The Nets announced this morning that they have officially picked up Jarvis Hayes:
East Rutherford, N.J.—The New Jersey Nets have exercised the team option on the contract of forward Jarvis Hayes for the 2009-10 season, Nets President Rod Thorn announced today.
“Jarvis was a key member of our rotation last season, providing instant scoring and the ability to stretch the defense,” said Thorn. “We are pleased to have him continue as a member of our roster, and look forward to a similar contribution this season.”
Hayes, a 6-8 forward from the University of Georgia, signed as a free agent with the Nets on July 16, 2008. In 2008-09, he played in 74 games including one start. Hayes averaged 8.7 points and 3.6 rebounds in 24.8 minutes per contest while shooting a career-high .445 (257-577) from the field, a career-high .385 (94-244) from three-point range and .692 (36-52) from the line.
Javris Hayes is the type of player that Thorn loves. He can do a little bit of everything, plus he comes cheap (the option was for about $2 million) after having a pretty productive season.
We now have only one roster spot unclaimed, well for now at least. Trenton Hassell has until tomorrow to let the Nets know whether or not he will be exercising his $4.4 million player-option. The general consensus is he will because who in their right mind would give Hassell 4.4 million for this next year.
