The Nets filled the final remaining open spot on their 15-man roster when they agreed to a deal with free-agent swingman Alan Anderson on a two-year deal yesterday, according to Anderson’s agent, Mark Bartelstein.
Both years of the contract are fully guaranteed, and the second year is a player option.
By landing Anderson, the Nets bolstered what arguably should be one of the deepest benches in the NBA next season. Anderson’s a good perimeter shooter and defender who can give the Nets additional depth at both shooting guard behind Joe Johnson and Jason Terry and small forward behind Paul Pierce and Andrei Kirilenko.
After spending four years between NBA stints, Anderson revitalized his NBA career over the past two seasons in Toronto, where he emerged as a valuable rotation piece for Raptors coach Dwane Casey. Last season, Anderson averaged 10.7 points and 2.3 rebounds in 65 games for the Raptors.
The Nets have 15 guaranteed contracts, effectively filling their roster for the season unless they make a trade. With Anderson under contract, the Nets total team payroll is now a little more than $102 million, according to salary data collected by ShamSports.com.
Because of the new harsher luxury tax structure in the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement, the Nets would pay roughly $87 million in luxury tax payments on that salary amount, bringing their current total monetary commitment for 2013-14 to just over $189 million.