Knicks meet with Jason Kidd

Free agent Jason Kidd was at Madison Square Garden Wednesday morning for a three-hour meeting with Knicks president Donnie Walsh and head coach Mike D'Antoni. The 36-year-old point guard, who reportedly met with Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban here in New York right after the free-agency period officially began at midnight, kept his scheduled meeting with the Knicks, which began at 9 a.m. Kidd was seen walking with his agent Jeff Schwartz, Walsh and D'Antoni through the Garden lobby. Kidd waved but declined to comment. The Knicks might agree to give up some of the valuable LeBron James cap space for 2010 to guarantee a three-year deal, which would be the maximum length contract they can offer. The Mavericks, who had Kidd's rights up until midnight, have the ability to give him a maximum deal. And with very few options at point guard without him, a desperate Cuban announced via his Twitter account that he was flying to New York "for free agent meeting at 12:01." Kidd, according to a source, has already turned down one offer from the Mavericks that went well beyond the midlevel at $8 million per over three years, though it is not clear if the third year was guaranteed. The Knicks, however are very aware that Kidd's heart is in the New York area, where he still keeps an offseason home to be close to his three children. Meanwhile, Walsh also has reached out to the representatives for restricted free agents David Lee and Nate Robinson and planned to begin negotiations with both later Wednesday. Lee is in Indonesia for an NBA event.