It’s not much of a leap to say that the 2015-16 regular season has started as poorly for the Brooklyn Nets as it possibly could have. Brooklyn, through seven games, is winless and no end to the losing appears to be in sight, as the team is currently in the throes of a road trip which includes games against the Rockets and Warriors.
Joe Johnson has seen his production decline rapidly, Jarrett Jack has shot terribly from the field and is committed three turnovers a game and the team is approaching historically bad three-point shooting levels. Brooklyn has made just over 23 percent of its three-point attempts this season, which is the worst in the NBA and nearly three full percentage points below the next-lowest team (Memphis).
Then, to make matters even worse after the Nets’ latest loss, a 94-86 defeat at the hands of Jason Kidd’s Milwaukee Bucks, a report surfaced saying that Brook Lopez hurt his troubled right foot yet again. Of course, that’s the foot Lopez has broken multiple times in his career, costing him almost two full seasons. For a team that hasn’t been able to win any games — even at home against the lowly Lakers — even with Lopez playing well, another long-term injury to the 7-footer would be catastrophic.
Thankfully for the Nets, an X-ray done on the foot came back negative, meaning Lopez probably won’t miss any time due to the re-aggravation of the prior injuries. He should be able to play tonight for the Nets in Houston as he’ll match up with Dwight Howard and a Rockets team that has shaken off a rough start to win its last four games. Still, even with Brook healthy and ready to play, it looks like another potential loss for the Nets, who would be 0-8 with another defeat.
Considering how the Nets don’t own their own draft pick outright until the 2019 Draft, it doesn’t do much good for them to tank the rest of this season away, since their futility would only help the division rival Boston Celtics, who own the Nets’ first-rounders — in one way or another — for the next three seasons. With a bleak future ahead of them, the Nets can only hope to turn this season around and possibly sneak into the bottom of the Eastern Conference playoff field.
The only way they could make that turnaround and salvage this disgraceful start to the season is if Lopez is able to stay healthy. While his foot is fine for now, the regression curve for big men with previous lower body injuries turns downward in a much steeper fashion than it does for non-centers with no significant injury history. Thaddeus Young, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Bojan Bogdanovic are nice pieces but without Lopez, this team is headed nowhere.
Additionally, if it’s the middle of the season and the Nets are still floundering in the Eastern Conference cellar, general manager Billy King may decide to hasten this team’s rebuild and sell off most of its valuable assets for draft and salary cap help. A healthy Lopez, who can average 20 and 10 over a full season if healthy and with an above league-average point guard, could command a nice return on the trade market, especially considering his under-contract status. While the injury history could scare potential suitors off, 40-50 games of him producing well with no more signs of foot issues may allay those concerns.
So, whether the Nets are good or bad and whether they decide to rebuild right now or wait until the offseason, the most important thing is the health of Brook Lopez, for better or worse. Irregardless of whether his future is in Brooklyn or another city (Dallas? Charlotte? Atlanta?), the Nets need him to stay on the court and continue to perform at a high level.
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