Seemingly everyone is proposing any number of trade ideas that would give the Los Angeles Lakers the type of starting-caliber center they badly need in order to seriously contend for the NBA championship next season. But there is another way the team could land such a player — through free agency.
Unfortunately, signing a viable center in free agency won’t be easy. If LeBron James were to opt out of his current contract and sign a new one while taking a reasonable pay cut, the Lakers could gain access to the full mid-level exception of roughly $14 million. But he’s not expected to take a pay cut, and as a result, they will likely only have the much smaller $5.7 million taxpayer mid-level exception.
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However, there is always a chance $5.7 million could be enough to obtain Brook Lopez, a veteran center who has spent the last seven seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks. According to Gary Woelfel, a sportswriter in Wisconsin, one NBA executive thinks the Lakers have already had contact with Lopez.
Lopez is 37 years of age, but he was still productive this season. He averaged 13.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.9 blocks a game while shooting 50.9% from the field and 37.3% from 3-point range this season.
The 7-foot-1, 282-pound center once played for the Lakers during the 2017-18 season, and he spent his early childhood in the San Fernando Valley. While in Milwaukee, he won an NBA championship during the 2020-21 campaign.
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While he could help the Purple and Gold as a rim protector and 3-point shooter, his age is one reason the team should think twice about adding him. Building a team for and around the 26-year-old Luka Doncic means going after young players who are athletic and can run and jump, not older players who are nearing the end of their careers.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: NBA executive: ‘I’m sure the Lakers have already talked to’ one center