With deadline Friday, Kris Joseph awaits word on his contract

Kris Joseph's 10-day contract with the Nets expires at midnight and Joseph tells Tim Bontemps that he hasn't heard yet what the Nets are thinking. But P.J. Carlesimo tells Bontemps he likes what he sees and Mario Elie and Jerry Stackhouse tell Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald that the ex-Celtic's work ethic will rule the day.

"I like Kris a lot," Carlesimo said. "I think he’s active. ... I’d like to be able to get him some more time so we could look at him. I think Kris Joseph can be a good player in the league. It’s just hard for us to get him time right now."

"I like him," said Elie, an 11-year veteran of six teams. "It’s not just that he’s good. I like how hard he works."

"He’s going to stick around," said Stackhouse. "When you see a guy with a shirt that wet, you know he’ll be sticking around."

The Celtics signed Joseph to a non-guaranteed, two-year deal last summer after taking him at #51 in the draft. (The Nets signed both Tyshawn Taylor and Toko Shengelia to two-year guarantees.) After sending him down to Maine four times, they waived him in January and Milton Lee, the Springfield Armor GM, traded for him.

Doc Rivers, who was quoted over the summer about how much he liked Joseph, said he has NBA ability but needs "the toughness and the focus to do it every night."

If the Nets re-sign Joseph, they have the option of giving him a two-year deal with a team option for next season. That retains his rights over the summer and if he does well next year, gives them his Early Bird rights and the ability to re-sign him to a contract outside the salary cap. He was scoreless last night in three minutes. He has played a total of five minutes over the 10-day without scoring.

• Castoff Joseph enjoys return to Beantown - Tim Bontemps - New York Post
• Hard-working Kris Joseph earns place on Nets - Steve Bulpett - Boston Herald
• Joseph 'positive' about Nets, still keeping an eye on Celtics - A. Sherrod Blakely - Comcast Sports Net