Brook Lopez to the Bucks [Archive]

mufan2003

07-09-2018, 03:46 PM

Lopez should provide more consistent offensive play at the center position. From Kevin Pelton of ESPN:

Having used the bulk of their nontaxpayer midlevel exception to sign forward Ersan Ilyasova, the Bucks had only their smaller biannual exception to use on a center. Nonetheless, they ended up getting a more accomplished player than the Brooklyn Nets (Ed Davis) and Indiana Pacers (Kyle O'Quinn) did with the $4.45 million room midlevel and a more reliable one than the Washington Wizards (Dwight Howard) did with the $5.3 million taxpayer midlevel.

There are reasons Lopez came so cheap after making $22.6 million last season. Never an elite defender in his prime, Lopez now has more difficulty finding good matchups as he's lost whatever foot speed he had and other centers have become increasingly perimeter-oriented. Lopez ranked 68th among centers in defensive impact according to ESPN's real plus-minus (RPM) last season.

In particular, Lopez's immobility will prevent Milwaukee from switching screens with him -- something new Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer was able to do with Al Horford in Atlanta once upon a time, and may do with either John Henson or Thon Maker at center, or Giannis Antetokounmpo playing the 5 in small lineups.

That tradeoff is worth it because Lopez will be an immense offensive upgrade for the Bucks, who got little production from their centers last season after trading Greg Monroe as part of the Eric Bledsoe deal. Maker had the highest usage rate of Milwaukee's 5s, finishing 15 percent of the team's plays while on the court. By contrast, Lopez finished a robust 24 percent of the L.A. Lakers' plays with league-average efficiency.

Though Lopez may not be much more efficient in a smaller role, the 3-point threat he provides (Lopez has made 246 3s the past two seasons at a 34.6 percent clip) will create more space for Antetokounmpo and the Bucks' perimeter players to drive, much like Horford did in Budenholzer's system with the Hawks.

Adding Lopez likely spells the end of Tyler Zeller's brief stint in Milwaukee, as Zeller's $1.9 million salary is nonguaranteed. So too is Brandon Jennings' $2.2 million salary through Aug. 1, and if the Bucks waive both players, they could afford to pay restricted free agent Jabari Parker about $11.5 million without going into the luxury tax.

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/23997529/nba-free-agency-rating-every-move-deal-contract

Goose85

07-09-2018, 04:35 PM

Lopez sounds serviceable, and his ability to hit the three, along with Ilyasova and hopefully Divincenzo should add to the 3 point threats on the team which was really lacking last season.

An interesting comment a the end was that the Bucks could offer Parker about $11.5 million without going into the luxury tax. Not sure how the market is shaping up, but $11.5 for Parker could be about the best deal he gets. Play a year, show he is healthy and then hit the market.