Despite being offered more money by the Sacramento Kings, Andrea Bargnani has signed with the Brooklyn Nets, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.
Sources told ESPN.com the Kings were actually offering more money over the next two seasons than Brooklyn, but Bargnani preferred the fit with the Nets and opted for a two-year veterans minimum deal that includes a player option to return to free agency after the coming season.
This isn’t the first time the Kings have been left out in the cold despite offering more money to a player. Wesley Matthews chose to sign with the Dallas Mavericks instead of the Kings, even though the Kings were, at the time, offering bigger contract (Matthews’ contract with the Mavericks has since grown to be a max-level contract). Bargnani isn’t nearly the caliber of player that Matthews is, so this instance isn’t an indictment on the Kings’ inability to lure a free agent, but more an example of a player choosing a contract structure that they think better suits them.
Bargnani wouldn’t have been much of a difference maker on the Kings, and he’s not going to make much of a difference on the Nets (really, just in general, Bargnani wouldn’t make much of a difference anywhere). It is interesting that he’d turn down more guaranteed money from the Kings. Perhaps Bargnani thinks he’ll have a bounce-back season, one good enough to earn him a bigger, longer contract when the salary cap explodes next summer. Of course, given how poorly he’s played the past few years, it’s unlikely this will happen.
(ESPN)
