Jason Kidd began his first training camp as a head coach far from glare of New York’s bright lights that he’ll be experiencing this season.

After conducting Media Day at their Barclays Center home on Monday afternoon, the Nets departed their home state to spend their first week of camp at Duke University, where they began practicing for the upcoming season on Tuesday. After the initial practice, point guard Deron Williams noted that the vibe around the team was decidedly different from last season.

“The energy was great today during practice,” Williams said. “I don’t want to say it was night and day from last year, but it was just a different feeling. The energy was better. It was more intense. It’s just a better feeling.”

Jason Kidd, Kevin Garnett

Part of that likely involved the arrival of a few new teammates with championship pedigree in Jason Terry, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett. According to Coach Kidd, Garnett’s presence had an immediate and positive impact on his teammates.

“He has everyone talking (on the court),” Jason said. “He’s a guy that only knows one way, he’s a professional. And you saw that this morning, from the time he touched the floor to the time he walked off.”

But some of the different feeling Williams spoke about could be derived from the approach Coach Kidd took to the practice. More closely removed from his last training camp as a player than most coaches, Jason still remembers what it’s like to go into camp as a player and decided he wanted to hear what the players were thinking rather than command them on day one.

“Really, it was kind of a role reversal, where most of the players did the talking,” he said. “I think just talking about what we want to achieve as a team. A lot of times coaches will talk, but this was a time for the coaches to listen and hear what the players have to say.”

According to Jason Terry, a teammate of J-Kidd in Dallas from 2008 to 2012, the coaching role fits Jason well and that his demeanor in the first practice session was reminiscent of their time together with the Mavericks.

“He looked just as he did when I was in training camp with him in 2011,” Terry said. “Just calm (and) collected, knew what he wanted to get done. When he spoke, people listened. It looked kind of easy for him. Obviously, his preparation, it looked like he prepared very well for this day.”

With a new role, incorporating new players and teaching a new system, Jason recognizes that as the year goes on, he too will be learning and emphasized to the players that his number one priority is assist them the best way he knows how.

“It’s just about me being able to help the guys,” Kidd said. “When I see something as a coach, good or bad, I let the guys know, and today we were going in the right direction.”

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