Nets guard Sasha Vujacic isn't sure if he'll be in Newark next year as a member of the Nets.Sasha Vujacic seemed to have it all in Los Angeles: Fame, fortune and championship rings.
But playing time was an issue for the super-competitive Vujacic, and so, when the two-time defending NBA champion Lakers decided in December to trade him to the lowly Nets, Vujacic wasn’t sour.
Instead, he embraced the move.
“It was time for me to move on, to find new challenges,’’ Vujacic said of leaving the Lakers for the Nets. “The role (in L.A.) wasn’t very significant, that’s why it was more than needed to change the city, change the team, change everything.’’
Vujacic admitted the failure of the Nets to make the playoffs “hurts,’’ but he insisted nevertheless that he loved being on the Nets. He played hard, and fearlessly, and quickly established himself as a fan favorite for a willingness and ability to take big shots and — as often as not — make them.
Vujacic averaged 28 minutes and 11.2 points in the 54 games he played for the Nets prior to last night. And the 24.1 minutes and 9.6 points per game he averages on the season are both career-highs.
But last night’s game at Prudential Center against the Charlotte Bobcats was the final home game for the Nets in 2010-11, and it might have been the final game in Newark for Vujacic as a Net. The seven-year veteran is a free agent this summer, and as mutually beneficial as his time with the Nets has been, he may not be back.
“I really don’t know,’’ Vujacic said when asked if he wants to return to the Nets. “I’ll talk with you about that after the last game. But definitely, from Day One, everybody accepted me, from the organization, to coaches to teammates. So I feel great and I felt welcomed. So I like it here. I like it a lot. The ownership, Mikhail Prokhorov, and (GM) Billy King, coach (Avery Johnson), everybody has that global vision of the team going somewhere and winning the championship and all I want to do is to win championships.’’
With a 24-56 record entering last night, the Nets have doubled their win total of last season, but they will need to improve a lot more if they are to get to the point where they can compete for a championship — or even just make the playoffs. It would help if Deron Williams — who had surgery on his wrist yesterday — is healthy all year, but that alone won’t do it.
The Nets will need to upgrade their roster to find a reliable perimeter scorer to help take pressure off Williams and center Brook Lopez.
In order to do that — and re-sign free agent Kris Humphries, whose performance this season has earned him a hefty raise for next year — they may not have the money available to commit to Vujacic, who earned $5.45 million this season.
Vujacic, who is engaged to tennis star Maria Sharapova, said he will take a week or so off after the season ends tomorrow in Chicago against the Bulls and then quickly get right to working out and getting ready for next season. He said he is already talking to trainers trying to come up with a plan for staying in shape in an offseason that is two months longer than he is used to. And of course, he’ll be traveling and watching a lot of tennis, he said.
Vujacic should have plenty of options if he doesn’t re-sign with the Nets. He came to New Jersey in the Dec. 15 three-team deal that sent Terrence Williams to Houston, and Joe Smith and two second-round picks to the Lakers for Vujacic and a first-round pick each from Houston and the Lakers.
Colin Stephenson:
cstephenson@starledger.com