Earlier today, we reported a rumor that the Nets were reportedly interested in Boris Diaw’s Expiring Contract (heretofore referred to as BDEC). We reference it as BDEC and not “Boris Diaw” because the very notion that the Nets are legitimately interested in adding an overweight, undergood, $9 million paperweight for anything but future cap relief in the pursuit of anyone but Boris Diaw is nothing short of preposterous.
With that said, that rumor has been expounded upon, by the very man who started it:
The New Jersey Nets would like Boris Diaw’s expiring $9 million contract number, and they’d give up the future first-round pick the Houston Rockets owe them to accomplish that. The Bobcats would have to take players with financial obligations beyond this season.
I hear Jordan Farmar and Johan Petro would come to Charlotte.
Rick Bonnell — Observations: Bobcats at Hornets
Jordan Farmar and Johan Petro make a combined $7.75 million next season, plus the cap hold for the Rockets’ pick (bound to fluctuate, since the pick isn’t set in stone, and would be $0 if the currently-8th-seeded Rockets don’t make the playoffs) meaning that the Nets would only have Anthony Morrow, MarShon Brooks, and Shawne Williams guaranteed on next year’s cap, plus cap holds. It’s a big step towards opening the cap for next season, but it comes at the cost of watching Boris Diaw play basketball.
Jordan Farmar is also having a career year offensively, shooting 45% from beyond the arc, putting up a PER of 18.7, and an offensive rating of 114 — all career highs. He’s not a distributor but has proven to be a solid complement off the bench to Deron Williams. He is talented, as talented as any Bobcats player. Certainly moreso than Boris Diaw.
Johan Petro is a welcome player to salary dump, and as much as Farmar’s come into his own playing along Deron Williams, I’m not particularly averse to seeing him go if it’s part of a larger plan. But I do wonder if the Nets need to relinquish a draft pick as well, just for the pure cap relief. To be fair, I’m also a sucker for draft picks — the “unknown value” always gets me — but Farmar’s by far the best player in this deal and throwing in an extra draft pick on top feels a bit overwrought. But we’ll see.
