Lakers Rumors: Team interested in bringing back big man Brook Lopez

The Los Angeles Lakers have various vacancies on their roster, and recent Lakers rumors imply the team is reportedly considering signing center Brook Lopez this summer.

Over the weekend the Los Angeles Lakers made the sports world erupt by virtue of agreeing to trade for New Orleans Pelicans big man Anthony Davis. As a result, Davis will get the chance to play alongside LeBron James and form what could be one of the scariest one-two punches in the league.

As great as that duo sounds on paper, the Lakers gave up quite a bit in order to acquire Davis. A LeBron-AD pairing is certainly nice, but L.A. does not necessarily have a deep team at the moment.

Therefore, general manager Rob Pelinka has his work cut out for him in terms of how to fill out the roster. During a recent episode of The Hoop Collective podcast, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst speculated that the Lakers are interested in signing a familiar face. As transcribed by SB Nation’s Sabreena Merchant, that familiar face is Milwaukee Bucks big man Brook Lopez.

"Windhorst: “Also, Anthony Davis prefers to play the four, and LeBron prefers to play the three. You could bring in Brook and then align it the way you want to align it.”"

Acquiring a big man like Lopez would be extremely practical on the Lakers’ part. James and Davis are guys who spend a lot of time in the paint, and, in doing so, opposing defenses will flock to them.

Thus, the idea of bringing back Lopez is sensible given that he is more than capable of knocking down shots from the perimeter. When those two get trapped, they can pass the rock out to Lopez for a cleaner look.

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In 2018-2019, Lopez had a career year from three-point territory. Throughout 81 appearances, the 7-footer had a .365 shooting percentage from long distance.

Consequently, it is sensible that the team is interested in re-signing Lopez. Especially on account of the Davis trade, there are voids the Lakers have. Certainly, one of those needs is three-point shooting.

At the same time, every team needs an anchor in the paint. Granted Lopez is not an elite defender like Davis, he is still capable of holding his own down there.

Brook averaged a career high in blocks this year for the Bucks with 2.2 a night. Thus, it would be unfair to call the veteran baller a slouch in that realm.

Accordingly, having Davis and Lopez patrol the middle would make matters tough for any team. Both players are known for their “D,” so a combo of them would have the opposition thinking twice prior to driving to the bucket.

One area Lopez has not always been adept in, though, is rebounding the basketball. For a 7-footer, the fact that he has averaged 6.5 rebounds throughout his career is not is too compelling. Nevertheless, his soft touch from outside along with his length help make up for that particular weakness.

In her piece, Merchant brought up one important factor that could sway Brook to have a reunion. He was never the biggest fan of Luke Walton, and, of course, Walton is now up north with the Sacramento Kings.

What it will all boil down to is the money side of things. If the big fella is willing to take a pay cut, it is very possible the Lakers may bring him on board.

However, if he is not willing to do so, the Lakers should look at other options. The purple and gold have a depleted backcourt on account of trading for AD, so addressing those vacancies will be critical for them.

Next. 5 Concerns about the Anthony Davis trade. dark

At any rate, expect the Lakers to be busy on the telephone in the upcoming weeks. With free agency looming, Lopez is merely one player among many the team should be considering.

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