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The Brooklyn Nets have re-signed center Brook Lopez and forward Thaddeus Young to multi-year contracts, Nets General Manager Billy King announced today.
“We are very pleased to welcome Brook and Thaddeus back the Brooklyn Nets,” said King. “Brook is one of the premier big men in this league, while Thad proved to be a perfect complement to Brook last year after he was acquired from Minnesota. Being able to re-sign both of our free agent targets allows us to provide the continuity in our frontcourt that we were looking for going into the upcoming season.”
According to the Bergen Record, “Lopez, 27, could have signed a deal as long as five years, but he committed to stay in Brooklyn for three years and $60 million.”
Also from the Bergen Record: “Young, 27, signed four-year deal worth $50 million, with a player option in the final season.”
Lopez, 27, is the longest tenured Net, having spent his entire seven-year career with the franchise after being selected with the 10th pick in the 2008 NBA Draft. In 414 career games (379 starts), Lopez has registered averages of 17.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in 32.5 minutes per game. He currently ranks 4th on the Nets’ all-time scoring list (7,404 points), 6th in rebounds (3,029), 4th in field goals made (2,898), 2nd in blocked shots (724) and 8th in minutes played (13,439). An All-Star in 2013, the Panorama City, Calif. native played some of the best basketball of his career after the All-Star break this past season, posting averages of 19.7 points, 9.2 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in 32.0 minutes per game. Lopez’s season peaked during a two-week stretch in late March and early April when he captured back-to-back Eastern Conference Player of the Week honors, becoming the first Net in more than a decade to accomplish the feat. Lopez has also elevated his game in the postseason, recording averages of 21.2 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.6 blocks in 38.2 minutes per game in 13 career playoff contests.
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Young, 27, returns to the Nets after joining the team by way of a trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves on February 19, 2015. In 28 games (20 starts) with the Nets, Young finished second on the team in points per game (13.8) and rebounds (5.9) and first in steals (1.4) in 29.6 minutes per game. He shot .495 from the field and .380 from three-point range while forming a strong frontcourt duo with Brook Lopez. In the 28 games Young appeared in, the Nets averaged 102.1 points per game, shooting .457 from the field and .353 from three-point range. In the 54 games he didn’t appear in, the Nets averaged 95.9 points per game, shooting .448 from the field and .321 from behind the arc. Young was originally selected with the 12th pick of the 2007 NBA Draft by Nets GM King when he was the President and GM of the Philadelphia 76ers. In 592 career games (362 starts) with the 76ers (2007-14), Timberwolves (2014-15) and Nets (2015), Young holds NBA averages of 13.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.4 steals in 30.3 minutes per game. In 36 career postseason contests, Young has averaged 9.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 0.8 steals in 27.3 minutes per game.
