CupGate doesn’t look good for the struggling Nets, but Jason Kidd did nothing “wrong”

The internet soaked up Tuesday's "CupGate" controversy regarding Jason Kidd's not-totally-legal "created timeout via purposely spilled soda cup"

The Nets came back from a 27-point deficit in their loss on Wednesday night to the Lakers, but the biggest story from the game was one that involved someone who retired from the NBA last season.

The Jason Kidd "CupGate" incident, in which Brooklyn's head coach said "Hit me" to point guard Tyshawn Taylor while Kidd was holding a glass of what looked to be soda, exploded on Twitter and sports television on Wednesday. With his team down by two (96-94) and the Lakers shooting a second of two free throws, Kidd appeared to tell Taylor to bump into him, causing Kidd to spill his drink and giving the Nets time (they had no timeouts left) to draw up a last-second play for a game-tying shot. The shot was an open Paul Pierce three that clanged off the rim, sealing the win for the Lakers.

Kidd was fined a hefty sum of $50,000 for the alleged "rules-bending" by the NBA, and was skewered by those on the internet covering the Nets. People called Kidd a cheater, said the play was bush league, and used the incident as more evidence to put down the already-embattled coach of the 2013-14 season's most disappointing team to date.

However, it's really not all that fair to classify what the rookie coach did as a blatant attempt to flout the rules of the NBA. Realistically, wouldn't many other coaches do exactly what Kidd did in order to gain a desperate last "timeout" when all others were used up? Answer: Yes, I think it would be easy to say that most coaches in the same situation would do the same thing. Spilling the drink was an act of gamesmanship, not ill-intentioned cheating, which is no different than NFL coaches icing a kicker or MLB managers extending meetings with pitchers at the mound.

Jason Kidd spent 19 NBA seasons as a player, performing at a Hall-of-Fame level for nearly all of them. In the 1,391 games he played, the star point guard did everything he could to win every game he played. Whether that involved some playing outside of the written rules or just being better than most, Kidd went to all lengths to be a winner.

Now, in his role as a coach, Kidd is still adjusting the buttoned-down nature of coaching that is more staid to that of the players they are tasked with guiding. He thinks as a player, as is currently going through the difficult transition from being an active participant to more passive spectator. Should someone faced with such a hard change be ripped for trying to help his team garner a much-needed victory? No, that just wouldn't be fair.

Sure, Kidd has a job to do and he shouldn't be as blatant with his future sneaky rule-bending attempts. But, he's learning how to coach on the job and has the right to make a few mistakes here and there as he transforms himself from an All-Star player to (hopefully) winning coach. So when he distastefully (maybe) tries to give his team a little more time to set up a play for a tie late in the fourth quarter in a big home game, he should be given a little slack…and maybe some praise for his cunning.