The Golden State Warriors need a center with real size and shot-blocking. That’s not news around the association after the season Dub Nation just watched. Kevon Looney lost his spot in the rotation this year for precisely that reason, and Draymond Green has always been at his best as a small-ball five, not someone you start 82 games with.
So when ESPN’s Bobby Marks floated Milwaukee Bucks big man Brook Lopez as a name to watch, it wasn’t random. There’s some logic. Lopez is a California guy — Stanford alum, lives in Fresno — and he fits Golden State’s on-court needs like a glove. The Bucks can't offer the California connection.
He provides real rim protection, floor spacing and has a certain veteran savvy that you just can't find these days at the center position. The kind of presence Golden State hoped James Wiseman would become but never did.
“I think the one name to keep an eye on regarding that center position is Brook Lopez. Stanford grad, makes his home in Fresno, what is the number on a Brook Lopez-type contract if you can get him on a one-year flier here to patch up that center position? Because that center mark is thin. When you look at a Myles Turner, you're probably not going to afford him. The next best guy out there is Brook Lopez," Marks said over ESPN.
A Brook Lopez to Golden State move would have a litany of moving parts
First, there’s the deal itself and what it would look like. Lopez is now an unrestricted free agent after his two-year, $48 million contract with the Milwaukee Bucks just expired this past season.
After taking on Jimmy Butler, the Warriors are already bumping against the first tax apron. To land Lopez, they’d likely have to give up either one of their younger pieces (Moses Moody, Jonathan Kuminga, Brandin Podziemski) or absorb him via a sign-and-trade that might cost them more picks or assets down the line. That would necessitate Milwaukee signing and trading Lopez as well.
"The other thing is, they've got four first-round picks that they can go out and be aggressive. The challenge now comes with cobbling together enough salary to go out and make a trade [like] a Vucevic-type player," Marks also said over ESPN.
Then there’s the fit.
Yes, Lopez’s drop coverage could shore up Golden State’s shaky interior defense — their 64.3 field goal percentage allowed less than five feet from the rim was 18th in the league this season — but his style isn’t a seamless match with their switch-heavy system. The Milwaukee Bucks built their entire defense around funneling players to Lopez and letting him camp in the paint. The Warriors like to scramble, rotate, switch and flow. Can Lopez keep up in that style? At 37?
The stats might say yes. At his age, Brook Lopez still held opposing scorers across all positions to 46.7 field goal percentage whenever he was the closest defender, according to matchup data on NBA.com/stats.
The bigger question is why the Milwaukee Bucks would help at all.
If Giannis Antetokounmpo decides to stay in town, then Milwaukee is effectively still trying to compete now. In this scenario, the Greek Freak still wants to win, and Brook Lopez remains their best (and perhaps only) reliable rim protector, even as their perimeter defense hemorrhages with him on the floor.
Unless Milwaukee’s trying to get younger and cheaper, moving Lopez for a lesser haul doesn’t make a lot of sense.
The Warriors can dream. But unless they’re ready to give up real assets — and the Bucks are ready to pivot — this one feels more like offseason smoke than something with fire.
Stay tuned for more Milwaukee Bucks analysis.