Shane Larkin has opted out of the final year on his contract with the Brooklyn Nets and will become an unrestricted free agent, reports Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders.
The speedy point guard averaged 7.3 points and 4.4 assists over 22 minutes per game for the Nets, seeing a huge role boost after Jarrett Jack tore his ACL in January. Brooklyn was Larkin’s third team in three years, having also played for the Dallas Mavericks in 2014 and the cross-river rival New York Knicks in 2015. Larkin’s quickness often got him into passing lanes and great positions in the paint, but his recklessness could play the Nets out of games completely on occasion.
If Larkin does not re-sign with the Nets, his 20 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists against the Washington Wizards in April will likely go down as his best game in black and white. As the season progressed, Larkin formed quite the rapport with backup forward Thomas Robinson, who may also opt out of his final year as well.
With the salary cap set to rise tremendously this summer, those with player options on Brooklyn were always likely to opt out. With Andrea Bargnani bought out in February, that leaves just Wayne Ellington and Robinson left to decide their contractual fates.
