Shortened NBA Season Would Advantageous to Veterans and Older Players?

There has been some talk among older players around the NBA that an extended lockout could nudge them into early retirement. But for 38-year-old Jason Kidd, coming off a championship with the Mavericks, a lockout doesn’t sound like such a bad idea.

Kidd played 101 games this year, playoffs included, and became the oldest guard to start in an NBA Finals. The 101 games represent the second-most of his career. Asked how he might react to a lockout, Kidd gave no indication he would retire. “For me, it’s hard to say,” Kidd said. “I just got done playing, so I have a short summer. I have been through a lockout twice. One was short, but the second one cut the season to 50 games. And as I get older, playing only 50 games, hopefully that would be to my advantage.”
 
Kidd, speaking ahead of next month’s American Century golf tournament in Lake Tahoe, said he is holding fast to plans to keep playing for three seasons or more, even if it means coming off the bench. “It depends on my mind and my body,” he said. “I said at the end of the Finals, I hope to push past 40. At some point I will have to think about a career change, either coaching or on the business side of basketball ... I feel great.”
 
Kidd was made well aware of his age during this year’s playoffs. When the Mavericks had nine days to rest between sweeping the Lakers in the West semifinals and playing Oklahoma City in the conference finals, he let his hair grow out a little. Mavs star Dirk Nowitzki, though, interceded—the more Kidd’s hair showed, the more his gray showed. “Dirk felt I didn’t look presentable for games when I let it grow out,” he said.