What was agreed upon days ago between Andray Blatche and the Nets finally became official on Wednesday.
The Nets announced on Wednesday that the two sides have come to terms that will bring the 6-foot-11 big man to Brooklyn two months after the Washington Wizards waived him via the amnesty provision on July 17.
Blatche will be on a non-guaranteed contract entering training camp next month, but he is expected to make the team and come off the bench for incumbent center Brook Lopez.
In getting amnestied by the Wizards, Blatche, the 49th pick in the 2005 NBA Draft, is still owed $23 million, which he will be paid over what would have been the final three years of the deal had he stuck around.
It was an up and down seven years in Washington for Blatche, who holds career averages of 9.9 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. He had a career year in 2011, averaging 16.8 points and 8.2 rebounds in 64 games before conditioning and attitude issues finally caught up with him.
Should the Blatche move work out for the Nets, it will have been a high reward after a low-risk move, which is something General Manager Billy King has done plenty of this offseason.
After a July spending spree saw King re-sign Deron Williams, Gerald Wallace and Lopez while signing Mirza Teletovic and Kris Humphries to multi-year deals, King has filled out his bench with proven veterans on the cheap such as Blatche, Josh Childress, Keith Bogans and Jerry Stackhouse.
Like Blatche, Childress has a non-guaranteed deal, but is expected to make the roster. Bogans and Stackhouse both signed one-year deals for the veteran’s minimum.
Photo: Getty Images
FreeAgentID / September 16, 2012
Welcome Andray!
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