The Brooklyn Nets head coach was hit with the fine Thursday for intentionally spilling a drink to get a break in the action when his slumping team didn't have any timeouts remaining in the closing seconds against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Kidd's pockets are $50K lighter now, but he basically said the muffed caper was worth it.
After the Nets diagrammed their play, Paul Pierce missed a potential tying three-pointer. "Paul got a great look," Kidd said after the 99-94 loss, "but the league fined me for something I probably shouldn't have done, and we move on."
Kidd showed little contrition before Friday night's game against the Rockets when asked if he regretted the Sodagate episode.
"It's about trying to win and those guys in that locker room," said Kidd, who apparentlysaid "hit me" and had Tyshawn Taylor run into him so he would spill the drink. He said he learned the trick from listening to other coaches. "I tried to put those guys in position to get a basket or a good look, and we did."
It was a tactic the first year coach initially denied.
“Cup slipped out of my hand while I was getting Ty,” Kidd said. “Sweaty palms. I was never good with the ball.”
Taylor came to the defense of his coach as well.
“I wasn’t paying attention. I just kind of bumped him. I didn’t even know he was holding [anything]. [But] coach was drinking a soda on the sideline. I was like, ‘What’s he doing?’
Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni was less impressed , telling reporters in Detroit before Friday night's game against the Pistons: "That's not very savvy or cool . . . You can't do that. That's crazy."
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