Richard Jefferson considered returning to the Nets this past summer as a free agent, but the team wasn't interested.

"Having roots there, just respecting the organization and wanting to help bring them back to a level in which they had been accustomed to for most of the [last] decade, I explored that," Jefferson said. "That was something they really weren't interested in."

The five-year, $50 million package Jefferson's agent sought was too much. He eventually re-signed with San Antonio for four years and $38.9 million.

New Jersey signed Travis Outlaw this offseason.

"Disappointed was not the word," Jefferson said.

"You understood they were going in a different direction. It was more funny than anything in the sense that, OK, I respect that if you guys want to move in a different direction. I think I’ll stay with one of the best teams in the league and take what they’re offering."