An inspired hire, Jason Kidd must prove he can be vocal leader for Nets

That run to the championship in Dallas raises two questions now for Kidd in Brooklyn. Who will police his locker room for him? Who will speak up and lead

Ian Thomsen | Jun 13, 2013

An inspired hire, Jason Kidd must prove he can be vocal leader for Nets /

Jason Kidd played for the then-New Jersey Nets from 2001 through 2008. — Jason Kidd played for the then-New Jersey Nets from 2001 through 2008 :: Andy Lyons/Getty Images

That run to the championship in Dallas raises two questions now for Kidd in Brooklyn. Who will police his locker room for him? Who will speak up and lead within the team? Right now there appear to be no candidates, based on the Nets' abysmal playoff experience against the undermanned Bulls. All the Nets needed was one explosive performance in Game 7 at home, but neither Deron Williams nor anyone else was able to find the passion to provide it.

For Kidd, the issue will be in finding ways to provide the leadership that has defined him. He is one of the great leaders the NBA has ever seen. Now that leader needs to be heard.

Published Jun 13, 2013

IAN THOMSEN

Senior Writer, Sports Illustrated Sports Illustrated Senior Writer Ian Thomsen, who joined the magazine in 1998, is one of SI's top basketball scribes. Along with writing columns and features for SI, Thomsen is a frequent contributor to SI.com. Before joining SI, Thomsen spent six years in Europe as the sports columnist for the International Herald Tribune, the world's largest international English-language daily. While at the paper Thomsen wrote about an array of sports for a global audience, including the major world and European soccer tournaments, the 1995 Rugby World Cup, Olympic Games, Ryder Cups, Grand Slam tennis events, Grand Prix auto races and, very rarely, cricket. Thomsen, who graduated from Northwestern with a journalism degree in 1983, was a feature writer for The National Sports Daily during its short, expensive run of 1990-91. His first job was with The Boston Globe, where he covered Doug Flutie's Boston College Eagles and all three of the Celtics-Lakers NBA Finals of the 1980s. Thomsen was a feature writer at SI before taking on the NBA beat fulltime in 2000. With Luis Fernando Llosa and Melissa Segura, Thomsen covered the 2001 scandal of overaged Little League pitcher Danny Almonte and wrote the first SI cover story on Kobe Bryant in 1998. Thomsen lives with his wife and two children near Boston.