The Brooklyn Nets head to Orlando for the restart without Kevin Durant or Kyrie Irving... and now Wilson Chandler has opted out as well.
The veteran and free agent to be this offseason chose not to go citing family considerations, reports Malika Andrews of ESPN.
Wilson Chandler has informed the Nets that he is opting out of playing in Orlando, the forward tells ESPN.
— Malika Andrews (@malika_andrews) June 28, 2020
“As difficult as it will be to not be with my teammates, the health and well-being of my family has to come first,” Wilson said. “Thank you to the Nets organization for understanding and supporting me in this decision, and I will be watching and rooting for our team in Orlando.” https://t.co/bN37YdF9zX
— Malika Andrews (@malika_andrews) June 28, 2020
“As difficult as it will be to not be with my teammates, the health and well-being of my family has to come first.”
Nobody should question a player putting his family and health first, especially going into an untested scenario like the NBA’s bubble/campus in Orlando. Chandler also said he agreed with Kyrie Irving, who has questioned the NBA’s return to play and the impact that would have on the Black Live Matters and social justice movements. Chandler will not be paid for the restart games now.
Loss of pay for Wilson Chandler will range from $200K to $350K based on how many games Brooklyn will play. In total, Chandler will forfeit at a minimum $1.2M (suspension, escrow and pay reductions) of his $2.3M salary this year.
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) June 28, 2020
On the court, this hurts the Nets’ depth. Chandler was playing 21 minutes a night coming off the bench at the four behind Taurean Prince, with Rodions Kurucs the only other guy getting quality minutes there. Chandler had become very important to the Nets defense, and it’s that end of the floor where he will be missed the most.
Chandler’s decision seems to have caught the Nets’ front office by surprise. They recently signed Tyler Johnson for the restart and had to let Theo Pinson go to create the roster spot; had the Nets known of Chandler’s plans they could have signed Johnson without releasing Pinson. Brooklyn reportedly is signing Justin Anderson to fill Chandler’s roster spot.
Free agent Justin Anderson is signing with the Nets, agent Mark Bartelstein of @PrioritySports tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 28, 2020
Off the court, Chandler is a free agent to be and the buzz around the league is he is likely to move on from Brooklyn this offseason.
