The Nets made their first move in what will surely be a busy couple of weeks, coming to an agreement in principle to re-sign free-agent small forward Gerald Wallace to a 4-year, $40 million deal.
But the rubber truly hits the road today, when the Nets will make their final pitch to superstar point guard Deron Williams. They have done everything in their power to convince Williams to remain with the franchise since acquiring him in a blockbuster trade with the Jazz in February 2011.
Williams has narrowed his options to two: either to remain with the Nets as the face of the franchise as it moves to Brooklyn and the new Barclays Center this fall, or to head to his hometown of Dallas and the Mavericks to play alongside future Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki.
In order to help convince Williams he belongs in Brooklyn, the Nets were working the phones throughout the opening day of free agency to add talent to their roster through both trades and signings.
Trade talks have led to inquiries about Dwight Howard, Hawks’ All-Star swingman Joe Johnson and Rockets forward Luis Scola. But one of the Nets highest priorities entering free agency was to retain Wallace, the veteran small forward they landed at the March 15 trade deadline from the Trail Blazers.
Wallace, 30, was acquired for Mehmet Okur, Shawne Williams and the Nets’ first-round pick in this year’s draft. The pick was top-three protected, so when the Nets finished the lottery with the sixth selection, it went to Portland, which used it to draft Weber State point guard Damian Lillard.
Wallace, who averaged 15.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists and shot 38.5 percent from 3-point range following the trade, impressed the Nets with his game on the court and his professionalism off of it. Re-signing him to a long-term deal has been a priority ever since Wallace opted out of the final year of his contract earlier this month.
The Nets’ attention will now turn to securing a signature from Williams on a max contract offer of five years and roughly $100 million — one year and about $25 million more than the Mavericks can give him. Williams is scheduled to meet with Dallas today, then meet with the Nets.
In addition, the Nets will also meet with Steve Nash today. The Suns point guard and two-time MVP clearly would be an option to replace Williams if he goes to Dallas, but the Nets could also potentially sign both of them.
The Nets are also expected to come to an agreement with Bosnian power forward Mirza Teletovic once the dust settles on where Williams ends up. Teletovic, who averaged 15.8 points and 6.3 rebounds in the Spanish league for Caja Laboral this past season, agreed to a buyout with the club earlier this summer in order to be free to come to the NBA next season.
If the Nets are unable to come to an agreement on a Johnson trade, they also were considering free-agent options at shooting guard, with Nick Young and Ray Allen both possibilities. That would allow MarShon Brooks to be used as a scorer off the bench, a role general manager Billy King said he has discussed with coach Avery Johnson.