Brook Lopez 'kind of partial' to staying with Nets

Brook Lopez responded to his near-trade from the Brooklyn Nets on Friday by going off for 26 points in 23 minutes - including 25 in the second half(!) - and leading the Nets to a 102-80 romp over the Washington Wizards. 

Maybe he was trying to tell them something.

"I like it here," Lopez said after the game, according to Michael Lee of The Washington Post. "I’ve been here my whole career. I’m kind of partial to it now."

The Nets have had Lopez on the block basically since the beginning of the season, as they look to shed salary from their middling, taxed-out roster. Friday was as close as they've gotten to dealing him, as they reportedly were in advanced talks on a three-team trade that would have sent Lopez to the Oklahoma City Thunder. 

"I don’t pay attention to that stuff," Lopez said. "I’m here. I’ve been here all day. Wherever I am, I try to be there for my teammates, be on the floor and put forth effort, help our team win. We didn’t really focus on that. I’m here right now and we just kind of focused on going out there and getting a win."

Lopez added that the feeling of being shopped is nothing new, and nothing he can't handle:

"I’ve been on the block for like, 6½ years now, so it’s no big deal."