Is Andray Blatche likely to return to the Brooklyn Nets?

Andray Blatche is in a unique position this summer. He has said he'll opt out of his vets minimum contract with the Nets come June 29 and see what he can get on the open market. For 2014-15, he's guaranteed nearly $10 million even if he accepts only the vets minimum again because he's got one more year of amnesty payments from the Wizards.

For Blatche, the issue is income security beyond 2014-15, when the amnesty payments stop. Even if he opts out, the Nets have his Early Bird Rights which permit them to pay him up to $25 million over four years. They won't go that high, and it's unlikely he'll get an outside bid that high either.  (It's possible Blatche could be signed and traded, as Keith Bogans was last summer and DeShawn Stevenson was two years ago, in both cases to make larger deals work under the cap.)

The big question is will either the Nets or another team give him a multi-year deal, considering what he did the last time he had such security and questions over his conditioning and commitment this season. His early season "personal leave" is generally believed to be Jason Kidd's punishment for a lack of both.

His numbers for a back-up center --11.2 points and 5.3 rebounds-- combined with his youth --he's only 27-- should get him big numbers but GM's have a tendency to discount that if there are character warnings.

What he can garner in the open market is open to question. As Tim Bontemps writes Wednesday...

If the Nets can bring Blatche back on a similar deal to last season’s – a one-year deal for slightly more than the minimum – it won’t be surprising to see him return. But a bigger, multi-year offer on the open market – entirely possible given his unique skill set – likely would lure Blatche away, which would leave the Nets with a scoring void off the bench that won’t be easy to replace.

It's likely to play out the first week of July. If he's unsigned early in free agency, then he could be back.

• Andray Blatche’s bench work sets him up for pay day - Tim Bontemps - New York Post
• Why Andray Blatche Should Stay With the Nets - Martin Mihaly - From Russia with Dunk