The Brooklyn Nets are reportedly interested in signing openly gay free agent center Jason Collins, according to Yahoo! Sports.
The Nets could be the perfect landing spot. Their new head coach, Jason Kidd, was Collins’ teammate for seven seasons with the Nets, from 2001-2008. He played with the Nets’ latest acquisitions — Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Jason Terry — just last season with the Boston Celtics. Joe Johnson played with Collins for three seasons with the Atlanta Hawks. Center Brook Lopez played for Collins’ alma mater, Stanford, so there’s a connection there.
ESPN's Chris Broussard, who made it clear he does not support gay athletes because of his religion, was quick to put a damper on the speculation:
source says “very doubtful” Nets sign Jason Collins
— Chris Broussard (@Chris_Broussard) June 28, 2013
It will be fascinating to watch. A New York team, and one he’s played for before, could be a great spot for him. I’d speculated on Twitter that the Los Angeles Clippers could also be a great fit, given Doc Rivers is the new coach and Collins lives in Los Angeles.
Stay tuned…
