And after losing out on his top free agent targets and with the Dwight Howard trade in a holding pattern, King said he’s treasuring the flexibility he has salvaged.
“I didn’t want to get guys and just spend money because if it doesn’t work, that’s your roster. I’ve done that in the past and then once you get that, that’s where you are. So you want to be prudent,” said King, who reached out to free agents like Tyson Chandler, Nene and Caron Butler but ended up without a high-profile signing. “Very surprised (by the money free agents were commanding).
“But I think some people jumped out and did things that they felt was best for them. But I wanted to make sure we were very prudent in how we did it. And I’m confident with Deron and Brook and Anthony and we’ll add some more pieces – Shawne coming in, and we’ll get some other pieces – that we’ll add some more veteran guys that will help in other areas as well. We’ll get there. It just may not be opening day, but I think our fans shouldn’t panic because we didn’t get names, as we’re trying to build a team.”
The Nets still need to acquire a starting power forward and are in discussions to re-sign Kris Humphries, who King lauded for his versatility.
“We’re working on it. It’s something we’ll get there,” King said about the power forward hole. “It can be done via signings, trades, but it’ll be something we’ll look at and add to the few.”
-via Stefan Bondy's "Nets star and GM discuss amnesties, free agents and the team's future" NYDailyNews article
I think I almost shed a tear reading this. He gets, he finally gets it.
Also, I'm glad to see that while he listens to D-Will, it's obviously he just didn't do anything and everything just to please him. D-Will said that Tyson and Nene would instantly change the culture of Nets basketball (which is true) but we'd ultimately be paying a price that they're not really worth.
D12 must be pissed. D-Will comes here for less than a year and we're catering the team to his needs. D12 has been in Orlando 7 years and only after he requests a trade do they start really listening to him. He says he wants to be a part of decisions. Well, it's obvious the Nets are doing this on purpose. Letting everyone know from owner to GM to superstar, we're one big team that's on the same page.
