KING DEFENDS BARGNANI DEAL General Manager Billy King characterized the Nets’ deal with Andrea Bargnani as a low-cost, low-risk move to add size and perimeter shooting to a roster in need of both.
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“We were looking for another experienced big, and that’s really what it came down to,” King said Monday afternoon. “We told him we’re going to give him an opportunity.
There’s no guaranteed minutes. But it’s a great opportunity for him and for us.”
Bargnani, who agreed Sunday to a two-year deal for the veterans’ minimum, which includes a player option for the second year, is joining the Nets after two disastrous, injury-marred seasons with the Knicks. Bargnani, a 7-foot forward, missed 93 of the Knicks’ 164 games. He averaged 13.9 points and 4.9 rebounds when he was ambulatory.
Bargnani, 29, went first over all in the N.B.A. draft in 2006, but his career has fallen well short of expectations.
“I really don’t look back,” said King, who compared signing Bargnani to the team’s acquisition of Andray Blatche, who joined the Nets in 2012 after a checkered tenure with the Washington Wizards. “We always tell players when they come in: ‘Hey, don’t worry about what happened. This is a new opportunity.
We’re not going to judge you on your past.’ ”
King and Coach Lionel Hollins each spoke with Bargnani on Sunday as both sides discussed Bargnani’s potential role and hashed out a deal.
King said he could foresee Bargnani playing alongside Brook Lopez and perhaps backing him up at center.The Nets, who have broken the bank on players in the past, essentially tossed spare change at Bargnani. King said he was not concerned that Bargnani was remaining in the media glare of New York, where things had not gone particularly well for him.
“It’s not costing us a lot of money,” King said. “I don’t think there’s any pressure on him.
We’re not asking him to come in to be a savior. We’re asking him just to come in and play basketball and provide the shooting and the experience that he has.”
Che Andrea abbia forse trovato il miglior contesto di tutta la sua carriera dove poter giocare a pallacanestro?