OAKLAND, Calif. — When Shaun Livingston hit unrestricted free agency this summer, he wanted to return to Brooklyn, and the Nets made it clear re-signing him was their top priority.
But there was one thing preventing that: the Nets only could offer Livingston a three-year contract worth roughly $10 million, the limit of the taxpayer’s mid-level exception. And after the circuitous route the former No. 4 overall draft pick had taken throughout his 10 years in the NBA, Livingston knew he had to maximize his earning potential after the strong 2013-14 season he played on a minimum contract.
“At the end of the day, everything I’ve been through as a player in this league, was about putting myself in the best position, one, to win, and also to get the value as a player, your market value,” said Livingston, who had four points in 13:03 in the Nets’ 107-99 loss to the Warriors Thursday night. “I think that was my case last [summer].”
Livingston had been a key component of the Nets’ small-ball lineup under Jason Kidd and had emerged as their top perimeter defender after stepping into the starting lineup. That put him in a position to command more money than the Nets could offer, and on the opening day of free agency, he agreed to a three-year, $16 million deal with the Warriors to be their third guard behind stars Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.
It was the kind of offer Livingston expected, and one his play last season warranted. But after a star-crossed career dating to the gruesome knee injury he suffered while a young, up-and-coming point guard with the Clippers in 2007, he knew better than to expect things to work out in his favor.
“I was hoping to,” Livingston said of surpassing what the Nets could offer him. “I was really hoping to, and ideally that was the thought process [going into free agency].
“But I’ve been in a couple situations where I thought I was going to get paid or going to come back,” Livingston said. “My injury? I was supposed to get an extension. I had a good year with the Wizards [in 2009-10], and they jumped up and got John Wall with the first pick, and I was like, ‘All right, I’m done guessing trying to figure this [stuff] out.’ ”
Things did finally break Livingston’s way, however, as he not only found himself in arguably a better situation than the one he had in Brooklyn, but also at the money he was hoping to receive.
Now he’s trying to get into a rhythm with his new teammates after spending the past few months battling the lingering effects of a broken toe he suffered in Miami on April 8.
It’s a game remembered more for Mason Plumlee’s game-winning block of LeBron James that allowed the Nets to complete a regular-season sweep of the two-time defending champions. During the game, however, Livingston landed awkwardly after a dunk attempt and hyperextended his big toe. It was an injury that took a while to properly diagnose. Livingston had surgery in September.
“All the MRIs and X-rays was inconclusive, basically, so the only thing from there was to look inside the toe,” Livingston said. “It was going to be the same rehab process, I would miss the same amount of time.
“It was a lot of scar tissue from when I broke it, [but] I just continued to play on it through the playoffs. Basically I just shot it up with cortisone and just went out there and played on it.”
While Livingston was trying to get himself healthy this summer, he said he had a lot of time to sit and think about last season, which had its fair share of ups-and-downs for both Livingston and the Nets. Though he said his favorite memory of last season was the way the Nets turned things around after a dreadful start and made the playoffs, Livingston admitted he was frustrated by not being able to play at 100 percent during the playoffs, and particularly during the first-round series against the Raptors.
“That was a tough series for me,” he said. “I was really up and down, and dealing with illness and injuries, and you work all year long to get ready for that and then stuff happens, but it’s part of it.
“It’s just like anything, stuff happens, and you have to sort of grind your way through it. The Miami series, I felt a lot better. You always want to do more, especially when you come up short. But it just didn’t happen that way.”