There are stirrings that New Jersey Nets point guard Jason Kidd is a candidate for MVP this year. We all know that he doesn't stand a cat's chance in a dog's world, but it is something to consider.
Jason Kidd was sent to the Nets in a blockbuster deal that landed the Suns with Stephon Marbury. It was a catch that we inflated like we were telling of the 'big one that got away'. Prior to this trade the Suns were a winning team.
With the change from Kidd to Marbury the Suns are now circling the wagons and trying to keep their record in the range of decent.
Since the New Year the Suns have faced several teams and have been blown out on more than one occasion (by more than one I mean 'lots'). They lost a stretch of games by an average of 18 points. That sounds bad enough without injecting any sarcasm.
In response, the coaches, managers, and players make a lot of noise: They say the team is just going through a rocky period, as if the Suns are crossing the Andes barefoot. They say it will pass, Penny just needs to get his game back, or the team needs to play better defense. There are any number of possible solutions to get the team back on its collective feet.
Fans are more honest, however. They know the mistake was made when we traded Jason Kidd.
The Kidd trade wasn't one that most franchises in the NBA would have made. He was playing superbly and the Suns were a force to be reckoned with. Kidd had one failing, however. He hit his wife.
The incident occurred in the midst of an argument over feeding french fries to their toddler, of all things.
Although it was only a one-time occurrence, Kidd was arrested and jailed temporarily.
For basketball players, life is a game and everything they do is scrutinized and played back like a highlight film. The world becomes their collective conscience and Jiminy Cricket couldn't do a better job.
Kidd, however, is a stand up kind of guy and was immediately facing the issues, apologizing and trying to make amends. He signed up for counseling and took some time from basketball to get his personal life straight.
Jason Kidd was the model of everything you could want a professional athlete to be prior to his arrest.
After his arrest, people were still loath to think anything truly bad of the man. He was a community leader and one hell of a basketball player.
He stood behind the team, committed, giving his best effort night in and night out. He's committing himself to his family, now, with that same kind of effort. He's seeking help.
Many fans felt that he should be given a second chance. His wife did, too.
Jerry Colangelo, the Suns General Manager, didn't.
I don't think he should either. I personally feel that there are some things that don't deserve seconds chances. You should know better.
Sure the Suns are losing now, and people are second-guessing the trade, again. Colangelo did a tough thing when he traded away the franchise player, but he did the right thing.
I'll admit that for a while I was dead set against the trade. At a time I thought it was the worst move ever. Kidd was one of my favorite players in the league.
But I thought about what I would do in that situation. If I were to hit the wife I don't have, I'd expect never to see her again. If the wife I don't have were to hit me, the relationship would be over. End of story.
Colangelo probably feels the same way. He doesn't just want a team of world-class athletes; he also wants a team of world-class gentlemen. Seriously, how hard is it not to hit your wife?
Professional athletes were heroes in an age when we didn't know what the word 'hero' meant.
When the trade took place nobody thought about firefighters in New York.
We all knew that there was probably more to being a role model than being a great basketball player, but Colangelo is one of the few owners in the league who believed it.
Kidd did a terrible thing and there had to be consequences.
Sure, some of the consequences fell back on his old team. They're little more than mediocre now. They lose more than occasionally. We don't speak of January.
Actually, we do. Some of their games haven't been games so much as showtime for Kobe Bryant and Chris Webber. January has made the fans critical of players' value to the team, and brought back mutterings of the mistaken Kidd trade.
We need to remember, though, that even in this age of firefighting heroes, kids still look to basketball players as role models. And we can't tolerate abuse.
If basketball is a game that can't be won without spousal abuse, then it is a game that shouldn't be played.
North Noelck is a biology sophomore. Reach him at
north.noelck@asu.edu.
