Should the Brooklyn Nets have expected Kiddgate?

The Post's Fred Kerber and Mike Vaccaro tag-team the Nets history with Jason Kidd Monday and how it should have given the Nets pause last summer.  Kerber, who's covered the Nets on an off for several decades, recounts a number of incidents while Kidd was playing in New Jersey --and one in the last few weeks-- that paint an ugly picture. Vaccaro, for his part, writes about how Kidd has done it to himself.

Kerber recounts the whole Kidd saga from more than a dozen years ago, with a new twist about how badly Kidd wanted rid of Byron Scott.  So bad, he was willing to tank a game, Kerber writes.

The Nets were reeling on a four-game losing streak. Despite a trip to the Finals the previous season, there was speculation concerning Scott’s job security. Another defeat in New Orleans and there could be trouble.

But an unlikely hero emerged. Brian Scalabrine, who had only two previous double figure efforts that season — in two blowouts decided by a total of 48 points — equaled a season high with 16 points.

Kidd was not amused. According to the team member who was on the bus that day, Kidd told Scalabrine he likely saved Scott’s job.

There's also the Migraine Game, his one-game strike to get out of New Jersey, noting "Several team sources then and now maintain Kidd, who so frequently played in pain without a peep, had planned the protest on the plane ride back from Cleveland."

Kerber also provides an additional detail on the lop-sided trade Kidd was advocating the Nets do with Milwaukee. It came after the season, after the new ownership took over the Bucks but apparently before he asked permission to leave.

The final divorce seems irrevocable. Kidd may have tried one more move. Sources claim he proposed a trade of Brook Lopez and Mirza Teletovic to Milwaukee for Larry Sanders and Ersan Ilyasova after the season. It is Milwaukee that received permission to talk to Kidd, making the timing of that proposal highly suspect.

NetsDaily has been told the same thing, also by multiple sources.

Vaccaro writes of how former stars often have a difficult time after playing, but adds, "None of them have willfully tried to mangle their legacies, the way Kidd has. None of them have dared the same fans they used to thrill to despise them — or, worse, to try to forget them."

In fact, says Vaccaro, "Jason Kidd may soon become the first icon in NBA history to become a non-person."

• Nets should be used to Kidd throwing his weight around - Fred Kerber - New York Post
• From greatest to grating, Kidd’s legacy forever tarnished - Mike Vaccaro - New York Post