Jason Kidd more hands-on in Nets' second summer game

He sauntered out onto the court again, strolling with open palms and both arms away from his body.

But this time, Jason Kidd was well within his rights to bust out of the coaches' box and venture onto the Amway Center practice court. A timeout had been called, and Kidd liked what he had seen from the Nets' summer league team during a nice run in the third quarter. He nearly made it to midcourt, slapping hands with all five of his players before turning around and heading back to the bench to offer some more encouragement.

No technical foul this time around for the rookie coach. Now that's progress.

"That's the goal," Kidd said Monday, "is to get comfortable and feel better about what I'm trying to do and accomplish, with my staff and with the players. And so today is another positive day. I felt comfortable. I stayed within the lines, so you've got to start somewhere. But that was something I tried to achieve today."

Kidd seemed more at ease than in Sunday's debut, when he didn't do much other than collect that technical for leaving the box to argue a call. He was assertive and hands-on in the Nets' 93-86 loss to the Heat, taking charge in the huddle.

Kidd sat on a chair during timeouts facing the players, diagraming plays on the dry-erase board as assistant Lawrence Frank stood next to him looking on. It was a role reversal from 24 hours earlier, when Frank essentially did those tasks to show Kidd the ropes.

"This is a process," Kidd said. "I know you guys would like for me to draw up plays in Game 1, but it's fine. I think the biggest thing is it's a process. I'll get better. That's the goal, so hopefully I got better today."

Tyshawn Taylor noticed the difference in Kidd's approach. It wasn't subtle, either. "Yeah, yeah, he was a lot more talkative today than yesterday," the second-year point guard said. "I think that just comes with experience, just getting more comfortable with guys, getting more comfortable in his position. I think he's going to be fine."

Kidd is trying to teach, learn the subtle nuances of coaching and post victories all at the same time. It's quite the juggling act. "Everybody wants to win," he said. "Big picture is for the guys to get better. You can go out and win and go 5-0, but if your guys don't get better, then you are really wasting summer league."

Notes & quotes: Kidd's next hearing in his DWI case initially was scheduled for Wednesday in Southampton Town Court, but he doesn't have to appear in front of a judge until next Tuesday, according to reports. Kidd has pleaded not guilty to the misdemeanor charge stemming from an accident last July.