Knicks sign Jason Kidd, re-sign Steve Novak
The Knicks officially added Jason Kidd and Steve Novak today.
Kidd signed a three-year deal for the taxpayer midlevel, starting at $3.09 million and Novak re-signed with the Knicks on a four-year, $15 million contract.
Yesterday the Knicks acquired Marcus Camby in a sign-and-trade with Houston, re-signed J.R. Smith and inked athletic forward James White. They also agreed on a one-year deal with Argentine point guard Pablo Prigioni.
The Knicks had a press conference introducing Kidd and Camby today. Here is part of the release:
“Adding a veteran NBA All-Star to our already established team was an opportunity we could not pass up,” GM Glen Grunwald said. “He has had a prolific career, with plenty of good basketball still ahead of him. Jason is a tremendous competitor and one of the best leaders the game has ever seen.”
“I am absolutely thrilled that we were able to add Jason Kidd to our roster,” Head Coach Mike Woodson said. “I consider him to be a great professional that will help our team both on and off the court.”
Kidd holds career averages of 13.0 points, 9.0 assists. 6.4 rebounds and 1.95 steals over 36.6 minutes in 1,315 games (1.302 starts) over 18 seasons with Dallas, Phoenix and New Jersey.
He appeared in 146 postseason games (all starts), averaging 13.9 points, 8.5 assists, 7.0 rebounds and 1.99 steals over 40.0 minutes. He led the Dallas Mavericks, along with teammate and current Knicks center Tyson Chandler, to the 2011 NBA Championship and won Gold Medals at the 2000 and 2008 Summer Olympics games in Sydney and Beijing, respectively.
As a member of the New Jersey Nets, Kidd appeared in back-to-back NBA Finals in 2002 and 2003.
Kidd ranks second in NBA history in total assists (11,842) and total steals (2,559), third in three pointers (1,874) and eighth in assists per game (9.0).
He is a 10-time All-Star (1996, 1998, 2000-04, 2007-08, 2010), including five starts (1996, 2000-02, 2008), a five-time All-NBA First-Team selection (1999-02, 2004) and earned All-NBA Second Team honors in 2003. He was named to the NBA’s All-Defensive First Team four times (1999, 2001, 2002, 2006) and Second Team five times (2000, 2003-05, 2007) and was the 1995 Co-Rookie of the Year.
The San Francisco, CA-native, averaged 6.2 points, 5.5 assists, 4.1 rebounds and 1.71 steals over 28.7 minutes in 48 games (all starts) with Dallas during 2011-12. He was originally selected by Dallas following his sophomore season at the University of California in the first round (second overall pick) of the 1994 NBA Draft.
