Should The Los Angeles Lakers Trade For Brook Lopez?

The Los Angeles Lakers have been in the news recently, rumored to have engaged the Brooklyn Nets in trade discussions involving their center Brook Lopez. While the report questioned whether the Lakers have the assets to get the deal done with the Nets, the better question is whether acquiring Lopez would make sense for the Lakers.

In a word: Yes.

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Lopez has fallen on hard times as of late, as he was recently relegated to the bench in favor of Mason Plumlee by Nets head coach Lionel Hollins. This, of course, makes no sense since Lopez is the vastly superior talent to Plumlee in pretty much every way, save for maybe rebounding and pick and roll defense.

But what Hollins may be seeking with Plumlee is consistency, as Lopez has had some trouble with staying healthy lately. This is a legitimate concern, especially considering that Lopez’s primary injury these past couple seasons has been to the same foot. Foot injuries and big men are two things that NBA teams don’t want in the same sentence.

While injuries to the same foot are justifiably concerning, it should be noted that Lopez played all 82 games his first three seasons in the league, and played 74 games two seasons ago. This season, he has managed to play in 36 games, averaging 26.9 minutes. So Lopez has essentially been healthy in 5 out of 7 seasons.

So putting aside the injury issue, what else is concerning about Lopez? Well, there is simply no way of getting around his rebounding numbers. For his career, Lopez has averaged 7.2 rebounds per game, and his highest average came during his second season where pulled down 8.6 per game. But since then, Lopez hasn’t come close to getting back to that level.

There really is no reasonable explanation for this. Some have suggested that because Lopez focuses so much on boxing out, he sacrifices rebounds to his own teammates. In any event, his rebounding numbers are what they are, and definitely should be taken into account when evaluating Lopez.

Now to the positives, which there are a lot of. Lopez is a 26 year old 7 footer, weighing in at 275 pounds and thus, is a true center (an endangered species in today’s NBA). Utilizing his size and length, Lopez is an efficient and prolific scorer.

For his career, he has a 51% field goal percentage and has averaged 17.8 points per game, with his highest total for both coming last season (albeit in only 17 games) where he shot 56% and averaged 20.7 points.

But it is how he scores that truly makes Lopez special. Indeed, he is as skilled as centers come in the low post, with excellent footwork, soft touch, and a great feel for the game down low. But what truly separates Lopez from other NBA centers is that, in addition to his low post game, he is a solid spot up shooter with range out to 18 feet.

Check out these highlights from just last Friday demonstrating all of the above.

What about Lopez’s defense? Despite his weak rebounding numbers, Lopez is a defensive presence, especially at the rim. He’s averaged nearly 2 blocks a game for his career, and with his length, shots that he doesn’t block definitely get altered by his outstretched arms.

Further, because of his size and body control, Lopez is more than capable of defending fellow centers who attempt to post him up near the basket.

So given all of that, why would the Nets want to trade him? Well, whatever their reasoning is, it is clear that they are shopping him hard, with rumors flying around involving the Thunder and Nuggets, among others. One reason may be that because Lopez has an opt out in his contract at the end of the season, the Nets are afraid of losing without any compensation.

So where do the Lakers fit in? They could offer up a package involving Jordan Hill, Jeremy Lin, and Houston’s first round pick. If that doesn’t get it done, the Lakers could throw in additional players or picks to see if a deal can be reached that satisfies both sides.

But why give up assets for a player that may just become a free agent anyways (cue Dwight Howard flashback)? Because Lopez may decide against opting out, instead playing out the final year of his deal with the Lakers.

Alternatively, if Lopez is leaning towards opting out, then the Lakers can negotiate with Lopez’s agent prior to free agency to see if a long term deal can be reached, maybe something in the range of $14 million per year. This would leave the Lakers with about $12 million more to spend on other free agents (e.g., Goran Dragic, Rajon Rondo, Paul Millsap, Jeff Green, Arron Afflalo, Wesley Matthews, etc.).

Given that Lopez is from the Los Angeles area, it seems likely that he would be inclined to re-sign with his hometown Lakers. Further, if Lopez is serious about playing a wookie in the next Star Wars movie, what better way to make it happen than to be near Hollywood?

Kidding aside, Lopez is a rare commodity in the NBA: a true center with a great low post game, range out to 18 feet, and a defensive presence. Moreover, he is only 26 years old and his best days may still be ahead of him assuming he can stay healthy, which is a scary thought for the rest of the NBA.

As such, the Lakers should fully explore the possibility of acquiring him prior to the upcoming trade deadline.

Next: Lakers and Knicks Fighting For The #1 Pick

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