This offseason, the Milwaukee Bucks decided to unite Brook Lopez with his brother. With Robin Lopez now in the fold as well, how does that benefit the team overall?
The Milwaukee Bucks haven’t made a ton of groundbreaking moves this offseason, but they’ve done enough to maintain last year’s status as contenders. Reigning league Executive of the Year Jon Horst’s first priority was agreeing to re-sign All-Star forward Khris Middleton to a lucrative five-year contract that will keep him in Milwaukee through his prime. The move was a no-brainer for both sides.
Although Malcolm Brogdon is now a member of the Indiana Pacers, he’s the only member of last year’s core to depart. Horst was able to agree to a deal with center Brook Lopez for four years and $52 million after an impressive debut with the team last season. A floor-spacer, knockdown shooter (shot 36.5 percent from deep in 2018-19) and rim protector (career-high 2.2 blocks per game last year), the one-time All-Star is set to remain with Milwaukee through his age-34 season.
In addition to Brook being brought back, Horst used the Bucks’ mid-level exception to sign his brother, Robin Lopez. Per Yahoo! Sports‘ Chris Haynes, the deal includes a player option for the 2020-21 season. This transaction not only shores up the backup center situation, but also reunites the Lopez brothers for the first time since their days in college at Stanford.
Brook is a jack-of-all-trades big who is a perfect fit in head coach Mike Budenholzer’s system. He can shoot the ball as well as pretty much any frontcourt player in the league with volume, doesn’t need to be a top-three option on offense and has emerged as a premier interior defender. One of the only downsides to Lopez’s game is his rebounding. He averaged just 4.9 boards per game last season.
Robin is the complete opposite of his brother on the offensive end. Although he actually averaged a sliver more than his brother in the scoring category per 36 minutes last year (15.8 to 15.6), 37 percent of his shot attempts came at the rim. That figure falls to 21.6 percent for Brook, highlighting the difference between the twins. With Robin on the court, perfect floor-spacing will be very difficult to achieve and the offense will become a bit more predictable.
Where Robin brings home his bacon is on defense. Grading out as a clear positive in ESPN‘s Defensive Real Plus-Minus, the 31-year-old is still effective. While he’s limited offensively, he uses his high basketball IQ and instincts to score and defend on a consistent basis.
The importance of having a good backup center cannot be understated. Many teams’ defenses take a significant hit without their primary rim protectors on the court. When Brook heads to the bench and Robin takes the court to relieve him, there won’t be that large drop-off in performance on defense.
He’s nowhere near the offensive talent Brook is, but Robin is one of the better backup bigs in the entire NBA. This is the kind of signing contending teams should make regularly. Milwaukee lost to the eventual NBA champions, with Toronto’s unbelievably good depth being one of the main reasons why.
Budenholzer will now have the luxury of quality center play for almost all 48 minutes every night out. Depth in the NBA is as important today as it’s ever been, and now the Milwaukee Bucks have some at the center position.