With July 1st quickly approaching, it’s time for the Milwaukee Bucks to start considering how they plan to attack free agency.
Unfortunately for the team, they don’t have the same luxury that they had last season of being the defending NBA Champions. In order to get back to the top of the mountain, the team will have to be aggressive when it comes to pursuing free agents. One former Buck that may be considered is Robin Lopez, and these are the pros and cons of potentially bringing him back.
The cons of the Milwaukee Bucks bringing back Robin Lopez in free agency
Robin Lopez isn’t exactly on the right side of age 30. Every year that passes only pushes him closer towards the end of his time in the NBA. Being 34 isn’t necessarily the best thing for a player who already has athletic limitations.
While Lopez would fit in with the Bucks drop coverage defensive scheme, he isn’t as agile as his brother when defending the perimeter. The Bucks have already ran into issues with Brook not being able to keep up with smaller, faster players when he’s forced to leave the paint, and the problem would only be worse during the times when Robin would be charged with the same task.
Lopez likely won’t have too large of a role on the team, depending on whether or not the team is able to successfully retain Bobby Portis. As it currently stands, a Lopez reunion would mean that he would be the third center in the rotation. As we saw with Serge Ibaka during the 2021-2022 season, the third center for the Bucks doesn’t have much of a spot within the team’s rotation. Even though the team probably isn’t expecting Lopez to have a massive role in their rotation by signing him, some might see signing an end-of-the-bench player as a waste.