The most drawn out NBA trade in recent history finally took place on Tuesday. It should come as no surprise that the press conferences officially announcing the move were equally melodramatic.
Jason Kidd is again part of the Dallas Mavericks. He'll wear No. 2, hoping for a better time of it the second time around. Owner Mark Cuban said he's looking for another job to pay the massive luxury tax that awaits him when the last year of his new point guard's deal kicks in. By that point, Cuban is hoping he'll have smoked a few dozen Cubans in celebration of the Mavericks' first championship to make it all worthwhile.
Kidd's return is a championship-or-bust proposition, one engineered by a franchise that looked at what they had, compared it to the toys the rest of the Western Conference had at their disposal and decided they needed it to re-arrange their collection. Kidd's savvy late in games and leadership skills overcame all concerns over mortgaging the future (Tony Parker-hound Devin Harris, two first-rounders, center DeSagana Diop) for a fighting chance at winning now.
That's why this deal was always going to get done, with an agreement again reached prior to Sunday's All-Star Game that illustrated a point of no return for the Dallas owner: Keith Van Horn would be signed to a $4 million deal to get this done.
That's it. Rod Thorn tried to put a spin on how much he'd get out of his new formerly retired forward and opted to go with a "we'll see." I'm setting the over/under at games he participates in at five and taking the under. Adding Harris and obtaining financial security for the team's future makes it of little consequence that Van Horn isn't interested in re-igniting his career.
After all, Cuban is paying.
The clock is ticking on Dallas' latest experiment, so the getting-to-know-you fest Avery Johnson is looking forward to with Kidd will have to yield immediate chemistry. That relationship will be the key in this all working, even more so than Kidd and Dirk Nowitzki, because to win, Johnson is going to have surrender control of the team to his new arrival. Johnson knows what buttons to push, but has been guilty of over-coaching during both of Dallas' playoff collapses, letting Miami back into a 2006 Finals it had no business being in and attempting to match up with Golden State by altering his starting lineup instead of forcing the Warriors to have to adjust to them in a Game 1 loss that set the tone for last year's first round upset.
Johnson can afford to relax a little more now. Kidd is his first true point guard. He'll make everyone better. If he makes them good enough, the Mavericks might finally break through.
Without him, they would have no shot. That's why Cuban agreed to pay whatever price. One thousand deaths? Only if his check didn't clear.
