The Milwaukee Bucks have a great big-man duo in Brook Lopez and Giannis Antetokounmpo. But apparently Lopez nearly left Giannis for Alperen Sengun and the Houston Rockets this offseason, according to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle.
Writes Feigen, “The Rockets’ rebuild that Brook Lopez considered joining as a free agent last summer had gone as he anticipated. He believed a pairing with Alperen Şengün, who has blossomed at the center spot the Rockets wanted to make Lopez’s could have worked, with Lopez even comparing it in theory to his championship-winning partnership with Giannis Antetokounmpo. He had no regrets about his decision to stay in Milwaukee, but also did not have to wonder why he considered leaving.”
As the Rockets were the betting favorites last summer to land Lopez, there was widespread belief that Lopez had led Houston to believe he would be coming. Feigen writes that Lopez didn't cop to that:
“He did not, however, confirm the widespread speculation that he led the Rockets to believe he was joining them, or even pledged to join Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks as their three-pronged free agency rebuild plan. “It was pretty close,” Lopez said. ‘There was a lot of mutual interest. Watching this season, they’ve obviously done some great things. I love what Ime (Udoka, the Rockets’ first-year coach) has been doing. Obviously, the group of guys they have here have done great stuff.'”
Sengun in particular has excelled this season. Following the Rockets win against the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday, Sengun became the first Rockets center since Dwight Howard with at least five games of 30+ points in a season.
Continued Lopez, “I’m sure it would have worked out,” Lopez said. “Sengun is such a talented, smart basketball player, he would have definitely made my life easy. The way he can score the ball, he can share the ball, you don’t typically see those things in a young player. He’ll continue to grow and continue to be great. He’s a tough cover. You can see he’s a winning basketball player. Just being (in Milwaukee) and seeing the way Giannis and I benefit one another; we have games that definitely fit together and improve each other and the team. I think obviously, as great as (Şengün) is at what he does, we could have meshed similarly.”
The Houston Rockets are 17-16 and in 9th place in the Western Conference. They take on Lopez and the Bucks on Saturday night.
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