It doesn’t look like the Nets will be getting Dwight Howard for Christmas.
Brook Lopez, the Nets’ young, promising center — as well as the centerpiece of their ongoing efforts to land Howard, the NBA’s most dominant big man — is out indefinitely after suffering a stress fracture of the fifth metatarsal in his right foot during the first half of Wednesday night’s 88-82 loss to the Knicks at the Garden.
“It’s not good to hear, but it is what it is,” Nets general manager Billy King said. “We have contingency plans. We’re looking at options, and we will make the right moves as we go forward.”
King didn’t wait long, acquiring center Mehmet Okur from Utah in exchange for a 2015 second-round pick. In a strange twist, Okur, who has a $10.89 million expiring contract, wasn’t needed by the Jazz anymore because of the trade the two franchises made last year that brought Deron Williams to the Nets.
Dealing Okur opens up more minutes for Utah to give to Derrick Favors, the third overall pick in the 2010 by the Nets who was one of the key pieces sent to the Jazz, and Enes Kanter, who the Jazz took third overall in the 2011 draft with the Nets’ pick that they acquired in the trade.
The Okur trade ate up nearly all of the Nets’ available cap space. They will add DeShawn Stevenson on a one-year, $2.5 million deal using the mini mid-level exception that became available to them because of the Okur deal.
Lopez, who continued playing on the foot in the second half after suffering the injury, had precautionary X-rays after the game, when the injury was discovered. He is scheduled to have surgery this morning at the Hospital for Special Surgery.
“We’re definitely disappointed,” Nets coach Avery Johnson said yesterday. “I had a long talk with Brook. … He is not in great spirits, but we tried to lift his spirits to let him know that, hey, this is a little bit of a setback, but he could definitely have a big time comeback.”
The biggest question surrounding the Nets now is at what point that will happen. Lopez would be the centerpiece of any trade proposal the Nets would offer Orlando for Howard — the one player who would immediately convince star point guard Deron Williams to re-sign. While Lopez is out of the lineup, though, any trade for Howard will be virtually impossible.
Ironically, the fact that Orlando is playing host to the NBA’s All-Star Game in late February could work in the Nets’ favor. It’s highly unlikely the Magic would deal Howard before the game, and probably not until just before the March 15 trade deadline. That would give the Nets roughly 12 weeks to get Lopez healthy and back on the court again.
Back in 2009, Lopez’s brother, Robin, who plays for the Suns, suffered the exact same injury in his left foot and missed a total of seven weeks. That likely is to be close to the best-case scenario for the Nets.
But it’s possible it could take longer for Lopez to recover. Giants rookie cornerback Prince Amukamara suffered a fractured fifth metatarsal on Aug. 7 and didn’t make his season debut until Nov. 20 — exactly 15 weeks later.
Then there’s Lopez’s teammate, Damion James, who also suffered the same injury last season and missed about 11 weeks before returning to the court.
“Different people rehab differently, heal differently,” James said. “I hope he heals faster than I did.”