Jason Kidd suspended 2 games over DWI, will miss home opener

Brooklyn Nets head coach Jason Kidd will be suspended for two games for pleading guilty for driving while ability impaired, the NBA announced Friday morning.

The suspension covers the first two games of the season, Oct. 30 in Cleveland and Nov. 1 in Brooklyn against the defending champion Heat.

Kidd’s first game on the bench will come Nov. 3 in Orlando, and his Barclays Center home debut is reset for Nov. 5.

The suspension was expected as was the length, based on past suspensions issued by the NBA for a similar offense. Other players and coaches, including Eric Musselman, Zach Randolph and Carmelo Anthony, have received two-game suspensions for driving while impaired or under the influence.

“The decision is consistent with what the league has done in the past and we look forward to Jason leading our team versus Orlando and the rest of the year,” general manager Billy King said in a statement.

Kidd’s guilty plea stemmed from a July 2012 incident in which he crashed his SUV into a telephone pole in The Hamptons.

“You could have killed yourself that night,” said Judge Andrea Schiavoni said at Kidd’s sentencing this summer at Southampton Town justice court. “You could have killed somebody else.”

Jason Kidd: Nets were too 'vanilla' last season

Jason Kidd sounded more like a Ben & Jerry's taste-tester than the Brooklyn Nets new head coach on Tuesday.

The first year coach set a goal yesterday to change the Nets' identity, from the bland tasting squad which fell flat last last season to a more flavorful blend of competitors.  Kidd understands that GM Billy King did most of the prep work already — acquiring the necessary ingredients to make a champion — on draft night with a blockbuster trade.

"I think the identity," Kidd said at the PNY Center. "It was just vanilla [last season] and I think you guys can see after the trade with [Kevin] Garnett and [Paul] Pierce that it's kind of changed. So, I think we're doing the right thing with changing the identity. It was just there was no flavor and no identity. So with that trade, that changes the whole game."

Kidd is confident, but nervous.

"I think I've always been nervous before every game," he said. "You ask any trainer, I've always taken Pepto just to settle my nerves, because basketball's always been something that you can never control. It's something that you just don't know how it's going to turn out, but once the ball is up in the air, your nerves tend to go away, you just respond and react.

"And so I am nervous, but the nice thing is that we do have some talented players who know how to play, who want to be coached and it's exciting. I think it's an exciting nervousness and I'm very excited about this opportunity."

The arrival of Garnett and Pierce, paired with other new additions like Jason Terry and Andrei Kirilenko, gives the Nets one of the NBA's top starting fives to go along with quality depth. As they get set to start training camp at Duke in six days, Kidd said one of his most pressing challenges is figuring out the different floor combinations he's hoping to use because the Nets easily can go two deep at every position.

He also has to concoct a plan for Garnett, whom Kidd previously said he wouldn't play in the second ends of back-to-backs, believing it's the best way to preserve the 37-year-old's legs and body so he'll be fresh and available for the postseason. Garnett rejected the idea.

Get more Pepto. Sounds like there's already too many cooks in Kidd's kitchen.

Metta World Peace: 'The Lakers are going to the NBA Finals'

If you believe Metta World Peace he hasn't been paying too much attention to the war of words between the Knicks and Nets this offseason and it sounds like the former Lakers player harbors no ill feelings towards his old team either.

World Peace signed with the Knicks after he was waived by the Lakers via the amnesty clause. He won a championship with the Lakers in 2010, and surprisingly believes his former team is poised to make another title run.

"I think Kobe [Bryant] is going to be healthy, they're going to have Pau [Gasol], the Lakers are going to make a big trade like they always do . . . and they're going to go to the Finals," World Peace said at a signing for his children's book, "Metta's Bedtime Stories," in TriBeCa.

As for the Knicks' competition in the Eastern Conference, World Peace was underwhelmed. But conceded that the two-time defending champion Heat is "pretty good."

"I think all those teams are good, but I think the Knicks are going to be great," World Peace said.

Regarding all of the summer yammering between the two New York teams, the Queens native sounded hungry for more than just coffee talk.

"I don't have no energy to go back and forth with words because there's just too many great things happening in New York City," said World Peace, who signed a two-year deal with the Knicks in July. "I just want apple pie. I don't feel like talking. I want to go to Whole Foods and enjoy my Whole Foods."

The Nets' acquisition of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Jason Terry in a blockbuster trade with the Celtics shook up the basketball world. But World Peace claims he has barely paid attention.

"Honestly, I don't even know who's on their team," World Peace said. "I'm not going to lie. I'm just happy to be a Knick."

World Peace could start at small forward alongside Carmelo Anthony or come off the bench. He noted that every time in his career he was assigned a reserve role, he eventually was moved to the starting lineup.

"I don't have an issue with coming off the bench. I've been starting for 15 years, so it should be somebody else's chance to start," World Peace said. "I could have gone to any other team I wanted to and started. I got calls from Oklahoma and the Clippers and all these teams. But I came here and it wasn't to start, it was to win a ring."

Kris Humphries puts Kim Kardashian's $2 million engagement ring up for auction: Report

A sparkling engagement ring matching the description of Kim Kardashian's symbol of marriage has been listed in an auction called "Magnificent Jewels" that’s slated for Oct. 15 at Christie’s in Manhattan, according to RumorFix.com. The high-end auction house declined to name NBA player Kris Humphries —Kardashian’s ex-husband — as the seller, saying only that "a gentleman" was behind the listing.

The former Brooklyn Net and current Boston Celtics' forward presented Kim K with the ring on her reality show Keeping Up With The Kardashians.  Their August 2011 wedding was featured in two separate and highly viewed E! specials and lasted a whole 72 days. Their divorce came a few months later.

After filing for divorce, 32-year-old Kardashian wanted to keep the ring but Humphries sought the jewel’s return as part of his fraud claim.

The Lorraine Schwartz design features a 16-karat emerald cut center stone flanked by 1.8-karat trapezoid side diamonds — in case you are in the market for some tainted bling.

The ring goes on view Oct. 11 at Christie’s in Rockefeller Center and is expected to fetch only about $500 K.

Jay Z selling Nets share to head coach Jason Kidd: Report

It sounds like Jay Z is taking this whole sports agent thing pretty seriously. The entrepreneurial rapper is selling his minority ownership in the Brookyn Nets to head coach Jason Kidd, sources told Page Six of the N.Y. Post.

The sources claim Kidd will take over Jay’s .067 percent (1/15th of a percent) stake in the team for about $500,000.

The move comes as Jay was forced to sell his Nets shares over a conflict of interest after he started a sports agency, Roc Nation, signing clients including Yankee Robinson Cano and NBA star Kevin Durant.

"Other owners want to give Jason a part ownership of the team, and urged Jay to sell his shares to him," said the source.

Goodbye Brooklyn.

Page Six said:

Amazingly, Jay was introduced to the team in 2003 by Drew Katz, the son of one of the Nets’ principal owners, after Kidd, then the Nets’ marquee point guard, suggested the music mogul buy the team.

According to reports, Jay helped design the team logos and choose the Nets’ stark black-and-white color scheme, and personally appealed to National Basketball Association officials to drop their objections to it.

The Times reported Jay’s influence stretched so far, he courted top players to join the team and even counseled execs on music to play during games.

"He is it,” Bruce Ratner, the Barclays Center developer, said in an interview. “He is us. He is how people are going to see that place."

Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov bought 80 percent ownership of the team in 2009 and appeared on billboards around the city with Jay Z.

Meanwhile, Kidd, who signed on as Nets coach in June, added to an impressive lineup including Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Brook Lopez. 

Unlike Jay Z, the coach owning minority shares in the team would not be seen as a conflict of interest.

A rep for the Nets had no comment, and Kidd’s spokesman, Nets VP of public relations Gary Sussman, also declined to comment. Reps for Jay Z didn’t get back to Page Six.

Paul Pierce: My hatred of Knicks has 'grown a little' since joining Nets

Paul Pierce hated the New York Knicks as a Celtic but now, as a member of the Brooklyn Nets, he's ramped-up that loathing of the Garden dwellers even more — or at least that's what he told Michael Kay on ESPN Radio. 

"I think the hate [for the Knicks] has grown a little," he said,  reports ESPNNewYork.com. "Everybody knows how much I disliked the Knicks when I was with the Celtics, but I think it's grown to another level... I think it's time for the Nets to start running this city."

Pierce later told reporters at a Sprint H-O-R-S-E event in Manhattan: "The only thing that separates the two teams is a bridge. And both of them are in the same division and both of them are considered contenders. You can't help but say this is probably gonna be the best rivalry in sports next year."

The Nets and Knicks will meet four times in 2013-14. The first game of their regular-season series will be Dec. 5 at Barclays Center.

Both teams made upgrades in the offseason. Brooklyn acquired Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Jason Terry from the Celtics and also added Andrei Kirilenko in free agency, while New York acquired Andrea Bargnani and signed Metta World Peace.

At first glance, the Knicks may not have the big-name signings this summer of the deep-pocketed Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov, but they're coming off a better season than their East River rivals and have a more solid core of younger players.

The Nets aren't "running" New York yet — but this is finally becoming an interesting cross-city rivalry. 

Paul Pierce happy to be 'glorified role player' with Nets

There is an "I" in Paul Pierce but, when it comes to the Brooklyn Nets, the NBA star claims there won't be one there this season.

If you look at the old version of the Nets, you might see an NBA squad already loaded with big names — up-and-coming Brook Lopez, one of the best shooting guards in Joe Johnson, and a top point guard in Deron Williams — and wonder how they could fill the roster with any more.

Mix in newcomer veterans Pierce and Kevin Garnett and it now leaves the Nets with a Klieg light-wattage of names on the roster.  Just for fun, throw in other well-known role players like Jason Terry and Andrei Kirilenko and you've got a cast bigger than Ocean's Twelve.

Now, the former Boston Celtics forward is looking at the makeup of the Nets and claims he is willing to step out of the spotlight with a supporting role with the team as a "glorified role player."

Think DeNiro sharing the bill with Pacino (Okay, D-Will can be Val Kilmer) in Heat.

Pierce told the Boston Globe he's fine with giving up a leading part on the team if it leads to a blockbuster finish at the end of the season.

"There will definitely be less pressure on me on this ball club than there was in Boston," Pierce said. "In Boston, I was the No. 1 primary option. Here we have so many options. We have young All-Stars on this team. My job is to be more of a glorified role player, as Doc [Rivers] used to always say, with the guys we have.

"With my abilities to do so many things, there's going to be nights where I'm not going to score a bunch of points. I can do other things to help this club win. With the combination of these guys, we're going to take pressure off each other."

Pierce — who averaged 18.6 points, 4.8 assists and 6.3 rebounds last season — hasn't been a role player, probably ever, in his basketball life, but isn't ready for the TNT broadcast booth just yet.

The future Hall of Famer could possibly lead this team as a scorer if asked to, and it wouldn't be a desperate move by Jason Kidd. However, to maximize everybody's abilities, the Nets have to get older guys like Pierce and Garnett to sacrifice their own individual games if they are going to save their bodies in the suddenly rough-and-tough NBA East over a long season.

Let's say the Nets decide they need Kirilenko to start at small forward for defensive purposes and bring Pierce off the bench as a scorer, it remains to be seen if Pierce will be open to playing second banana.

And the award for best player in a Nets supporting role goes to ...

Kidd pleads guilty to drunken driving charge, gets ripped by judge

New Brooklyn Nets head coach Jason Kidd pleaded guilty Tuesday to a misdemeanor drunken driving charge, nearly a year after he smashed his Cadillac SUV into a utility pole on eastern Long Island.

The judge placed Kidd on interim probation but the stern Hamptons judge didn't let the rookie coach off easy.

Kidd got dressed down by Judge Andrea Schiavoni after his plea of guilty to a drunk driving crash that destroyed his SUV and a the light pole after a night of partying last summer.

"You could have killed yourself that night," said Schiavoni at the Southampton Town justice court. 

"You could have killed somebody else."

Dressed in a gray suit and accompanied by his wife, Kidd agreed to give two lectures about the dangers of drunk driving to a pair of unidentified Suffolk County high schools as part of his plea deal.

If he completes those duties by Sept. 30, Kidd will be allowed to have his current misdemeanor drunk driving charged knocked down to Driving While Ability Impaired -- a violation.

Kidd, who retired as an NBA player after last season, was recently hired to coach the Nets — the team he took to two NBA Finals as a player when the franchise played in New Jersey.

"Because of his status as a professional athlete Mr. Kidd is the perfect person to reinforce the important message we've been trying to send, which is don't drink and drive," Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota said in a statement.

Police said Kidd crashed his SUV into a telephone pole in the Hamptons community of Water Mill on July 15, 2012. He was treated at a hospital for minor injuries.

Defense attorney Ed Burke Jr., said Kidd was returning from a charity function before his accident. A Southampton Town Police report noted the 10-time all-star and Olympic gold medalist was unsteady on his feet, smelled of alcohol and had bloodshot and glassy eyes.

The 18-year NBA veteran retired after playing last season the Knicks. He was hired as the Nets' new head coach two weeks later.

While playing with Phoenix in 2001, Kidd was arrested on a domestic violence charge, acknowledging he struck his former wife.

Nets' new forward, Andrei Kirilenko, has permission from wife to cheat once a year

A lot of basketball wives acknowledge the frustration of NBA groupies hanging around and worry that their man may stray a little out-of-bounds while on one of their long road trips.

One player's wife has found a way to keep her husband in check — at least 364 days of the year.

Masha Lopotova — the wife of new Brooklyn Nets forward Andrei Kirilenko — revealed  that she and her husband have an agreement which allows him to have sex with another woman once a year.

"Male athletes in this country are extremely attractive. They get chased by women. It's hard to resist. It's the way men are by nature," she told ESPN The Magazine when her husband first hit the big time.

"'If I know about it, it's not cheating," reasoned the Missus.

Kirilenko, who reportedly signed a two-year deal with the Nets worth an estimated $3.18 million a year,  said he had no plans to exercise his "allowance" with his pop star wife, although he joked that girls would be lining up outside his hotel door.

Since then it isn't clear if Kirilenko has ever taken advantage of the free pass, but the couple remain together and so something is clearly working.

They have been married for 13 years and have two sons Fedya, age 11, and Stepan, age six. In January 2011, Andrei and Masha acquired American citizenship. 

Lopatova, who goes by the stage name MaLo, is the daughter of Russian basketball player Andrei Lopatov. She met Kirilenko at a youth basketball camp in Moscow. Soon afterwards he appeared in one of her music videos.

"I find that people in this country are really interested in athletes and their [families], for some reason. They don't want to know what kind of books I read, but they prefer to know what kind of underwear I wear," she told ESPN.

This gives playing an away game a whole new meaning.

Metta's dad wants son to finish career with Knicks

Ron Artest Sr. is hoping if his son, Metta World Peace, is waived today by the Los Angeles Lakers via the amnesty rule, he will attempt to finish his career with the Knicks.

Even though World Peace is seriously considering retiring instead of finishing his NBA career anywhere but L.A., Senior is hopeful his son will return to the city where he played his high school and college ball as Ron Artest.

Artest Sr. told The New York Post his son’s strong preference is to remain with the Lakers and he may decide to end his career instead of signing with the Knicks, because he does not want to uproot his kids in Los Angeles.

The Lakers intend to waive World Peace, according to reports. Subsequent reports stated no decision had been made. Kobe Bryant took to twitter Monday night, stating the club should keep World Peace and try to win a title with what they have.

If Metta World Peace becomes a free agent, his father, Ron Artest Sr., would love to see the Queens product sign with the hometown Knicks as the last stop in his NBA career.

Earlier in the day, Artest Sr. said, “He wants to stay with the Lakers for a couple of more years but if not, he wants to finish his career in New York if he can. This would be full circle.

By last night, the son was having a change of heart, feeling retirement would be best.

“I know he said he doesn’t want to play with a team like Milwaukee or Minnesota,’’ Artest Sr. said.

The Knicks are in search of a defensive small forward off the free-agent market and World Peace is intriguing to then. The Queensbridge product would seek the $1.4 million veteran’s minimum, which is basically what the Knicks have to offer. (They also have the remaining $1.7 million left of their mini mid-level.)

Artest Sr. said he still was hoping his son doesn’t retire and comes home.

“Let’s hope and pray it happens,’’ Artest Sr. said.

Knicks fans still haven't forgiven the team for passing on the former St. John's star with their first-round pick to select French center Frederic Weis in 1999. Artest/World Peace went on to a spectacular — if not somewhat controversial — career in the NBA, while the Frenchman never even set foot on Seventh Avenue.

The Lakers would save a good deal in salary and luxury tax, as World Peace is scheduled to making $7.7 million in his final season.

The Knicks and Brooklyn Nets would not get first crack at World Peace; teams under the cap would be eligible to bid on him first.

Jason Kidd gets first 1st technical as NBA coach

Jason Kidd has had many firsts during 21 seasons in the NBA but added another one to his career Sunday — this time as the Brooklyn Nets' new head coach.

Kidd received his first technical as an NBA coach at the team's first Summer League game while making his debut as the Nets bench leader.

Brooklyn's rookie coach got off the bench Sunday, walked too far across half court to challenge a foul call and was teed up with 2:23 left in the Nets' 76-67 loss to the Detroit Pistons.

"It happens," Kidd said of the technical. "I learned quickly where the coaching box is. I've seen some coaches on the other end of the floor, so I can't follow their lead."

Kidd, who had racked up 26 technical fouls as a player, still couldn't believe it.

"We were trying to foul a player and the referee missed it and it led to free throws," Kidd said. "So I tried to express to the referees that they missed what we were trying to do. It happens. They are not perfect, we are not perfect. So it's a lesson learned that I know I can't go past half-court."

The future Hall of Famer showed a relaxed demeanor during most of the game —  cheering on his players, giving quiet advice and listening to  his assistant coaches. The summer league is giving the former point guard a great opportunity to learn coaching from the bench instead of the floor.

"This is training ground for every one — officials, coaches, players," said the 40-year-old Kidd. "We're all trying to get better."

At times, it appeared to be coaching by committee.

"I will lean on my staff," Kidd said. "Every one of the coaches will bring something to the table."

Kidd, who came into the game with no head coaching experience after getting the job only a week after retiring as a player, didn't let the presence of other head coaches in the stands — including the world champion Miami Heat's Eric Spolestra — rattle his nerves.

"Didn't it look normal?" asked Kidd.

Not if you're used to seeing Kidd in a uniform for the past two decades.

Jason Kidd on Deron Williams: 'He's better than me'

Jason Kidd is considered one of the greatest point guards in NBA history but, as the new Brooklyn Nets head coach, the future Hall of Famer may have a knack for throwing assists to his players off the court as well.

Kidd, who led a group of no-name Nets to consecutive NBA Finals a decade ago, actually believes the Nets now have a better point guard in Deron Williams than his teams did with Kidd as the floor captain.

"He's better than me. I mean, he can shoot," said Kidd, who was the same age, 29, during the 2002 NBA Finals days as Williams is now. "He's a guy who can set the table, he can get to the basket, he can score. I don't look at him as me. Again, he's a little bit better than I am."

Kidd's humble opinion of himself might be a big ego boost for Williams — and boy, can the maligned Net use it.

Williams has seen more downs than ups since joining the Nets in 2011. He has struggled with injuries, weight gain and low expectations on a rebuilding roster in New Jersey. Last season, the first in Brooklyn,  he missed the All-Star game for the first time in four years.

But Williams benefitted from good health and a physical makeover following the All-Star break (he shed 15-to-20 pounds while changing his diet), returning to his Utah form for the greater part of two months.

And he has better supporting cast in Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Brook Lopez.

Williams will still have to become a leader on a team now flush with with experienced NBA champions who bring high expectations with them.

"I want to (Williams) to be him," Kidd said Friday. "I want him to be the basketball player that we all know he can be. We're going to set lofty goals where as a coaching staff and teammates put him in a position to reach them."

While Williams is a better scorer than Kidd, he has a lot more to prove as a leader and all-around producer. That's what the Nets are hoping Kidd can bring out out of his floor leader.

Kidd said he'll allow Williams the freedom to call his own plays, as well as orchestrate his teammates in read-and-react situations.

"Just recognizing the situation," Kidd said. "Deron is a very gifted guard, so for me it's about mentally talking to him about different situations and get what he's thinking so we can both be on the same page."

Williams, who returned to his home in Utah for the summer, grew up in Dallas idolizing Kidd. Both have insisted their friendship won't get in the way of their new partnership.

"We're in a family," Kidd said. "My job is to put the guys in position to be successful. His job is to execute. We are friends. But I'm also friends with other players.

"I can't say I will favor or lean on whoever is playing the point because I have four other guys I have to pay attention to."

But Kidd knows — better than anyone — it starts with the PG.

Nets looking to add openly-gay Collins to roster: Report

The Brooklyn Nets keep finding ways to keep their locker room interesting — and complicated. And the next potential Nets move might not be blockbusting but it would be trailblazing.

After announcing an NBA-rocking trade — to become official July 10 — that will bring seasoned veterans Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to the Barclays Center, a source confirmed Friday that the Nets' organization has discussed signing free-agent center Jason Collins, the first openly gay male basketball player.

The 34-year-old Collins, who revealed his sexuality in a Sports Illustrated article last spring, is no stranger to the Nets' organization. He was teammates with Nets coach Jason Kidd for seven seasons in New Jersey, where they both played under current Brooklyn assistant Lawrence Frank.

Although the Nets may not need another big man, Collins' "name was brought up," said a well-connected source.

Collins, who advanced to two finals with the Nets, has bounced around the league as a backup since leaving New Jersey. He played last season with Garnett and Pierce in Boston, but was released before joining the Wizards.

Although the Nets have interest in Collins, there isn't much room on the roster for another physical presence in the paint. Not only did the Nets draft Duke center Mason Plumlee on Thursday, their blockbuster trade evolved Friday morning so that they are keeping bruising forward Reggie Evans and dealing swingman MarShon Brooks to the Celtics, a source said.

Collins has not played since announcing he was gay in April, so the next time he steps on the court will be a front-page event. And for the Nets, who have been making headlines lately by hiring Kidd and completing the trade for Garnett and Pierce, it's a chance to represent a different kind of Brooklyn — which is home to a large gay and lesbian community.

"It's certainly better than Utah or other communities that are not as cosmopolitan," said sports marketing expert Marc Ganis, adding that such a move could help the Nets win over Brooklyn residents who remain angry about the way the Barclays Center was imposed on the neighborhood.

"It is a demonstration that the Nets are a socially progressive organization. To people who opposed it (the Barclays Center) it could be a relevant factor."