Brooklyn Nets veteran Kevin Garnett reportedly plans to return next season while veteran Paul Pierce appears possibly headed to the Los Angeles Clippers as a free agent. Nets star Deron Williams, meanwhile, underwent surgery on his ankles.
"All indications" are Garnett will forego retirement and return to finish the final year of his contract, according to Tim Bontemps of the New York Post.
"Still, all indications have been Garnett will be back in Brooklyn for what would be the 20thh season of his stellar NBA career," Bontemps wrote on Thursday. "The fact is $12 million is an awful lot of money -- no matter how much you've made in the past -- and after playing much, much better over the final few months of the season, it would be easy to see Garnett agreeing to rejoin Pierce for one final season in Brooklyn before riding off into the sunset next summer."
Pierce, though, isn't a lock to return. ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk reported on Wednesday Pierce appears unlikely to rejoin the Nets for another season if the team doesn't improve its roster.
"The odds don't sound good of a Pierce return," ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk wrote on Wednesday. "Those in and around the Nets organization are unsure what Pierce will do. But it's only May. He has plenty of time to make up his mind. My guess is that Pierce will wait to see what the Nets can do to improve the roster. If the Nets are unable to make significant improvements, he could end up going elsewhere by mid to late July."
One possible destination for Pierce would be the Clippers, where he could reunite with coach Doc Rivers.
One potential deciding factor for whether Garnett and Pierce return could be the health of Williams, whose ankles continued to nag him last season. ESPN reported Williams underwent surgery on Tuesday to remove a bone chip from his right ankle and to cleanout bone spurs his left ankle.
He's expected to be healthy before the start of training camp.
