Milwaukee Bucks: 4 Teams that can steal Brook Lopez in NBA free agency
By Franco Luna
The Mavericks are another team that could be a potential suitor for Lopez. The pairing of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving would benefit from the talents of a defensive big man, and Lopez would be a great fit.
It’s been a bumpy sort of journey finding the right sort of big man to pair with the talents of Luka Doncic. Kristaps Porzingis was injury-prone and didn’t have the best fit, and Christian Wood presented defensive issues. For a team with that much top-level talent on its roster, finishing 25th with its 116.1 defensive rating was unacceptable.
Dwight Powell, Christian Wood, and Maxi Kleber are a quality center rotation, but none of them are true defensive bigs who can make up for the deficiencies of Doncic and Irving. They’re all also relatively undersized for the position, and they are often outmatched by bigger teams, as evidenced by their 28th-ranked 3.7 blocks per game. And since they already traded their best defender in Dorian Finney-Smith, defense is more than likely at the top of their list of priorities.
Lopez would give Dallas a true rim protector and a stretch big man who can space the floor for Doncic. The Mavericks have the cap space to offer Lopez a big contract, and they are also a team that is on the rise. Once they unlock a sustainable defense, they would get closer to their playoff hopes.