Avery Johnson: We Are Giving Jason Kidd Freedom

But whether or not Kidd has become more comfortable with his surroundings, his surrounding personnel and Avery Johnson’s system, the coach said before Sunday’s game that any budding confidence that the point guard might have is not the result of any loosening of the reins by Johnson.

"That’s an overrated thing," Johnson said in his pregame media gathering. "You guys always talk about me not turning Jason loose. He’s a 35-year-old point guard. We haven’t held him back in any way. Look at Jason Kidd. He has no restrictions. We’ve always turned him loose from the first day he got here. He just didn’t know the offense. And he didn’t know how to work with Josh Howard or Dirk [Nowitzki]. But he’s been turned loose from Day One." [Dallas News]