Nets re-sign Brook Lopez, Thaddeus Young to long-term deals
The Brooklyn Nets have agreed to long-term deals with Brook Lopez and Thaddeus Young, according to Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski.
Lopez, 27, will receive a three-year, $60 million maximum contract that includes some protections for the Nets should a recurrence of Lopez’s past foot issues sideline him again, sources said. The deal is expected to include a player option after the second season, which would allow him to re-enter free agency once new television money raises the salary cap.
Young, 27, who opted out of $10.2 million owed him next season, will sign a four-year, $50 million deal, sources said.
Brook Lopez has been a member of the Nets since he was drafted with the 10th overall pick by the team in 2008. After earning the All-Star honors in 2013, Lopez struggled to consistently contribute due to injuries. After a slow start to the 2014-15 season, Lopez finally found his groove in the offense and averaged 17.2 points and 7.4 rebounds in 72 games. He led the Nets offensively in the first round of the playoffs, averaging 19.8 points and 9.0 rebounds, but did not have enough support from his teammates to help the Nets advance. While his health has remained a concern, there is reportedly some protection for the Nets in the contract. If healthy, Lopez is one of the best centers in the NBA.
Young joined the Nets midway through the season in a trade for Kevin Garnett. After joining the Nets, Young averaged 13.8 points and 5.9 rebonds.
What readers said at the time
1 reply came in under this piece in 2015, and they are kept here as they were written — the readers’ words, not ours, spelling and all. The thread is closed; the desk does not take new comments.
jerry251 July 2015
The way things are panning out, and based on Ian Eagle’s comments, the strategy remains clear. Its all about 2016 free agency, which means DWill’s salary must be off the books.
That means (as King alluded to) that both DWill and Jack will both be on the team at the beginning of the season. With the hope that DWill plays well enough to start the season, there would be no doubt that he would be then be traded. That means Jack stays. And although they don’t play well together (Jack plays best when he’s starting or knowing he’s going to have big minutes). And also it won’t be until around the start of the season before knowing if McCullough will be ready to play and contribute by very early in 2016.With the exception of hopefully using the mMLE to fill a hole such as at backup Center, I don’t see much else happening. I’m not sure if TRob would meet the dual role of backup Center and PF, but he proved to be a heck of a rebounder for Phila.
Regarding Mirza and Anderson, Nets should know soon how to proceed.
Nets of course can pay Anderson more than other teams if they so choose (using the Early Bird) and we know that Hollins WILL want AA back as RJH won’t have a good shooting range for a couple of years and he’s unproven. And if Mirza gets a good multiyear offer elsewhere, and leaves, that 4.2 million should be available for Anderson (for a 1 year deal). Nets of course can match offers for Mirza but I doubt they would want any multi-year deal. However, if Mirza returns (and McCullough can play), Teletovic could always be traded for a need. Afterall, Proky wants to make the playoffs this season, so as to be more attractive to a free agent in July 2016.