The Nets have traded Jason Kidd and Malik Allen to the Mavericks for Devin Harris, Jerry Stackhouse, Devean George, DeSagana Diop, Maurice Ager, first-round picks in 2008 and 2010 and cash.

Like Steve Nash in Phoenix and Chris Webber (less importantly) with the Warriors, Kidd is now once again a member of the franchise that drafted him 2nd overall in 1994.  

If someone could raise Kurt Cobain, Tupac and Biggie Smalls from the dead, it really would be the nineties all over again.

Kidd is making $19.7 million this season and due to make $21.4 million the next.  He will undoubtedly want a two-year extension in July when he finally can be signed through 2010-11.  In order to pay the price Dallas indeed paid, this has to be a move that gives the club multiple opportunities to win it all with Kidd on board.

Kidd is currently ranked 9th in season FIC and has a per 40 FIC of 17.7, which is down from last season?s 19.0.   But last season was the best mark of his career and it is currently about the same as it was when he first joined the Nets and he is a decidedly better player than he was in his initial stint in Dallas.

Beyond being a better shooter (47.5 eFG% in 2007-08 vs. 43.3 during his second season in the NBA, though he is shooting just 36.6% from the floor), Kidd has become a tremendous rebounder unlike any seen at the point guard position in quite some time.  He has a 12.6 rebound rate this season, better than Josh Howard?s 11.9 and not far off from Dirk Nowitzki?s 13.8.  Dallas is already a good rebounding team, but Kidd will make them even better.

As good as Kidd is as a stand-alone player, his value and what he will mean to Dallas is most importantly measured with how much he improves the other players on their club.

Nowitzki and Howard were handcuffed into a virtual non-existence during their playoff series versus Golden State last spring.  Kidd creates offense unlike any other player in the league and Don Nelson's gimmick defense would have been easily neutralized with Kidd in tow.  Plus, Kidd is playoff-tested many times over (reaching the Finals twice) and even averaged a triple-double over 12 games in last season's playoffs.

In the back court Kidd joins Jason Terry. He will free up the Arizona product to be a scoring guard of the slasher and spot-up variety, which he?s always been more suited to than distributing.

By subtracting Harris, Stackhouse and Diop, the Mavericks lose a lot of the depth that made them so dangerous in the regular season.  Stackhouse was crucial on poor shooting nights from Nowitzki and Terry, while Diop is particularly useful defensively against the Tim Duncans and Shaquille O'Neal's of the world.  But that depth is much more useful in games played in February than in May when minutes are extended and rotations are tightened.

This season, the Mavericks will be a much better club and are better equipped to actually win the Finals.  He gives them an upgrade in talent and in earnest toughness.  But how will the trade affect the Mavericks in the long run?

Kidd turns 35 in March and is really beginning to sail in uncharted waters when it comes to such an elderly athletic point guard.

Oscar Robertson was 34 when he retired following the Bucks loss to the Celtics in the 1974 Finals.  But in that season, Robertson was reduced to mere shade of what he once was, averaging half as many points as his career average and a third less assists and rebounds.

Gary Payton began his decline during the second half of his one-year stint with the Lakers at the age of 35.

But John Stockton, another point guard who underwent successful microfracture surgery, played until he was 40 at a level of play that matched the remainder of his career.

I?m not sure if Jason Kidd will play until he is 40, but it is safe to assume that he will be able to maintain a high level of play for another three full seasons.

This gives Dallas the fortitude to match any team in the league in terms of talent for the entire duration of Nowitzki?s prime.

What is left when Nowitzki and Terry declines certainly looked much better in Howard and Harris than it now does with Howard and Jose Barea, for a lack of a better name.  This is the lone drawback of the trade and you have to hand it to the Mavericks for going for gusto now in an annoyingly conservative NBA culture.

Grade for Mavs: B+

Harris, who signed a very affordable extension last summer, has a 12.7 per 40 FIC and is clearly still improving.  He is an excellent defender and continues to be better at getting into the lane to create offense even though his assist to turnover ratio remains very poor, but for the Mavs, it is doubtful that he would have ever developed into a truly special go-to player.  

But fortunately for Harris, he will play with two of the finest wings in the game in a style that will better suit his strengths.

Stackhouse has a per 40 FIC of 9.0, but his veteran offense off the bench was extremely useful to Avery Johnson.  He is signed through 2009-10 and the Nets will almost certainly look to eventually deal him as they rebuild.

Diop has a per 40 FIC of 13.5 and is still a developing 26-year-old.  He will be a free agent this summer.

Ager has only played 77 minutes this season, so he remains virtually a total unknown from how he was when he left Michigan State.

Like Diop, George is a free agent this summer and the 31-year-old could be in the midst of his final NBA stint.

The two picks New Jersey receives from the Mavericks are certainly valuable, as is the $3 million, but Rod Thorn will likely be selecting in the late 20?s in each draft.

Kidd is a year older than he was when they nearly were able to get Andrew Bynum for him and Harris clearly isn?t a talent of Bynum's caliber, but to get a young affordable starting point guard who can blossom into a fringe All-Star, along with two picks is a very nice package and certainly better than what Cleveland or Denver could have delivered.

Grade for Nets: A


- Christopher Reina is the executive editor of RealGM and the creator of The Reina Value.