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Jason Kidd is under guaranteed contract with the Knicks the next two seasons, so his return should be assumed and considered the default. The following updates only confirm that. However, some rumors following Kidd's dismal postseason run and parts of Tyson Chandler's exit interview introduced the possibility that Kidd might decide to retire this summer. Kidd didn't give any exit interviews himself, so we hadn't heard anything straight from the source until last night, when he spoke to reporters at Justin Tuck's charity event:
"I am thinking about it," Kidd said at Justin Tuck's charity billiards event at Slate in Manhattan to benefit Tuck's R.U.S.H. for literacy charity. "We'll see. I have to make a decision.
"But right now I plan on coming back," he added. "Next couple of days or a week or so I am going to think about seeing if I should keep playing or try something different."
"No. 1, I got to be honest with myself," Kidd said. "I got to see if I can mentally still do the grind all over again, so we'll see."
"It has never been about the money," he added. "The game is about winning. It is not about the money."
So, again, it sounds like a return is more likely than retirement, but this at least confirms that Kidd is mulling a departure at the age of 40. If you read on, Kidd comes off sorta resigned to his poor play and cut minutes in the playoffs and he actually noted the opportunities that await around the league once he does step off the court, so take that how you will.
As I understand it, "retirement" could be achieved several ways. Kidd could just choose to forgo the two years and $6.2 million left on his deal or he and the Knicks could agree on a buyout. In either scenario, I expect there'd be one more exceedingly dangerous final mission in which Kidd gets partnered with a much younger player-- Iman Shumpert, perhaps-- and learns something about himself and life along the way. That's how these things work.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. As of right now, Jason Kidd is a Knick and will continue to be a Knick until this time in 2015.