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Mark Cuban reveals Jason Kidd’s inspiration behind his spilled soda pop brouhaha (Video)

Kelly Dwyer

On Wednesday night, we witnessed Brooklyn Nets rookie head coach Jason Kidd pull a spectacularly smart veteran move with his team down a point and without a timeout in a close game against the Los Angeles Lakers.

With Laker guard Jodie Meeks at the free throw line in the final seconds of the contest, Kidd (against his post-game protestations) asked rookie guard Tyshawn Taylor to “hit me” while “holding” a plastic cup full of sod-y pop. The cup fell onto the court, the referees did the right thing in asking the spill to be cleaned up so as not to put the players in danger, and Nets assistant coach John Welch drew up a play for Paul Pierce during the delay that did not result in Brooklyn’s Paul Pierce hitting a game-winning jumper. Good idea and execution on the “accidental” spill, bad execution everywhere else.

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, who has a bit of a championship-history with Jason Kidd, could not stand on the sidelines without offering his own take on the admirable (if goofball) move. On Friday night, via his YouTube page, Cuban posted a clip of former Mavericks assistant coach Del Harris pulling the same move while a member of the Chicago Bulls coaching staff – against Kidd’s Maverick team. Harris was a longtime Dallas assistant, one that worked with Kidd for years, and the irony of Harris pulling the stunt while Kidd (then a Mavericks point guard) complaining to the refs was not lost on Mark.

Watch:

And here’s Mark’s tweet:

Kidd has suffered through a rough first month as Brooklyn coach, but this was a sound, smart move that took advantage of NBA protocol. The referees were right in cleaning the mess, especially with a hoard of Nets and Lakers set to dash down the court following the spill toward that exact spot, and it’s hard to fault either faction (including the NBA, which fined Kidd $50,000 for the move on Thursday) for their reaction.

We’d like to thank Mark Cuban for sharing his reaction so publicly, for all to click on. He’s good at that.

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Kelly Dwyer

is an editor for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at KDonhoops@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!