Andrea Bargnani signed with the Brooklyn Nets last summer with the plan to play significant minutes. Instead, the big-man appeared in only 46 games while playing fewer than 14 minutes per game.
As a result of this environment, he and the Nets agreed to a buy-out in February, making the stretch-big a free agent. Bargnani took to his Facebook account on Wednesday (more than two months after the fact) to discuss the thought-process behind that mutual decision.
Following translated through Facebook, so excuse the grammar mistakes:
I chose to leave the nets and a guaranteed contract because the conditions with which I was convinced to sign were other and being used with a limited loaded didn’t make any sense to continue to remain in that situation neither for me nor for the team.
With regard to Europe we don’t have the time to sign with a team of euroleague (and I’m very sorry)… It was a matter of hours “. Now focus on Turin and the Olympic ?#?Wizard? ?#?Azzurridentro? ?#?roadtorio?
The decision certainly made sense then and makes sense now. Bargnani has not been a positively impactful player for a long time now and he has been regarded as one of the most disappointing number one overall picks in NBA history for the majority of his career. While the Nets did not have tanking in mind (their draft pick is owed to the Celtics) it did not make sense for them to give minutes to a mediocre player who has reached his ceiling.
Bargnani may still get a chance in the NBA. While his shooting is just about average, the reputation he carries as a shooting big-man may be enough to get another contract. But if a team does sign him, he should not be expecting more minutes than what the Nets gave him.
At this point in his career, Bargnani is a borderline rotation player. If he wants to compete in the NBA, he will have to manage with few minutes. If he wants to have a huge role, he may have to play in Europe or elsewhere. My gut feeling is that his decision will follow that second path.
