Brooklyn Nets coach Jason Kidd thought he had an innovative way of getting an extra time-out late in the game with the Los Angeles Lakers this week. The NBA has disagreed though hitting Kidd with a $50,000 fine for his antics.
The Nets were down two with 8.3 seconds left in the game and the Lakers’ Jodie Meeks at the free throw line with one shot remaining. The Nets were going to get another possession and Kidd wanted to draw up a play for that possession. The only problem, the Nets were out of timeouts.
Kidd, picked up a cola (no we’re not sure if it was Coke or Pepsi) and mouthed to Nets bench player Tyshawn Taylor to “hit me”. When Taylor collided with Kidd, he dropped the drink causing a delay while arena staff cleaned up the accident.
You can watch the play here.
Kidd drew up a play giving Paul Pierce a chance to tie the game, but the basketball gods (or other karmic force) intervened, and the Lakers pulled out the win.
After the game Kidd tried to deny that it was intentional, saying “The cup slipped out of my hand. I was getting tired. 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.”
The excuse was clearly a complete lie, and Kidd has admitted as such after news of the fine broke.
“Paul (Pierce) got a great look, but the league fined me for something that I probably shouldn’t have done,” he said. “We’ll move on.”
Kidd also said he was just trying to put his team in a position to win the game.
“It’s about trying to win and those guys in that locker room, and I tried to put those guys in a position to get a basket, a good look and we did,” he said.
The league has set a clear precedent here, making these attempts to win, while not trying to circumvent the rules on the number of timeouts per game, is not going to be tolerated.
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