Unless you were living under a rock, in a Thanksgiving food coma or recovering from the aches and pains of Black Friday shopping, Brooklyn Nets coach Jason Kidd was fined for spilling a cup of soda on the Barclays Center floor on Wednesday. With 8.3 seconds left in the 4th quarter and the Nets down by two points, Kidd instructed Net guard Tyshawn Taylor to hit him to spill his drink. That gave the Nets time to draw up a play with no timeouts left in the game. The NBA slapped Kidd $50,000 for his forced timeout.
Coach Kidd denied intentionally spilling the cup after the Nets loss on Wednesday stating that he had sweaty palms. “In the heat of the battle you’re trying to get guys in and out of the game, and the Coke fell out of my hand,” said Kidd. He changed his tune after the Nets’ 114-95 loss to the Houston Rockets on Friday night saying: “It’s over with. That’s behind me. There’s nothing to really talk about. It’s done, so I’ve got to move forward with it.”
When asked where he learned such tactics, Kidd said that he learned it from team owners and coaches in the league while he was a player. On Friday evening, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban—Kidd’s former boss tweeted: “Who was the first coach to spill a Coke to get a timeout?”
In the tweet, Cuban included a link to a 2009 regular season game between between the Dallas Mavericks and Chicago Bulls. Ironically, Kidd was playing point guard for Dallas. With 2.9 seconds remaining in overtime and the Mavericks holding a 113-111 lead, Dirk Nowitzki was shooting free throws. Magically, a cup spilled near the Bulls bench forcing a game delay.
Check out the link here:
As a rookie head coach, Kidd is 4-12. Brooklyn is on a 2 game losing streak and will play the Memphis Grizzlies tonight in Memphis at the FedEx Forum.
-Brandon Robinson @ScoopB
