Offseason Report Card: Bucks get an A, four Bs and three Cs for summer moves

9. Signed Robin Lopez

Signed center Robin Lopez to a 1-year, minimum contract

The Milwaukee Bucks struggled to find a reliable backup center last season, generally playing Bobby Portis in that role when Brook Lopez was off the court. Serge Ibaka, Thanasis Antetokounmpo and Meyers Leonard all got a crack at the job, and Giannis Antetokounmpo defended a fair number of centers over the course of the season.

It was certainly an area to address this summer, then, and the Bucks responded by signing Robin Lopez to return to the team on a one-year deal at the minimum. The twin brother of Brook Lopez, Robin played last season in Cleveland as their emergency center.

Robin has never been the rim protector that Brook is, but he’s still incredibly large and takes up space inside. On offense, he has a bag of floaters and scoop shots to use around the rim. He won’t space the floor like Brook, but paired with Jae Crowder or Bobby Portis he can hold down the fort inside.

Were there better options available on the free agent market for a backup center? Probably. Mo Bamba, Drew Eubanks and Orlando Robinson all essentially signed for the minimum, and Omer Yurtseven just barely signed for more. Bismack Biyombo, Willy Hernangomez, Meyers Leonard and Neemias Queta are all still available. Each has a reason to be more valuable to the Bucks than Lopez.

If signing Robin was an extra enticement for Brook to come back, it was worth it; he isn’t so much worse than those other options. He’s just unlikely to make much of an impact this season.

Grade: C