Warriors Linked to $48 Million Champion Big Man in Free Agency
The Golden State Warriors are seeking to fill a need common across NBA playoff rosters looking to level up ahead of the 2025-26 campaign.
Versatile big men who can protect the rim and stretch the floor with a legitimate three-point shot helped the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers reach the Finals this year, and aided the Boston Celtics in their title run two seasons ago.
Contenders like the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State are in the market for such players this summer, and Brook Lopez of the Milwaukee Bucks is a prime candidate on the free-agent market.
“The same things that could draw the Warriors to [Myles] Turner could also have them eyeing Lopez, who has a more realistic shot of landing within their price range. He wouldn’t be as impactful, obviously, but the 37-year-old still offers an intriguing mix of long-range shooting and close-range defending,” Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report wrote on Wednesday, June 25. “While he’s not versatile on the defensive end, he’s still a disruptive presence around the rim. And his outside attack is aging like wine. Since the start of the 2022-23 season, he has averaged 1.8 three-pointers on 37.1 percent shooting.”
Brook Lopez Good, Not Perfect, Fit With Warriors
Lopez has been an All-Star just once in his 17-year NBA career, though he’s made two All-Defensive teams in Milwaukee and finished top 10 in Defensive Player of the Year voting twice.
The most recent occasion of each came following the 2022-23 campaign, when Lopez made First-Team All-Defense and finished second in DPOY voting.
That said, the Indiana Pacers played Lopez off the floor for long stretches in the first round of the playoffs this year. Indiana pulled him away from the rim, where he is an excellent defender due to his ability to cover up mistakes on the defensive perimeter, and exploited his lack of switch-ability onto wing-centric offensive players too fast for the big man at this stage of his career.
Golden State won’t be able to escape that flaw against a handful of opponents, but what Lopez can offer the Warriors based on their immediate needs significantly outweighs the defensive problems he will bring with him to their championship equation.
Brook Lopez Can Bring More Size, Championship Experience to Warriors’ Roster
Lopez can offer floor spacing and outside shooting to lineups that include Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green. He will also add rim protection and moderate rebounding prowess to an undersized front court in Golden State.
Lopez can also offer veteran leadership as a champion in 2021, joining the likes of Stephen Curry and Green as players who know what it takes to win rings in the modern NBA. Curry and Green each won their fourth title in 2022, the year after Lopez captured his first.
The Bucks paid Lopez $48 million over the past two years ($24 million annually) and will presumably want him back in Milwaukee next season as they try to build a team competitive enough in a bruised and battered Eastern Conference to convince two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo that there is no reason for him to demand a trade.
Milwaukee’s interest could drive the price for Lopez up a bit for the Warriors, as could potential interest in Lopez on the part of the Lakers, who will also likely be active in the free-agent and trade markets over the coming weeks.
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