Latest NBA news for September 9th, 2013: The Evening News: Nets to retire Kidd’s jersey; Howard recruited Camby to Houston; Olajuwon thinks he could help Durant

In today’s news, the Brooklyn Nets announced that they plan to retire their new head coach’s jersey, Marcus Camby reveals how he was lured back to Houston again, and Hakeem Olajuwon tells the media who he thinks would benefit the most from his tutelage.

Jason Kidd’s #5 will be retired in Brooklyn

The Brooklyn Nets will retire Jason Kidd’s number when the Miami Heat come to town on October 17th.

Kidd, the franchise’s all time leader in assists, will become the sixth Net to have his number retired.

“This is a very humbling honor and one that I will always cherish,” Kidd said in a statement. “There can be no greater recognition of an athlete’s time with any team than to have his number retired, and this gesture by the Nets organization validates a very significant portion of my career that was spent as a player with this franchise.”

Kidd led the Nets to consecutive Finals appearances in 2002 and 2003. In over 500 games with the team, Kidd averaged 14.6 points, 9.1 assists, and 7.2 rebounds per game. In six and a half seasons with the then-New Jersey Nets, Kidd was selected to the Eastern Conference All Star team five times.

Kidd is third on the NBA’s all time list (behind Oscar Robertson and Magic Johnson) with 105 triple-doubles. Coincidentally, the recently hired coach also just bought a stake in the franchise’s ownership.

Dwight Howard recruited Marcus Camby to Houston

For Rockets’ GM Darryl Morey, his player’s loyalty to building a winner in Houston is a gift that keeps on giving.

First, Chandler Parsons and James Harden actively recruited Dwight Howard to town this summer. Now, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reports that Dwight Howard returned the favor by subsequently recruiting Marcus Camby.

Camby, who has been a productive starter for most of his career, admits that joining forces with Howard was something he wouldn’t have considered doing in his prime.

“Ten years ago, no,” Camby said of signing on to a team that just acquired Howard. “Now, I just got off the phone with him. He’s a great guy. Even before I signed, when I got my buyout in Toronto, he was one of the guys that was texting and calling me, trying to sell me on Houston. I told him he didn’t have to.”

Now, Camby figures to come off the bench as a reserve for Howard and incumbent starting center Omer Asik.

Houston’s front line will be scary good.Olajuwon wanted to work with Durant this summer

In an interview with Nike Kicks, Hakeem Olajuwon revealed that he believes Kevin Durant would benefit from a week of work with him.

Olajuwon has been working as a private tutor with some of the NBA’s best players for years. Among his notable clients, Olajuwon has helped LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and Amar’e Stoudemire improve dramatically with offensive efficiency in the paint.

Still, Olajuwon believes his Hall of Fame mind and technique could be used to help even more stars in the league, especially Durant:

“(He’s) very skilled, but doesn’t take advantage of his height in the post,” Olajuwon said. “He’s much taller than most of the guys who guard him. He’s got all the outside game, but now he needs to take them in the post. In other words, there’s something for everybody.”

Watch the full interview here:

According to Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman, Durant had the seventh most efficient scoring percentage in the paint of all NBA players last season. Regardless, only about 10% of Durant’s offensive possessions were taken with his back to the basket.

Unfortunately for Durant, Olajuwon has been hired by Houston to coach his offensive moves to Rockets players exclusively.