Grade the deal: Brooklyn takes chance on bottomed-out Andrea Bargnani

The Brooklyn Nets have reached an agreement to sign free-agent big man Andrea Bargnani.

The Brooklyn Nets have reached an agreement to sign free-agent big man Andrea Bargnani, the team announced Sunday. 

The deal is for one year at the $1.4 million veteran’s minimum, with a second-year player option, the New York Post’s Tim Bontemps reports.

ESPN’s Marc Stein had reported Saturday and earlier Sunday that Bargnani was nearing a deal with the Sacramento Kings. The former No.1 pick ended up taking less money to sign with Brooklyn, Stein reports.

Bargnani, who will be 30 at the start of next season, played 71 games with the New York Knicks over the last two seasons. He averaged 13.9 points and 4.9 rebounds in 28.8 minutes per game. Injuries to his elbow, calf and hamstring caused him to miss more than half of his team’s games.

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Analysis: The jokes will be in no short supply, but what’s the real harm here? Brooklyn took a chance on a bottomed-out player who was once regarded highly. So long as expectations and Bargnani’s minutes remain reasonable—as would be suggested by his minimum salary—then this is a marginal deal with marginal upside. The Nets needed playable bigs as it was, and that need has only been exacerbated by Thomas Robinson’s recent knee surgery. Does Bargnani make for ideal rotation filler? Hardly. Could he be occasionally helpful in a small, low-risk role for a mediocre team? Sure. — Rob Mahoney​

Grade: C

- Dan Gartland