Although the Oklahoma City Thunder couldn’t complete a trade for Brook Lopez last week, that doesn’t mean the Brooklyn Nets have given up on their efforts to trade the big man. In fact, Marc Stein of ESPN believes Brook Lopez will undoubtedly be moved before the NBA’s trade deadline in February.
Brooklyn will surely find a Lopez trade partner between now and Feb. 19. Just like Prokhorov is a safe bet to sell sooner rather than later.
Much of the alleged reasoning for the Lopez deal falling apart was simply Brooklyn feeling as if they weren’t getting a good enough return. They were right, but they also can’t expect a major haul for Brook Lopez who is not only expensive but brings with him significant health risks.
That said, the Brooklyn Nets want to make sure they can clear Lopez’s salary off their books so it appears they’re hoping a bidding war will break out closer to the deadline as teams get desperate. Such is possible, though it’s also a little risky on the part of Brooklyn as they could end up either having to give Brook Lopez away or get stuck with him all together.
For now though it appears a trade is likely, it just might not be for another month or so.
