Knicks point guard Jason Kidd -- just days after signing with the team -- was arrested on a drunken-driving charge Sunday after police said he crashed his SUV into a telephone pole in the Hamptons.
Kidd was treated at a hospital for minor injuries after the crash. He was arraigned on a misdemeanor driving-while-intoxicated charge and released without bail, Southampton Town police said.
Kidd's agent didn't immediately respond to phone or email messages. His attorney, Ed Burke Jr., said in a statement that Kidd was returning from a charity function before his accident, had pleaded not guilty to the DWI charge and was awaiting further court proceedings.
The Knicks, who signed the 10-time All Star in free agency last week, had no immediate comment.
Kidd, 39, was alone in the 2010 Cadillac Escalade when it hit a pole and veered into the woods around 2 a.m. near the intersection of Cobb Road and Little Cobb Road in the hamlet of Water Mill, police said.
The DWI charge carries the potential for up to a year in jail.
The Knicks signed Kidd away from the Dallas Mavericks last week in a deal that will pay him about $3 million a year. Kidd had played in New Jersey, leading the Nets to two appearances in the NBA Finals, before he was traded to Dallas. He'd kept close ties to the New York City area, where his children continued to live.
The two-time Olympic gold medalist has been in trouble with the law before. While playing with Phoenix in 2001, he was arrested on a domestic-violence charge, acknowledging that he struck his former wife.
U.S. & World
Kidd is second on the NBA's career list in assists and steals. Kidd, who helped the Mavericks win the 2011 NBA championship, is expected to mentor Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin if the team opts to keep him.
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