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If a 38-win team wants to keep the band together at an exorbitant cost, the rest of the NBA is willing to sit back and let them.
The Brooklyn Nets have reached agreement on a three-year, $60-million max contract with center Brook Lopez, and a four-year, $50-million deal with forward Thaddeus Young, according to Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski.
From 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.
Both deals were initially said to include a player option in the final year, affording each player flexibility in a rising cap environment. Lopez would be able to re-enter the market in 2017 at age 29, when there's still potential for another multi-year deal, while Young can look for another contract in 2018 at age 30. There are now conflicting reports as to whether Lopez's deal contains an option or not.
Both players opted out of player options for 2015-16 but were always expected to remain in Brooklyn.
Young, 27, was slated to earn $10.2 million if he opted in for 2015-16. He averaged 14.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.6 steals in 76 games last season with the Nets and Minnesota Timberwolves.
Capable of manning either forward position and playing a solid, if unspectacular, two-way game, Young stretches the floor just enough to help space an offense, and crashes the glass with abandon from the wing.
Lopez, who has spent his entire career with the Nets organization, averaged 17.2 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks in 72 games, 44 of which he started. The 7-footer isn't the most fleet of foot, but provides solid rim protection. The interior scoring he provides is becoming increasingly scarce league-wide.
It may not be a prudent strategy to continue forward with a flawed and expensive core, but Brooklyn doesn't have many alternatives. The Nets don't have a first-round pick in 2016 or 2018, the Boston Celtics can swap picks with them in 2017, and they're largely devoid of talented young players to build around.
Maintaining payroll flexibility would be great, but with a rising cap and little recourse to begin rebuilding properly, remaining a fringe playoff contender may be the most palatable option for Brooklyn.
