The Brooklyn Nets are expected to be active ahead of the NBA trade deadline. Brooklyn reportedly is discussing a new trade with the Charlotte Hornets that involves guard Joe Johnson, and all signs point to center Brook Lopez being moved in a separate deal.
Brooklyn and Charlotte reportedly were in trade discussions earlier this month - a three-team deal said to involve Hornets guard Lance Stephenson going to the Nets and Lopez going to the Oklahoma City Thunder - that ultimately stalled.
Discussions between the two teams apparently aren't finished, though. According to Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski, Brooklyn and Charlotte are back on the phone with each other and discussing a new potential trade.
"The Charlotte Hornets and Brooklyn Nets have restarted trade discussions, this time focus on guard Joe Johnson, league sources told Yahoo Sports," Wojnarowski wrote Sunday night. "The Hornets and Nets are discussing a larger package that would likely include guards Lance Stephenson and Gerald Henderson and forward Marvin Williams, league sources told Yahoo Sports."
Brooklyn has lost eight of their last 10 games. Although the Nets are still in contention for a playoff spot, the team isn't built to make a deep run in the postseason. Seemingly with that in mind, Nets general manager Billy King made a number of his top players available to be had in December and is continuing to shop around for deals.
Most NBA insiders expect Lopez to be dealt before the Feb. 19 deadline. Oklahoma City and the Denver Nuggets, both of who reportedly discussed separate deals for Lopez earlier in the season, are expected at some point to reengage in trade talks with the Nets.
The Miami Heat and the Houston Rockets both are also reportedly interested in Lopez and will likely try to pursue him before the trade deadline passes.
