NBA Free-Agent Signings: Nets' Max Deal with Brook Lopez Is a Mistake

The Brooklyn Nets have come to terms with a center, but it isn't Dwight Howard.

According to Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski, the Nets agreed to a deal with Brook Lopez:

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Brooklyn has reached agreement on a 4-year, $61 million max deal with Brook Lopez, league source tells Y! Sports.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) July 11, 2012"

GM Billy King and the rest of the Nets' front office didn't waste any time in signing Lopez once the NBA July moratorium for free-agency signings ended at 12:01 a.m. ET on July 11.

Signing Lopez effectively put an end to any possibility of the Nets bringing in Dwight Howard this offseason, something that sets the organization and its fans up for a let down even more.

Per an ESPN report, Lopez was on the verge of inking an offer sheet with either the Portland Trail Blazers or Charlotte Bobcats, which would have left the Nets without a starting center.

The report also quotes a source provided by ESPNNewYork.com's Ian O'Connor:

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"Brook had two offer sheets [from Portland and Charlotte] and was about to sign one of them. We couldn't wait anymore," the source told O'Connor.

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So, was this a panic move? Not exactly, but it's close enough.

It was one of those moves where the Nets had to go with what they knew they had instead of hoping for a miracle in Howard being sent to play at the Barclays Center next season.

Brooklyn was caught between a rock and a hard place and seemingly had no choice but to sign Lopez for fear that he would fly the coop for Portland or Charlotte.

Unfortunately, the only way to retain his services was the sign him to a max contract, something that the Nets are going to look back on in disdain a few years down the road.

Lopez is no slouch by any stretch of the imagination. The former No. 10 overall draft pick has compiled averages of 17.4 points and 7.5 rebounds over the course of his career.

In his first two seasons, he averaged 13 and 18.8 points. In those two years, he pulled down 8.1 and 8.7 boards a night.

The former Stanford Cardinal's third season is a cause for concern. After two impressive years, Lopez pulled down a paltry 5.9 rebounds per game. Sure, he put up 20.4 points a night, but the Nets are going to be asking him to do less scoring and more banging around down low in the future.

Deron Williams and Joe Johnson need the ball in their hands to be effective. Williams is capable of dishing out assists with the best in the league, but Johnson is going to be a waste of space if he doesn't put up a sufficient amount of shots per game.

Last season was a complete lost cause for Lopez. He broke his right foot before the season even began, then sprained his right ankle shortly after returning. The Nets shut him down.

In his highest-scoring season, Lopez took an average of 16 shots per game. He's not going to get nearly that many attempts with Williams and Johnson accompanying him on the floor.

It's basically a perfect storm to set Lopez up for failure.

First and foremost, he's going to be getting paid a max salary, but he's not Dwight Howard and he's coming off a couple of injuries that sidelined him for the season.

It probably isn't a stretch to say that Nets fans will be comparing him to Howard for the rest of his contract. At the very least, it will always be in the back of their minds that they "could have had Howard instead of this guy."

Lopez is probably going to have four good years with the Nets in their new city, but he's not going to perform up to the expectations that come with a max contract.

If things turn out terribly, they'll be able to trade him at the trade deadline.