Kidd Heads West... Finally

Do you see the picture? Yeah, the one with Jason Kidd and Dirk Nowitzki from the 2008 NBA All-Star Game. Well, you'll be seeing a lot more of them having these hardwood pow wows now that Kidd is officially a member of the Dallas Mavericks now. I wasn't sure if it was going to happen, but it did.

So, Kidd heads back to the team that originally drafted him out of California University. Kidd was successful in Dallas, winning Co-Rookie of the Year along with (at the time) Detroit Pistons forward Grant Hill, who is now with the Phoenix Suns, the team Kidd was sent to after he and Jimmy Jackson could no longer co-exist thanks to Toni Braxton (see number five).

In any case, now older (emphasize OLDER) and wiser, Kidd hopes to rejuvenate the Mavs and lead them back to the NBA Finals, a goal they reached for the first time ever in 2006, eventually losing the series to the Miami Heat thanks in part to Dwyane Wade becoming Mr. Do It All. In any case, the question remains, will Kidd be able to have such an impact as to succeed in what so many people within the Mavs' organization hope? It's the Western Conference, baby, anything can happen. At the All-Star break, only 4.5 games separated the top team in the West (New Orleans Hornets) from the number nine seed (Golden State Warriors). We're talking it's THISCLOSE in the West.

Looking at Kidd's statistics (37.2 MPG; 11.3 PPG; 10.4 APG; 8.0 RPG; 1.5 SPG; 1.6 3PTM), it's easy to see that despite being a month away from turning 35 years old, Kidd can still play at a high level. But with all due respect to Chauncey Billups, Andre Miller, and any other Eastern Conference point guard, all the best point guards reside in the West - Steve Nash, Chris Paul, Baron Davis, Allen Iverson, Deron Williams, Tony Parker - so how will Kidd do matching up against the best at his position, especially during the postseason? As the saying goes, time will tell. And time actually starts telling tomorrow night when Kidd and the Mavs take on Paul and the Hornets in Kidd's first game with the team.

And you never know, maybe Kidd feels just as rejuvenated as the basketball loving city of Dallas. If so, there's enough talent in the Big D with Nowitzki, Josh Howard, and Jason Terry as the other core players for the Mavs to make a run back for the Finals. Not to get too religious here or anything, but to paraphrase Isaiah 11:6 - And a Kidd shall lead them... at least that's what Mark Cuban is hoping.

Photo: Chris Graythen/Getty Images