Knicks to Meet With Jason Kidd on Wednesday

Search for point guards goes up in years

By JOSH ALPER

Updated 1:00 PM EST, Tue, Jun 30, 2009

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The Knicks struck out in their attempt to draft a young point guard for the future so it appears that they're turning their attention to an older vintage. Frank Isola of the Daily News reports that they'll be meeting with Jason Kidd on Wednesday, the opening day of the free agent recruiting period, to see if there's a way to bring him on board.

It's an interesting course for the Knicks to pursue. Kidd would work fine as a one-year rental with the intention of boosting the Knicks closer to playoff contention, but it would make for a curious situation entering 2010. They'd have a desperate need at point guard while simultaneously pursuing the big-ticket free agents that have been the reason for just about every personnel move the team's made over the past two seasons. Kidd, at 37, isn't a long-term answer, even if Isola contends that Donnie Walsh thinks he'd help lure LeBron James next year.

A pursuit of Kidd would make a lot more sense if the Knicks had selected a rookie point guard last week. Kidd would hold down the starting job in 2009 while playing the role of a mentor to the youngster who would take over the reins in the future. That's a sensible approach with benefits now and in the future.

Free agent recruitment, however, is a foolish reason to sign a player, especially one that's shown a good bit of decline over the last few seasons. The idea that Kidd would be more than a temporary stopgap is a troubling one that fails to pass what we'll call the Isiah Test. Signing a player like Kidd with the notion that he was still a top player is something that Thomas would have done, which automatically makes it a dubious idea.

Josh Alper is a writer living in New York City and is a contributor to FanHouse.com and ProFootballTalk.com in addition to his duties for NBCNewYork.com.