Kidd doesn’t rejoin Nets as deal lingers

The New Jersey Nets returned to practice Monday without All-Star point guard Jason Kidd, whose status remained in limbo while rumors persist that his trade to the Dallas Mavericks is growing increasingly imminent.

The deal reportedly has Kidd, forward Malik Allen and guard Antoine Wright going to Dallas for point guard Devin Harris, center DeSagana Diop and swingman Maurice Ager, plus retired forward Keith Van Horn and Trenton Hassell. New Jersey also will get two first-round draft picks and $3 million.

Kidd, Allen and Wright were excused from the workout Monday. Meanwhile, the trade was awaiting the league’s approval.

“I advised Jason, Malik and Antoine to stay home,” Nets Coach Lawrence Frank said after the practice, which was attended by only seven healthy players. “Once there is closure with the whole situation, they’ll either be with us or won’t be with us. We decided to give it all another day. It’s going to be one way or the other. We’ll see what happens.”

The trade apparently is predicated upon whether Van Horn will sign a contract with Dallas. As of Monday night, Van Horn, who played five seasons with the Nets from 1997 through 2002, had not decided whether to accept the deal.

Van Horn has not played since the 2006 NBA Finals with the Mavericks. They still hold his playing rights because Van Horn never officially filed retirement papers with the league.

Frank said he spoke with Kidd earlier in the day, but didn’t want to discuss what they talked about. He also didn’t want to speak about the trade, referring all questions to team President Rod Thorn.

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Point guard Gilbert Arenas was cleared to participate in light, noncontact drills by the Washington Wizards, a step forward in his return from left knee surgery in November.

Arenas has said he hopes to play again in the coming weeks. The team has not said when he can return to full-contact practice.

Another Wizards player, center Etan Thomas, was cleared to practice for the first time since he had open-heart surgery in October because of a leaky aortic valve. No timetable has been set for him to play in a game.