As the Nets wrapped up their season with locker room cleanout day Thursday, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett declined to talk to the media. A day after the Nets’ season ended with a loss to the Heat in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, everyone else on the team made it clear they would like to have both players back next season.
Garnett could potentially retire, while Pierce is an unrestricted free agent — and general manager Billy King said he is planning to maintain a dialogue with both of them.
“[Garnett] is under contract and we talked [Wednesday] night on the plane and I said we’ll visit,” King said. “[I told him to] get away, spend some time and talk with your family, and then we’ll talk again.
“Paul is a free agent, and obviously we want him back. So, come July 1, we’ll start that process.”
When Nets coach Jason Kidd put in a recruiting call to Shaun Livingston last summer, even he couldn’t have predicted the kind of impact the guard would have this season.
“I wanted Shaun, I made the call to Shaun for him to be here, and he did more than I thought,” Kidd said. “He started for us, he guarded everybody we’ve asked him, put the ball in his hands late to make plays. … Hopefully we can have him back.”
That is the big question surrounding Livingston, who stepped into the starting lineup for the Nets this season and played well, giving them a second ball-handler along with Deron Williams as well as a defensive stopper. Livingston guarded everyone from Kevin Durant to LeBron James.
“It’s been great for me, just to put me on that platform, that stage where I can showcase myself and my health,” said Livingston of serving as the team’s top perimeter defender.
King has said it’s his top priority to bring Livingston back, but the Nets can only offer him the taxpayer’s mid-level exception — a three-year deal worth roughly $10 million. Livingston said he’ll have a tough decision to make this summer, but he hopes to be back in Brooklyn.
“I would like to be,” he said. “They gave me an opportunity. I think it was a great look, chemistry and fit-wise … being on this platform, this stage, I’m very grateful. I just tried to take advantage of it this year.
Two other players with their futures in the air are Andray Blatche and Andrei Kirilenko — both of whom hold player options for next season.
Blatche said he intends to opt out, though he’d like to return to Brooklyn for a third straight year.
“I’m going to see what’s out there for me,” Blatche said. “I would love to stay here. They gave me my first opportunity. So if things work out, hopefully I’ll be back here. If not I just want to thank the fans and the whole organization for giving me that second chance.”
The decision is more complicated for Kirilenko, who holds an option for $3.3 million next season. He said he has enjoyed his time in Brooklyn, but would need to sit down with his wife and discuss what the next step of his career will be.
“We usually make a decision in the summertime,” Kirilenko said. “I liked everything [about this season] but the result.
“I can see [myself back here] definitely, but there’s a lot of different factors. In America sometimes people measure by money, but it should be all equal: money, city, team, role, coach, teammates, goals … especially at this point in my career. You want to be a contributor.”