NBA Trade Rumors: Have New Jersey Nets Given Up on Travis Outlaw?
By on June 28, 2011
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NBA lockout be damned, the New Jersey Nets refuse to not be in the news!
Between Deron Williams potentially playing in Turkey during the lockout to free agent power forward Kris Humphries preparing for his celebrity wedding with Kim Kardashian, the team from across the Hudson has not failed to keep things interesting, as one might expect from an organization run by Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov.
Furthermore, Nets management have already begun to game plan for roster moves in the event that there is time for signing free agents and swapping players before the curtains go up on the 2011-12 NBA season. According to Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News, the Nets will be in hot pursuit of a small forward once the players and the owners have come to terms on a new collective bargaining agreement, though they would prefer to do so via trade rather than in free agency.
Which begs the question, what about Travis Outlaw?
New Jersey signed the former Portland Trail Blazer to a five-year, $35-million deal in what appeared to be a last-ditch effort to sign a free agent after striking out on all the big names on the market last summer, including LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Amar'e Stoudemire and Joe Johnson.
As one might expect, the 26-year-old forward didn't exactly live up to the money, averaging 9.2 points on 37.5 percent shooting from the field, though, to his credit, Outlaw didn't miss a single game.
And, in a strange twist, Outlaw's father, John Outlaw Sr., recently told the Starkville Daily News that he expects his son to take on an even bigger role next season, claiming that he overheard Nets coach Avery Johnson telling his staff that he wants Travis to take around 17 shots per game this season.
That notion seems fishy in and of itself, with Deron Williams and Brook Lopez already on the roster, and it becomes even fishier when considering the notion that the Nets are looking to upgrade at his position.
Things only figure to get more interesting in New Jersey once the current lockout is finally lifted.
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