Brooklyn Nets Retire Jason Kidd’s Jersey (VIDEO)

The Nets held a pregame ceremony in honor of Jason Kidd, as his iconic #5 went up into the rafters. Kidd then coached Brooklyn in a preseason victory over the defending champion Miami Heat. Jason also spoke with NBA.com about the transition from player to head coach: “What have you found that you can’t do anymore because there simply isn’t enough time? KIDD: ‘Nap.’ … ‘You know, as a player, you do shoot-around. You got plenty of time to take a nap, have lunch. As a coach, after shoot-around, it’s more film, more talking to your staff about what you’re trying to accomplish, so naps have kind of gotten pushed away.’ Yeah. You’re taking the Bird kind of CEO approach it looks like. KIDD: ‘Yeah. You know, I have a great staff around me — Lawrence Frank, John Welch, Joe Prunty, Roy Rogers — guys that have been coaching and understand not only what it takes to coach but also understand and be able to draw up a play in five seconds. I understand that I haven’t gotten there yet, but I continue to practice with the board. But these guys have done it, so for me, it’s to go in and talk to the guys with what I see that they’re doing right and wrong, and if there’s an offensive play that I can call that they already know, we go with it. But I’ve always asked, ‘Do we need to draw it up?’ So, Frank or Welch are there to be able to draw up the play if guys need to see it.’ […] Do you ever get used to that? Because I know everybody — it’s Iverson, and it’s you, and it’s some of the guys that played in the ’90s. Do you ever get used to players come up to you and saying, ‘You were my idol growing up’? KIDD: ‘It hurts.’ … ‘They put you right in your spot real quickly of saying, ‘Hey. I patterned my game after you.’ Or, ‘You know, you were my idol growing up,’ because that makes you old.'”