Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports that the Brooklyn Nets have a significant interest in bringing Jason Collins back to the Nets franchise, where he played for the first six and a half seasons of his career. He also has ties to the newest Nets, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, having played with them last season in Boston. Garnett did not approve of the deal that sent Collins to Washington in February, according to the report.
The 34-year-old Collins is most notable for becoming the first openly gay athlete in the NBA and first openly gay male athlete in professional US team sports, coming out in April shortly after his season ended with Washington. Nets players and management have supported Collins in his decision to come out, both publicly and privately.
Collins played in just 38 games last season (starting 9), averaging 1.1 points and 1.6 rebounds in 10.1 minutes per game. The Nets would assuredly sign him for the veteran’s minimum. He is represented by Arn Tellem of Wasserman Media Group, the same agency that represents Nets starting center Brook Lopez, shooting guard Joe Johnson, and new shooting guard Jason Terry.
Tim Bontemps of the New York Post refuted the report, quoting a source in the organization that says the Nets are not interested in bringing Collins back.
Yahoo! Sports — Nets interested in signing free-agent center Jason Collins
New York Post — Nets not interested in Collins, first openly gay NBA player: source
