So the Nets will wait on Dwight Howard. Yeah, like they never have had to do anything like that before.
They waited for the move to Brooklyn, which seemingly first was planned after the repeal of Prohibition. They waited on the Nuggets and Carmelo Anthony last season. And after killing time while the Magic and Howard sought a resolution this season, they now will wait to see what occurs after Howard’s back surgery yesterday, which would end what remained of his regular season and playoffs.
The Nets, who came close last month to acquiring Howard, will sit back and let the saga unfold. If the risk seems worthwhile, they will pursue him again. But any pursuit of the three-time Defensive Player of the Year will not deter the Nets from their summer appointed free-agent rounds.
A high priority for the Nets in the offseason will remain a starting power forward, with unrestricted free agents Kevin Garnett of the Celtics and Ersan Ilyasova of the Bucks leading targets.
Of course, there is the Deron Williams factor as the Nets move to Brooklyn. Williams, who has missed two games with a sore calf and whose status for Saturday night’s game in Milwaukee will be updated this morning, is at the core of the move with his impending free agency after the expected opt-out of his final contract year. The thinking has been: Get Howard, keep Williams for sure.
So Howard’s back issue, one of the avalanche of injuries that socked the league in its asinine shortened-with-little-preparation schedule, forces the Nets and Magic to re-plot strategies. There are best-case scenarios: Howard is healthy, becomes a Net and both Williams and Gerald Wallace stay. There are worst-case scenarios: Howard doesn’t arrive, Williams and Wallace leave.
And there is a very possible scenario of signing a four to add to a front line alongside small forward Wallace and center Brook Lopez. That could keep Williams around and if the Nets continue adding assets such as Gerald Green and MarShon Brooks, they will field a highly competitive, playoff-likely (if healthy) team in Brooklyn.
The Nets Friday signed point guard Armon Johnson for the rest of the season. The D-League call-up, originally signed to a 10-day contract April 9, has played five games, averaged 4.0 points and made 10 of 17 shots. With Deron Williams battling that sore calf, re-signing Johnson was logical.