It was early Wednesday afternoon that Rod Thorn called agent Rob Pelinka and offered his client, power forward Carlos Boozer, a contract worth $75 million to play for the Nets for the next five seasons.
Pelinka, who originally asked all bidders for $85 million — that's just $7 million shy of a maximum-salaried deal — thanked Thorn and said he would get back to him at the end of the day, according to a Nets official familiar with the negotiation.
Two hours later, the Nets learned — with no warning and no recourse — that Boozer signed a five-year, $80 million deal with the Chicago Bulls.
"They never gave us a chance to match, which we probably would have done," said the official, who requested anonymity because he is not authorized to speak for the team. "We didn't even get a chance to meet."
Throughout the morning, the Nets were trying to arrange a meeting between Boozer, who as at home in Miami, and coach Avery Johnson, who is with the summer league team in Orlando. They only spoke by phone.
So after seven days of free agency, the three best power forwards in the field — Amar'e Stoudemire, Chris Bosh, and Carlos Boozer – are accounted for, and the Nets are still trying to fill the largest hole in their lineup.
And for a team that was already sensing it was slipping out of the LeBron James derby, this was not a positive development.
The best power forward left was the Knicks' David Lee, but it was unlikely the Nets would come close to the five-year, $76 million maximum that he would likely request as the top player remaining in the market. Agent Mark Bartelstein, meanwhile, believed he was close to working out a sign-and-trade deal for his client with Golden State, which would involve sending a package of players to the Knicks. This transaction reportedly was contingent on James not going to Manhattan.
"I'm going crazy — I have a bunch of things going on right now, and it's changing by the hour," Bartelstein said Wednesday night.
If the Nets cannot land Lee, they'll have very few options left, and will probably seek a trade to fill their forward positions.
Moreover, they will have to deal with the inevitable blowback for letting the extremely productive Boozer — a 28-year-old veteran who averaged 19.5 points and 11.2 rebounds last season — get past them for a scant $5 million difference.
Additional coverage of NBA free agency: