Today is T-Day. Talk Day. After what seems like an eternity, NBA teams finally can talk and negotiate with free agents.
So the first person the Nets would like to chat with is their own free agent, Jason Kidd, who is sort of, you know, important to their plans.
“With a free agent of this magnitude he sets the agenda,” team president Rod Thorn said, noting no firm meetings are set. “The process is going to run its course.”
Kidd, of course, is on the “A” list of this year’s free-agent crop. And despite all the rhetoric, all the proclamations, the top contenders for Kidd are the Nets and Spurs.
Kidd has announced his intention to visit San Antonio, with one report claiming it would be July 6-7. But Kidd’s camp, agent Jeff Schwartz of Excel Sports Management, said yesterday that no dates are set.
In recent days, the field for Kidd’s services has expanded to include Dallas and Denver. Kidd’s contention always has been that a title shot is his motivation. So including Denver makes no sense unless money truly matters most.
Over the weekend, Dallas’ Don Nelson stressed the Mavs’ priority was frontcourt help but they intend to talk to Kidd. Kidd, of course, could go virtually anywhere for the $4.7 million mid-level exception and there could always be a sign and trade, but Thorn has stressed the difficulty of pulling one off, calling such a move with Dallas “far-fetched.” But Thorn was a Nets assistant back when the team was forced to sell Julius Erving and he has seen the damage losing a star while getting nothing in return can do.
Kidd has maintained the Nets are his first choice, but forgive team brass for being a little skeptical. “I’ll believe it when I see it,” Thorn said.
The Nets, based on a $42 million salary cap, can pay Kidd the maximum of $99,225,000 over six years while the Spurs can offer $94.5 mil.
One drawback with San Antonio is if it has two max-out players in Kidd and Tim Duncan, in year two, the pair would combine for $28M-plus. Basically, the team would be those two and a possibly non-descript supporting cast.
Elsewhere, the Nets picked up the second-year option ($512,435) on Tamar Slay and made a qualifying offer (about $780,000) to Brian Scalabrine. Additionally, the Nets have free agents in Anthony Johnson and Lucious Harris. Kidd recently announced his support of bringing Harris back.
“Jason is a high-quality act who wants to keep the team intact,” said Jerome Stanley, Harris’ agent, who said it is “a package” of both money and years he and his client seek. “Keeping Lucious is not that complicated.”
As for other free agents, the Nets don’t figure to be real players because they lack roster room. If they re-sign their own free agents, they’d have 15 bodies, including their two recent first rounders, Zoran Planinic and Nenad Krstic, whom they hope to have playing next season.
* Dikembe Mutombo and wife, Rose, are proud parents again. She gave birth to 9-pound, 12-oz. Ryan Mutombo on Saturday. The couple already has a son and daughter in addition to four adopted children . . . Among those the Nets are bringing to summer league in Boston in two weeks is point guard Jason Hart, a Syracuse product who was with Milwaukee.