Playing against Dwight Howard and the Magic in the Nets' last game before the All-Star break, Brook Lopez scored 15 points, grabbed four boards, and blocked a pair of shots. While the performance wasn't exceptional, and wasn't enough to help New Jersey avoid a loss, it was a good step forward for Lopez in just his second game back from foot surgery. Here are today's Lopez-related items, as he prepares to return to action in Dallas tonight:
- The Magic don't have a ton of interest in Lopez in a Howard trade, but he's inexpensive and even decent big men are hard to find, says Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel (Twitter links).
- There are "renewed rumblings" about the Warriors landing Lopez in a multi-team Howard trade, according to Peter Vecsey of the New York Post. This scenario, which Vecsey suggests would include Monta Ellis going to Orlando, sounds like a real long-shot to me.