2018 NBA free agency: 5 best signings
4. Brook Lopez, Milwaukee Bucks: 1 year, $3.38 million
The Milwaukee Bucks have one of the 10 best players in the world on their team, a true MVP candidate for the next decade. Giannis Antetokounmpo is the star that could truly take the Bucks places in the postseason. Yet his primary weakness, shooting, was exacerbated by the players around him last season.
Milwaukee leaned primarily on John Henson last season, a ground-bound center who shot 1-for-7 on 3-pointers last season. In total the Bucks received just 32 triples from the center position, 31 of which came from inconsistent sophomore Thon Maker. Coaches Jason Kidd and Joe Prunty went for the safety of a veteran like Henson, and it hurt the team’s spacing.
To unlock Antetokounmpo, the Bucks needed shooting around him. So they went out and added just that. Ersan Ilyasova may have been an unusual midnight signing by the team, but he added spacing from the frontcourt positions. The true gem of the offseason, though, was adding Brook Lopez.
Sources: Lopez agrees to a one-year deal at the bi-annual exception. https://t.co/MIKJKiP33L
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) July 8, 2018
The seven-footer played last season in Los Angeles for the Lakers, where he spaced the court for a team of young players finding their way. In Brooklyn, Lopez was consistently scoring over 20 points per game as an offensive fulcrum, before averaging a more modest 13.5 points per game in a smaller role last year.
It was two seasons ago that Lopez made a shift out beyond the arc, and he has been a weapon from deep ever since. While his shooting percentages are pedestrian, he takes a high volume of shots, forcing the defense to guard him and opening up the court for his teammates. Antetokounmpo will have significantly more room to work with when Lopez is on the court.
What makes this such a great signing for the Bucks is that Lopez is not simply a shooter. Most stretch-bigs lack the size to protect the rim, but as a 7-footer with great size and strength, he can be a successful deterrent. He is also skilled enough to move the ball, perhaps filling some of the same role Greg Monroe did to much success in 2016-17.
Overall Lopez is not a star, but he’s not a bit player either. He has career numbers that compare favorably to perennial All-Stars, and by reinventing himself offensively and adding a 3-point shot, he will keep his career potent and alive. This was a sharp signing by the Milwaukee Bucks.