Nets' Jordan Farmar in negotiations with Israeli team

Nets backup point guard Jordan Farmar is in talks with Israeli team Maccabi Haifa, according to team owner Jeffrey Rosen, a New Jersey native who grew up in West Orange.

"We've been in serious talks with Jordan Farmar, who has expressed great interest to play for Maccabi Haifa," Rosen said in an e-mail press release. "We believe we are close to an agreement, but we have a few more hurdles to overcome to make it happen. We would love to have Jordan Farmar join Maccabi Haifa during the NBA lockout and we find his aspirations to play in Israel to be inspirational."

Farmar, 24, is Jewish, and initially, it was believed he would not count as a foreign import player if he played for a team in Israel. However, that is not the case. Farmar would have to apply for Israeli citizenship in order to be counted as an Israeli on the roster, so the team is negotiating with him as an American. Teams in Israel are allowed to dress no more than four import players per game.