Not surprisingly - certainly not to Verizon Center paying customers - Andray Blatche remains without an NBA contract, though his talent level eventually will have some team taking a chance. Apparently the Brooklyn Nets could be that that team, but no guarantee, contract that is.
Looking for another big man option behind Kris Humphries and Brook Lopez, the Nets are checking out the 6-foot-11 forward with offensive skills and a hefty amount of baggage, according to multiple reports. Blatche has been spending the summer in Houston, the same city where Nets coach Avery Johnson lives during the summer. The two were expected to meet over the Labor Day weekend.
One of those reports notes the Nets currently have 13 players already armed with a guarantee contract. Should the team fill out their final roster spots before the start of the regular season, don't expect anymore guaranteed money to be offered. So in this case, making Blatche earn his way on to the roster would be a combination of team planning and past behavior. Fair enough.
Considering the Wizards were in the same spot a few days, it seemed plausible the team would take the same financial stance heading into training camp, but instead they ponied up guaranteed money to free agent Martell Webster.
Prediction time: Whether it's the Nets or another team, Blatche will play in the NBA this season. No, that's not the prediction. Even though one writer described Blatche as "having the focus of a four-year old," and even though he just got a fat check from the amnestying Wizards, I'm saying Blatche has another multi-year deal on the horizon. Not now, maybe not in 2013-14 and likely never the dollars Washington already paid him. But we haven't seen the last team believe, even if just as a rotational player, that there is talent worth mining - and worth paying.