No Word on Buyout for Battie, Others

The midnight deadline has come and gone for players who are bought out by their teams to still be eligible for a playoff roster and there’s no word on the status of Tony Battie, Bobby Simmons, or any the other Nets veteran expirings who were candidates for a buyout. Tony Battie in particular was generating a lot of interest from Boston, and with Shaquille O’Neal hitting the shelf for the next 6-8 weeks with a thumb injury, Cleveland was another possible destination if he was cut loose by the Nets. However, the Nets were not looking to provide these players with charity, and were only going to buy somebody out if they could get some savings on the contract, something Battie, among others, was reportedly resistant to.