NETS GRAB EX-KNICK BARGNANI:
Bargnani joins B’klyn
THE NETS are into making splashy moves and on Sunday they revealed another one, which again involved a former Knick.
With Deron Williams out the door, the Nets announced a deal in principle with former No. 1 overall pick and ex-Knicks forward Andrea Bargnani, the chronically injured, underachieving seven-footer with a tantalizing skill set.
The Nets have now picked up two former Knicks, first signing the speedy reserve point guard Shane Larkin and now acquiring Bargnani, the multi-faceted big man who has never been able to live up to the broad expectations that have trailed him.
The deal is for one year at the veteran’s minimum (which comes to roughly $1.4 million) with a player option for the second year, a league source said.
If healthy and confident, Bargnani, 29, gives the Nets another perimeter scorer, making up for the departure of the sharpshooting Mirza Teletovic, who signed with Phoenix.
Bargnani had reportedly been in deep discussions with the Sacramento Kings, but chose to stay in the Eastern Conference, where he also played with the Toronto Raptors, the team that took him first overall back in 2006.
It’s a potentially shrewd move that obviously comes with a lot of risks for the Nets, who just waived one moody player in Williams for another in Bargnani.
Over a nine-year career, the Italian big man has fashioned a reputation as being aloof.
He’s also battled to stay healthy, failing to play in more than 42 games in any of the past four seasons.
Last season for the Knicks, his second in New York, he played in just 29 games because of a rash of injuries.
Still, when he was on the floor, he wasn’t bad, averaging nearly 15 points and 4.4 rebounds a game, convincing the Nets to roll the dice on the seven-foot enigma.
Bargnani has career averages of 15 points and 4.8 rebounds a game.
Of course, how the sometimes fragile Bargnani deals with Lionel Hollins’ hardnosed coaching style is anyone’s guess.