With the Brooklyn Nets slumping despite Monday’s home win over the Clippers, and trade rumors swirling around the team’s highest paid players, at least two Nets players would welcome the return of center Andray Blatche, who spent the first five months of the season in China.
Brooklyn, Memphis and Miami are among atleast three teams interested in Blatche, according to ESPN New York, whose Chinese club failed to reach the postseason, making the volatile nine-year vet a free agent.
So would Nets players be happy to have Blatche back in the fold if the team elected to re-sign him?
“Of course,” reserve guard Alan Anderson told SheridanHoops. “He was my teammate last year, so anyone who could help our team we could definitely use that.”
Blatche’s two most productive years in terms of efficiency stats like PER, Win Shares and True Shooting percentage, came in his two seasons with the Nets. He averaged just over 11 points and five rebounds per game last season on 47.6 percent shooting in 22.2 minutes per contest with Brooklyn, helping the team reach the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Blatche enjoyed great success for Chinese side Xinjiang, where he averaged over 31 points, 14 rebounds, five assists and two steals per game and was quite the fan favorite around the league, according to our Chinese basketball correspondent Andrew Crawford. And he made about $2.5 million for five months of work, so taking the veteran’s minimum could conceivably not be an issue for Blatche.
What is an issue for the Nets is frontcourt depth. Mirza Teletovic is out for the season with bilateral pulmonary embolus, or blood clots in his lungs, and Kevin Garnett has seen his minutes reduced as the season’s gone on. Garnett was down to 17.4 minutes per game in January and Brooklyn could use another player in its big man rotation.
“Anybody he brings in,” guard Darius Morris said of general manager Billy King, “it’s because they feel who can help the team. So I’d be happy.”
King spoke to the Nets’ website before Monday’s game and indicated that the team would not be making any trades before the All-Star Break. But in the few days before the trade deadline, Blatche could certainly take up one of Brooklyn’s potentially vacant roster spots.
Brooklyn’s reported interest in Blatche seems a bit odd, considering they reportedly could not wait to get rid of him after the 2013-2014 season. Blatche waived his $1.7 million player option for the 2014-2015 season last June, which made him a free agent. With nearly $8.5 million in amnesty money due to him in ’14-’15 from Washington, Blatche was seemingly due for a gigantic payout.
But instead of finding a lucrative deal on the open market, his issues off the court evidently far outweighed the value he had on the floor— to the point where no NBA team would give him a contract he desired over the summer.
After striking out in free agency, Blatche suited up for the Philippines in the FIBA World Championships as a naturalized citizen, where he averaged over 21 points and a tournament best 13.8 rebounds per game. He then signed in China in late September.
With Brooklyn currently 25th in the league in scoring and 22nd in rebounding per game, the addition of Blatche in any capacity would help. The Nets are 17th in the league in bench points scored and 18th in bench points allowed per game, according to HoopsStats.com.
At least a pair of Nets players are on board with a potential Blatche return, but whether Billy King wants Blatche back or whether Blatche wants to return to Brooklyn remains to be seen.
Jerry25 great write-up as well as very insightful. Blatche has always been one of the biggest knuckleheads in a league full of them, and also 1 of the most talented. It’s easy to forget that before he made a name for himself in the league he was ‘carjacked’ at 6 am and shot in the chest from pt blank range at only 19. I tend to find myself always pulling for those super talented knucklehead type players so I have followed Blatche’s career since he was just getting into the league. Along the way he’s had so many instances like the 1 previously mentioned that could have ruined or ended his life, that should have been the wake up call he needed to mature and become the super-star his talent warranted. Instead it’s been 1 incident after another over the years – remember the time he got busted soliciting sex from an undercover police officer? Even after all the trouble and problems he faced his 1st few seasons he finally got his chance to shine in Washington and put up huge #’s that were pretty unbelievable, got paid, and looked to be on his way to establishing himself as 1 of the best big men in the league. Not long after he was getting amnestied! This guy’s story is crazy. There was talk of him heading to Miami this past summer and I truly feel that all the shine Whiteside is getting right now would have been Blatche’s had his agent got the deal done and Blatche wasn’t swallowed up by that Miami nightlife. I hope he really has found something in China that will allow him to salvage his career. I would venture to guess getting away from his boys for a few months was 1 of the best things for him. Hopefully when he comes back stateside he doesn’t allow them to bring him back down. It feels like he’s been around forever and the guy is still only 28! I would love Blatche to be able to get 30 mpg somewhere so he could showcase his talents. Even when he was struggling w issues, with minutes he was always able to produce.
Nets currently have an extra roster spot and adding Blatche (who replied on twitter that he would take Billy King’s call and also replied that he could say “Yes” to a return (to the team that let him go). He would give Nets more flexibility should they make a major trade. In that case, they wouldn’t have to bring back another starting level Big, if they traded Lopez (who’s trade value keeps going up as the deadline approaches). And the fact that KIng isn’t really desperate to trade either Lopez or Joe Johnson (for say Lance Stephenson + a good player in 3 team trade) shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone. King was just trying to “shake the leaves” on other teams, to begin getting the trade offers. I always knew it would come down to the trade deadline, which also benefits Nets as Lopez has more time to get back to All Star level without injury. King knows his business, and IMO he “played” Broussard to get out a message to other teams that they may miss out on Lopez if they don’t get in more serious offers for Brook.
Regarding Blatche, the truth is (media won’t get personal) he had some issues with alcohol and young women last year, but he’s a fun loving guy who’s hard not to like. He didn’t have a father figure when Kidd was his coach (Avery Johnson was like a father figure and Hollins could be like a tough father to him). Blatche apparently has found religion (literally) in the deep recesses of northwest China, and seems to have lost about 25 lbs (under 244?) and looks like he did as a young rookie. He had been used as The Flying Tiger’s starting SF, where he’s shot 38% from 3 pt. Now how his team (24-13 last week) went on a sudden collapse, to barely miss the playoffs despite being a top team, I don’t want to suggest “tanking”, so I won’t.
Nets still own Blatche’s Early Bird rights, so they likely could well exceed any multi-year offer from another team (better than MLE) if it became necessary. The fact that they didn’t renounce his rights, should have been a clue that they would take him back if he worked on some of his shortcomings. Blatche would complement Mason Plumlee very well, but if Lopez is still with the team, Dray might have to play most of his minutes at PF (PF used to be his primary position before coming to Nets. There is also a chance that KG will ask to be bought out (in order to return to Doc Rivers), so Nets can’t afford NOT to re-sign Blatche ASAP.
Totally agree with you regarding Blatche! But your comment about Billy King …” King knows his business”… I do not. King is an absolute TERRIBLE GM and I’m sure will be kicked to the curb soon. DWill…Iso Joe…Lopez…Gerald Wallace (now with the Celtics)…etc… all PUTRID Contract signings via King! Terrible GM responsible for this TERRIBLE Team! Hollins, which is Great Coach in my opinion, certainly deserves to be with a better organization than the dysfunctional Nets.