Milwaukee Bucks center Brook Lopez will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, and fans are preparing for him to sign with a different team. The question is, which team will that be? There is an obvious team out West that needs a center — the Lakers.
Los Angeles desperately needs a center. Rob Pelinka thought he had one in Mark Williams, but the Lakers rescinded that deadline trade because of a failed physical. Jaxson Hayes, who will also be an unrestricted free agent, elevated his play after the deadline, but it was short-lived. Not having a quality center is one of the things that doomed LA in the playoffs.
Lopez isn't the athletic lob threat that the Lakers want to pair alongside their new superstar Luka Doncic, but Los Angeles is limited in what it can do. The Lakers may pursue Lopez in free agency to have him as a backup center, or if they don't secure their desired center, he could be the starter. LA could use its midlevel exception to sign Lopez in a low-risk, high-reward move.
Lakers could pursue Bucks center Brook Lopez in free agency
Lopez spent the 2017-18 season with the Lakers. He averaged 13 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.3 blocks per game, shooting 46.5% from the field and 34.5% from three. This past season in Milwaukee, he averaged similar numbers: 13 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.9 blocks, and 1.8 assists per game, shooting 50.9% from the field and 37.3% from three.
He turned 37 in April, so his age could be a hindrance for LA, but he played 80 games in the 2024-25 season. Lopez's production isn't what it used to be (which happens with time), but availability is the best ability, right?
It's hard to see Lopez not wanting to sign with the Lakers, as it'd allow him to return home to Los Angeles. Not only that, but he'd have a chance to help LA make a title run. The West is a significantly stronger conference than the East, but Milwaukee isn't primed to make a deep playoff run next season, and that will become even more true if Giannis Antetokounmpo leaves.
On Monday, Matt Moore of Hardwood Paroxysm wrote that everyone he has spoken to assumes that Lopez will leave in free agency. Perhaps he will leave for the only team in the West that he has played for, landing him back in California, where he could end his career in a full-circle moment.