The Brooklyn Nets were eliminated by the Atlanta Hawks on Friday, and that could be the final game that Brook Lopez and Thaddeus Young play for the franchise. They're expected to opt out of the final year of their respective contracts in order to become free agents this summer. The Nets would like both of them to stick around, according to ESPN's Mike Mazzeo:
The expectation is that the Nets want to re-sign both Lopez and Thaddeus Young, according to sources, and that could happen after both opt out of the final year of their contracts and agree to multi-year deals to stay in Brooklyn.
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The pressure now falls on Nets GM Billy King, who is entering the final year of his contract, to re-shape the roster. Brooklyn needs to continue to get younger, faster and more athletic. The Nets also need leadership. They need more talent. Basically, they need everything.
Brooklyn came close to moving Lopez at the trade deadline, which is when Young came to town in exchange for Kevin Garnett. The Nets appeared ready to move on from the Lopez-Deron Williams-Joe Johnson era this season, but general manager Billy King couldn't get a deal done. The question is what the next iteration of this team will look like, and it's an impossible one to answer right now. For that reason, it's hard to know where Lopez and Young fit in.
Lopez has continually battled injury issues with the Nets, but managed to play 72 games in the regular season. He came off the bench for 44 of them, though, and it took a while for he and Brooklyn head coach Lionel Hollins to get on the same page. Lopez helped himself with the way he finished the year -- he averaged 19.7 points and 9.2 rebounds per game after the All-Star break, and those numbers were almost identical against the Hawks.
Following the loss, one Nets assistant coach made an impassioned plea to Brook Lopez, asking him to stay in Brooklyn.
— devin kharpertian (@uuords) May 2, 2015At 27 years old, Lopez is in line for a big payday. If the Nets believe he can stay healthy and they can upgrade the roster in other ways, then it's understandable that they want to keep him. The Young question complicates things, however. In 28 regular-season games in Brooklyn, Young averaged 13.8 points and 5.9 rebounds per game, shooting 49.5 percent from the field. He's a versatile forward who, at 26 years old, is likely also looking for a long-term deal. The Nets should see what his market value is, but if Lopez is going to be their center for the long haul, they might want a stretchier 4 or a shot blocker next to him.
Another thing that complicates matters: King is heading into the final season of his contract. Who knows what he'll do to try to prove he should stay?
