Brook Lopez and Thaddeus Young both opted out of the final year of their respective contracts with the Brooklyn Nets, and those decisions are paying off in a big way. It didn’t take long for both players to reach new deals with Brooklyn, with Lopez getting three years and $60 million and Young getting four years and $50 million, according to Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowski:
It’s unclear what the protections for the Nets in Lopez’s deal are, but it’s good that they’re there. He’s absolutely a max player when healthy, arguably the best offensive center in the league. But his foot problems have never fully gone away, so that health isn’t a sure thing.
Lopez, 27, will receive a three-year, $60 million maximum contract that includes some protections for the Nets should a recurrence of Lopez’s past foot issues sideline him again, sources said. The deal is expected to include a player option after the second season, which would allow him to re-enter free agency once new television money raises the salary cap.
Young, 27, who opted out of $10.2 million owed him next season, will sign a four-year, $50 million deal, sources said.
It’s unclear what the protections for the Nets in Lopez’s deal are, but it’s good that they’re there. He’s absolutely a max player when healthy, arguably the best offensive center in the league. But his foot problems have never fully gone away, so that health isn’t a sure thing.
The return of Young and Lopez to the Nets has been a foregone conclusion around the league since they opted out, with strong indications that they intended to get new long-term deals done. And that’s exactly what happened.