Wednesday, January 30, 2008 BY DAVID WALDSTEIN Star-Ledger Staff Despite his public request to be traded, Jason Kidd received nothing but cheers last night -- from the fans, from his teammates and from his coach. Kidd was welcomed by typical applause from the half-filled Izod Center, and heard nary a boo during the Nets' 87-80 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks that mercifully ended their nine-game losing streak. "I've been here seven years and I've given a lot to the Nets, and New Jersey's given a lot back to me," he said. "So, for a comment to be made and for it to ruin everything that we've had here, I didn't think that would be the scenario. We've got great fans here and they came out tonight to support us and give us a win." But Kidd would not elaborate on his public comments Monday that he wants to be traded. First he was asked if he felt in his gut that he would finish the season with the Nets. "It was a good win tonight," he said, then added to the reporter, "that was a good try." On Monday, Kidd told ESPN he wanted to be traded. "We tried to make this work," he said. "We've found out it doesn't. It's time for us all to move on." So Kidd was also asked after the game if he could shed any light on his situation. "Strike two," he said with a little grin. Strike three, and Kidd could be out of here. But team president Rod Thorn said it remains possible his star point guard won't be traded, and warned that just because Kidd asked for a trade doesn't mean he'll grant it -- a clear warning that he's not about to sacrifice the team's interests to do Kidd any favors. "Every time somebody was upset and wanted to be traded, if you just complied and just took whatever you could get, then you'd have people walking through your door every day," Thorn said. "If it's in the best interest of the Nets we'll take a look at it. If it isn't, then we won't." Thorn indicated there may have been a few more calls than usual after news of Kidd's trade request filtered around the league, but teams had already been inquiring about the star point guard for weeks. Among the teams believed to have interest in Kidd, the Cavaliers, Mavericks and Lakers are the ones Kidd would most like to be traded, but getting back sufficient talent would be very difficult, especially from the Cavaliers, where Kidd and LeBron James yearn to play together. In the meantime, the Nets have to be worried that Kidd's trade request will drag them even further into the abyss. Thorn acknowledged that he has some concern about how Kidd's desire to leave the team would affect his teammates. "Always, yeah," he said. "I'm always concerned about how something will affect our team and the players, particularly when things aren't going great." But all day the Nets did their best to pretend that everything is still normal within their world -- even though everyone knows it's not. Now that Kidd is on record that he wants out, the team is left to wonder what kind of fractured future is left for them. Coach Lawrence Frank claimed it's "business as usual," but how can the Nets keep from sinking even further when they know their captain wants to abandon ship before it even goes down? "Because the captain's going to keep fighting," Richard Jefferson said. "Even if he's not happy with the situation, no one's ever accused Jason of not playing hard." Kidd did play hard last night, scoring seven of his nine points in the final two minutes, including a vital 3-pointer with 1:42 remaining that put the Bucks away. His heart may be elsewhere, but his clutch play is still here. For now. Kidd has been hinting for weeks that he's not happy being a Net any longer, and conjecture blossomed when he missed a game with a migraine on Dec. 5, which some people felt was a personal protest over not getting a contract extension. Since then Kidd's agent has let the Nets know his client wants out. "There's been a lot of speculation over the past month or so that there was at least some thinking about what transpired yesterday," Thorn said, "so I can't say that it came as a big surprise." Thorn also said he didn't think Kidd had quit on his team. "No, I don't," he said. "He's been a great player here and he's still a great player. There's a frustration level with all of us within the team and within management with what has transpired over the last several weeks." http://0rz.tw/653BR --

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