Brooklyn Nets Roster News, Rumors: New GM Sean Marks Makes First Move, Waives Andrea Bargnani
The Brooklyn Nets recently hired Sean Marks as their new general manager and change is about to happen for the struggling franchise, starting with the news that the team has waived forward Andrea Bargnani after an underperforming season.
Before the announcement, rumors were already floating around about the former No. 1 overall pick and the Nets talking about buying him out, and there was good reason to because the Italian player has been nothing short of a disappointment in Brooklyn.
The team initially planned to give him the opportunity to prove himself after a similar disaster in the early years of his career in the league. However, waiving him is a clear manifestation that they no longer are willing to wait for him to prove his worth. The departure of Bargnani is the first move of Marks as the new GM, taking over longtime Nets player movement head Billy King.
In a total of 46 games for the Nets, the 30-year-old averaged mediocre numbers of 6.6 points a game, although he shot decently at 45.5 percent. His problem, though, is that he couldn't put up huge numbers when the reason why he's still in the league is because of his offense.
It was King who acquired Bargnani and signed him to a two-year deal worth the veteran's minimum. As a 10-year veteran, he actually had better days in the early part of his career, producing averages of 14.3 points and 4.6 rebounds. That's why the kind of production in Brooklyn gave the team good reason to waive him and get an open roster spot in the process.
His best season came in 2010-11, where he averaged a career high of 21.4 points per game for the New York Kincks. However, he couldn't stay healthy after that season, missing more than half of the games he could have played in the next four years.