ATLANTA -- With a trade to Memphis possibly near completion,
center Jason Collins started what could be his final game with the
New Jersey Nets on Saturday night.
Collins, who has spent all of his six-year NBA career with New
Jersey, will reportedly be dealt to the Grizzlies by Monday for
forward Stromile Swift.
"He's meant so much to this franchise," Nets coach Lawrence
Frank said. "And I don't want to write him off because, again,
there are a lot of different things that could happen. So I really
don't want to talk about him not being a Net until he's not a Net.
But just dealing with all the speculation, I think is a true credit
to him as a person."
Frank indicated that the Grizzlies let New Jersey, which had
Malik Allen out with the flu, keep Collins another game. Collins
averaged just 1.4 points and 2.1 rebounds in playing approximately
16 minutes of his first 42 games.
The Nets also wanted to keep Nenad Krstic, who returned after
missing two months to rehab his knee, to a 15-minute limit.