Late Tuesday night, Andray Blatche posted this photo to his Instagram account, insinuating that he may not return to Brooklyn even though he’d like to finish his career there:
Brooklyn is everything to me do I wanna go NO I wanna stay and finish my career there but it’s no longer up to me wat happens from now on is jus gonna have to be
Nets general manager Billy King saw the post. “Yeah, I saw it,” King said. “Come July 1st, we’ll explore and see where we are with our roster.”
Five days ago, Andray Blatche decided to opt out of his player option worth $1.4 million for the 2014-15 season, becoming an unrestricted free agent.
After averaging 11.2 points and 5.3 rebounds in 22 minutes per game, Blatche will command more than the mid-level exception on the open market. But over the last two years, Blatche has received amnesty payments from the Washington Wizards — allowing him to take a smaller contract to play with a contender.
The Nets hold Blatche’s Early Bird Rights, meaning they could offer a new deal up to $25 million over four years. But it looks like he’s hinting towards Brooklyn’s unwillingness to lock down the center for that much with Kevin Garnett, Brook Lopez, and Mason Plumlee all still on the roster.
Must-Read: Season Review: Andray Blatche & A Sampling Of The Weird Things I’ve Written About Him This Season
Additional reporting by Devin Kharpertian
