MILWAUKEE — In the midst of so much bad news, the Nets continue to get positive feedback about the potential return of Deron Williams from his sprained left ankle.
The star point guard, who sat out of his ninth straight game and his 11th in the Nets’ last 12 as the Nets topped the Bucks, 90-82 Saturday night, worked out after the team’s morning shootaround and remains on track, barring a setback, to return to the lineup Tuesday in Brooklyn against the Celtics.
“From what I understand I guess he’s still on track to do that,” coach Jason Kidd said.
Williams was set to work out Saturday, with an eye on returning to practice Monday and playing Tuesday, in what would give the Nets a badly needed boost, considering they’ve lost 12 of their last 16 games.
“Yeah, it’s great,” Kidd said before the game of the potential of having Williams back in the lineup. “But, right now, I’ve got to focus on the guys that are going [Saturday] against Milwaukee.”
In other injury news, Paul Pierce made the trip along with Williams to Milwaukee, and ran some sprints with Andray Blatche after shootaround. He had a wrap on his right (shooting) hand, which he suffered a broken bone in during the Nets’ blowout loss in Houston on Nov. 29.
Pierce also spent some time shooting before the game, but appeared to grimace whenever he followed through on a shot. Pierce still is thought to be at least a week away from returning to the team, if not more.
Jason Terry (sore left knee) and Andrei Kirilenko (back spasms), on the other hand, remained home, and there’s no clear indication when either will begin practicing, let alone play in a game.
In the wake of The Post’s report Wednesday that Lawrence Frank was in the process of hiring “high-powered” legal representation to presumably settle a buyout with the Nets after being “re-assigned” by Kidd, the Nets assistant coach has settled on David Cornwell, according to a report.
Cornwell is a prominent sports attorney who is currently representing both Alex Rodriguez and Jonathan Martin in their respective legal battles.
With an assist in the third quarter Saturday night, Joe Johnson became the 18th active player to record 4,000 assists in his career. Five of those 18 players — Johnson, Kevin Garnett, Williams, Pierce and Terry — are on the Nets.