Brooklyn Nets center and semi-revelation Andray Blatche will be a free agent this offseason, but according to various reports from this week, his determining factor for his next (or remaining with his current) destination won’t be money: he’s making that from Washington, and is even willing to accept less to make them pay more.
The money is of little issue to Blatche, who will earn roughly $16.3 million more from the Washington Wizards over the next two seasons. According to a complicated clause in the CBA, the bigger the contract Blatche signs, the less the Wizards have to pay him.
The key is in something called the “offset formula,” which states that the Wizards have to pay his Washington salary ($7,794,921 next season), minus half the difference between a league minimum salary and the contract Blatche signs. According to the New York Daily News, Blatche is aware of that, and his issues with Washington make him more than happy to accept less:
“If I get a lot (in my next contract), yeah, it’s going to take pressure off the Wizards,” he said. “But that’s why I’m not going to do that.”
Blatche, who says he can still be a starter in the NBA, is most concerned with being somewhere where he gets playing time.
“When I become a free agent, I’m going to call (GM) Billy King and say, ‘Billy, listen man, I need 100 million to keep me here,'” Blatche joked. “But seriously, I’m going to call my agent and see what’s best for me and my family.
“Money’s not the (biggest thing). It’s more I just want to go somewhere where I can play. I want to play as many minutes as possible.”
The most the Nets can offer Blatche this offseason is the mini mid-level exception, a three-year deal worth roughly $10 million. The Nets gave the same deal to Mirza Teletovic this offseason.
In 65 games this season, Blatche has posted career-bests in field goal percentage (.501), rebound percentage (16.4%), and PER (22.3, 14th in the NBA), averaging 19.3 points, 9.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 2.1 steals per 36 minutes.
Read More: ESPN New York — Blatche hopes to re-sign with Nets
For Andray Blatche, money isn’t the issue this summer
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