Kofi Inkoom
At the beginning of the summer, Milwaukee Bucks center Brook Lopez was mentioned as a potential offseason trade candidate.
However, Bucks general manager Jon Horst clarified that the team has no plans to trade Lopez, whom he described as a “core part” of the roster, according to Athletic’s Eric Nehm
“First of all, rumors and chatter are what makes the league so interesting and so fun, so people are always going to speculate and talk about it. And I typically don’t talk about any of this stuff with the media, but I will say, because Brook is so core to who we are, we have zero intentions of trading Brook,” Horst said. “Of course he has value around the league. That’s a credit to him. But we’ve not engaged in any real conversations about trading Brook. There are teams that have a lot of value and interest in him. It’s my job to take calls, receive calls, have conversations, but Brook has been and will continue to be core to who we are.”
Lopez is earning $23 million this season, the final year of his current contract, which means he’ll become an unrestricted free agent this summer. He’ll also turn 37 next April, so the idea of the Bucks possibly trading him for younger players isn’t far-fetched.
Nonetheless, the veteran center is a vital part of Milwaukee’s starting lineup, and his contributions would be difficult to replace.
Lopez is a defensive cornerstone, having finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting in 2023, and he’s also a threat on offense with his ability to hit three-pointers—shooting 36.9% from beyond the arc over the past three seasons.
“I hope that Brook retires as a Milwaukee Buck,” Horst added. “That’s been the goal since we originally got him. His impact on our team defensively and rebounding is elite. It only gets better. It’s not declining. I mean, he’s an anomaly in how he just continues to get better and better and better.”
Last season, Lopez played in 79 games for the Bucks, including the regular season, in-season tournament, and playoffs. He averaged 12.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 0.5 steals, and 2.4 blocks per game. His shooting percentages were 48.5% from the field, 36.6% from three-point range, and 82.1% from the free-throw line.