Vince Carter opted out of the final year of a contract with the New Jersey Nets that would have paid the all-star guard $16.3 million this coming season.
Nets president Rod Thorn said Saturday the team was informed Friday that Carter would test the free-agent market, but he remained optimistic the 30-year-old swingman would return next season.
“Unless he’s changed his mind, we’re hoping he’s back,” Thorn told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. “He said he wants to return, and we’ve always said we wanted him back.”
The two sides have talked about a contract for the past month, and they are close to an agreement on a four-year deal worth more than $60 million.
Any new contract could not be signed until July 11. If the two sides reach an agreement, Thorn said the team is prohibited from announcing the deal until then.
Carter averaged team highs of 25.2 points in the regular season and 22.3 for the postseason.
The other potential free agent the Nets would like to lock up is center Mikki Moore, who took over the starting job after Nenad Krstic was lost in December with a knee injury.
Moore averaged career bests of 9.8 points and 5.1 rebounds while leading the league in field-goal percentage .609.
76ers: Colorado State forward Jason Smith, Georgia Tech’s Thaddeus Young and Vanderbilt swingman Derrick Byars arrived June 6 for a predraft workout with the Philadelphia 76ers.
On Saturday, all three were sitting on a podium to meet reporters. The 76ers also introduced Providence forward Herbert Hill, another one of the nearly four dozen players the team worked out in anticipation of Thursday’s NBA draft.
Smith was taken at No. 20 by the Miami Heat before being dealt to the Sixers for Ohio State guard Daequan Cook, who was selected one pick later. The Heat also received a 2009 second-round pick and cash.
Smith played three seasons at CSU and averaged 16.8 points and 10.2 rebounds in his junior season before opting for the draft. He finished his career with 24 double-doubles, the second-most in school history.
“I can help in the low post with rebounding and scoring,” Smith said. “The Sixers are a great organization, and I feel like I can contribute. … This is an organization on the rise, and I’m very excited about the upcoming season.”
