Yes, there are enough Dwight Howard trade rumors to fill up the all the pixels and pages Nets fans could read in a day. But New Jersey's primary focus during NBA Free Agency is making the Nets an attractive place for point guard Deron Williams to stay put. That means adding a big man, and it doesn't have to be Howard.
Billy King, Nets general manager, has targeted Nene and Tyson Chandler -- two of the top names in SB Nation's 2011 NBA Free Agent List -- according to the New York Post.
Here are the quotes from King:
"We have some holes in our front line right now, so that’s a priority. That’s where I’m focusing right now," King said yesterday, the first day team executives could talk to agents while players can report to team facilities today -- but coaches and team executives can’t watch.
"I want to build a team I think can be successful," said King, who spoke to "quite a few" agents, including the representatives for Dwight Howard, Nene, Williams and Chandler. "We’re not going to sit here and say, ‘We’ll wait to the future.’ Because the future is not promised to anybody."
Of course, there's still Dwight Howard, the 7-foot elephant in the room. Would the Nets sign Chandler or Nene if Howard were on the way? King addressed the swirling rumors on Wednesday, too (via ESPN.com).
"I'll go on record. I haven't talked to them since February of [this year], and that was just checking in on the deadline as you do with everybody," he said. "I have not had any conversations with my good friend [Magic GM] Otis Smith, as everybody speculated I have."
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