While far from a certainty, the Nets and Dan Gadzuric have been negotiating a buyout.
Gadzuric played nine minutes for the Nets in their game against the Rockets on Saturday and was inactive on Wednesday. He is also questionable to make the team flight to England, according to ESPN's Chad Sheridan.
One source put the chances of a successful buyout at "less than 50 percent."
Gadzuric is earning $7.5 million in the final season of a six-year contract.
The New Jersey Nets have signed free agent guard Sundiata Gaines to a 10-day contract, Nets General Manager Billy King announced today. Per team policy, terms of the contract were not released.
Gaines has appeared in six games with Toronto and eight games with Minnesota this season. In his 14 appearances, Gaines averaged 4.0 points, 1.0 rebound and 1.2 assists in 11.0 minutes per contest.
Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov traveled to San Antonio on Friday night to watch the team play, marking the first time he's seen his team on the road.
Prokhorov wanted to see his new point guard, Deron Williams, who was acquired from the Jazz on Wednesday.
"It was good to see him. It meant a lot," said Williams, who had 14 points and 12 assists in a 106-96 loss to the NBA's best team.
Williams met after the game with Prokhorov and said the two will continue talking in London, where the Nets will play Toronto twice starting March 4.
"He was telling me how excited he was, and he wanted to see me in person," Williams said.
Prokhorov did not speak with reporters.
The Nets offered Devin Harris, Troy Murphy and the 2012 first round pick of Houston's for Greg Oden, Andre Miller and Joel Przybilla, according to the report.
Portland declined that offer and countered with the request of Golden State's 2012 first round pick, which is top-seven protected.
The Nets instead ended up acquiring Deron Williams.
Deron Williams displayed a general contentment with the trade sending him to New Jersey and seemed to be in good spirits during his introductory press conference on Thursday.
But Williams was forthcoming about his thought processes over the last 24 hours.
He acknowledged that the trade sending him to the Nets came as a complete shock and it took him time to adjust.
"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little nervous when I heard I was going to a team that is 17-40," Williams said.
But Williams accepted the deal after having time to think it over and talk to his wife.
Williams was asked if he would sign an extension to remain with the Nets after next season, the final year of his deal if he does not exercise a player option. The team is scheduled to move to Brooklyn the following season.
"I can't really give any assurances that I'll be here. You don't know what the future holds," Williams said, though he added that there is "a strong possibility" that he will remain with the team beyond his current contract.
He said he would not sign a contract extension with New Jersey over the summer, the earliest he would be eligible to do so, and indicated that his eventual decision will be impacted by the new collective bargaining agreement and the Nets' ability to improve the roster.
Williams thinks the Nets still have a chance to make the playoffs this season.
The Golden State Warriors have acquired forward Troy Murphy from the New Jersey Nets, along with the Nets’ 2012 second round draft pick, in exchange for forward Brandan Wright and center Dan Gadzuric, the team announced today.
The Warriors are expected to reach a buyout agreement with Murphy.
Carmelo Anthony and his wife La La Vasquez will be the subjects of a new reality television show on VH1 about their lives. The first moments of the show will presumably be when Anthony arrived at the airport on Tuesday night to make his debut as a Knick on Wednesday. The show's cameras were present.
Alan Hahn poses the question of whether the show's producers knew something in advance. It is reasonable to wonder what this indicates about whether Anthony was ever serious about remaining in Denver, or whether he could have resisted signing an extension with the Nets if he had no other way of landing in the New York metropolitan area.
Chris Paul responded to the news of Utah trading Deron Williams with several less than flattering tags directed to the Jazz.
"Utah traded DWill?? #EpicFail #notagoodlook #trippin #cmonson," wrote Paul.
The Hornets are in a similar situation with Paul as the Jazz were with Williams. Both point guards are eligible to become free agents in 2012, but the Hornets have been aggressive in making a series of trades to improve their chances of retaining their franchise player.
The New Jersey Nets have officially acquired two-time All Star guard Deron Williams from the Utah Jazz in exchange for guard Devin Harris, forward Derrick Favors, two first round draft picks (Nets 2011, Golden State 2012) and cash considerations, Nets General Manager Billy King announced.
The Nets will also send Troy Murphy and a second round pick to the Warriors for Dan Gadzuric and Brandan Wright in a separate trade.
"We are very excited to add a player the caliber of Deron Williams to our roster," said King. "He is one of the premier point guards in the NBA, and his skill and talent level will bolster our franchise as we continue to build towards our goal of becoming a championship-caliber team."
The Nets had been pursuing Carmelo Anthony for several months, but Williams is not a consolation prize from their perspective.
"This is not a plan B," Avery Johnson said. "It was just one that wasn't announced. One that nobody got -- until recently. He's not a plan B. He's a plan A also. We've been working on this for a while."
Utah recently lost head coach Jerry Sloan and now they will begin rebuilding with the Williams' trade.
“We feel that we’ve addressed a current need at point guard with Deron’s departure, as well as the future with draft picks and a big man,” said Jazz GM Kevin O’Connor. “To do so we had to give up an All-Star, but we feel like this is a win for both sides.”
Deron Williams does not become eligible for a contract extension until July, which is the three-year anniversary of his previous extension from July 18th, 2008.
Dwight Howard is also a potential member of the 2012 free agency class and is eligible to sign an extension now because he signed his in 2007. Howard first became eligible to sign an extension on July 12, 2010.
Chris Paul signed his previous extension on July 9, 2008, so he must also wait until July to sign an extension.
Williams and Paul must also wait until a new collective bargaining agreement is complete before an extension can be reached.
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