Former Knicks teammates wish Jason Kidd well

Jason Kidd said he received congratulatory phone calls from his former Knicks bosses and teammates after he landed his first head coaching job with the rival Nets.

Kidd played this past season with the Knicks and only retired last Monday. A week later he interviewed with Nets general manager Billy King and was given the job Thursday. Kidd said Garden chairman and Knicks owner James Dolan, coach Mike Woodson, Carmelo Anthony and Raymond Felton sent along their well wishes.

"They've all called to congratulate me on this," Kidd said. "There's been a lot of people that have reached out."

Kidd had a rough end to his playing career as he went scoreless in the Knicks' last 10 postseason games. He also was benched in the second halves of the last two games against Indiana. But he maintains he had no issue with Woodson for doing that and talked about their recent conversation.

"He just wished me luck, that I could do a good job," Kidd said. "We talked briefly. It's been a little hectic with all the phone calls and all the congratulations. He felt I could do a good job and I thanked him for that.

"Woody's a great coach," Kidd added. "You look at his offense, his ability to execute plays at the timeouts -- he's one of the best in the league."

Kidd walked away from two years and $6.18 million from the Knicks. He signed a three-year deal with the Nets with a team option for the fourth. The deal reportedly is for about $10.5 million with $7.5 million guaranteed.

When Kidd played for the Nets from 2001-08, he took great pleasure in beating the Knicks. He already has that mentality as a coach.

"I think it's a great rivalry," Kidd said. "It's great for the city, for the people that live here. So hopefully Brooklyn has the upper hand at the end of the day."