Los Angeles Lakers: 4 reasons to sign Brook Lopez
By Robert Marvi
2. He should be inexpensive
When Lopez first came to the Lakers nearly two years ago in the controversial D’Angelo Russell trade, he was going into the final year of a contract that paid him over $22 million that season.
However, last summer he made it clear that he would at least consider staying with the Lakers for less money. In fact, then-head coach Luke Walton was adamant about keeping him, but then-President of Basketball Operations Magic Johnson ignored him and let Lopez bounce.
Afterwards, the former New Jersey Net inked a one-year deal with the Milwaukee Bucks for a mere $3.38 million.
Coming off a collapse in the Eastern Conference Finals against Toronto, the Bucks have some decisions to make if they are to get over the hump next season. Not only will Lopez be a free agent, but so will Khris Middleton, who made his first ever All-Star team this season, as well as Malcolm Brogdon and Nikola Mirotic.
The potential free agency of Giannis Antetokounmpo in two years is quietly looming, which means they’ll probably need to show him that they’re serious about winning an NBA championship if they don’t want him to start daydreaming about playing in a big market.
Will they have any kind of priority when it comes to retaining Lopez? If not, it will be interesting to see what the market will be on him. Surely, it won’t be anything close to the $20+ million he used to make.
Lopez has said that he was a lifelong Laker fan, so maybe if the team succeeds at bringing in a second star, the former North Hollywood native and Stanford University standout may be willing to give the purple and gold a hometown discount in order to win a championship ring.