Brook Lopez Trade Rumors: Latest News, Speculation Surrounding Nets Center
Published by Adam Wells on November 4, 2016
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears
As the Brooklyn Nets look for ways to shed salary and fully commit to a much-needed franchise rebuild, center Brook Lopez is back on the trade block.
Continue for updates.
Nets Already Taking Calls for Lopez
Friday, Nov. 4
According to ESPN’s Marc Stein, rival executives around the NBA are convinced Lopez is there for the taking if the right deal is presented to the Nets.
Stein wrote the Nets are doing the necessary due diligence to take calls from teams about Lopez, which likely indicates nothing is imminent.
Lopez is no stranger to being on the trade block. Frank Isola of the New York Daily News reported before last February’s trade deadline the Nets were willing to trade the 28-year-old center, though nothing came of those talks.
Now in his ninth NBA season, Lopez is off to a strong start, averaging 19.8 points and 5.8 rebounds through four games. Injuries have been a problem throughout his career, though he has managed to appear in 145 of a possible 164 games in the previous two seasons.
Lopez’s contract is not a long-term issue in a deal since he’s signed only through next season, but he is owed roughly $43.8 million combined this season and next, per Spotrac.
The Nets are not going anywhere in the Eastern Conference as presently constructed, so keeping an injury-plagued center, albeit one with tremendous upside, at a high salary doesn’t make sense for the franchise’s long-term outlook.
There are more than three months before the trade deadline on February 23, but by putting Lopez’s name out now, the Nets can start accumulating offers for him to determine which one they like best if they decide to pull the trigger on a move.
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