Andray Blatche said last month he would opt out of his Nets contract, and he followed through on that promise Friday afternoon.
Blatche’s agent, Andy Miller, announced through his agency’s Twitter account Friday afternoon his client had opted to hit the open market this summer, rather than pick up his player-option for the 2014-15 season. The announcement was something Blatche said would happen on locker room clean-out day following the Nets’ season-ending loss to the Heat in five games in the second round of the NBA playoffs.
“I’m going to see what’s out there for me,” Blatche said that day. “I would love to stay here. [The Nets] 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.”
After Blatche had been released by the Wizards via the amnesty clause in the collective bargaining agreement in July 2012, the talented 6-foot-11 center put together back-to-back productive seasons as the first big man off the bench for the Nets. He averaged 10.3 points and 5.1 rebounds in 2012-13, then 11.2 points and 5.3 rebounds per game this past season.
Whether Blatche re-signs with the Nets or chooses to go elsewhere in free agency, the next time fans will see him in uniform will be later this summer when he suits up for the Philippines in the FIBA World Cup after becoming a naturalized citizen of that country earlier this month.