Brooklyn Nets NBA 2015 news: Thaddeus Young opts out of contract to explore free agency

Thaddeus YoungReuters

The Brooklyn Nets just loss a key addition to their roster after forward Thaddeus Young who they acquired last season through trade, opted out of his contract and will be a free agent.

Young's decision was confirmed by Nets general manger Billy King to Rod Boone of Newsday who tweeted, "Billy King confirms Thaddeus Young has opted out. Said they also extended qualifying offer to Mirza."

Brooklyn acquired Young in a trade deal that sent veteran forward Kevin Garnett to the team that originally drafted him in 1995, the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Young was an efficient contributor for the Nets last season and averaged 13.8 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.4 steals in 28 games which included 20 starts.

Splitting his time for the Timberwolves and Nets last season he averaged 14.1 points, 2.3 assists and 5.4 rebounds.

The Nets had their fair share of struggles last season and the team even placed the members of their big three, center Brook Lopez, point guard Deron Williams and forward Joe Johnson in the trading block but there were no offers for either one of the three.

Despite all the setbacks, Brooklyn still finished eighth in the Eastern Conference with a 38-44 record and gave the Atlanta Hawks a run for their money in the first round of the playoffs.

The Nets lost the first two games of the series only to bounce back and win back-to-back before dropping two consecutive again and being overpowered by Atlanta in six games.

In Boone's tweet, King also spoke about forward Mirza Teletovic who the team gave a $4.2 million qualifying offer which makes him a restricted free agent, ESPN reported.

The 29-year-old is a versatile big man who has the ability to facilitate but was only limited to 40 games last season including four starts because of blood clots in his lungs.

Teletovic averaged 8.5 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game last season.