The New Jersey Nets are hurting in their final season in the Garden State. The team is 3-11 and only has the Washington Wizards below them in the Eastern Conference standings. Not exactly the way bazillionaire owner Mikhail Prokhorov wanted to gear up for taking the team to its next home in Brooklyn.
The team wanted to add Dwight Howard from the Orlando Magic via trade this offseason but the word is that Howard isn't keen on doing that unless he knows that Deron Williams will stick around. Nets fans looking for an injection of new talent onto the roster will have to be satisfied with the news that the team is "in the process of calling up Tulsa 66ers forward Larry Owens from the D-League," according to ESPN.
Owens got his first taste of the NBA last season with the San Antonio Spurs, averaging 1.3 points, 0.6 rebounds, and 0.1 assists per game in seven contests there before joining the Washington Wizards were his averages per game got upped to 6.2 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 1.4 assists. In Tulsa, Owens is posting a more respectable 13.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per game.
The deal is supposed to be completed on Wednesday, the site notes, but the Nets need to ditch another player before adding Owens. If he is with the Nets past Feb. 10, ESPN reports, his contract will be guaranteed for the rest of the season.