Nets general manager Billy King put the brakes on the talk surrounding a potential reunion of Paul Pierce and Doc Rivers in Los Angeles.
Speaking in a radio interview Thursday, King said reports of a sign-and-trade between the Nets and Clippers for Pierce’s services were premature, and said the team was still negotiating with Pierce and his representation to bring him back to Brooklyn for another season.
“They made a call and inquired,” King said, “but there’s nothing at this point that makes sense for us.”
King said he and Pierce’s camp both have salary figures in mind, though he intimated the Nets are trying to be a bit more fiscally prudent after spending more than $100 million on payroll alone last year and more than $190 million in combined payroll and luxury-tax commitments.
“I think we’re in the process,” King said. “We know the number we want to get to, I think they know the number they want to get to. We’re just trying to get to the point where we’re all comfortable and I know what we’re trying to accomplish, and it’s just in the negotiation process. That’s all it is.
“We have the ability to pay him more than everybody else, but we are going to be a little bit more financially responsible at this point in time.”
King also said he has no fears Pierce’s agent, Jeff Schwartz — who also was Jason Kidd’s longtime agent as a player — will be influenced by the events of the past several days.
“He’s Pierce’s agent, he’s Shaun Livingston’s agent, he’s Mirza [Teletovic’s] agent, he’s [Deron Williams’] agent,” King said. “The one thing about Jeff … Jeff is a businessman, and Paul, they’re going to make decisions about what’s best for Paul, and not what happened or transpired with Jason.”
Former Bucks coach Larry Drew broke his silence since the news Kidd could be in line to take his job was first reported by The Post on Saturday.
In a statement released by the Bucks’ public relations department, Drew thanked general manager John Hammond and the team’s previous owner, Sen. Herb Kohl, for giving him a chance to coach the team for a year before addressing his sudden departure from the franchise.
“My swift termination did come as a surprise to me, but I accept new owners Wesley Edens’ and Marc Lasry’s decision that they’ve made,” Drew said. “I wish the entire Bucks organization and the great city of Milwaukee nothing but the best in the future.”
Drew was fired Monday with two years remaining on his contract to make way for Kidd.