Sodagate – Did Jason Kidd Intentionally Spill His Drink To Get An Extra Timeout?

Some people are calling it cheating. I think that's a bit of a stretch.

However, I am pretty convinced that Brooklyn Nets coach Jason Kidd did intentionally spill his cup of soda on the floor because his team was out of timeouts.

It's already been dubbed 'Sodagate'.

In the video below, you can see Kidd mouth the words 'hit me' to one of his players. The coach and player bump into one another, the soda spills causing a delay.

It's not that a drink has never been spilled on the court before, but this happened with just 8 seconds left on the clock with the Nets out of timeouts. Kidd's intent is pretty clear. He caused a minor delay to either give his team a quick breather or to instruct them on their final possession.

In the video, one the Nets broadcasters explains that he 'used to do that all the time' to cause a delay or pick up what amounts to a free timeout.

As is turned out, the Nets missed the ensuing 3-point attempt and lost. No harm, no foul?

Maybe, but I expect the NBA will at least issue a verbal warning to Kidd, if not fine him for the stunt.

UPDATE: Kidd was fined $50,000 by the NBA for the soda stunt.

SportingNews says, soon after, Kidd acknowledged his play was out of bounds:

Friday, Kidd says he was just "trying to win" when he intentionally spilled a drink on the court. He tried to avoid talking about it Friday, but when pressed, he said: "Paul (Pierce) got a great look, but the league fined me for something that I probably shouldn't have done."