While standing on the court inside Cameron Indoor Stadium at Duke University during training camp, Nets general manager Billy King spoke confidently about the team he had assembled, saying this season “is the window” for this group to compete for a championship.
After it appeared any hope of that window remaining open slammed shut with the news Saturday morning Brook Lopez would be out for the season after suffering a broken right foot in Friday’s loss in Philadelphia, King stood inside the team’s New Jersey practice facility Sunday and tried to put a brave face on the state his team finds itself in.
“The one thing we do have [is] depth,” King said of his 9-17 Nets, who face the Pacers Monday. “We still have some guys on this roster that have experience, and that can play well.
“Brook was a big part of it, but we do have depth, so we’re going to saddle up and ask other guys to do more.”
Regardless of how much King and the Nets ask of the other bigs on their roster, however, they won’t be able to make up for the massive loss of production offensively — Lopez was the team’s leading scorer at 20.6 points per game — as well as strong rim protection defensively that Lopez gives them when healthy.
But that’s now in the past for this year’s Nets, as King said Lopez will miss the rest of the season after suffering his third break of the fifth metatarsal in his right foot. He initially fractured it during the 2011 preseason prior to the lockout-shortened 2011-12 season, then re-injured it after playing five games that year. Lopez then had the screw that was originally placed in the foot to help the bone heal replaced this past offseason after it was discovered to have bent during Lopez’s end-of-season physical.
King said the decision to shut Lopez down — a choice he said the center was involved in — was made with caution in mind.
“I just think that, by the time he would be ready to come back from it … there’s no need to have him come back, and also rush him back,” King said. “I think we want to make sure we’re cautious with him.”
Lopez is scheduled to meet with Dr. Riley Williams III, the Nets’ team doctor, and Dr. Chris Ahmad, the Yankees’ team doctor, on Monday. A further update on his status is expected to be announced after that consultation.
“We’re talking to a lot of different doctors and getting opinions to make sure that when we do it this time, maybe it’s fixable so that it won’t happen again,” King said.
King said the Nets were filing the paperwork with the NBA to apply for the disabled-player exception, which would allow them to sign a player to a one-year deal or trade for a player in the last year of his contract making up to the full mid-level exception, which is just more than $5 million. But because the Nets have a full roster and already are paying an exorbitant amount in payroll and luxury taxes, using it seems unlikely.
King also downplayed the idea the Nets would make any moves in the wake of Lopez’s injury, saying nothing is imminent.
“If there’s a deal out there that we feel is going to make us a better team, we’ll do it, regardless of the tax or the future,” King said. “But we’re not going to panic and do a move just to make a move because we feel we have to.
“I still believe in this group. Brook’s a big part of it, but we do have other guys. That’s why we have depth.”
Though the Nets will ask Andray Blatche, Mirza Teletovic, Mason Plumlee and Reggie Evans to try and fill the void, even if they are able to it doesn’t solve the problem King and the Nets now face, which is whether they will be able to trust Lopez to stay on the floor once he does return.
History isn’t kind to NBA big men with foot problems, including famous examples like Bill Walton and Yao Ming. Those two tremendous talents were unable to realize their potential because of a series of debilitating foot problems, made all the more difficult when you are 7-feet tall and weigh around 275 pounds, as Lopez does.
Coming off his first All-Star appearance last season, Lopez was widely considered the best low-post scorer in the league. He also has made strides defensively and, at 25 years old, was expected to be the Nets’ home-grown centerpiece for years to come.
Now, though, whether his troublesome right foot will allow him to follow through on that considerable promise remains to be seen.
“I’m disappointed for Brook,” King said. “As an organization, losing a player like that hurts, but mainly for Brook Lopez. … He’s been through a lot. I know Brook. He’s going to do everything he can to get back on the court. Now we’ve got to let him meet with the doctors, and let him figure it out from there.”