With starting center Clint Capela expected to miss four-to-six weeks with a right thumb injury, the Houston Rockets are reportedly monitoring the Robin Lopez situation with the Chicago Bulls, according to Kelly Iko of The Atheltic.
The Bulls are one of the worst teams in the NBA and they are playing rookie big man Wendell Carter Jr. more minutes than Lopez (25.1 minutes per game compared to 16.3 minutes per game).
As a result, Lopez's name has come up in trade talks with the trade deadline almost a month away. The Bulls reportedly don't want to buy out Lopez and would prefer to get some type of asset in return for the veteran big man.
The Warriors, like most contenders, would prefer to keep their tradeable assets around and work with the buyout market. Robin Lopez has long stated a desire to play meaningful basketball, something the Chicago Bulls simply can’t offer this season. But Golden State isn’t the only team interested in Lopez’s services. Houston poked its head around Tyson Chandler when word broke of his buyout from Phoenix, and the same goes here per league sources.
The only difference is Chicago isn’t exactly thrilled with the idea of a buyout, at least not now.
The most the Bulls could likely get for Lopez is probably a late second-round pick at this point. Houston, though, is in desperate need of a center while Capela is out, so maybe Chicago can haggle with them.
Entering Tuesday, Lopez is averaging 5.6 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game.
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