Kidd traded to NJ for Marbury

[CeltsSteve@AOL.com]

Suns to trade Kidd to Nets for Marbury

June 28, 2001 Print it


PHOENIX -- The Phoenix Suns are sending first-team All-NBA point guard Jason
Kidd to the New Jersey Nets for point guard Stephon Marbury. Suns owner Jerry
Colangelo confirmed the deal at a news conference late Thursday afternoon. He
said other players would be involved, but Kidd and Marbury were the main
components of the deal.

"The rest is mainly just to make salary cap numbers work," Colangelo said.

The deal could not be made official until July 18 because of base
compensation and contract issues, Colangelo said. But the agreement has
already been made between the teams. The trade signals a complete makeover
for a Suns team that had been built around Kidd. The franchise had
experienced sagging attendance in recent seasons, and Kidd's off-court
problems had added to the Suns' woes.

Kidd, 28, was first team all-NBA the past two seasons and was part of the
gold medal-winning U.S. team at the Sydney Olympics. He played 4 1/2 seasons
for the Suns and became one of only three players to lead the league in
assists at least three years in a row. He rehabilitated a somewhat tarnished
image he had developed in his early NBA days in Dallas and became a model
citizen in Phoenix. He and his wife, Joumana, were the most visible athletic
couple in Phoenix.

But last January, Kidd was arrested at his home and accused of striking his
wife. He reached a plea agreement that included counseling and, in a postgame
radio appearance, asked Suns' fans for forgiveness and promised such an
incident never would happen again. Kidd averaged 16.9 points and 9.8 assists
per game last season and shot 41 percent from the field. The Suns made the
playoffs in all five of Kidd's seasons but advanced beyond the first round
only once. When the Suns signed free agent Penny Hardaway in 1999, he and
Kidd were dubbed "Backcourt 2000" but injuries prevented the two from playing
together most of the last two seasons.

Marbury, 24, averaged a career-high 23.9 points and 7.6 assists per game last
season and shot 44 percent. However, the Nets were just 26-56 and the point
guard didn't hide his disgust with the situation. Minnesota made Marbury the
fourth overall pick in the 1996 draft. At his own request to be closer to his
Brooklyn home, he was traded to New Jersey midway through the 1998-99 season.
Marbury was a teammate of current Suns forward Tom Gugliotta at Minnesota,
where the two reportedly did not get along well.

Copyright 2001 Associated Press