Brooklyn Nets: History of Nets in NBA All-Star Game
By Phil Watson
2008: Jason Kidd
For the first time since coming to the New Jersey Nets, Jason Kidd was elected as a starter for the Eastern Conference in the 2008 NBA All-Star Game.
He arrived in New Orleans the subject of trade rumors, with his departure from the Nets eminent.
Kidd had played in 51 games prior to the break, averaging 11.3 points, 10.4 assists, 8.1 rebounds and 1.5 steals in 37.1 minutes per game, but was shooting just 36.6 percent overall and 35.6 percent on 4.6 3-point attempts a game.
The Nets were struggling; at 23-30 at the break they were tied with the Philadelphia 76ers for the eighth and final playoff spot in the East and were tied with the Sixers for third place in the Atlantic Division.
In what would be his final, if unofficial, performance as a member of the Nets, Kidd scored two points with 10 assists, four rebounds and four steals in 25 minutes as the East beat the West 134-128.
LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers earned MVP honors, scoring 27 points with nine assists, eight rebounds, two steals and two blocks for the East.
After a deal to return Kidd to the Dallas Mavericks fell through the day after the All-Star Game, the trade happened the following day, Feb. 19, 2008, with Kidd dealt to the Mavericks in exchange for young point guard Devin Harris and two first-round picks in what was an eight-player trade.
Kidd would remain with the Mavericks through the 2011-12 season, going to a 10th and final All-Star Game in 2010 and helping Dallas win the 2011 NBA title. He signed with the New York Knicks in July 2012 and played a final season before retiring the following June.
Almost immediately after retiring, the now-Brooklyn Nets brought Kidd back, this time as head coach. He remained in the job just one season, going 44-38 and taking the Nets to the second round of the playoffs, before he was sent to the Milwaukee Bucks.
Kidd was fired in January 2018 in his fourth season in Milwaukee.
As for New Jersey after trading Kidd, the Nets slumped to an 11-18 record the rest of the way and missed the postseason for the first time since 2001.