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The Brooklyn Nets have signed forward/center Andrea Bargnani, General Manager Billy King announced today. The agreemeent for this deal was announced days ago, but the signing is now official.
“Andrea will give us the ability to space the floor and complement our other front court players,” said King.
According to ESPN.com, “the Nets are basically taking a $1.4 million gamble on Bargnani (and also giving him a second-year player option) in hopes that he’s able to revive his career. Low risk, potentially high reward.”
Bargnani (7’0”, 245) has appeared in 504 games (377 starts) in nine seasons with the Toronto Raptors (2006-13) and New York Knicks (2013-15), recording averages of 15.0 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 30.1 minutes per game. He’s shot .438 from the field, including .346 from three-point range, and .824 from the free throw line. Bargnani has also appeared in 11 career postseason games (eight starts), posting averages of 8.9 points and 2.8 rebounds in 25.9 minutes per game. During the 2014-15 season, the 29-year-old Bargnani appeared in 29 games (22 starts) with the Knicks, averaging 14.8 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 27.1 minutes per game.
Originally selected with the first pick in the 2006 NBA Draft by Toronto, the native of Rome, Italy earned All-Rookie First Team honors after averaging 11.6 points and 3.9 rebounds in 25.1 minutes per game in 65 games (two starts) during the 2006-07 season. Prior to entering the NBA Draft, Bargnani played professionally for four years in Italy with Stella Azzurra Roma in Serie B (2002-03) and Benetton Treviso in Serie A (2003-06). In his final season in Italy, Bargnani led Benetton Treviso to the 2006 Serie A championship.
