The Brooklyn Nets hired Jason Kidd as their coach Wednesday, bringing the former star back to the franchise he led to its greatest NBA success. Kidd retired earlier this month after one season with the New York Knicks, his 19th in the NBA. The Nets decided to hire him to replace P.J. Carlesimo despite his absence of coaching experience. "Jason Kidd has a long and legendary history with the Nets and with the city of New York," Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov said in a statement. "He has the fire in the belly we need, and has achieved as a player everything the Brooklyn Nets are striving to achieve. We believe he will lead us there. Welcome home, Jason." The move reunites Kidd with the franchise he led to consecutive NBA Finals in 2002-03, when they played in New Jersey. He spent 6 1/2 seasons with the Nets, averaging 14.6 points, 9.1 assists and 7.2 rebounds, and is their career leader in numerous statistical categories. "Jason is a proven winner and leader with an incredible wealth of basketball knowledge and experience," general manager Billy King said. "This will be a natural transition for him to move into the role of head coach, as he embodies the tough, smart and team-first mentality that we are trying to establish in Brooklyn." Terms of the deal that made Kidd the 18th coach in franchise history were not disclosed. The Nets will introduce Kidd on Thursday during a press conference at Barclays Center. Carlesimo wasnt retained after leading the Nets into the playoffs, where they lost to the Chicago Bulls in the first round. He went 35-19 after replacing Avery Johnson, who was fired in December. The 40-year-old Kidd was considered one of the smartest players in the NBA, which he believes will help him make the transition into coaching. "This is a tremendous opportunity to be named head coach of the Brooklyn Nets, and its a role I have been studying for over the course of my playing days," Kidd said. "Championship teams are built on being prepared, playing unselfishly and being held accountable, and thats how I expect to coach this basketball team." The Nets interviewed him this week and chose him as their coach after talking with Indiana Pacers assistant Brian Shaw earlier Wednesday. Kidd has a close friendship with Nets point guard Deron Williams and the respect of many in the organization for his achievements as a player. He is second on the NBAs career list in assists and steals, won an NBA title with Dallas and has two Olympic gold medals. Will Grier Youth Jersey . Roman Josi had a goal and an assist to lead the Predators to a 4-1 victory over the Dallas Stars on Monday night. Ryan Kalil Youth Jersey . 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The fight served as a rematch of the pairs 2006 meeting, which Henderson won by decision. SALT LAKE CITY -- The offseason acquisition of George Hill was a clear upgrade at the point guard position for the Utah Jazz, but few expected this type of production from the nine-year veteran.Hill scored 25 points and the Jazz defeated the Dallas Mavericks 97-81 on Wednesday night.Hill continued to power the Jazz offensively after coming to the team in a three-way trade with the Pacers and Hawks last summer. He has scored 18-plus points in all five games, the only Jazz player to do so.Some of the things that hes doing, you were hopeful that he would do, Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. But youre equally pleased that hes doing them. Hes made big shots at crucial times. What Ive seen is his willingness to (say), `Where do you need me? Do you need me to score? Do you need me to get a stop? Do you want me to lead?The leadership component, to me, is probably the most unique. Thats something our team is responding to.The Mavericks trailed the entire game except for a 16-15 lead at the beginning of the second quarter. After shooting just 37.0 percent in the first quarter, the Jazz hit 49.2 percent the rest of the way. They were 12 for 25 from 3-point range.Im just happy were winning, I dont care about the numbers, Hill said. Just doing what it takes to try to win a game. Im glad my teammates have confidence in me to control the tempo out there and try to make plays.Rodney Hood scored 22 points and grabbed seven rebounds for the Jazz as teammate Rudy Gobert had 12 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks.Harrison Barnes led the Mavericks with 14 points, but they shot just 26.9 percent behind the arc.Its been a tough start for us, Mavs center Andrew Bogut said. No one is going to give us anything easy, so we got to dig ourselves out of this hole.We werent in the game, really from the start. Whatever it was, we were kind of chasing our tails from the starrt.ddddddddddddOur bench did a great job of getting us back in the game. Made a run. We just couldnt sustain it.TIP-INSMavericks: Dirk Nowitzki started after missing the last two games with an illness. He scored nine points on 4-for-14 shooting. ... Point guard Deron Williams, who was drafted by the Jazz No. 3 overall in 2005, was still booed five years after being traded away.Jazz: Derrick Favors matched a season-high with 23 minutes as he works his way back from a knee injury. ... Dante Exum matched a season-high 10 points off the bench.STICKING AROUNDGobert signed a lucrative multi-year extension Tuesday to keep from entering restricted free agency after the season. The 7-foot-1, 245-pound center averaged career-highs in points (9.1), rebounds (11.0) and blocks (2.2) last season and has developed into one of the top defenders in the league. Gobert said the extension puts both he and the team on the same page and reinforces their belief in him. He knows he has to produce, but said there isnt any extra pressure. As a human, it wasnt really impacting my game, but in my mind you think about it a little bit, Gobert said. Now that its done Im focused o