Ric Bucher is reporting that the Nets have come to an agreement with Travis Outlaw, giving the forward $35 million over the course of 5 year:
Forward Travis Outlaw has agreed to a five-year, $35 million deal with the Nets, his agent, Bill Duffy, told ESPN The Magazine’s Ric Bucher.
The 25-year-old Outlaw averaged 8.7 points and 3.6 rebounds in 23 games for the Los Angeles Clippers after being acquired as part of a trade that sent Marcus Camby to the Portland Trail Blazers. In 11 games for Portland last season, Outlaw averaged 9.9 points and 3.5 rebounds.
Outlaw is a small forward, and with Avery Johnson saying that he wants to use T-Will at the SG spot, the team needed another SF on the roster besides Damion James. This is a terrific signing in my opinion, Outlaw is a good shooter who will help spread the floor, and he is a guy who is willing to take (and make) big shots in the fourth quarter of games. The reason this signing works is that Outlaw can be effective either starting or coming off the bench, depending on how well Damion James does. Gut feeling though, Outlaw will be the Nets’ starting SF on opening night. Also, at 25 Outlaw already has 7 years of NBA experience.
I don’t want to hear the “we whiffed on the big three free agents and now we are rushing to sign average players” comments. The Nets only have 6 or 7 guys on their roster so this seems like a signing the Nets would have made even if they got a big free agent to sign with the team. I will have a breakdown of Outlaw’s game later in the week, but this is a really good signing for the Nets. He is already an immediate upgrade over CDR.