Horst: Bucks Have “Zero Intentions” Of Trading Brook Lopez

Bucks center Brook Lopez was cited as a potential offseason trade candidate at the start of the summer, but we haven’t heard any rumors about the big man since the end of June and it doesn’t sound like that will change anytime soon.

Speaking to Eric Nehm of The Athletic, Bucks general manager Jon Horst said the team has no intention of trading Lopez, whom he called a “core part” of the roster.

“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 $23MM this season in the final year of his current contract, so he’ll become an unrestricted free agent this summer. He’ll also turn 37 next April, so the idea that the Bucks could consider shopping him for younger pieces isn’t outrageous.

Still, the veteran center remains a crucial part of Milwaukee’s starting lineup whose production wouldn’t be easy to replace. Lopez serves as a defensive anchor on one end of the floor, having finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting in 2023, and a floor-spacing threat on the other — he has made 36.9% of his three-pointers over the past three seasons.

“I hope that Brook retires as a Milwaukee Buck,” Horst said. “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.

“For (head coach) Doc (Rivers), who got to spend time with Brook personally last year, Brook holds an incredible value for Doc for what he does defensively and rebounding and offensively, the spacing he gives us, and especially Giannis (Antetokounmpo), is unique.”

Source link : https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2024/07/horst-bucks-have-zero-intentions-of-trading-brook-lopez.html

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Publish date : 2024-07-26 17:15:00

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