried and whined his way out his former sinking team.  Shaq used his charismatic personality to win over the Phoenix fans even though they did not have a spectacular record after Shaq’s arrival.  But now after the Suns’ third loss in the playoffs to the Spurs in four years, it now looks like Mike D’Antoni is going to get the axe.  Ever since, Steve Kerr took over the Suns VP job, it has been clear that him and D’Antoni don’t see eye to eye.  D’Antoni has refused to preach defense, while Kerr has brought in Shaq for defensive purposes.  After the 5 game thrashing the Spurs have laid on the Suns, its clear that Shaq is simply too old and overweight now.  He cannot play defense and has no lift in his game.  The loss of Shawn Marion was clearly evident as the Suns had no one to match Tony Parker’s speed.  Tim Duncan simply destroyed Shaq in the post time after time.  Furthermore, the biggest downfall has been because of Shaq’s free-throws.  When you get paid twenty million dollars a year, you should be able to make 75% of your free throws.  Free throws are a learned skill.  It is not something you are inately born with, but something that takes practice and dedication to learn.  However, being able to dunk over 7’6″ players is an innate ability that does not require skill, but talent. But Shaq does not have that discipline to work on his free throws and that has always been the knock on his game.  He has been able to mask it in the past, because of his dominant presence in the post.  However, during the Spurs series, Shaq’s free throws cost them the series.  For example, in Game 5, Shaq alone took 20 free throws and  missed 11 of them.  That’s just pathetic and unbelievable for a player of Shaq’s NBA status.  If he had made more free throws, the Suns would have won the game, and some of the previous games might have been closer.  Shaq has been literally a big baby throughout his career.  He conflicted with Penny Hardaway in Orlando, the never ending feud with Kobe and then the cheap shots he took at Pat Riley after he reached the desert.  One can only wait to hear what he has to say about Mike D’Antoni and Steve Nash after this loss.

Jason Kidd and Shaquille O’Neal, two of the superstars of our day have just demonstrated that the grass is not always greener on the other side.  They both bailed out when their former teams were struggling in hopes of joining new teams to win a championship.  I guess karma does catch up to you eventually!