After spending seven seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks, Brook Lopez left Wisconsin and signed a two-year, $18 million deal with the Clippers. Los Angeles thought it had the best backup center in the league, but the first month of the season has proved otherwise. Ty Lue didn't play Lopez at all in the Clippers' loss to the Lakers on Tuesday.
It's not abnormal for players who are in their mid-to-late 30s to decline. In fact, that's the standard, unless you're LeBron James, Steph Curry, or Kevin Durant. However, in Lopez's case, it appears he aged at least five years during the offseason. He's been unplayable.
Lopez is making $8.8 million this season and has a $9.2 million team option for the 2026-27 season, one that the Clippers would almost certainly not pick up if he's still around. It's been that bad.
Trade season is rapidly approaching, as players who signed deals over the summer will become trade-eligible on Dec. 15, including Lopez. The problem is that after watching Lopez's start to the season, there isn't a team out there that should want to add him as a backup center. He won't boost his value while he's out of the rotation, either.
However, on an episode of "The Zach Lowe Show" earlier this month, Lowe listed the Clippers as a dark-horse candidate for Anthony Davis, if the Mavericks make him available. He laid out a trade framework around John Bogdan Bogdanović, and either Derrick Jones Jr. or Lopez. Jones has since suffered a sprained MCL in his right knee and will be out through the end of the calendar year.
The Brook Lopez signing has been disastrous for the Clippers
You could say that Los Angeles might not be the right fit for Lopez, and that a change of scenery would help, but that's not the problem. He won't reverse in age if he goes to Dallas, even if the Mavericks make a trade like the one above and intend to keep him around.
Given that Lopez is 37, it's clear that his time in the NBA is coming to an end. As soon as he signed with the Clippers, it seemed like it'd be the final stop in his career, a fitting ending for a player from North Hollywood. What better way to end your career than at home?
Unfortunately for Lopez, the feel-good, homecoming story quickly vanished once the season began and reality hit. You never know what will happen in the NBA, but you can bet that Lopez didn't see this coming.
The Bucks have their own issues to solve, but their decision to let Lopez walk looks better by the day.