 |
| Kidd's now-infamous mugshot after his arrest on July 12th, 2012 for driving while intoxicated in the Hamptons |
The Brooklyn Nets open up their regular season schedule on October 30th in Cleveland against the Cavaliers. They are expected to have their whole roster healthy and available to play in that game, but one important person to the team won't be in attendance. That person? The Nets' new head coach Jason Kidd, who will miss that game and Brooklyn's November 1st home opener while he is suspended by the NBA for a DWI he committed last summer.
In July of 2012, just a few months before he was set to begin playing for the New York Knicks–whom he spent only one year, his last as a player, with–Kidd crashed his SUV into a pole in the affluent Hamptons area of Long Island's Suffolk County. Charged with a DWI (driving while intoxicated), Kidd ended up pleading guilty to a diminished misdemeanor charge that comes with a community service requirement.
Since he only pleaded guilty recently, the NBA couldn't suspend him during his 2012-13 season with the Knicks, meaning that his debut head coaching stint would be delayed a bit, at least in terms of the regular season. Due to Kidd's absence, former Nets head coach and current lead assistant Lawrence Frank–who also happens to be a New Jersey native–will be at the helm of the Nets as they take the Barclays Center floor for the first time in the 2013-14 campaign.
Is it going to be weird when Jason Kidd is "introduced" by PA announcer Dave Diamante on November 1st in Brooklyn? Yes, of course, since he won't even be on the sideline. But in the long run, does that fact that Kidd won't be coaching Brooklyn's first two games make that much of a difference? No, it'll just be an interesting quirk in what should be a very exciting Nets season.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
