Run the floor. Get the ball. That’s the relationship Jason Kidd foresees with Keith Van Horn on the Nets.
Van Horn openly has expressed his excitement about playing alongside Kidd next season. Kidd, the point guard coach Byron Scott labeled “an instant fast break,” seems equally pumped about having Van Horn as a target for his passes. Van Horn has not approached the super-stardom predicted for him upon his departure from the University of Utah as the No. 2 pick in 1997. Not even close. Some are down on him. Not Kidd. He sees a vast wealth of talent in the 6-10 forward, much of it untapped.
“As an opponent, you knew he could go inside and outside and it was hard to say you would give him something because he could shoot the ball as well as anybody and he has the ability to take the ball to the basket and dunk and finish strong so that was the hard part,” Kidd said yesterday from Lake Tahoe, where he is competing in the 12th annual American Century Celebrity Golf Championship (NBC, Ch. 4, tomorrow 3 p.m., Sunday 4 p.m.)
“The good part now is he’s on my team and he should know that if he gets out and runs, he’ll get the ball,” insisted Kidd. “No maybes, no doubts. He’ll get the ball. But then he has the toughest job and that’s putting it in the basket.”
Van Horn won’t worry about the shooting part, despite his four-season mark of .434. If the Nets can rev up their game with the 28-year-old Kidd, whom the Nets have swapped for Stephon Marbury in a monster trade that becomes official July 18, there should be easier baskets which lead to higher percentages which lead to happier players which lead to victories. Amazing how all this stuff ties together, huh?
The on-court relationship between Van Horn and Marbury undeniably was strained to whatever that point is just below gunplay. But they survived amid the whispers and the purported rancor. Now, Kidd says the key to avoiding all that is to strengthen the bond with his teammates. Best way to do it? Run the floor and get the ball.
“I’d love to see him do more of everything, but the one thing I could tell you I’ll do for him, the thing that’s important is that I believe in him,” said Kidd, echoing sentiments often uttered by Sam Cassell regarding Van Horn. “There’s a trust. Has to be.
“If Keith misses two, three four shots in a row, believe me, I’ll still be coming to him knowing the next one will go in,” said Kidd, who authored a league-best seven triple doubles last season, giving him 38 for his career. “When you have trust in your teammates, that goes a long way. And understand, that’s with everybody, not just Keith. So everybody needs to understand that.”
With Kidd and their collection of four draft picks who include 6-7 swingman Richard Jefferson from Arizona, the Nets are envisioning a far more athletic team, a more defensive-minded team, a more exciting team.
