Years after he played for the Lakers, is a return to Los Angeles and the Lakers on the cards for Brook Lopez?
With the need for a center being the big, looming question over the summer for the Lakers, we’ll be taking a look at a number of potential targets, both via free agency or trade. Today, we continue with Brook Lopez.
When you think of the kind of center the Lakers need, what type of player comes to your mind? Perhaps it’s a young athletic center like Nic Claxton. Or maybe you consider a player Luka Dončić has already played with, such as Daniel Gafford.
A name that should be near the top of the list for Lakers fans is Brook Lopez.
This past season, he started and played in 80 games for the Bucks, averaging 13 points and five rebounds while shooting a career-high 37% from 3-point range.
Lopez is now an unrestricted free agent, and plenty of teams will be pursuing him this summer. Should the Lakers be among those teams trying to bring Lopez to their team?
How would he fit with the Lakers?
Given the Lakers had no big men they felt comfortable playing during the playoffs, Lopez would automatically be an upgrade to the team’s frontcourt.
Given coach JJ Redick’s desire to switch constantly on defense, Lopez could be another defensive liability on this team. He’s a player who has largely played drop coverage throughout his career. And while he was once at a Defensive Player of the Year level, finishing second in voting for that award in 2022-23, he looked far from that this season.
He certainly seemed like a liability in the playoffs. Whenever he was on the floor, he was targeted and unable to keep up with the Indiana Pacers’ pace. Lopez played only seven minutes in Game 5 for the Bucks as their season came to an end.
With the Lakers aiming to win playoff games and compete with other fast-paced teams such as the Thunder and the Rockets, perhaps Lopez has proven he is no longer a playoff player.
On the plus side, Lopez is a floor spacer on offense. He might not be fast or provide the kind of vertical spacing Luka Dončić desires and the Lakers are seeking, but he solves a lot of the team’s frontcourt problems.
Lopez is an elite 3-point shooter. He shot 38.5% on pull-up threes and is equally effective on catch-and-shoot threes, converting 37.2% of his attempts from deep. This kind of reliability from the outside, from Lopez’s position, was non-existent for Los Angeles.
While he may not provide gravity rolling down the middle of the paint, he creates a new type of problem for defenses when they gameplan for the Lakers. At the same time, he further opens up driving lanes for Luka, LeBron James and Austin Reaves, potentially making the Lakers more dangerous offensively, just in a different way.
Acquiring Lopez wouldn’t be enough to fix all of L.A.’s center woes, but it would be a step in the right direction.
How much would the Lakers have to give up?
There aren’t many starting-caliber centers that are unrestricted free agents, so there will be a handful of teams vying for Lopez’s services.
The biggest issue is whether the Lakers will be priced out of the market.
If a contending team decides they are a Lopez away from winning it all, they can use the non-taxpayer midlevel exception of $14.1 million to sign him. The Lakers can’t reach that kind of salary unless LeBron James takes a pay cut.
So far, the indication is that LeBron will opt into his player option, which limits Los Angeles’ spending power.
While Lopez is a desirable big, he’s still aging and has limitations. So, it’s unlikely he’ll yield that high of a contract. If the market for Lopez deems him worthy of the taxpayer midlevel at $5.7 million, that’s a number the Lakers can likely reach.
How realistic of a target is he?
With recent reports indicating that Lopez is likely leaving Milwaukee, the Lakers should have a solid shot at bringing him back.
A reunion between Lopez and the Lakers can be an enticing option for both sides. Lopez can be an important player for a title contender and playing with Luka and LeBron is one heck of a swan song.
The question is, can he bring enough to the table offensively to account for his defensive shortcomings, which were loud in the postseason this year? With Lopez nearing 40 years old and declining, it’s a tough question to ask.
Yes, he has limitations, and if you bring him in, you will likely still need to pick up a young athletic big to either be his backup or ultimately become your starter and closeout player.
However, with President of Basketball Operations Rob Pelinka making it clear they will upgrade the center position, Lopez should be near the top of the list of options the Lakers are looking at.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.