The Milwaukee Bucks plan to have Brook Lopez for a run at the 2024 NBA Finals. It doesn't mean that the center is guaranteed to stay in Milwaukee. There's a chance that Lopez ends up getting an unexpected offer from another team in 2023 NBA free agency that beats what the Bucks are willing to pay.
What are the Bucks' options if Lopez leaves? Milwaukee could turn its attention to Christian Wood, sources told ClutchPoints' Brett Siegel.
Wood averaged 16.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game in 67 games with the Dallas Mavericks last season. Wood enters free agency after completing a three-year, $41 million contract. He's played for five different teams in the last five years.
Wood played 13 games for the Bucks in the 2018-2019 season. The center only averaged 4.8 minutes per game during his brief stint in Milwaukee.
The Houston Rockets could become a real threat to sign Lopez, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. Lopez played 78 games for the Bucks last season and was a Defensive Player of the Year candidate.
Khris Middleton is also headed for free agency, though it would be even more of a surprise if he leaves Milwaukee. Middleton declined his $40.4 million and is “all but assured” to stay with the Bucks, according to NBA insider Marc Stein.
The Bucks could potentially use Grayson Allen or Pat Connaughton in a trade this summer or during the 2023-2024 season in an attempt to improve the roster. Connaughton is signed for at least two more years, while Allen was one season left on his contract.
Connaughton and Allen averaged 12.0 points and 11.6 points per game, respectively, in the 2023 playoffs.
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