Trade of Yi Jianlian, tabbed by the Milwaukee Bucks with the sixth overall pick in the 2007 draft, would put Nets closer to gaining salary cap space that would enable them to sign two elite free agents. Report from ESPN.com.
The Nets' Yi Jianlian and Cavaliers' Anderson Varejao tangle for a rebound.NBA teams continue to jockey for salary cap space as they can open negotiations with free agents on Thursday at 12:01 a.m. Chad Ford reports for ESPN.com that league sources say the New Jersey Nets will trade 7-foot forward Yi Jianlian and $3 million to the Washington Wizards for guard Quinton Ross and Washington's trade exception. The Nets are expected to meet with Cavaliers star LeBron James in the Akron area on Thursday, hours after he becomes an unrestricted free agent. Ford writes:
The move will allow the Nets to clear another $3 million in cap space to spend on free agency this summer.
Yi is scheduled to make $4 million next season. Ross is set to make $1.1 million. The Nets should now have roughly $30 million in cap space to spend after the move, according to sources.
They will have to clear even more cap space, however, to sign two free agents to league-maximum deals. LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and others are projected to earn $16.6 million in first-year salaries. So a team would need $33.14 million under the cap to sign two max-contract free agents. The Nets are close, but they aren't there yet.