NBA

Lopez is center of attention for Nets

The Nets have built their overhauled roster around All-Star guards Deron Williams and Joe Johnson, including nicknaming them “Brooklyn’s Backcourt.”

But while Williams and Johnson are the two best players for the Nets, who kick off their season with Media Day today in Brooklyn at their new home, Barclays Center, the most important player might be center Brook Lopez.

Nets general manager Billy King has put together a roster with plenty of depth. But the one place where the Nets aren’t deep is behind Lopez, where their only backups are power forwards Reggie Evans and Andray Blatche.

Whether that will be an issue for the Nets this year depends on whether Lopez manages to stay on the court. After playing every game in his first three seasons in the league, that was something he couldn’t do last season, when he missed all but five games with a pair of injuries to his right foot.

“I haven’t been thinking about it when I’m playing,” Lopez said last week. “I feel great, and I’m so excited to get back out on the floor.”

Last season was a lost one for Lopez, who not only had to deal with the foot injuries but was also forced to listen to a never-ending stream of rumors all season about the Nets pursuing Dwight Howard.

But the Nets committed to Lopez for the long-term this summer, as they signed him to a four-year, $61 million contract as a free agent in July as part of their summer spending spree. That, combined with Howard being dealt to the Lakers, means the Nets are committed to Lopez as their starting center for the foreseeable future.

“I think the sky’s the limit with him,” King said last week. “I think one, he’s healthy. He’s playing five-on-five [with] no restrictions. But with him, it’s just [a chance] to be a basketball player.

“For two years, his mind has been distracted, not just by injuries but if he’s going to be part of it. I’ve always given him credit for being invested in something that he wasn’t sure he was going to be part of.”

Lopez, who enters the season as the Nets longest-tenured player after being drafted 10th overall by the franchise in 2008, has been a fixture at Nets events in Brooklyn as the team has rolled out its new look in its new home over the past few months. He was the only player at both the unveiling of the team’s new color scheme and logos back in April and the Barclays Center ribbon-cutting last week, and was at multiple events in the borough last week.

After spending his entire Nets career hearing about the possibilities of the move to Brooklyn, Lopez is glad the move has finally happened.

“Throughout that whole process, everyone kept talking about Brooklyn, and how exciting it was going to be,” he said. “I just focused on making myself a better player, helping my team in any way possible, and with all the talk I heard about Brooklyn, it was something I wanted to be part of … it’s going to be good.”