Brook Lopez to sign 4-year, $61 million contract with Nets

[celtsfan84]

Lopez puts up numbers, when healthy, that make the case for someone to argue he is a top 5 center in the league. And if he has a contract that starts off around $13 million, then I would say that's about right. Max smax.

Dwight, Bynum, KG, Chandler, Horford, Hibbert, Gasol, Al Jefferson.

I'm wondering what your top 5 centers look like.  I am uncertain he is top 10.

[Who]

I would say Brook Lopez is worth somewhere in the $10-12 million range.

That would be $50-60 million over five years vs the $78 million he got from Brooklyn. So overpaid by at least $18 million ($3 million per annum).

[Who]

Considering the way the market was going, New Jersey (ahh, that's bloody annoying) Brooklyn was always going to have to pay the maximum to keep hold of him.

I thought they should have forced the four year max like Memphis did with Marc Gasol and Indiana with Hibbert instead of giving Brook Lopez that fifth year on his deal. That was a mistake.

I will say this, I am more comfortable with giving Brook Lopez the max than Roy Hibbert.

[BudweiserCeltic]

Ugh.  Well, I guess the Nets will never have cap space and the Russian billionaire can afford to overpay.

That's about $10 million a year too much for my liking, but then again Prokhorov made $10 million while I was typing this post.

So you think Lopez is about a 3 million a year player?

No, I don't.  Why do you ask?

Well, the starting amount of the contract is MAX $12,922,194, so we'll have to see what the details of this agreement is.

But for the time being, he'd be making that amount next season.

No, the maximum for a player of his experience is 25% of the cap. Which is 14.5 million this season.  And he is eligible for 7.5% annual raises.  Which gets him in the 18 million range by the end of the deal.

It's not exactly 25% of the cap, it ends up being lower. And considering that the cap remained unchanged from last year from what I'm seeing, then the maximum salary should be the same I'd say, so: $12,922,194.

I'll have to await the details, and see how the annual raises factor into it.

Woj says it is 5 for 78.  And you should also be aware that the first year of the contract is almost always smaller than all future years. It will be bigger in Year 2, 3, 4, and potentially 5.

I don't know how they'll arrive at 78, will have to look on how he gets a bump in that final year.

But for 4 at 58 million is also being discussed. That's a 4th year at 16 million, and ends up being 14.4 a year while the 5 year one puts it in 15.6 million a year.

Regardless, I was poking a bit fun at your 10 million a year too much, it's all good.

I think he's worth the Max at this stage of his career and the current make-up of the Nets. They already got the star players under contract, a good time to solidify your team with a center of this caliber (as much as I don't care for Lopez).

Player worth is always circumstantial, and it's why I don't pay too much attention to it, other than how it applies to that particular team's situation, and in this situation, a max contract for Lopez is the way to go.

[JSD]

Lopez puts up numbers, when healthy, that make the case for someone to argue he is a top 5 center in the league. And if he has a contract that starts off around $13 million, then I would say that's about right. Max smax.

Dwight, Bynum, KG, Chandler, Horford, Hibbert, Gasol, Al Jefferson.

I'm wondering what your top 5 centers look like.  I am uncertain he is top 10.

I'm curious who you think gets a max deal if Brook Lopez starts off a contract at $4 million in your book.

2010–11 New Jersey 82 82 35.2 .492 .000 .787 6.0 1.6 .6 1.5 20.4
 
Was his stat line from a year ago. Probably the 2nd best scoring natural 7 foot center in the game. Now put away the PF's you listed playing out of postion making up the majority of your list and then you can see how the case can be made.

[celtsfan84]

Lopez puts up numbers, when healthy, that make the case for someone to argue he is a top 5 center in the league. And if he has a contract that starts off around $13 million, then I would say that's about right. Max smax.

Dwight, Bynum, KG, Chandler, Horford, Hibbert, Gasol, Al Jefferson.

I'm wondering what your top 5 centers look like.  I am uncertain he is top 10.

I'm curious who you think gets a max deal if Brook Lopez starts off a contract at $4 million in your book.

2010–11 New Jersey 82 82 35.2 .492 .000 .787 6.0 1.6 .6 1.5 20.4
 
Was his stat line from a year ago. Probably the 2nd best scoring natural 7 foot center in the game. Now put away the PF's you listed playing out of postion making up the majority of your list and then you can see how the case can be made.

If my list is all power forwards, please enlighten me as to who starts at center for the

Magic, Lakers, Celtics, Knicks, Hawks, Pacers, Grizzlies, and Jazz.

It is time to face the facts that those players are Centers in todays NBA.  The days of Shaq and Patrick Ewing are long gone.

Who plays center in the NBA in your book?  Does the NBA even have five centers according to your imaginary standards?  Tell me what the Center position is like in the 2012 NBA please.  Because his extension starts in 2012-2013, not in 1995-1996.

It is time to face reality.  Those guys are Centers now, not Power Forwards playing out of position.

[BudweiserCeltic]

More info:

"Nets president Billy King and Lopez’s agent, Arn Tellem, are finalizing the length of the deal – four years for $58 million, or five years for $78 million – and ironing out protections on the back end to account for a right foot that Lopez broke twice in the past year, sources said.

As close as the Nets and Lopez are on a deal, several sources wouldn't rule out the possibility of Lopez still signing an offer sheet with another team for the full four-year, $58 million maximum contract if the final details are unable to be worked out."

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nba--nets-near-contract-agreement-with-brook-lopez.html

[JSD]

Ah, the classic straw man. Let's get away from the fact you basically said Lopez is $4-$5 million player and focus on something else to avoid looking silly. Nice try but too late.

I never said Lopez was a top 5 center, I said 'some could make the case' using criteria that excludes PF's who play out of position.

[Who]

Lopez puts up numbers, when healthy, that make the case for someone to argue he is a top 5 center in the league. And if he has a contract that starts off around $13 million, then I would say that's about right. Max smax.

Dwight, Bynum, KG, Chandler, Horford, Hibbert, Gasol, Al Jefferson.

I'm wondering what your top 5 centers look like.  I am uncertain he is top 10.

I'm curious who you think gets a max deal if Brook Lopez starts off a contract at $4 million in your book.

2010–11 New Jersey 82 82 35.2 .492 .000 .787 6.0 1.6 .6 1.5 20.4
 
Was his stat line from a year ago. Probably the 2nd best scoring natural 7 foot center in the game. Now put away the PF's you listed playing out of postion making up the majority of your list and then you can see how the case can be made.

The argument would be that as a weak defender + a pathetic rebounder, Brook Lopez' negative contributions limit the value of his positive contributions (scoring).

Or even neutralize those positive contributions altogether or even surpass them and make him a frequent net negative for his team despite his wonderful offensive talent. 

[Liam W]

Id have Kendrick Perkins back any day of the week before this straight up bum Lopez

He's garbage straight up

Bit I guess if some idiot decided to give Joe Johnson a 6yr £119mill contract then I guess any idiot in the NBA can get paid, including Lopez

[mqtcelticsfan]

Ah yes, let's give $78 million to a big man who can't rebound and is coming off a foot injury. How could that possibly go wrong for the Nets?

Better yet, they're doing so the summer before the best big man of this generation wants to go only to their team. When Brook Lopez's deal is untradeable, they're removing themselves from the Dwight Howard sweepstakes.

[celtsfan84]

Ah, the classic straw man. Let's get away from the fact you basically said Lopez is $4-$5 million player and focus on something else to avoid looking silly. Nice try but too late.

I never said Lopez was a top 5 center, I said 'some could make the case' using criteria that excludes PF's who play out of position.

It seems like you are playing the straw man here.  Let's get away from the fact that you said "PF's you listed playing out of postion making up the majority of your list" and focus on something else to avoid looking silly.  Nice try but too late.

Please name 5 guys from the 8 I listed that are power forwards playing out of position.  After all, that would be a majority.  Please enlighten me, straw man, who are the five PF's amongst:

Dwight, Bynum, KG, Chandler, Horford, Hibbert, Gasol, Al Jefferson.

And what if I think a big man who averages 6 rebounds a game, can't play defense, and broke his foot twice last year is a $5 million dollar player.

[JSD]

I don't have any time for someone who thinks Brook Lopez is essentailly an MLE player. Go back the espn message board. 

Goodnight

[celtsfan84]

I don't have any time for someone who thinks Brook Lopez is essentailly an MLE player. Go back the espn message board. 

Goodnight

Well played, straw man.  I have little time for a man who doesn't know the positions on a basketball team.  I assume you think Tyson Chandler is a point guard playing out of position.

[celtsfan84]

Ah yes, let's give $78 million to a big man who can't rebound and is coming off a foot injury. How could that possibly go wrong for the Nets?

Better yet, they're doing so the summer before the best big man of this generation wants to go only to their team. When Brook Lopez's deal is untradeable, they're removing themselves from the Dwight Howard sweepstakes.

Now that the kids on the board have gone to bed, moving on.

I agree here fully, and if the extension is signed they can't trade him until December, so this almost certainly eliminates them from the Dwight derby.