In a shocking trade, the Brooklyn Nets sent away Brook Lopez.
On the evening of June 21, 2017 your prototypical Woj bomb was dropped, the mother of all Woj Bombs, to be precise. It was reported that the Nets would send away their one-time franchise cornerstone, center Brook Lopez, to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Lakers are trading Tim Mozgov and D'Angelo Russell to Nets for Brook Lopez and 27th pick Thursday, sources say.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 20, 2017
Once the bomb was dropped and reached the masses on social media, the feeling seemed to be split. Many Nets fans were happy to gain someone with the untapped potential that guard D’Angelo Russell has. Others were devastated to see the all-time leading scorer go.
I love you Brook Lopez. Thanks for being the most loyal player this franchise has ever had. But I never imagined he'd fetch someone like DLo
— dylan (@MendNets) June 20, 2017
We knew for years that Lopez was going to be moved. We were there for all the rumors, all the almost trades. For Nets fans, it wouldn’t be a typical off season, or pre-trade deadline season without a Lopez trade rumor.
In usual fashion we would move along with them and see what offers were on the table. We always knew that Brook was always worth more than what we were getting.
So where would we begin? Should we begin to say thank you to Brook for sticking with this fan base through all the terrible decisions? Well thanks for being the only player from the New Jersey days to stay for this long. Thanks for being the silent superstar, where we knew you were just that and all star material for the last few seasons, but the media paid you no mind. Always overlooking you because you played for one of the most dysfunctional franchises in recent memory.
When your franchise is lucky enough to acquire a talent like Lopez and one who also has his personality and mental makeup, you must try your best to build around him.
He has many of the same personality characteristics as one Tim Duncan.
I’ll stand by that till the cows come home .
Its not everyday that a lottery level pick will stand by his dysfunctional owner(s) when given the opportunity to leave. Nor is it that you find one who will stay with a franchise that is constantly losing.
The Nets knew what they had. They also knew it was time. Just like in life, there’s a time for everything. In the business world, organizations will always look to get younger. Sean Marks knew that the time was now.
So it is with a heavy heart that we, as Nets fans, say these words:
Bye bye, Brook.
For now….