Dwight Howard Trade Rumors: Brook Lopez Key Piece for Nets to Land D12

If the New Jersey Nets have any shot at Dwight Howard before the trade deadline, Brook Lopez is going to have to make an impression on the Orlando Magic.

Lang Greene of HOOPSWORLD wrote on Wednesday:

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The Nets have long been rumored as willing to part ways with their own big man in the middle, Brook Lopez, if it meant they had an opportunity to secure Howard’s services long term. The Magic have given a great deal of thought to a move involving Lopez, but when he went down with a broken bone in his right foot and spent the first two months of the season on the shelf, the rumor mill on this deal cooled tremendously.

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Well, Lopez is back in action, and that's good news for the Nets.

The 23-year-old, who holds career averages of 17.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.7 blocks, may not be an All-Star yet, but he's certainly a talented starting center in the NBA.

He's played three games thus far after returning from injury. After shooting a combined 9-of-23 in his first two games, Lopez exploded for 38 points on Tuesday against the Dallas Mavericks.

Lopez's strength lies in his scoring, but he does leave something to be desired in the rebounding department. Also, while being a good shot blocker, he's not a particularly good one-on-one defender.

But it's unlikely that the Magic will find a better center out on the market in a deal for Howard, unless they land the Los Angeles Lakers' Andrew Bynum. It's still hard for me to envision that happening, though, given Jim Buss' love affair with Bynum.

There is still a good two weeks before the March 15 trade deadline, and if the Magic do deal Howard, they're likely to wait for every offer to come down the pike.

In that regard, Lopez has plenty of time to prove he belongs on the Magic.

Coach Avery Johnson said after Lopez's explosion on Tuesday, per the Associated Press, "We kind of took the handcuffs off him. We weren’t putting him on a minute restriction.”

Expect the Nets to give Lopez all the minutes his heart desires. There's nothing like a nice stat line to boost his trade value.

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