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After starting the 2024-2025 season, 2-8, it seems that the Milwaukee Bucks have bucked their slow start. Milwaukee is now seventh in the NBA standings with an 11-11 win-loss card. Now that the Bucks have started to end their slump, there's no question that their championship hopes have come alive once more.
But while the team has somewhat inserted themselves back into contention, it's safe to say that the roster still has concerns that need to be addressed. One of which is their aging supporting cast surrounding Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard. As a result, the Bucks must trade away an aging Brook Lopez soon.
Brook Lopez is getting old
At 36 years old, Brook Lopez has reasonably slowed down. While Lopez is still putting up decent numbers for the Bucks as the starting center, averaging 11.6 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game, it's not exactly ideal to give heavy minutes to an aging center.
With the pressure on in Milwaukee for Giannis and Lillard to make it work, the team needs a steady supporting cast to surround their All-Star duo. Lopez is still providing plenty of help at this stage of his career. However, the question remains on how long the 7'1 center can maintain his production on a heavy load.
An aging supporting cast isn't ideal for any team that's in a win-now situation. Given the intensity and physicality of the postseason, it's ideal for a team to stay healthy. Any basketball fan will agree that an aging roster opens the door for a depleted roster, something that can ultimately kill a team's playoff hopes.
There has been chatter about Giannis growing frustrated in Milwaukee. One way the front office can temporarily ease that is to provide their star with some much younger help who can ease his burdens en route to a potential second NBA title.
Final year of Bucks contract
Another reason for the Bucks to trade away the one-time NBA All-Star is his expiring contract. Back in 2023, Lopez agreed to a two-year contract extension worth $48 million, according to Spotrac. The Bucks center will be entering free agency during the summer.
If the Bucks don't move their starting center in the midst of the 2024-2025 season, the team risks ending up with nothing while Lopez walks away. The seven foot big man is penciled to rake in $23 million for the season. This gives the Bucks a tradeable salary for another serviceable player, who can match or even improve Lopez' current production. But more importantly, this also opens the doors for Milwaukee to go younger.
Although Lopez is a fan favorite and played an instrumental role in helping the Bucks win the title in 2021, finding a new team that can provide him with a less strenuous role should benefit all parties.
Strong interest from the Lakers
Expiring contracts are usually great trade assets, but factor in Lopez's age his value takes a tremendous hit. Nonetheless, the Bucks do have hope in moving Lopez, given that the 7'1 center has been named as a potential trade target by the struggling Los Angeles Lakers.
The Purple and Gold went off to a hot start to kick off their season. However, they also quickly simmered off. To address some of their issues, the Lakers have been desperately been trying to upgrade their frontcourt to aid Anthony Davis. Unfortunately, the Lakers have yet to enjoy the reinforcements they need. Christian Wood and Jaxon Hayes have been hit by the injury bug. On the other hand, Christian Koloko is still finding his footing in the league. As a result, the Lakers could really use Lopez's rim protection, size, and outside shooting to space the floor.
However, if the Bucks need to send Lopez to the Lakers, ideally, they need to do it before December 15. As we all know, aside from Lopez another big man that has been strongly linked to the Lakers is Jonas Valanciunas. Valanciunas was rumored to sign with the Lakers in the offseason before taking his talents to Washington. The deal prevents the Lithuanian big man to be traded until the said date.
There's no doubt that either Valanciunas or Lopez should be a shot in the arm for the Lakers' frontcourt woes. But should the Bucks wait, the interest should completely turn off once the Lakers successfully acquire Valanciunas from the Wizards. With Lopez' dwindling production and diminishing value, Milwaukee would be hard-pressed to find another team other than the Purple and Gold to show strong interest in the NBA champion.
