As talks of a Dwight Howard trade start to shift towards other teams, the Nets are moving forward with trying to get Brook Lopez, a restricted free agent, under a new deal. 

A large deal. 

A big deal. 

A massive, hugely monstrous, gigantic deal.

A max deal.

Take it away, Yahoo Sports: 

Restricted free-agent center Brook Lopez is progressing toward an agreement for a maximum contract with the Brooklyn Nets, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.Brook Lopez played in only five games last season for the Nets.

Nets president Billy King and Lopez’s agent, Arn Tellem, are finalizing the length of the deal – four years for $58 million, or five years for $78 million – and ironing out protections on the back end to account for a right foot that Lopez broke twice in the past year, sources said.

via Nets near contract agreement with Brook Lopez - Yahoo! Sports.

Yahoo also reports that the Nets are fighting off offers from other teams for Lopez. Essentially, if another team puts an offer to Lopez, it's for four-years, and not five, but the Nets' concern is less about losing Lopez, though that would be bad, but more about the fact that if he signs an offer sheet with another team, guess what? He can't be traded to Orlando or anywhere else in a Dwight Howard (or anyone else) deal. 

So yeah, they want to get his name on the paper. Of course, if it's a sign-and-trade, it can only be a four-year deal. So that's got to be worked out. The Nets are trying desperately to get Dwight Howard and move Lopez for him. That's been going on for a year now, and yet Lopez continues to inexplicably play ball with Brooklyn. But if they can't get Howard, they want Lopez back. 

Here's the issue. Lopez is going to suffer from "The Joe Johnson Issue." He's a good player. He's an extremely versatile scorer who's capable of working in the post or from mid-range. With Deron Williams, he should be able to establish a good dynamic and score on the pick and pop and on the roll. Offensively, he's among the elite centers in the league. But his rebounding is a concern. After a good start, he went downhill dramatically. There are several reasons you can point to: his relationship with Avery Johnson, his bout of mono combined with a foot injury, Kris Humphries' rebound-snatching ways, or the fact he's just not a very tough rebounder. It all depends on your perspective. 

Furthermore, he's a seven-footer dealing with a foot injury. That rarely turns out to be a problem. Wait, did I say rarely? I mean, "very often to the degree that someone should be ringing a loud bell and screaming 'battle stations!'" 

But again, he's a good player. Were he to sign a max contract, he's going to be judged by that standard, and it's a poor interpretation. It will unfairly generate criticism and expectations for him without considering his strengths and contribtions. In short, the deal can be the best and worst thing to ever happen to him. But, you know, it's also a ridiculous amount of money. 

So the Nets will keep talking and trying to bring him back, and Lopez will play ball because he's loyal and the money's great. If he wants to defy expectations and be considered worthy of the contract, though, he's going to need to make huge jumps defensively and on the glass. 

Pressure's on for Brook Lopez.