Brook Lopez's contract status will be one of the more intriguing stories of the NBA offseason.
Lopez, who came on strong over the season's final few months, can go one of several ways. The 27-year-old center has a player option for 2015-16 worth north of $16.7 million, which he can opt into while hoping for a lucrative extension when the salary cap spikes in 2016.
He can also opt out, sign a short-term deal and enter free agency again in 2016 or 2017, when the cap hits unprecedented heights.
For a big man with a history of foot issues, however, the most sensible option may be for Lopez to opt out and seek as much guaranteed money as he can land this summer.
If that's the case, the Brooklyn Nets may be prepared to oblige him.
"If Brook wants to stay there, he should be able to get whatever he wants," a rival general manager told the New York Post's Fred Kerber.
"If he walks, where are they going? They don't have draft picks. They're flip-flopping their pick (with Atlanta). They're getting the 29th instead of the 15th. For their future, I don't see how they can lose him," the opposing GM added.
The Hawks own the right to swap first-round picks with the Nets this June, a component of the 2012 trade that sent Joe Johnson from Atlanta to Brooklyn.
The Nets won't have their own first-round pick until 2019 and only own their second-round pick once (this year) in the next four seasons. Add to that the fact that the team consists of mainly overpaid, over-the-hill veterans, and the organization is stuck between a rock and a hard place.
The Nets are nowhere near good enough to legitimately contend for a title, but also don't possess the draft picks and assets to bottom out and properly rebuild.
Given their predicament, re-signing Lopez, hoping he stays healthy, and landing a major free agent or two down the line - when the team eventually has cap space in 2016 or 2017 - is likely Brooklyn's only path to relevance in the near future.
Lopez, who was an All-Star only two years ago, averaged 21 points, 9.5 rebounds and two blocks on 55 percent shooting over the final 23 games of the season, with the Nets going 13-10 during that time to squeak into the playoffs.
He's averaged 19.7 points, 11.3 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in 39 minutes through the first four games of Brooklyn's even first-round series against the top-seeded Hawks.
