Report: Livingston 'a virtual lock' to command salary out of Nets' price range

The Brooklyn Nets have said that re-signing guard Shaun Livingston is a key offseason priority, but that may only be a possibility if the 28-year-old is willing to leave some money on the table.

Livingston was one of the season's better stories, having perhaps the best season of his career in his 10th year in the league. Often beset by injuries and long slowed by a gruesome knee injury that cost him all of 2007-08 and more, Livingston slowly evolved into a much different, albeit still effective, player than was originally expected.

In 76 games with the Nets, the 6-foot-7 post-up machine averaged 8.3 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 3.2 assists in 26 minutes, nearing the league average with a 14.5 player efficiency rating and ranking above-average in true shooting percentage with a 55.1 percent mark.

Having earned only $1.3 million this season, Livingston is in line for a significant raise, possibly even approaching the highest salary of his career, a $4.4 million mark earned in the final season of his rookie contract.

if he commands that kind of deal, he may price himself out of the Nets' plans. According to ESPN's Marc Stein, that's a very real possibility:

It’s going to be tough. 

The Nets want to hang onto their reborn guard but aren’t projected to have more to offer in free agency than the taxpayer mid-level exception. Sources close to the situation say Livingston, bound for free agency again at 28, is a virtual lock to attract offers in free agency that can trump the hamstrung Nets’ best pitch financially. 

The taxpayer mid-level Stein references gives a player a base-year salary of $3.3 million, which seems low for Livingston given his 2013-14 performance, which included averaging 9.7 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 3.3 assists in 12 playoff games.

He's not a perfect player - he can't shoot beyond 16 feet, for example - but he's a very capable rotation piece, one that would fit nicely below the full mid-level exception ($5.3 million first-year salary) for several contenders.