Mr.Bottomtooth
12-02-2007, 05:22 PM
Kidd rebuffed on extension
Sunday, December 02, 2007
BY DAVE D'ALESSANDRO
Star-Ledger Staff
As it turns out, Jason Kidd wasn't plotting an exit strategy at all when he had his rant in Salt Lake City 13 days ago.
In effect, he was trying to form a more lasting union.
The Nets had turned down Kidd's appeal for a contract extension just days before he made his bleak assertion about the team's future, according to three people close to the point guard who requested anonymity so as not to damage his relationship with the team.
The 13th-year pro, one of the great players of his generation, makes $19.7 million this season and $21.4 million next year, the final year of his deal, which makes him eligible for a one-year extension for the 2009-10 season -- or a two-year extension, if he waits until this summer.
But Kidd would be 36 when that $24 million thank-you gift would kick in, so when agent Jeff Schwartz asked team president Rod Thorn to discuss it, he was told it isn't in the cards.
That rejection, Kidd's associates say, was at the root of his frustration -- though the team's play had a lot to do with it as well.
"Let's face it, he considers himself the face of the franchise, and feels he should be rewarded as such," one associate said. "And he's still busting his butt, playing better than ever, and sees that they're rewarding other guys. You can understand why the greatest player in franchise history believes he deserves to get what other guys are getting."
That was a reference to Vince Carter's $61.8 million extension, which he signed this past summer. The difference, of course, is that Carter is only 30. So Thorn informed Schwartz that ownership cannot pay close to that sum for someone who turns 37 during that extension year.
Kidd, who in days following the Salt Lake City snit said he wants to remain in New Jersey, would not comment on the specifics of his contract discussions.
http://www.nj.com/sports/ledger/index.ssf?/base/sports-1/119657557522160.xml&coll=1
Sunday, December 02, 2007
BY DAVE D'ALESSANDRO
Star-Ledger Staff
As it turns out, Jason Kidd wasn't plotting an exit strategy at all when he had his rant in Salt Lake City 13 days ago.
In effect, he was trying to form a more lasting union.
The Nets had turned down Kidd's appeal for a contract extension just days before he made his bleak assertion about the team's future, according to three people close to the point guard who requested anonymity so as not to damage his relationship with the team.
The 13th-year pro, one of the great players of his generation, makes $19.7 million this season and $21.4 million next year, the final year of his deal, which makes him eligible for a one-year extension for the 2009-10 season -- or a two-year extension, if he waits until this summer.
But Kidd would be 36 when that $24 million thank-you gift would kick in, so when agent Jeff Schwartz asked team president Rod Thorn to discuss it, he was told it isn't in the cards.
That rejection, Kidd's associates say, was at the root of his frustration -- though the team's play had a lot to do with it as well.
"Let's face it, he considers himself the face of the franchise, and feels he should be rewarded as such," one associate said. "And he's still busting his butt, playing better than ever, and sees that they're rewarding other guys. You can understand why the greatest player in franchise history believes he deserves to get what other guys are getting."
That was a reference to Vince Carter's $61.8 million extension, which he signed this past summer. The difference, of course, is that Carter is only 30. So Thorn informed Schwartz that ownership cannot pay close to that sum for someone who turns 37 during that extension year.
Kidd, who in days following the Salt Lake City snit said he wants to remain in New Jersey, would not comment on the specifics of his contract discussions.
http://www.nj.com/sports/ledger/index.ssf?/base/sports-1/119657557522160.xml&coll=1