Nets considered signing Jason Collins, but eventually passed

Collins was on the Nets from 2001 until 2008, and appeared in both the 01-02 and 02-03 Finals vs the Lakers and Spurs, respectively

NBA veteran power forward Jason Collins has spent his career as a mostly under-the-radar player, as his style consists of him doing his job on the court quietly and effectively, without filling up many categories on the stat sheet or many newspapers back pages. But he blew that reputation out of the water last April when he came out as gay, in a front-page Sports Illustrated story, making him the first openly-homosexual active player in major American professional sports. The news was headline stuff for what seemed like ages.

And now he's looking to continue his basketball career with a new team, as his contract with the Washington Wizards, the team he finished the 2012-13 season with, expired back in July.

The Brooklyn Nets, of whom Collins was a member for eight seasons in New Jersey, were interested in signing Collins to an extent, before eventually passing on him, according to coach Jason Kidd (coach, not point guard). That means that Collins is still on the free market, and looking at his basketball talents and abilities alone, there is no reason why a contending NBA team (maybe the Heat or Clippers?) wouldn't at least take a flyer on him.

But with the added attention and intrigue that has followed the Stanford grad since his stunning admission, it may be a little harder for a team to pick him up, as a backup rotational forward for any NBA team that commands the media circus that has been attached to Collins may be undesirable. For one, I hope that a good team realizes the value he adds both as a veteran presence/pseudo-assistant coach and defensive stalwart on the post. We (me, basically) hope Jason the best in his job-hunting efforts.