Center Brook Lopez of the Brooklyn Nets broke his surgically repaired foot and is now confirmed to be unable to play for the entire season.

The Brooklyn Nets are having a very disappointing season. They have the league's biggest payroll and arguably the highest swagger level, but they are still out of the playoff race in the miserable Eastern Conference.

Lopez did not play for most of the 2011 season for the same foot injury. When he plays however, he is one of the best centers in the NBA. He is averaging 20.7 points and 6 rebounds.

In their game against the Philadelphia 76ers which they lost 121-120 in overtime, Lopez logged on 44 minutes of playing time. It is believed that he aggravated the injury sometime in the third quarter but he continued to play despite the pain as he really wanted to win.

It is already the third time that his foot got injured and he is danger of being categorized among a long line of big men with chronic injuries. Players like Sam Bowie and Greg Oden are some examples of promising players that had their careers cut short.

Two years ago, Lopez was involved in trade rumors as one of the scenarios for the Nets to acquire Dwight Howard. Many observers wondered why the Orlando Magic refused the trade offer of Lopez, Kris Humphries and Brooks along with multiple first round draft picks. It was primarily out of Orlando's hesitation over the uncertainty of Brook Lopez.

Despite the injury issues, the Nets still invested big on Brook. He recently signed a 4 year, $61 million deal. Now they will have to face the season without their franchise big man. 37 year old Kevin Garnett will have to carry the load along with Andray Blatche.

The Nets were very aggressive in the summer, as they felt they can win a championship when they successful traded for Paul Pierce and KG. Now, it would even be an achievement to reach the playoffs.