NBA Trade Rumors: Blazers target Nets' Brook Lopez to form 'Big Three' with Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum
The Portland Trail Blazers are reportedly pursuing Brooklyn Nets center Brook Lopez to potentially form their own "Big Three" with Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum.
Brooklyn is not expected to qualify to the playoffs once again this season as the team continues its mediocre existence in the NBA. They do not have future first-round draft picks anymore until 2019 and so the remaining ways they could make a roster overhaul are via trades and free-agency.
Recent rumors have emerged that the Nets are more likely to choose the first option to accelerate the process and Lopez is said to be the player who is the first to go.
ESPN reported that the Nets are not "outright shopping the former All-Star center", but are currently "listening to other teams" who are interested in the 28-year-old, eight-year veteran. This means that they are simply waiting for interested teams to initiate the talks instead of making calls.
Lopez is considered as Brooklyn's "most desirable asset" at the moment and if the team wants a full rebuild then trading the former Stanford Cardinal standout is perhaps the first step to achieving that goal.
The 2009 All-Rookie First Teamer is in the second season of his three-year, $63.5 million deal with the Nets, which would make him an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2018. With the way things are going in Brooklyn, it is highly possible that Lopez would leave the squad at the first opportunity that comes his way. Trading Lopez is therefore a priority before that time arrives.
Fansided indicated that the Blazers could be interested in trading for Lopez in order to form a potential "Big Three" with Lillard and McCollum.
The Nets are known to be interested in Portland small forward Allen Crabbe, so a package centered on the fourth-year wingman could obtain the approval of Brooklyn.
Crabbe can provide the Nets a potential star for the future, which is the main idea of a team rebuild. Brooklyn would also most likely demand a few draft picks included in the deal, and those are also a big help in the revamp
Meanwhile, Lopez can definitely help Lillard and McCollum take the Blazers to the next level as the team could compete deeper in the playoffs soon with him in the lineup.
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