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One of the things the Nets' ownership liked about Jason Kidd was that he's fresh face, not someone else's failure or an assistant who had never got the big job.
Rick Barry, the Hall of Famer who played for the Nets in the ABA, tells Stefan Bondy he thinks that was a smart move.
"I’m happy to see them get new blood in there. I’m so tired of these guys recycling guys. They go from one team to another. The guy loses, he gets fired, he gets hired someplace else by one of his buddies that’s a GM or something," said Barry who was born in Elizabeth and played for Roselle Park High School. "Jason’s been there. He’s been there out on the floor and knows the things that has to be done. I think it gives him a tremendous advantage."
Barry, now 69, laments how he never got a chance to coach in the NBA, even as an assistant. He noted that Nets' Butch Beard wanted to hire him in the mid-90's but ownership vetoed it.
- HOFer Rick Barry on Kidd hiring: "I'm happy they got some new blood in there." - Stefan Bondy - New York Daily News