Brooklyn Nets Rumors: Brook Lopez Wants to Stay in Brooklyn
Veteran players usually don't want to hear the word "rebuilding." Rebuilding teams usually go through several losing seasons before they get things right and some players just don't have the patience to see it through.
It's easy to jump ship when a team keeps on losing, but center Brook Lopez wants to stay in Brooklyn even though the Nets are perpetually stuck in the rebuilding stage.
"I'm happy to be here. ... I hope just with my off-the-court attributes, the way I've led, the way I've helped other players grow, I hope those were characteristics that really showed how important I am to this group," Lopez said in an interview with the New York Post.
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Lopez is entering the final year of his contract next season. He is probably the Nets most valuable trade chip right now and his name will surely come up in trade rumors this summer. However, he has learned to live with it. Well, it comes with the territory when one is playing for one of the worst teams in the league.
Lopez managed to extend his range this season by adding a three-point shot to his offensive arsenal, and during the interview, he was asked if this has made him more valuable to Nets general manager Sean Marks. He replied, "Hopefully he didn't have a negative fully formed opinion of me when he came in here. But I hope that if he did form one towards the season, I put myself in good standing and I feel like I did. I'm just going to try and continue to improve this offseason."
The Nets actually played fairly well when Jeremy Lin was in the lineup with Lopez, but Lin's hamstring injuries have kept him on the sidelines for much of the season.
They will get the chance to show the league what they can do together next season if they are both healthy.
