The Chicago Bulls have already spun the wheels in moving on from their veteran players, having traded 29-year-old Justin Holiday to the Memphis Grizzlies.
The oldest member of the roster, 30-year-old center Robin Lopez is still a candidate to be gone before the end of the season, but Chicago is unwilling to buy him out of his contract, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.
Lopez is in the last year of his four-year, $54 million contract and is owed $14.4 million for this season. The Bulls have been in discussions for his exit since December.
According to prior reports, if he were to find himself as a free agent, the Golden State Warriors could be his most likely destination, as the defending champions have been thin in the front lines after a season-ending injury to fill-in starter Damian Jones, playing undersized for most of the regular season.
“I don’t think there’s an NBA player that doesn’t want to be on a winning team, a playoff team,” Lopez told Yahoo Sports after a 146-109 loss to the Warriors on Friday night. “I feel like I’m kind of smack dab in the middle of the prime of my career. Who doesn’t relish playing in playoff situations? That’s something very appealing and whether that’s something the organization and myself come together and decide, that’s something we want to work towards with this team, or whether that’s something that’s going to happen somewhere else, I’m just going to keep grinding. I think right now we definitely aspire to be a winning team, and I want to help out with that.”
Knowing there is interest, the Bulls are determined to get an asset in return before letting go of Lopez, hopefully snagging a draft pick from the Warriors or another team interested in the 7-footer.
The Warriors don't have many trade assets to offer, having been depleted in recent drafts. Yet the Warriors have been clear fans of Lopez's play, as they enjoyed his tea cup celebration in Friday night's game after hitting a 3-pointer from straight-on.
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