Jason Kidd said in a radio interview Tuesday that Mark Cuban reached out to him after he announced his retirement, possibly signaling a thawing of the relationship between the point guard and the Dallas Mavericks owner.
Kidd's decision to leave the Mavericks to sign with the New York Knicks last offseason after initially committing to return to Dallas infuriated Cuban, who said last year that there was "no chance" he would ever retire his jersey. Kidd, meanwhile, has said he and Cuban didn't acknowledge each other during the two games last season between the Knicks and Mavericks, even though the owner was seated courtside.
However, Kidd said Tuesday in the interview with KRLD-FM in Dallas that Cuban contacted him after the point guard announced his retirement Monday after 19 NBA seasons.
"Yeah, Cube reached out and sent me a nice note," Kidd said. "Cube is one, if not the best owner in sports and I was lucky to be with him when we won that championship."
He said he plans to reach out to Cuban in the future as he tries to figure out his future after basketball.
"I definitely will reach out to Cuban in the near future for advice going forward," he said. "Now that I'll be on the business side of things and he's had a lot of success with that, that would be a guy to go to."
Kidd said he planned on enjoying his time off in the immediate future but will contemplate getting into coaching or joining the media.
He was asked which uniform number he'd liked hung at American Airlines Arena if the Mavericks do one day decide to retire his number. He began his career wearing No. 5 when he was drafted by the Dallas in 1994 but wore the No. 2 when he returned to the team after being traded by the New Jersey Nets in 2008.
"Oh, whatever number [Cuban] would like to put up, I'll be there," he said. "You know, I wish I would have gotten 5 when I came back the second time around, but I wouldn't mind -- just as long as my number went up, that would be just the best honor and the highlight of my career."
Asked if Cuban had possibly hinted that retiring his number was a possibility, Kidd joked that he was taking things slow with the Mavericks owner.
"I was going to joke when we were emailing and ask him what the date was when my number would be retired but since it was one of the first times we've talked, I didn't want to push it," he said.
Kidd averaged 12.6 points, 8.7 assists, 6.3 rebounds and 1.93 steals in a career that included stops with Dallas, the Phoenix Suns, the Nets and Knicks. He was co-Rookie of the Year with Grant Hill after the 1994-95 season and helped the Mavericks win an NBA title in 2011.
Kidd said he was "blessed" to play for each of the teams he played for in his career, but would always consider the Mavericks his team.
"Stat-wise probably New Jersey stands out but the team that drafted me will always be the team that I tried to consider myself with, because they drafted me they gave me the opportunity and then brought me back and we all fulfilled that dream of winning a championship," he said.