Brook Lopez Opts Out of Nets Contract: Latest Details, Comments and Reaction

Brook Lopez's future with the Brooklyn Nets looks a little cloudier now, as the center opted out of his contract Friday and will test the free-agent market for the first time in his career. 

According to Ohm Youngmusik of ESPN.com, Lopez declined his $16.7 million player option for next season and will become a free agent. However, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports noted the Nets are still front-runners to re-sign him.

Brooklyn general manager Billy King said in May after the team was eliminated from the playoffs that the organization wants Lopez back next season, per Tim Bontemps of the New York Post:

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Without Brook Lopez, there’s no way we even get to where we go to this year. I’ll say it again: We want him back. I want him back, [coach] Lionel [Hollins] wants him back, ownership wants him back. We’ve all said it. There shouldn’t be any more doubts about it.

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Lopez has spent his entire seven-year career with the Nets after being drafted 10th overall in 2008. He's battled various injuries throughout his career, appearing in only five games in 2011-12 and just 17 contests in 2013-14. 

The former Stanford star did have a terrific bounce-back campaign this year, playing 72 games and averaging 17.2 points with 7.4 rebounds, per Basketball-Reference.com. 

When Brooklyn focused its offense around Lopez, it led to a lot of success on the court, according to SiriusXM NBA Radio:

Nathaniel S. Butler/Getty Images

Now is the time for Lopez to cash in on the open market, because his injury history leaves him at risk to break down on any given night. 

Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops spoke to one general manager who said that Lopez is "too much of an injury risk to opt in. His value is close to the $16 million range now."

Lopez's decision puts the Nets in a precarious position after they traded budding young center Mason Plumlee to the Trail Blazers on Thursday night in a deal that brought 2015 NBA draftee Rondae Hollis-Jefferson to Brooklyn, per Wojnarowski.

If Lopez decides not to return and seeks a new team, the Nets will have serious questions to answer in the frontcourt.

At just 27 years old, Lopez is still in the age range where he can get a long-term contract from a team that believes his health will hold up.  

Lopez's free agency figures to be interesting because he's among the greatest risks available, but finding a true center who averages 17 points and seven rebounds per game is rare in the NBA. The only true centers who had those numbers in 2014-15 were Lopez, DeMarcus Cousins, Nikola Vucevic and Marc Gasol, according to ESPN. 

There will likely be several teams willing to invest a lot of money in Lopez in the belief that his production is sustainable over the course of a multiyear contract. It's a huge gamble that could pay off in grand fashion for Lopez and his future team, whether it's in Brooklyn or somewhere else.