 |
The Brooklyn Nets have signed center Jason Collins to a 10-day contract, General Manager Billy King announced today.
“The decision to sign Jason was a basketball decision,” said King. ” We needed to increase our depth inside, and with his experience and size, we felt he was the right choice for a 10-day contract.”
Collins is an openly gay player, and this is the first time in NBA history that an openly gay player has been active in the league. That’s a much bigger story than his basketball ability at this point, which has always been mostly limited to defense, hustling and being a big body.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver issued the following statement today regarding the Collins signing: “Jason told us that his goal was to earn another contract with an NBA team. Today, I want to commend him on achieving his goal. I know everyone in the NBA family is excited for him and proud that our league fosters an inclusive and respectful environment.”
A 12-year NBA veteran, Collins rejoins the Nets after spending the first six and a half seasons of his NBA career with the franchise. Selected with the 18th pick in the 2001 NBA Draft by the Houston Rockets, the Stanford product was acquired by the Nets as part of a multi-player draft night trade. In 510 games, including 404 starts, with the Nets from 2001-08, Collins averaged 4.4 points and 4.5 rebounds in 24.5 minutes per game. He also appeared in 75 playoff games with the Nets, amassing playoff averages of 3.3 points and 3.8 rebounds in 21.4 minutes per game and helping the Nets reach back-to-back NBA Finals in 2002 and 2003. Collins is tied for third in Nets history in games played (510), ranks eighth in minutes played (12,493), ninth in offensive rebounds (782) and is tied for 10th in total rebounds (2,304). He holds NBA career averages of 3.6 points and 3.8 rebounds in 20.8 minutes per game through 713 contests, including 476 starts, after spending time with the Memphis Grizzlies (2008), Minnesota Timberwolves (2008-09), Atlanta Hawks (2009-12), Boston Celtics (2012-13) and Washington Wizards (2013).
Collins will be available for tonight’s game versus the Los Angeles Lakers.
