2016 NBA Free Agency: Why Is Nobody Talking About Brook Lopez?

NBA fans and franchises are already salivating over the 2016 free-agent class. Most of the fuss, naturally, has revolved around LeBron James and Kevin Durant, who were widely considered the world’s two best players just one year ago. 

The 2016 class is full of big names. In addition to James and Durant, next year’s free agents include Kobe Bryant, Joakim Noah, Mike Conley and Goran Dragic, among others. But strangely, little attention has been paid to Brook Lopez, Brooklyn’s ornery and injury-plagued center. 

This is odd for a few reasons, but primarily this:

Player	2012-2013	2013-2014	2014-2015
Brook Lopez	24.81	25.50	22.05
John Wall	20.91	19.61	20.35
Mike Conley	18.38	20.07	18.90

After Durant and James, Lopez might well be the most attractive free agent of 2016. And nobody’s talking about him!

Dwyane Wade is practically walking on stilts. Al Horford has been a revelation this year for Atlanta, but has a history of injury arguably worse than that of Lopez. Conley has bounced between good and great. Meanwhile, Lopez has posted a higher PER than John Wall, Marc Gasol, Kawhi Leonard and Kyrie Irving in each of the past three seasons. 

Lopez has a player option for the 2015-16 season, and there’s a good chance he'll opt to test free agency immediately. He would be leaving over $16 million in Brooklyn, but his value may be higher this offseason than it will be the following year, and—big surprise—things aren’t looking great in Brooklyn. 

Lopez is 27. He missed the first two games of this season and the end of last season with a foot injury. He missed time in 2013 with an ankle injury and played just five games in the lockout shortened 2011-12 season.

When healthy, he’s been a monster without help, considering Brooklyn's subpar coaching, subpar and injury-riddled players and its offensive scheme, which is better suited to other players. But Lopez's peak is fast approaching, and his recent injury history suggests that now is the time if he wants to make a switch. 

Brooklyn does not appear to be headed toward a title. Joe Johnson is 33, Deron Williams is 30 (and hasn't looked quite like his Utah self), and the Nets’ other two starters—Mason Plumlee and Markel Starks—are young and inexperienced. And the weird thing about Lopez’s injury history is that he played all 82 games in his first three seasons, 74 games in 2012-13 and 63 games this season. 

Despite his subpar supporting cast, however, Lopez has the Nets in position for the Eastern Conference's eighth playoff seed. He's been on an incredible tear of late, scoring 20 or more points in each of his last seven games, with four double-doubles in that span. The Nets have won six of those games. 

Lopez is a double-double machine when he's healthy. He is not among the league’s top defensive centers but would easily be an improvement over most teams’ starting big men. Perhaps Nets’ owner Mikhail Prokhorov will spend the money to keep Lopez in Brooklyn by extending his contract and adding yet another superstar. Otherwise, the possibilities are surprisingly tantalizing.

If Durant bolts for Washington or New York, might the Thunder make a play at Lopez? What if Kevin Love, a 2016 restricted free agent, leaves Cleveland? Or, what if a team in rebuild mode— Boston or Philadelphia, perhaps, or even Minnesota—makes a play?

When healthy, Lopez is probably the league’s best offensive center. And as a basketball fan, I find all of these possibilities thrilling—perhaps even more so than the inevitable LeBron drama.