Gerald Wallace and the Brooklyn Nets have agreed to a four-year, $40 million deal according to sources close to the deal.
The Nets have openly voiced their confidence that Wallace would re-sign with the team after he opted out of the final year of his contract last month, while at the same time he let his intent to stay with the team be known.
Wallace won’t be able to officially sign his contract until July 11 under NBA rules. Analysts had expected Wallace to sign a three-year deal worth $24 million instead of the four-year deal he has agreed to sign.
Had he not opted out of his final year Wallace would have received $9.5 million for the 2012-2013 before entering the market as a free agent.
Wallace was obtained from Portland during the season in order to boost the teams roster and to convince marquee free agent Deron Williams to commit over the long-term. In exchange for the trade the Blazers received a top pick in the 2012 NBA draft . Portland used its position to draft Weber State point guard Damian Lillard.
In the meantime the Brooklyn Nets could receive another boost from Orlando Magic Star Dwight Howard who has asked Orlando Magic general manager Rob Hennigan to trade him to the Nets. Magic spokesman Joel Glass confirmed to the Orlando Sentinel that Howard and Hennigan met on Friday in Southern California to discuss Howard’s future with the team but he would not confirm what occurred at that meeting.
Dwight Howard is under contract through the 2012-2013 season and the Orlando Magic are under no obligation to trade him.
