LeBron disappointed Cavs can't land Kidd
James defers questions to GM about club's inability to acquire star guard
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CLEVELAND - Jason Kidd appears to be on the move again, but he’s not going where LeBron James hoped.
A proposed blockbuster deal sending Kidd from the New Jersey Nets to the Dallas Mavericks — the team he started his NBA career with — for as many as five players was met with disappointment by James on Wednesday.
James has made it known he would love to play with Kidd, a close friend and teammate on the U.S. Olympic team. The Cavaliers’ megastar urged team management to do it all it could to get Kidd before the Feb. 21 trading deadline.
However, it seemed as if Dallas would win the Kidd sweepstakes — though there was a snag when the Mavericks’ Devean George exercised his right to block the deal.
“I hope he does well for that franchise,” James said before the Cavaliers hosted the San Antonio Spurs in a rematch of last year’s finals. “They got a great player and a great leader and a person who is going to help that team be better merely by his presence.”
James was asked if he was disappointed Kidd won’t be joining the Cavaliers.
“No,” he said without an expression before cracking a smile. “Can you see it in my face?”
Last month in Portland, James expressed his desire to play with Kidd and said general manager Danny Ferry should do whatever necessary to acquire the perennial All-Star.
“I wasn’t just saying it just to be saying it,” James said. “Of course I wanted him to be a part of our team. If we couldn’t get him, I’m glad he’s out of the East.”
James was asked if he felt Ferry had done all he could to get Kidd.
“That’s a question you have to ask Danny,” he said. “I don’t know.”
Kidd’s trade would be the third involving a superstar in recent weeks. Pau Gasol was dealt from Memphis to the Los Angeles Lakers, and the Miami Heat shipped Shaquille O’Neal to Phoenix for Shawn Marion last week.
“It’s been surprising,” James said the major moves. “It’s happening all in the Western Conference, so that’s a good thing.”
James understands that Ferry may not be able to pull off a blockbuster deal before the deadline to help the Cavs.
“We’ll see what happens,” he said. “I think they’ve probably been trying to do something. I think we all know that we need to get better. It’s simple. We need to get healthier and we need to get better.”
It may be easier for the Cavs to make a big trade next season when the club will potentially have several expiring contracts.
James must be patient, not one of his strengths.
“I want to win,” he said. “I’m not a guy who wants to sit around and wait. Sometimes you have to, but I want to win now so I’m preparing myself to go out there every night no matter who is out there on the court with me.
“I enjoy having the guys I have in this locker room. I would never trash any of my teammates, they know that. But at some point you want to get better and hopefully we can do that.”
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