Jason Collins isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
The Nets are expected to sign Collins to a second 10-day contract Wednesday, a formality after the initial pact he signed Feb. 23, when he made history by becoming the first openly gay player in any of the four major American professional sports, expires on Tuesday.
“No, I can’t because I don’t know anything about that,” Collins said before the Nets beat the Bulls, 96-80, when asked about getting another 10-day deal, which Yahoo! Sports first reported. “I’ll let my agent do all of the business side of basketball. Arn Tellem, in my mind, he’s the best agent in the business.
“I’ll let him handle his job, and I’ll do my job, which is the basketball.”
Although right now the Nets are only going to sign Collins for 10 more days, it’s hard to envision a scenario in which the Nets won’t keep him for the remainder of the season, given both the historical ramifications of his signing, his longtime friendship with Nets coach Jason Kidd and his having been a teammate with several of the team’s veterans.
“He’s been great on and off the court,” Kidd said. “That’s between management and his agent about another signing. I think he has one more day before they can talk about that.
“[Collins] is a good friend of mine, and he’s a basketball player but he’s also a great person. That’s why we wanted him on this team. We thought he could help us win.”
Collins held a press conference before Monday’s game, his first home game as a Net after joining the team during its six-game, two-week circus trip. But despite all the fanfare surrounding his first game at Barclays Center, it looked for most of the game like he wouldn’t see the floor.
Despite the Nets being without Kevin Garnett, who sat out for a second straight game with back spasms, the combination of Mason Plumlee and Andray Blatche played well and remained out of foul trouble, leaving Collins on the sideline. But after the crowd briefly began chanting his name late in the fourth quarter and with the game well in hand, Kidd summoned Collins to the scorer’s table with 2:41 remaining, and he earned a big ovation from the crowd when he checked in.
“It was cool,” said Collins, who went 0-for-1 and had a rebound in three minutes of action. “It was a lot of fun to get into the game, but the most important thing is we got the win. Chicago’s been playing really well as of late, and I think we played a little more physical than they did tonight. That’s the key to beating them.”
While the Nets were hammered on the glass once again by the much bigger Bulls, their hands were all over the place defensively, tying an NBA season-high with 19 steals.
It was the most steals the Nets recorded in a game since they had 20 against the Pacers in March of 1989, and the 28 turnovers they forced was a season-high for a Nets opponent.
“Staying active,” said Shaun Livingston, who had five steals, when asked why the Nets were so successful stealing the ball. “Just staying active and being in the passing lanes.
“I think when we’re active, we’re a dangerous team.”