Jason Kidd will remain with the Dallas Mavericks instead of coming to Broadway.
Kidd, 36, has agreed to a three-year deal worth more than $25 million to remain in Dallas, according to ESPN.com
The Knicks could only offer the midlevel exception — about $5.8 million per year — or about $19 million total.
“We are excited to have Jason Kidd back in a Mavs’ uniform,” Mavs owner Mark Cuban told the Dallas Morning News. “He was a major contributor for us last year and we expect more of the same next year.
“We also are excited to have him tutor Roddy Beaubois and J.J. Barea. This is hopefully the first of several deals to come in the next couple weeks.”
Signing Kidd for three years would have complicated the Knicks’ efforts to sign LeBron James as a free agent in 2010, but reports indicated that GM Donnie Walsh and head coach Mike D’Antoni were willing to do it to change the team’s losing culture.
The Knicks will host veteran free agent Grant Hill Monday.WALLACE TO THE CELTS
The Celtics just got a little deeper and tougher.Multiple reports have free agent forward Rasheed Wallace headed to the Celtics in a two-year deal that will pay him the midlevel exception. He can sign on Wednesday, the first day players are eligible to sign.
“Once [Wallace] had a chance to reflect on everything, and realizing what his objectives are, he just decided this was the best fit for him, all the way around,” Bill Strickland, Wallace’s agent, told The Boston Globe.
Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce, along with owner Wyc Grousbeck, coach Doc Rivers, and president Danny Ainge met with Wallace last week. Wallace ultimately chose the Celts over Orlando and San Antonio.
Wallace has averaged 15 points and 6.9 rebounds in 14 NBA seasons. He averaged 12 points and 7.4 rebounds last season.
“He makes us better on both ends of the floor,” Allen told The Globe.
.
