The Brooklyn Nets head to Orlando for the restart without Kevin Durant or Kyrie Irving… and now Wilson Chandler has opted out as well.

The veteran and free agent to be this offseason chose not to go citing family considerations, reports Malika Andrews of ESPN.

Wilson Chandler has informed the Nets that he is opting out of playing in Orlando, the forward tells ESPN.

— Malika Andrews (@malika_andrews) June 28, 2020

“As difficult as it will be to not be with my teammates, the health and well-being of my family has to come first,” Wilson said. “Thank you to the Nets organization for understanding and supporting me in this decision, and I will be watching and rooting for our team in Orlando.” https://t.co/bN37YdF9zX

— Malika Andrews (@malika_andrews) June 28, 2020

“As difficult as it will be to not be with my teammates, the health and well-being of my family has to come first.”

Nobody should question a player putting his family and health first, especially going into an untested scenario like the NBA’s bubble/campus in Orlando. Chandler also said he agreed with Kyrie Irving, who has questioned the NBA’s return to play and the impact that would have on the Black Live Matters and social justice movements. Chandler will not be paid for the restart games now.

Loss of pay for Wilson Chandler will range from $200K to $350K based on how many games Brooklyn will play. In total, Chandler will forfeit at a minimum $1.2M (suspension, escrow and pay reductions) of his $2.3M salary this year.

— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) June 28, 2020

On the court, this hurts the Nets’ depth. Chandler was playing 21 minutes a night coming off the bench at the four behind Taurean Prince, with Rodions Kurucs the only other guy getting quality minutes there. Chandler had become very important to the Nets defense, and it’s that end of the floor where he will be missed the most.

Chandler’s decision seems to have caught the Nets’ front office by surprise. They recently signed Tyler Johnson for the restart and had to let Theo Pinson go to create the roster spot; had the Nets known of Chandler’s plans they could have signed Johnson without releasing Pinson. Brooklyn reportedly is signing Justin Anderson to fill Chandler’s roster spot.

Free agent Justin Anderson is signing with the Nets, agent Mark Bartelstein of @PrioritySports tells ESPN.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 28, 2020

Off the court, Chandler is a free agent to be and the buzz around the league is he is likely to move on from Brooklyn this offseason.

Five of the top six 2014 high school recruits were drafted in the 2015 NBA Draft Lottery: Jahlil Okafor, Emmanuel Mudiay, Stanley Johnson, Karl-Anthony Towns and Myles Turner.

The exception: Cliff Alexander.

After a rocky freshman season at Kansas, Alexander was effectively forced in the 2015 NBA draft by the threat of NCAA punishment. He went undrafted, signed with the Trail Blazers and played just eight games. The next season, he signed a 10-day contract with the Nets but never played for them.

TMZ:

Former NBA player Cliff Alexander — the top H.S. recruit in the country in 2014 — was arrested Wednesday … after cops say they found a loaded gun on him during a traffic stop.

Alexander, who cops say does NOT have a concealed carry license — was arrested and booked on a felony charge of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon.

Alexander, 24, has been playing in France.

Former Trail Blazers player Cliff Alexander charged with gun felony originally appeared on NBCSports.com