A little over a decade ago, Byron Scott and Jason Kidd ruled the Eastern Conference together from East Rutherford. Today, the two aren’t exactly golfing buddies, to put it mildly.
“He’s kind of known as being an a–hole,” Scott said of Kidd to Mark Medina of Inside SoCal.
Scott coached Kidd from 2001-2004, including when the then-New Jersey Nets went to the NBA Finals in back-to-back seasons, and rumor has it that the acrimony between the two is what led to Scott’s firing in 2004. Scott found coaching gigs elsewhere, most recently with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Kidd famously coached one season with the Brooklyn Nets right after retiring as a player, before leaving to coach the Milwaukee Bucks in an awkward split.
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Scott went more in detail about his relationship with Kidd, calling it “cordial” before describing it as anything but:
“Cordial, and that’s about as good as it’s going to get too,” said Scott in describing his relationship with Kidd. “There’s nothing to patch up. It’s cordial. I respect him as a basketball player and now as a coach. But other than that, we’re not going to be swapping spit, having dinner or playing golf.”
Kidd didn’t offer up a response, just telling the media they “must be bored,” and added that hiring & firing was not his responsibility at the time.
The two former Nets coaches meet tonight as enemies, as Scott’s Lakers take on Kidd’s Bucks in Milwaukee.
