Lakers Coach Mike D’Antoni not crazy about Jason Kidd’s spill

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Initially, the Lakers weren’t crying over spilled soda.

In fact, Coach Mike D’Antoni didn’t even know New Jersey’s Jason Kidd intentionally dumped a drink on the court late in Wednesday’s game to try to get a quick word with his players despite being out of timeouts.

But D’Antoni didn’t like the move after he realized what Kidd did. Kidd was fined $50,000 by the NBA for his actions.

“You can’t do that. That’s crazy,” D’Antoni said Friday. “That’s cute for a lot of people, but you can’t do that. That’s nuts.”

Down by two to the Lakers and out of timeouts, Kidd told guard Tyshawn Taylor to pretend to run into him after getting subbed out of the game when Jodie Meeks made a free throw with 8.3 seconds left.

Kidd initiated contact with his player and spilled a soda he was holding by the bench. As ballboys cleaned up the mess, an assistant coach pulled Nets players to the sideline for a brief huddle.

“I don’t think that was very savvy or cool,” D’Antoni said. “I love Jason to death, he’s going to be a great coach, but, no, you don’t do that.”

The Nets’ impromptu huddle wasn’t a great success. Steve Blake and Xavier Henry stood among the Nets players while the Nets’ assistant coach tried to talk to them.

Kidd was not called for a technical foul, but the NBA penalty, announced Thanksgiving afternoon, was far more severe.

Kidd said after the game that he dropped the cup because of “sweaty palms,” adding that as a player “I was never good with the ball.”

Kidd told reporters Friday that he did “probably shouldn’t” have spilled the soda.

The Lakers got the last chuckle that night, beating the Nets, 99-94.

Harris waived

Undrafted Lakers rookie Elias Harris was waived partly for financial reasons Friday after appearing in only two games with the team.

Harris’ contract would have become guaranteed in early January, and the Lakers cut him now primarily to stop paying the pro-rated portion of his $490,000 salary. Their roster is down to 14 players but they have no plans to add another player.

“I hate it,” D’Antoni said of losing Harris. “I think Elias has a chance to be a good player. Not this year, it’s going to take a little bit, but if he continues to develop he’s somebody you should watch and hope the best for. He was great and I think he’s got a future in this league.”

Harris was scoreless in 11 minutes this season and spent some time with the Lakers’ Development League affiliate. He played well on the Lakers’ summer league team after going undrafted out of Gonzaga.

mike.bresnahan@latimes.com

Twitter: @Mike_Bresnahan