The Brooklyn Nets worked out Jason Collins. (USATSI)
ESPN reports that the Brooklyn Nets will work out free agent Jason Collins, the first active male athlete to come out as gay.
The Brooklyn Nets worked out Jason Collins this week in Los Angeles, and sources told ESPN.com on Thursday that they are giving strong consideration to signing the free-agent center to a 10-day contract that would position him to become the NBA's first active openly gay player.
Sources with knowledge of the situation said the Nets, after letting Thursday's trade deadline pass without making a deal for the Los Angeles Lakers' Jordan Hill, are weighing the addition of another big man and have identified Collins as a prime candidate to join their frontcourt rotation via the 10-day route.
No final decision has been made, but sources said the 35-year-old was auditioned by the team in a private workout earlier this week to assess the state of his game after last playing with Washington almost a year ago.
The Nets are considering Jason Collins for a 10-day contract, which would position him to become the NBA's first active openly gay player.
Nets general manager Billy King did not attend the workout, but said he was told Collins is "in shape."
via Brooklyn Nets considering signing Jason Collins to 10-day contract - ESPN New York.
Collins has remained unsigned and questions have surfaced whether the reasons are basketball related or out of a concern for the effect of the first out athlete in the locker room. The Nets could use another body down low after trading Reggie Evans to the Kings for Marcus Thornton, and Collins provides a lot of what they're looking for. Collins appeared in 38 games last season, just six for the Wizards after being traded from the Celtics.
Basketball Hot News
A missed call from Suns’ GM day before the deadline had P.J. Tucker worried he was being traded
The trade deadline is a stressful time not just for front office personnel trusted with making tough decisions that will impact a franchise’s future, but it can be harrowing for many players, as well.
P.J. Tucker of the Phoenix Suns was apparently a bit on edge in the days leading up to Thursday’s deadline, but it likely didn’t have anything to do with his on-court performance.
Tucker’s energy and physical style are perfect compliments to a Suns team that let the deadline come and go without pulling off any trades, but a missed phone call from GM Ryan McDonough 24 hours or so before the deadline had Tucker understandably shaken.
McDonough was calling on Wednesday to inform Tucker that he had been fined by the league for his second flopping offense. But Tucker had no way of knowing what the call was about, hence his apprehension once McDonough finally got him on the phone.
“I called P.J. and it went to voicemail,” McDonough said, in an interview with Greg Esposito of Suns.com. “I didn’t leave a message, I was just about to text him and ask him to call me back. P.J. called me back — it was about one o’clock [Wednesday] afternoon, so we were about 24 hours before the deadline — and I noticed P.J. was a little short of breath, breathing a little heavy. Then the light went on in my head. I said ‘P.J., we’re not trading you. That’s not what this call’s about.’ Then he said ‘Thank goodness, man. I love it here. I was so nervous.’
“I don’t think anybody’s ever been happier to be fined than P.J. Tucker was when I told him, ‘The good news is you’re not being traded, the bad news is that you are getting fined.’ And I think he was glad to pay the fine if he could stay here in Phoenix.”
The story explains Tucker’s somwhat cryptic Twitter message he posted, complimenting the weather in Phoenix once the deadline had passed.
Gotta love it.. A lil more after the deadline lol RT @Jumpshot8: This Phoenix weather is not fair. 80. Ummmm.
— PJ Tucker (@PJTUCKER17) February 20, 2014
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment