Because of their similar career paths, Warriors head coach Mark Jackson has been a role model for Jason Kidd, writes Tim Bontemps of the New York Post. In wake of the criticism Kidd has received for his performance as head coach of the Nets, Jackson recently spoke out and defended Kidd:
“He’s been a coach on every team he’s been on. He won a championship being an offensive coordinator [in Dallas], with all due respect to [Dallas coach] Rick Carlisle, but I’m sure Rick will tell you the same thing.”
Here are some miscellaneous tidbits from Wednesday night around the NBA:
- Quincy Acy has been a pleasant surprise for Kings coach Mike Malone, reports Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee. “I knew he was talented,” said Malone, “but he’s better than I thought he was.” Acy was obtained in the trade that sent Rudy Gay packing from Toronto.
- Ian Levy of HickoryHigh uses a formula to determine the similarity between the 2014 draft class’s top prospects and current NBA players.
- By waiving Shawne Williams on Tuesday, the Lakers will end up saving about $1.1MM in player salary and tax expenses, reports Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times. Williams earned about $475K during his stint with the Lakers.
- Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News doesn’t see the Mavericks as a realistic suitor for Andrew Bynum. Sefko notes the Mavs won’t have as much money to offer the recently waived center as the Heat. Beyond that, the addition of Bynum would threaten to affect team chemistry, possibly in a negative way.