NBA Rumors: Milwaukee Bucks May Pursue Brook Lopez In Free Agency

Brooklyn center Brook Lopez is out for the season.

The Milwaukee Bucks may be on the verge of turning things around after a promising season which resulted in a playoff berth. Although the Bucks saw their prized rookie, Jabari Parker, go down with a season-ending knee injury, Milwaukee was still able to do enough to turn a lot of heads this season under new head coach Jason Kidd.

With the Bucks seemingly headed in the right direction, the franchise may look to continue improving their squad this summer. One way the Bucks can improve this by making a splash in NBA free agency. The Bucks will be determined to keep up-and-comer Khris Middleton, who’ll be a restricted free agent in July, but they may have big plans if Brook Lopez decides to hit the open market.

According to Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times, the Bucks may be one of a few teams interested in signing Lopez this summer:

If Brooklyn center Brook Lopez opts out of his contract, which is for $16.8 million, one of the teams he may consider, according to some NBA officials, is the Bucks. Lopez has a good relationship with Bucks coach Jason Kidd, who coached him in Brooklyn last season.

Although Lopez isn’t the star that everyone thought he’d turn into due to constant injury problems, the veteran center is coming off a bounce back season and may be the missing piece to the puzzle in Milwaukee.

If Kidd’s relationship with Lopez is strong enough and the team is willing to risk a long-term deal on him, the veteran leaving the Brooklyn Nets in favor of the Bucks isn’t beyond the realm of possibility. Lopez would give Milwaukee some added depth and veteran leadership in the frontcourt that could prove to be extremely valuable for a team coming off a playoff appearance.

Avoiding losing Middleton will likely be priority number one for the Bucks, but if the team has a chance to sign Lopez, it’s a safe they’ll attempt to do so.