Shams BREAKING: Los Angeles Clippers have signed Brook Lopez to a 2-year, $18M deal | NBA Today

Shams BREAKING: Los Angeles Clippers have signed Brook Lopez to a 2-year, $18M deal | NBA Today

nba today free agency special here our senior insider sham shirana is back with us shams what more can you tell us about brook lopez
we have big news out of milwaukee brook lopez is departing the bucks i’m told he has reached agreement on a 2-year $18 million deal to sign with the los angeles clippers and so after seven seasons with the bucks the one-time champion in 2021 brook lopez is departing where he’ll back up zubach play a little bit more uh with zubach potentially as well being able to space the floor for so the clippers have a new big man someone that can start someone that can play off the bench uh but brook lopez departs milwaukee for the clippers shams thank you so very much and a big man that can certainly shoot the ball as well brian put this into context for us in the los angeles clippers so this hits a couple of teams obviously the clippers just got a high high quality backup
the bucks this has been their franchise center for their championship team correct your giannis and tennaco you are now having a question who is our starting center going to be but this is a blow to the la lakers
well when when shawn said los angeles you see you jonas he starts to lean in los angeles and then it was clippers
the brook lopez was an option for them now in with the lakers that would have potentially been a starting job now we don’t know the lakers may have another starter that they’ve got uh let’s wait and let’s see what happens there uh brook lopez obviously from southern california has played here before um so he’s going into a backup situation you know a good contract two years $18 million like certainly the lakers could have afforded to match that so let’s i’m going to wait and see but i am surprised that the if the lakers prioritized him that they would have lost out to the clippers but i’m going to wait and see what happens with the lakers because they still need a center and another guy that they had interest in clint capella off the board to houston
and he definitely comes off the bench but i see situations where you can actually play him next to zubac i see situations where giannis is the guy who’s getting downhill he’s getting the paint and brooke brock um excuse me brooke is spending most of his time on the perimeter so even though he will be coming off the bench i see situations i see rotations where both of those guys can play together and also brooke is amazing at guarding protecting protecting the rim so he’s a guy who you bring in zubac is not as big or as athletic well neither one of those guys athletic but brooke does a great job of protecting the rim so you play these both guys together you protect the rim you got size i like this move for them and i like this move for brooke even though i was hoping it would be la the lakers but i like i thought it was going to be i was waiting into it but i like this move for brooke i like this move for the clippers as well and i think they can go big big and or they can go big and small i love when you have a positional uh rotation where they don’t do the same things yes so it gives it gives a defense a different look and also brook lopez playing with a guy like james harden you talk about a pick and pop dream for a five to play with a guy that can get downhill and make those kind of finds back out to the perimeter tailor made for brook lopez he shoots that shot at a high rate and he still is an elite rim protector so he’s a guy that will give you something on that end of the floor too if you want to play four guards and brook lopez protect the rim you could do that as well nba in 2024-25 the season’s just ended we got we got taught a lesson size and depth depth and size you have to have it
look at houston look at the clippers they are reacting to the knee depth
look at denver even denver is trying to sort of retool particularly in the depth piece of that equation but that still leaves a question for the los angeles lakers we’re going to get to that right here on nba today we have more to come on our free agency special we’re rolling on for another hour and five minutes we will be right back busy here in the last couple of hours they’ve been making a lot of moves here cam johnson is in michael porter jr is out according to our sham shirananya cam johnson fills the role of michael porter jr and is really going to thrive i think next to nicola joic here brian do you think that this move plus also bringing bruce brown back is going to change where denver’s at in the west
well they’re not done yet they’ve got more safe space here look cam johnson and michael porter jr are different players they’re comparable players they they do different things it’s not like cam johnson is a huge upgrade michael porter jr has a lot going for him but cam johnson is vastly cheaper
he’s like 1617 million a year cheaper over the next couple of years and in a second apron era that matters and that’s why the nuggets sent a first round pick in this deal to grease that extra money they’re sending to brooklyn so now with that extra money the nuggets can sort of build out their roster again go to try to backfill some of the guys they’ve lost over the last few years and cam johnson is a very good replacement for michael porter jr and bruce brown is a return to the 2023 team which had great depth
yes
already communicating with some people in denver they’re ecstatic about what this team is doing because it felt like when they won their championship it was more than a one championship type of team with jokic with his age with his skill level now you go out and you starting to reinvigorate this franchise now i think cam johnson is a major upgrade these will be the best shots cam johnson’s ever gotten in his career that’s what’s going to happen to the shot quality for a guy with a pure stroke i think cam johnson’s going to have a great year for denver and also not a liability at all on the other end of the floor and then you go get bruce brown a lot of people were very frustrated they lost him in the first place now he is back in the fold and what that addresses is depth because you talk about the ultimate utility knife and this is one of joic’s biggest problems he had with the roster they weren’t deep enough and you saw that in the postseason bruce brown helps address that as well
not to mention you know denver is coming off a season where they led the nba in points per game from starters so a much needed sixth man coming back here in bruce brown and when you talk about the west you’re thinking about the oklahoma city thunder being the team that paces the entire western conference who did we say up until the nba finals was the team that pushed them to the brink more than anyone it was the denver nuggets ud yeah it was the denver nuggets and i’m with you i love the bruce brown pickup because not only does he is he a dog defensively but offensively he plays perfect he fits perfect with them he’s a guy who plays off the ball he doesn’t have the skill set where he needs the ball in his hand but when you run that pick and roll with murray and joic he plays in that dunker he slides back door you turn your head he gets offensive rebound he does all the little things this is a guy who’s going to impact the game make winning plays and you do not have to draw up anything for him at all well when you look at the favorites in the western conference you of course have the defending champions at the top oklahoma city but then it’s the houston rockets that are quickly catching up with them many moves this off season already and they were the number two seed last year the odds reflect that and then you see the denver nuggets with the moves that they’ve been making followed by the lakers and then the timberwolves let’s dive into some of those moves because it’s been a busy off season for the rockets headlined of course by bringing in 15 time all-star kevin durant they’re the fourth team to trade for a 25 points per game scorer the off season after a 50- win season that’s a lot of numbers it just means they’re really good fred van bleet meanwhile intends to sign a 2-year $50 million deal with houston after the rockets declined his nearly $45 million team option the 2019 champ ranked seventh in assist to turnover ratio this season and then jabari smith jr he intends to sign a 5-year $122 million rookie extension with houston the third pick in the 2022 draft is one of three players in rockets history to score 2500 points before turning 22 along with jaylen green and alparin shenon i don’t know which one of you two is higher on the moves that houston has made you are singing their praises do you think that they’re in that same category with oklahoma city or just right there knocking on the door
for me i think now i’m looking at the houston rockets as a legitimate number two in the west that’s also a contender last year they finished second in the west i don’t think anybody really looked at them as a team that could make a run through the western conference and end up in the finals
was that just lack of experience
i think they were just a little bit too young and i also think people had questions about you know the lead guard jaylen green is a very talented player he’s not a natural lead guard and they didn’t know how to close games well guess what they just signed the ultimate closer kevin durant is the solution for their problems offensively but it’s not just that just durant alone i think i said to you i really liked it now i love it you got you added a dorian finny smith to the mix you get a clint capella to join them as well houston rockets to me now have have i i think separate a little bit from other teams in the west for that number two you like it i love it
you’re like cold stone crearyy like it love it got to have it i’m a defensive guy and obviously you give up some defense when you lose dylan brooks but you bring in a guy like finley smith who’s also a gator go gator by the way but you bring in a guy like finley smith who shot 41% from three last year so you’re talking about a guy once again who does not need the ball in his hand you know your guys that are going to handle van fleet is going to handle we got to get kevin durant in the spot jabari smith is very very good offensively sangon needs the ball in his hand this is a guy who does not need the ball in his hand he’s going to shoot 41 42% from the three he’s going to guard your best player and also ma udoka loves to switch on defense so this is a guy who can switch one through five on any given night
the rockets are on an organizational hot streak they are drafting well they are trading well they are using free agency well they are negotiating contracts well they’ve been very active the last couple of days not just with kevin durant but als um jabari smith jr into a new contract getting fred van vleet into a new contract tonight they signed quinn capella to a three-year deal which was a surprise that will it will backfield them they extended steven adams when you play in the western conference you got to have size you got to try to beat nicola joic they’ve retained steven adams and added clint capella they’ve got alpar shining they are really really doing good moves and then their their development of tari east and of amen thompson has really been been going if you’re going to beat the oklahoma city thunder you’ve got to win across the board
that the rockets are piling up w’s
it feels like they have an embarrassment of riches right now i turn to bobby marks once again who has the 3d lineup fired up bobby who’s starting who’s swapping in because they have a lot of firepower here
well you know you notice something here legs and ud size
yes
610 7 foot 610 that is a big front court now this is what they can do dorian finny smith you can put him in for jabari smith now you kind of interchangeable lineups here remember tari e steven adams they they’re bringing back jeff green jason tate they’ve got a lot of different options here’s some things to keep an eye on this goes away right this is going to dory finny smith but keep an eye on for the two extensions here kevin durant two for18 and tari een he’s extension eligible up until october 20th but for houston they’ve nailed the offseason so far extended the head coach certainly what they did with the durant trade and still have they here’s the best thing they still have draft assets and tradable contracts they go out and make another big swing if they want to
well and so for the first time i get to say houston certainly does not have a problem this free agency is moving fast and furious we have breaking news into our foreign speech foreign speech foreign speech dochech don’t do that get it go awesome let’s go

Shams BREAKING: Los Angeles Clippers have signed Brook Lopez to a 2-year, $18M deal | NBA Today