Now that the Nets have “Brooklyn’s Backcourt” in place, they have turned their attention to addressing their frontcourt depth.
After re-signing center Brook Lopez on Wednesday, Nets general manager Billy King said yesterday the team is still negotiating with power forward Kris Humphries.
“He wants to be here,” King said at Brooklyn’s Borough Hall at the press conference unveiling the team’s All-Star backcourt of Deron Williams and Joe Johnson. “So now it’s about making the deal work.”
The Nets’ stunning makeover — including re-signing Williams, Lopez and Gerald Wallace, trading for Johnson and signing Reggie Evans and Mirza Teletovic — has dramatically improved the roster’s talent level. But it also has limited the team’s financial flexibility to continue to flesh out the roster as the summer progresses.
With the Nets now far over the salary cap, and having used their “mini” mid-level exception to sign Teletovic, free agents from other teams only can be acquired for the minimum salary or through a sign-and-trade.
That’s why Humphries, whom the Nets can pay the going rate because they own his Bird rights, is an attractive option to return.
“We’ve got the ability to pay him more than anybody else,” King said. “It’s going to be a negotiation. But the goal is to bring him back.”
Humphries, 27, has quietly put together back-to-back strong seasons for the Nets after bouncing around during his first few seasons in the league. After averaging 10.0 points and 10.4 rebounds in 2010-11 in his first season as a starter, Humphries averaged 13.8 points and 11.0 rebounds last season.
But even after starting the past two seasons, there is no guarantee Humphries would be the starter if he does return after the Nets signed Teletovic earlier this week. The Bosnian power forward averaged more than 20 points in the Euroleague last season.
“Everybody’s got to earn it,” King said. “I think practice time will determine that.”
King said the Nets have other options in mind in the event they can’t come to an agreement with Humphries. If they are not able to re-sign him — the Bobcats have shown interest — they likely will try and swing a sign-and-trade with whatever team does.
That will allow the Nets to use the trade exception they would receive in such a deal to execute sign-and-trades with other available free agents, allowing King to pay those players above the minimum salary they would otherwise have to accept to play in Brooklyn next season.