Jeremy Lin vs. Brook Lopez: Who Will be Brooklyn Nets' Star in the 2016-17 NBA Season – Newly Signed Point Guard or Longest-Tenured Center?
Jeremy Lin's return to New York City via the Brooklyn Nets has generated much attention. Along with the point guard's much-hyped arrival for the 2016-17 NBA season is the looming comparison between him and Brook Lopez, the team's longest-tenured center.
Lin vs. Lopez
According to Sandy Mui of Nothin' But Nets, Lin's arrival to the team has raised questions regarding how Lopez's role would change, especially that the new recruit has been groomed to lead as starting point guard in the upcoming season. Lin and Lopez may have different roles in the court but the latter has always been pegged as the face of the franchise' earlier years.
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Lopez has spent his entire NBA career with the Nets since he was drafted in 2008. Throughout the years, the 28-year-old center earned the accolade as the face of the team because of his satisfactory performance, averaging 18.3 points in the past eight NBA seasons.
Lopez is also the second all-time top scorer of the Nets, next to Buck Williams. Last season, he averaged 20.6 points, which almost broke his most productive record of 20.7 points in 2014.
With Lin's $36-million multiyear contract with the Nets, Lopez's role as the face of the team has been threatened. The 27-year-old point guard has more followers than Lopez and per New York Post, the Nets bigwigs are set to utilize Lin's popularity to establish a solid fan base for the team and boost merchandise sales.
Moreover, Lin also came off from a stellar season with the Charlotte Hornets, where he averaged 11.7 points. He also averaged 11.7 points in the past six season of his professional career in the league.
Who Will be the Star?
John Torenli, sports editor of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, commented that Lopez would remain as the "Mr. Net" regardless of the era. He reasoned out that the center is the only player in the past eight years who remained loyal and rock solid to the Nets amid the team's multiple transformations.
Moreover, Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson has already confirmed multiple times that Lin will be leading the team in the next season. He, however, told New York Daily News that Lopez is not going anywhere because he is absolutely a "big piece" of the team.
However, Lopez has only good things to say about his new pick-and-roll partner in the NBA court. Lopez shared to Nets Daily that he has followed Lin's career and he admires the point guard for his high basketball IQ. He conveyed that Lin is among the character guys that he would want to work and team up with.
