LAS VEGAS — The story was relayed by someone close to Jason Kidd in New Jersey, where Kidd returned after the disappointing end to the Mavericks' 2007-08 season.

During his career, Kidd has been accused of being a "coach killer," a label he has disputed. But he's aware of the talk, so when Avery Johnson was fired by the Mavericks, Kidd told a friend: "They can't blame that one on me. When I got there, the players all thought he was crazy. And he was."

Kidd smiled easily when the story was related to him Saturday after the U.S. Olympic men's basketball team went through its first practice.

"Well, I don't remember saying all of that," he said. "I just think my name is always mentioned as someone who is looking to fire a coach. So I might have said to a friend that it didn't fall on my shoulders."

Kidd sat in the bleachers in Cox Pavilion on the Nevada-Las Vegas campus, wearing his Team USA uniform, and talked openly of his frustrations as a Maverick.

When he joined the Mavericks after the Feb. 19 trade from the Nets, he thought Johnson would employ an up-tempo style that would take advantage of Kidd's considerable passing skills. Instead, he found that Johnson was a rigid coach who was a domineering presence on the sidelines.

"We ran the first couple of games," Kidd said. "And then we stopped. A lot of times, our offense was used to set up our defense. We slowed it down instead getting out an running and putting pressure on (opponents) after missed shots or even makes. We were pretty much — not just myself, but everybody — looking over to the sideline, trying to figure out what was going to be called."

Kidd is at his best in the open court, operating without constraints and creating easy shots for teammates. But he found that he had little freedom with Johnson.

It was noted during the season that Kidd probably spent more time looking at the sidelines for instructions in three months under Johnson than he had combined in his 13-year career. When asked Saturday if he had any problem with that observation, Kidd said: "That's fair."

After the season, Dirk Nowitzki noted that the Mavericks' offense had Kidd spotting up for jump shots on the weak side, and Nowitzki said he thought Kidd could have been utilized better.

Kidd is a 40.1 percent career shooter, so shooting has is not the strongest part of his game.

"I have a bad habit," Kidd said jokingly. "And that's looking to pass first. I don't know if that's going to change at 35, but we'll see."

When asked pointedly if he found it difficult playing for Johnson, Kidd said: "I was trying my darndest to help the whole situation and try to do what he wanted. But I think maybe there was a situation where the voice had gone dead to a lot of guys. From my point, guys maybe stopped listening."

Kidd said he is looking forward to playing for new coach Rick Carlisle, who has promised to let Kidd run the show. But first, Kidd and the Olympic team will attempt to win the first gold medal for the U.S. since 2000.

Mavericks officials had some concerns about Kidd playing so much this summer. Kidd is 35 and will turn 36 next March. The Olympics could tax him physically and leave him run down for the season.

Kidd, however, said that because the Mavericks' playoffs ended early, he has already received sufficient rest. And he said the age issue is overrated.

"People are fixated on my age and my jump shot," Kidd said, and laughed. "I swear — if you don't put my name in an article and you just put '35 and inconsistent shooter,' somebody's going to say, 'That's Jason. (Steve) Nash is not that much younger, but his age is never brought up.

"I'm playing for all those 35 year olds that everybody says we're too old, but we're really not."

Kidd also was amused by a recent comment attributed to Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, who complimented the Bulls on selecting Memphis guard Derrick Rose with the No. 1 pick in the draft.

Obama said Rose "is Jason Kidd with a jump shot."

"How am I always the butt of a joke?" Kidd said. "I'm going to have to talk to our next President about that."