The Brooklyn Nets had to make a calculated decision over the summer. They either would let their big men duo of Brook Lopez and Thaddeus Young walk in free agency or shell out some money and pay the two.
The Nets picked the latter of the options and decided that they might not be title contenders but since they don’t have their pick in 2016, there’s no need to tank. Might as well try to compete as much as they can.
With the decision to re-sign Brook, it also came with the decision to make Lopez the star player and build a team around him. Which also means no more trade talk, which has run rampant over Lopez’s career with the Nets, especially last season.
Following from Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated.
As a Net, he has seen the best of times (a 49-win in 2012-13 season) and the worst of times (a 12-win in ‘09-10). Whatever direction Brooklyn headed, Lopez was ready for it. He just had one request: Cool it with all the trade talk.
“We asked them to temper those ideas,” Lopez said. “We told them to pump the brakes a little.”
And the Nets response?
“They said they would, but it’s a business,” Lopez said. “It’s the way it is sometimes.”
No more trade talk could be both good and bad. So far, the Nets have started the season 0-4 and Nets fans can’t be entirely happy with their results thus far. Then again, the Nets are under the luxury tax big, they no longer have Deron Williams and the contracts of both Lopez and Young will be steals once the cap raises next summer.
It must have been a pretty easy sell for Nets general manager Billy King to convince Lopez to stay. Talented big men with post moves and rim protecting skills at seven feet tall is hard to find in the NBA nowadays. Keeping Brook solidifies the Nets going forward, especially as they look for a point guard to pair with Brook’s talents.
