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Mark Cuban and Rod Thorn performed the Heimlich maneuver on the Jason Kidd trade during All-Star weekend. After applying pressure to the sternum area of a choking Jason Kidd, the trade demons coughed out Keith Van Horn and Trenton Hassell, allowing Jason Kidd to breathe easy again. Still pending league approval, no given in this situation, the Nets ship Kidd and Malik Allen to Dallas for Devin Harris, DeSagana Diop, Trenton Hassell, Mauric Ager, Keith Van Horn, two first round draft picks, and cash. Subsequently the Mavs send a second round draft pick to Jersey for Antoine Wright and a bottle of Advil – just in case that Kidd migraine problem pops up.

Again, nothing is official until its official. The teams tentatively scheduled a conference call to obtain league approval for Monday, with the use of Keith Van Horn, unofficially retired for two seasons and not expected to play, the only potential obstacle. This trade has had it all – weeks of anticipation after a public trade request, the Bird Exception, the Gary Payton rule, a semi-retired player about to get a few million dollars to show up for a physical. What’s next?

Both Dallas and New Jersey gave a little to solve the Devean George and Stackhouse problems from the original trade, which I thought were too much to overcome to get this trade done in under a week. Dallas takes a luxury tax hit by signing Van Horn to replace George in the trade, while the Nets assume more long-term salary in Hassell, who will earn double Stackhouse’s salary in 2009-2010.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized this trade had to happen. It passed the point of no return. Nowitzki’s comments about George, the fan reaction, Diop and Harris questioning if Dallas wanted them put the Dallas chemistry at risk, and the Nets faced an even more disgruntled Kidd, who booked his ticket out of town, magnifying an already toxic situation. Too much at stake for both teams to let a few million dollars here or there, a journeyman’s bonehead decision, and a veteran’s loose lips, to hold things up. Now, if the league office pulls the plug on the Van Horn loophole that will certainly end this trade without help from a third party.

Expect Kidd to rediscover his old self for Dallas, but the rejuvenated point guard may not be enough to overcome defensive deficiencies and lack of frontcourt depth to compete with the now ultra-competitive Western Conference. The trade at least puts them back in the discussion. Similar to Phoenix, the Kidd move is high risk, high reward. Dallas can go on to win the NBA crown this season, or they can give Kidd his extension, flop in the playoffs yet again, then find themselves saddled with a bad contract in salary cap hell two years from now. Replacing Kidd with Harris makes Dallas the oldest team in the NBA, a sure sign of win now.

Over the next few podcasts, and on the blogs, we’ll analyze why Harris is not a major downgrade from the 2007-2008 version of Jason Kidd. Ten years younger, signed through 2013 for significantly less money, a better shooter (not passer), arguably a better defender – all positives. Harris will never approach Kidd in his prime, but if he plays hard every night, fits in with the offense, continues to improve at the same curve he has since his rookie season, New Jersey still makes the playoffs in the tremendously watered-down Eastern Conference. More importantly, three years from now and five years from the Nets are in better shape after this trade.

Ironic Kidd’s last soiree as a Net came in the All-Star game, playfully chatting with future teammate Dirk Nowitzki on the court, while his real teammates sat thousands of miles away. Symbolic of how he played this season – more interested in playing with other teams stars, alienating the guys in his own locker room. All the trade talk must have confused Kidd, during his post game comments he was quoted as saying Jersey is great, has wonderful fans, and he wishes them the best of luck. Too bad he didn’t feel that way earlier this season. Hey, at least as Kidd mentioned, the golf is great.

For Dallas and New Jersey must complete the NBA front office version of the 60 yard hurdles to consummate the proposed Jason Kidd trade, at this point. Devean George stand as hurdle one, now the NBA stands as hurdle two, after Jerry Stackhouse cavalierly commentary about the Nets buyout and his return to Dallas raised red flags with other GM’s and the league office. The NBA prohibits trade announcements over All-Star weekend, nonetheless talks will continue but with the deadline six days away, two huge obstacles in the way with limited workarounds available, the trade looks dead unless a third team comes out of the woodwork.

Although he is well within his rights to block the trade to protect his Bird Exception status, which equates to more potential money next season, it’s likely to backfire. The Early Bird Exception allows a player with veteran status on a one-year contract in his second year with the same team to resign with that team for whichever is higher, 175% of his current salary or the NBA average salary. If traded George loses his rights and his chance at the payday.

George will come to regret the decision because he only benefits if Dallas resigns him, and agrees to pay that salary, an unlikely scenario. Throw in a paltry 3.8 points and under 3 assists in 15 minutes per game on top of the backlash he created with this fiasco, Mark Cuban will personally escort him out of town at his first opportunity – that is, if the fans don’t first. With an entire organization and its fan base turned against him, and not much production to support his case, George has little to no chance of ever cashing in those Bird rights. Why not go play for the Nets? Play being the operative word. Only a few weeks ago, George complained about his lack of playing time with Dallas and requested a trade out of Big D. Despite logging extended action the past week, George will find himself back to the bench when the Mavs get healthy, with little chance to improve his value for next season. By blocking the trade he may preserve future earning potential, but lose actual earnings when free agency rolls around.

The Stackhouse problem stems directly from his immature comments about resting and returning to the Mavs in 30 days. That statement hints at a pre-arranged future deal, a no-no in the NBA, a league already battling ethics questions after the gambling fiasco last season. Reportedly, other GM’s around the league are raising red flags behind the scenes. All indications are the league office will prevent Stackhouse from resigning with Dallas if traded, removing him from the trade since Dallas needs him for a legitimate title run. Ironically, Stackhouse shares the same agent as Jason Kidd. Jeff Schwartz flaunted the Kidd trade demands all season, now his own client shot him in the foot. Can’t blame Rod Thorn for this one.

Dallas had options to workaround the George problem, but Stackhouse and George is too much to overcome. The Nets will not take Trenton Hassell. Unless a third team helps, Dallas is in trouble. They now have two players, Harris and Diop, who have to return to a team that traded them, one player, George, who teammates and fans publicly criticized for blocking the trade. Dirk Nowitzki went as far as calling Devean George “selfish” for blocking the trade, putting himself ahead of the team. The fans booed him out of the building during a sterling 0-11 performance the night he exercised his rights. Stuck with the same team that had little chance of winning the West anyway, the struggling Mavs now have a fractured locker room with potential chemistry issues. Kiss this season goodbye.

Meanwhile, Kidd publicly says he’s OK with returning to the Nets. Kidd has to prove that with his play on the court. Another half season of half-hearted efforts will further diminish his future trade value, and kill the small glimmer of hope the Nets have this season. If he comes back focused, knowing Thorn did his best to accommodate the trade request and will try again in the off-season, Kidd can help the Nets turn the ship around this season. A healthy Kristic, two improving big men, another athletic option in the mix with Swift, Carter, well some nights at least – the Nets have the tools to make another second half run with Kidd. Unless another trade comes about before Thursday, unlikely but possible just like the Dallas trade suddenly came about last week, Wednesday we see if Kidd wears his happy face, keeps playing with the urgency he showed during his “trade auditions”, and start to learn if Kidd really is OK with staying in NJ.

The NBA exhaled after George held up the trade, preventing an unprecedented situation of an All-Star starter switching leagues before the game.

After months of complaints, public and private requests, a migraine induced walk-out, and sub-par effort, Jason Kidd finally has a reason to smile again. The Nets shipped the future Hall of Famer to Dallas in exchange for Devin Harris, Jerry Stackhouse, Desagna Diop, Devean George, and a pair of first round draft picks, sure to be late in the first round. Dallas also receives Malik Allen and Antoine Wright to equalize the salaries.

Recent speculation led many to believe Rod Thorn would hold Kidd until the summer, unimpressed by the current offers. That was until Mark Cuban witnessed Kidd’s personal audition on Sunday night, leading New Jersey to a blowout of a Dallas team that received ZERO assists from its starting point guard. Toss in the blockbuster moves by Phoenix and LA last week with and the Mavs path to the Finals, and Cuban knew he faced another disappointing playoff run without a bold move. Will Kidd put them over the top? Remains to be seen, since Harris played well prior to the injury, and Dallas has more weaknesses than just the point guard position.

The Nets obtain a potential budding star – though not projected to approach Kidd’s level – three expiring contracts, and draft picks. Probably the best Thorn could do. Harris, who turns 25 in two weeks, ten years younger than Kidd, is averaging 14.4 points and over five dimes a night. With Harris due almost $14 million less than Kidd next season, the Nets now have cap flexibility to pursue free agents or potential trades.

Insert Harris next to a still young Richard Jefferson, a blossoming duo of young, athletic big men, 24-year old Nenad Kristic, and the Nets have a young nucleus. All that’s missing is the superstar shooting guard/power forward. For now, it’s Vince Carter.

The Nets were not winning any championships with the current team, so keeping an unhappy Kidd around provided no positive. Teams often regret waiting too long to pull the trigger on moving an aging star player, Thorn decided to jump the gun instead of waiting it out. Does it make the Nets better today? Probably not, though Harris brings a better offensive game than Kidd – look forward to less 1-9 shooting nights – but puts another piece into place for the future. Now Thorn needs to work his magic, and get a big time scoring guard not named Vince Carter, not over 30 years old, into the Izod Center by next season.

More to come on the Kidd legacy…

Some people just need a wake-up call to get going. Vince Carter took a standing eight count after a shot to the face from Brandon Bass, following Richard Jefferson as the second Net knocked out in a week. When Carter returned to the floor later in the 2^nd quarter, Nets trailing Dallas by ten about to have the doors blown off again, then something amazing happened. The old Vince Carter emerged.

The Nets ran off 21 straight points, only slowed by halftime, led by an array of dazzling Carter moves. Fade away jumpers, back cuts to the hoop for lay-ups, and the showtime drives to the basket off transition. Carter found the “zone”, rattling off 25 points on efficient 10-14 shooting after absorbing the elbow, en route to a game-high 29.

His partner in crime, Jason Kidd, commanded the game, dominating for a second straight outing. Assuming the floor general role, Kidd led the Nets to 21 fast break points, threading the needle on countless bounce passes to setup easy baskets. Toss in a few highlight reel lob passes among the 14 assists. Stats aside, Kidd controlled the game, forced the action, ran the offense, and even cracked a smile while doing it. Jason Kidd, enjoying the Nets play? Stop the presses.

Arguably more impressive than the Carter and Kidd offensive duo, was the Nets defensive effort. The high-powered Mavs managed only 84 points, and a combination of Boone, Sean Williams, Jefferson, et al. limited MVP Dirk Nowitzki to 4-16 shooting for a quiet 21 points.

Dallas shot only 36% from the field, but captured the first half lead with easy second chance opportunities, and a few layups on defensive breakdowns, leading to 18 first half points in the paint. When Carter reemerged the whole team came alive, started to box out and attack the defensive glass. Three-point defense, a recurring defensive problem for the Nets, excelled. The Mavs shot a putrid 2-18 from deep with the Nets contesting shots all night, ant Mavs having an off night.

In his second game back on the bench, Sean Williams excelled. Appearing refocused after Kristic replaced him the starting lineup, Williams provided a few highlight reel dunks and a thunderous block on a Nowitzki jumper that led to a Carter breakaway dunk, a microcosm of the night. He finished the night with 15 points, 8 rebounds, and two blocks, and exhibited good footwork in the post and nice touch from the outside. Rather than sulk after the demotion, Williams has stepped up.

The most promising play of the night might be a simple post move that resulted in two foul shots. Nenad Kristic caught the ball with his back to the basket, then put a quick baseline spin move to go by Josh Howard – reminiscent of the pre-ACL injury Kristic, the Kristic New Jersey needs. A small step, but Kristic emanated the confidence he lacked the first four games of his return, nailing a jumper, getting to the line, and crashing the boards for 8 rebounds. Knee problem, what knee problem.

While it’s only two games, barely a streak, this win was the most dominant outing of an otherwise disappointing season. Kristic, Carter, Kidd, a solid contribution from RJ, Sean Williams off the bench, suddenly the Nets have hope.

With Mark Cuban in full view, the Mavs starting PG JJ Barea netted zero assists as he watched Kidd tear his defense apart. Based on last night, Dallas needs guard help, albeit Devin Harris remained on the bench injured. Kidd played possessed, same as Friday, expect more of it Tuesday and Wednesday, during this extended audition. The question remains, if the Nets keep Kidd at the Meadowlands, will these performances come and go along with the trade deadline?

I know, a day late, and a dollar short – as the old saying goes – but LA’s impressive performance on Tuesday night, given the circumstances, warrant discussion. The circumstances – Gasol’s first game with the team and in the triangle offense, no Andrew Bynum, a season-low scoring performance from Kobe, and the middle of a prolonged road trip – enough excuses for a subpar outing.

The Lakers served notice the first week of the season, whitewashing the Suns in Phoenix without Lamar Odom. Most impressive was team passing, and the ability to run the offensive with Kobe, not necessarily through Kobe. It proved LA, at its best, had the right mix of role players and star players to compete with the best of the west.

Insert Pau Gasol, proven scorer. Tuesday night LA reaffirmed my belief to take them seriously in the Western Conference. When the offense clicks, they are the best passing team in the league. All night players passed up open 10 foot jumpers, made the extra pass to get a teammate a layup, or point blank opportunity in the paint.

They move the ball quickly and efficiently in the triangle. With Gasol, LA now has enough scoring weapons to drive opposing coaches crazy. Kobe and Gasol will play off each other. Try to double team, or converge when they get into the lane, Fischer, Radmonovic, and Vujavic, all shoot over 42% from beyond the arc – the Nets had a taste of that. Don’t forget the athleticism of Lamar Odom, who creates matchup problems, and can dominate the offensive glass.

Most important, Kobe only scored six points – slowed by a combination of Net defense, an injured pinky, and a decision to involve his teammates – and the Lakers still won going away. The Nets had no defensive answer for Gasol inside, nobody put a body on Odom, and the guard trio beat them with three point shooting, and dribble drives. While New Jersey has struggled defensively in those areas much of the season, they will not be the only team the Lakers leave in the rear view.

LA also plans another big acquisition after the trading deadline, a potentially healthy Andrew Bynum. Watch out West.

On the Nets front, Carter showed the offensive aggressiveness, dazzling with a thunderous dunk and a few highlight reel drives – reminiscent of the old VC. Despite 27 points, he still settled for too many long jumpers, shooting an underwhelming 10-26 from the field. Good to see him take initiative, now he needs to involve his teammates and improve his decision-making. Some possessions turned into one on one battles.

Again the Nets matched wits with a solid opponent for most of the game, as they did with Boston a few weeks back, before wilting down the stretch. Bad shots, lack of defensive intensity, for only a few minutes allowed the Lakers to take the lead into double digits and pull away late with a 21-9 run. It takes four quarters of focus – not three.

We apologize for the audio quality with Episode 26. Chalk it up to a lost Windows configuration for the trusty microphone. Rest assured, Episode 27 and beyond will return to the same level of quality of recent prior episodes.

Sorry for the inconvenience. Thanks for listening.

One farewell, one long awaited return, one rumored departure – after two straight wins, the Nets looked distracted last night. Jason Collins started his final game with a thunderous dunk on a back cut off a Jason Kidd assist. From there the Nets appeared old, slow, and disinterested.

Atlanta used a 9-0 run in the first quarter to jump ahead, and an extended 20-7 burst against an apathetic second unit to start the second quarter, to blow the game open. Richard Jefferson came out shooting duds, leading the brigade of Nets settling for long jumpers. While Vince Carter, slowed by foul trouble, made his biggest impact by picking up a technical foul in the second quarter, then sitting the final 9+ minutes of the half.

Meanwhile, the Hawks athleticism and speed overwhelmed the Nets defense. Atlanta, known for its transition offense, scored 23 fast break points and finished with 58 points in the paint, thanks to 15 offensive rebounds, and countless drives to the basket.

Jefferson showed up for the second half, opening the third with five quick points. However, the lack of transition defense killed the Nets, each time the Nets showed a surge Atlanta struck back with easy baskets on the other end, beating the NJ down the floor. Jefferson finished with 23 strong points, and got the Nets within nine points early in the fourth before Atlanta capitalized on the offensive glass with a putback.

Boki Nochbar was the only Net to provide offense in the first half. Following a dreadful offensive outing in Miami, Nochbar buried his first shot and took off from there. He mixed aggressive moves to the basket with touch from the outside to finish with 16 points. More disconcerting, Nochbar and Antoine Wright were the only Nets to visit the foul line in the entire first half – a sign of the lack of aggressive play and offensive rhythm. The second unit had no flow, with Marcus Williams struggling to setup the offense or trigger the transition game.

If you blinked, you missed Nenad Kristic’s return. Kristic played 2:45 late in the first quarter before icing his knee on the bench the rest of the night. If Kristic is not ready to play 20 minutes a night, he should not play at all. If he is, Frank should use him, the Nets have nothing to lose. Atlanta poses a tough defensive assignment for Curly, but nobody else contained Marvin Williams or Josh Smith last night, why not have Kristic try to get into the flow?

Kidd slid into second on the All-Time rebounding list for guards, moving past Clyde Drexler. Lost in his 10 rebound, 7 assist performance was a woeful shooting night, 2-9 from the floor for only five points. You can sum the night up with two plays, Josh Smith pinned a Carter layup – later appeared to be goaltending – then ran the floor for an easy dunk on the other end. While earlier in the fourth, Kidd went to swing the ball around the perimeter and threw what appeared to be a simple pass to Carter into the first row. Lack of concentration, lack of energy – double digit loss.

Note: If Atlanta had 18,102 fans in attendance, I must have won the lottery last night. The building looked almost as empty as most nights at Izod, yet still had more energy.

One last time, for old time’s sake, to show his appreciation for 6 ½ years of service, Lawrence Frank started Jason Collins at center. Collins answered the bell with two handed rim rattler to open the game. Barring a reprieve, the Nets will officially ship Collins to Memphis for former Number Two pick (2000) Stromile Swift on Monday, making tonight Collins’ send off.

Offensively challenged, lacking athletic ability – his vertical leap makes it hard to slide a piece of paper under his feet – other than his 7-foot stature, Collins is not the prototypical NBA player. His offensive statistics rank among the lowest of all NBA players, and have perennially been the worst of any NBA starter. Teams did not even have to defend Collins, often leaving the Nets in 5-on-4 situations. Fans called for his head, stat heads ridiculed him, yet Frank stuck with him.

Through it all Collins acted professionally. Not only with his astute off the court comments, but with his workmanlike attitude on the court. For 6+ years Twin brought his best effort night in, night out. He never complained, not when Frank benched him, not when fans booed him. He played through injuries when the team needed him, as Frank echoed in his pre-game remarks on YES Network. Collins handled everything as a consummate professional, right down to this weekend, when the Nets – having already agreed to a trade with Memphis –short-handed with Malik Allen and Jamaal Magloire out of action, looked to Collins, already a lame duck, to step in. No problem.

Stats aside, Collins is by far the best defensive frontcourt player the Nets have. Coaches should play film of how he defends the pick and roll – hedge on the dribbler to push him away from the basket, and then quickly recover while cutting off the passing lane – for young players.

Collins became an easy target for fans when the Nets went south in recent years, given his lack of offensive output and continued playing time. On a struggling team that often needs help scoring, Collins simply does not fit, he no longer has a place on this team. Though Swift may not be the answer, he brings a bevy of unfulfilled potential. Collins defense, hustle, and solid screening belong on the bench for a championship caliber team, as a role player. Memphis may be furthest from the ideal destination, but no doubt Collins will give it 100% starting Monday.

By the end of the month, Richard Jefferson may remain the last link to the Nets back-to-back Eastern Conference championship teams. The Collins trade – and what follows with Kidd – will officially end the most successful era in franchise history. Collins soon to be former teammate should take some notes on how to act with class.

The Nets had all the stars aligned to end the losing streak and salvage one game on this horrific West Coast swing. A 15-point 4^th quarter lead, solid games from Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson, the worst opponent the NBA could offer in Minnesota. Then Poof. The Wolves dominated down the stretch, New Jersey went cold from the field, blowing a 7-point lead in the final 1:19 to lose 98-95. Nine straight losses, 10 of the last 11, 0 for 6 on the road trip, a disappointing 18-25 record, outplayed down the stretch by a hodgepodge of youngsters on the bottom feeders in the league – rock bottom.

Al Jefferson played like a man among boys, tossing in a career-high 40 points, and grabbing 19 boards, but his 2 free throws with 11 seconds left put the final nail in the Nets coffin.

RJ started out hot – 19 first half points despite foul trouble – yet Lawrence Frank called Carter’s number down the stretch. He rewarded the coach’s faith by missing a pair of off balance, 20-foot jumpers. Carter’s night was a microcosm of his season, flashes of brilliance - attacking the rim, getting to the foul line, abusing inexperienced defenders in isolation – mixed with long jumpers, slow passes off the double-team, and deferring to teammates too often.

After over three quarters of improved defense – not high praise after allowing over 100 points for six straight games – New Jersey reverted to its old ways in the fourth. Rashard McCants and Gerald Green, left open with the Nets forced to double-team Jefferson, buried backbreaking three point baskets to erase the Wolves deficit.

Led by RJ’s 35 points and Carter’s 25 points, the Nets offense played more aggressive, getting to the line 39 times against the NBA’s most penalized team. Once again, they could not capitalize, shooting only 67% from the line, leaving 13 free points on the court.

Outside of nailing three consecutive three-pointers late in the third – the last on a pray as the shot clock expired – Jason Kidd appeared to have one foot out the door already. Where was he when the Wolves made their fourth quarter run you ask – zero points, zero assists.

On a night the T-Wolves showcased the diamond of the Kevin Garnett package, the Nets received a reminder that their young frontcourt is still a work in progress. Jefferson dominated Josh Boone and Sean Williams, displaying every move in the book – baseline spins, jump hooks, outside shots – and scoring at will. Despite outrebounding Minnesota for the game, Jefferson single-handedly killed the Nets on the offensive glass leading to countless easy second chance points. Jason Collins did a solid job in the fourth of containing the 22-year old manchild, but too little too late.

At 18-25, with their star players head only half engaged, the Nets organization need to do some soul searching – everyone from the GM, to the coach, to the players. The team can go two ways after a loss like this, show resiliency, bounce back, and make a run at the playoffs, or fold it up and face the embarrassment of finishing behind the Knicks in the Atlantic Division.