Los Angeles Lakers Star LeBron James Reacts to Dallas Mavs Coach Media Rant: 'Love Jason Kidd ... He Was RIGHT!'
Last season, when things weren't going so well for the Dallas Mavericks following their trade for star point guard Kyrie Irving, some media members took that as an opportunity to push a narrative that Irving and Luka Doncic weren't going to be able to work together.
Whether such criticism was warranted or not at the time, Mavs head coach Jason Kidd hasn't forgotten about that negativity, and after Dallas' win over the Houston Rockets on Tuesday night, he tore into ESPN's Tim MacMahon, urging him, and all media members who tend to dwell on negativity, to "write some positive (bleep)."
Many have rallied behind Kidd's rant on social media, agreeing with his sentiment, including Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, who had Kidd as an assistant coach during L.A.'s 2020 title run.
Dallas Mavs coach Jason Kidd and Los Angeles Lakers' LeBron James embrace.
Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
"For J to curse you know he wasn't happy at all! I don't think I ever heard him curse. I mean from competing vs him, teamming up with him and playing for him. Never! He was HOT and quite frankly RIGHT!! Love J Kidd!," James tweeted.
Although Kidd got the best of James during his playing days when the Mavs defeated the Miami Heat in the 2011 NBA Finals, the two have formed a tight bond from their time playing together for Team USA, and then also from Kidd's time with the Lakers.
Kidd also hinted at media members not highlighting more of the good things players like Irving do off the court as well. James won a title with Irving in 2016 when they were teammates on the Cleveland Cavaliers, which gives him yet another reason to back up Kidd in this particular situation.
Given the intertwining relationships between Kidd, James, Irving and Doncic, paired with the fact that the Mavs have a higher ceiling than the Lakers do for the immediate future, it's easy to understand why Irving reportedly reached out to James over the summer to gauge his interest in potentially coming to Dallas.
Many L.A. media members have continuously tried to push the Kyrie-to-Lakers narrative, but with Irving and Doncic locked into long-term contacts while currently experiencing more success than the Lakers have this season, one has to wonder what could happen next summer, when James could hit the unrestricted free-agency market for the fourth time in his career with a very attractive situation in Dallas staring at him.
