Report: Nets standing pat on potential Lopez deal
Brook Lopez will reportedly be staying put - for now.
Swirling rumors had him halfway out the Brooklyn Nets' door, but the Lopez speculation took another turn early Friday afternoon after a reported three-way deal involving the Oklahoma City Thunder and Charlotte Hornets fell through.
The Nets were reportedly working on a separate deal with the Thunder but are holding off for now, according to Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski.
"There was nothing we liked," a Nets source told Wojnarowski.
The framework of the proposed Thunder-Nets deal was situated around a package that would have netted Brooklyn center Kendrick Perkins, who's on a $9.1-million expiring contract, and guard Jeremy Lamb. But the Nets backed out after being unable to acquire adequate talent for the oft-injured Lopez, according to Wojnarowski.
Brooklyn didn't want to strictly move him in a salary dump, which is essentially what the trade would've been.
The original three-team trade that was reported looked as follows:
| TEAM | SENDS | RECEIVES |
|---|---|---|
| Thunder | Jeremy Lamb, Kendrick Perkins | Brook Lopez |
| Nets | Jarrett Jack, Brook Lopez | Lance Stephenson, Kendrick Perkins |
| Hornets | Lance Stephenson | Jeremy Lamb, Jarrett Jack |
Lopez, who earns $15.7 million this season and has a player option for $16.7 million in 2015-16, recently lost his starting job in Brooklyn to second-year big Mason Plumlee.
Wojnarowski added that the Houston Rockets are also interested in Lopez, while the Miami Heat remain in discussions with the Nets.