Nets News: Kevin Durant Former Teammate Fills Up Forward Vacancy In Brooklyn

The Brooklyn Nets have come to terms with Lance Thomas to fill up the void left by Wilson Chandler. The 32-year-old forward is serving a 25-game suspension after violating the league's policy on performance-enhancing drugs once the regular seasons starts.

As mentioned in a previous report, Thomas was one of several players being eyed by the Nets to fill up the forward spot. He was one of several players who worked out with the Nets this summer, a condition that Brooklyn opted to go with. Other names like Luol Deng, Dante Cunningham, and Carmelo Anthony were suggested as logical replacements.

Curiously, Thomas will be joining a former teammate in Kevin Durant over in Brooklyn. Both were briefly teammates during the 2014-15 NBA season. Thomas played for 22 games and averaged 5.1 points and 3.4 rebounds. He was traded to the New York Knicks in 2015 via three-team six-player trade that also involved the Cleveland Cavaliers, NBA.com reported.

The nine-year veteran forward will now join his fourth NBA team. Aside from the Thunder and the Knicks, he also suited up for the New Orleans Hornets/ Pelicans. He holds career averages of 5.2 points and 2.6 rebounds and has played 392 games thus far.

Thomas had his best years with the New York Knicks although his production started to decline the last four seasons. The 31-year-old hopes to do better as he plugs in the hole while Chandler is serving his suspension.

With Thomas on board, the Nets roster count has now swelled to 20. Details of the deal were undisclosed according to NBA.com. Prior to beginning his NBA career, Thomas spent four years at Duke, earning ACC All-Defensive Team honors as a senior while helping the Blue Devils earn the NCAA championship.

This development also means that the possibility of Carmelo Anthony joining the Nets have grown dimmer. Durant and Kyrie Irving were allegedly pushing for the Nets to take in the 35-year-old forward to beef up their frontline. But with a stacked roster right now, the high scoring forward may have to wait and see if any other team will be interested.