Jason Kidd vs “The Russians”: Nobody Wins

Power struggles happen. Not only in sports or the NBA, but in every hierarchy. Someone wins. Someone loses. But sometimes, it’s just kind of a stalemate, and only the passage of time can tell who was truly victorious.

This is the case in Jason Kidd‘s recent move to the Milwaukee Bucks (hence my corny opening).

Only a year after trading his jersey in for a suit (usually without a tie), fans and everyone involved in the NBA are still trying to gauge how successful and what type of head coach former Nets point guard Jason Kidd really is. I mean, we saw it all in his first year calling the shots for the Brooklyn Nets: sky-high expectations, an atrocious start to the season, that weird “intentional soda spill” incident (you’re right, you’re right; it was Tyshawn Taylor‘s fault. He should really watch where he’s going.), being on the hot seat, and finally, a stellar second-half of the year to catapult the Nets into the playoffs and save his coaching job (so much for that). With all these up and downs to swallow…what’s the final verdict on Kidd? Is there even one, yet?

Jason Kidd clearly thinks so.

Kidd is confident that, after merely one year as a head coach in this league, he’s ready become the President of Basketball Operations for one lucky organization – which now happens to be the Milwaukee Bucks (head coach, for now. Prez of Basketball Ops presumably comes later). Talk about getting ahead of yourself. But can we blame him? If you can become an NBA head coach without any experience, you can jump right into the front office too, right? That’s the culture that’s been established in the NBA with the recent hirings of Kidd to Brooklyn, Steve Kerr to the Golden State Warriors, and Derek Fisher to the New York Knicks.

However, Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov and GM Billy King are on the other side of the argument regarding Kidd: He’s too inexperienced to ask for that kind of power; let him walk. Meanwhile, Bucks fans are like: First Jabari Parker, now Jason Kidd?! LET’S GOO!!

So, who’s right about Kidd? Milwaukee and Kidd himself, or Prokhorov, King, and Brooklyn?

Speaking of Nets management…Is it really a win for Brooklyn if Prokhorov continues to be the final decision-maker over Kidd? All the Russian billionaire has proven to us in his short tenure as Nets owner is that he underestimates how hard it is to win a championship and he disgustingly overpays players. Doesn’t sound like something you can brag about, to me.

At the end of the day, there doesn’t appear to be much of a basketball difference either way. At least not for the moment. Kidd’s request forced Brooklyn to choose between mediocrity and inexperience; there is no right answer. The choice to move Kidd ultimately came down to personal relationships and comfort – things we don’t usually think about when it comes to sports. Kidd has friends within the Bucks’ front office, while sources say tensions between he and Nets management are high. From that perspective, the right decision is clear for both teams: go your separate ways.

Awwwwkwaaaard.

So, if most of this whole shuffle had to do with power over actual basketball results, then the winner between Milwaukee and Brooklyn can’t be declared just yet. We’ll have to wait a few years and see who does a better job with their respective organizations.

Big story – not that big of a deal. For now.