Is Brook Lopez A Linchpin to Milwaukee’s Success? | Bucks Face Tough Decision

Is Brook Lopez A Linchpin to Milwaukee’s Success? | Bucks Face Tough Decision

On today’s Lockdown Bucks, we explore the weakest link model for building teams. Will this benefit the Bucks? What does the Eastern Conference look like moving forward? And where does Brook Lopez end up? More importantly, for how much money? That comes your way after this on Locked on Bucks. You are Locked On Bucks, your daily Milwaukee Bucks podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. Welcome into Lockdown Bucks. I’m Justin Garcia, joined as always by Camille Davis. You can find me on the Bucks Radio Network. You can uh catch Camille’s work on the Lockdown NBA podcast and the Technical File podcast as well. We thank you for making this your first listen of the day each and every day. And pleased to be joined once again by Van Fias of Brew Hoop. As on yesterday’s show, we went back into the Giannis conversation and the trade front there. Some of the other rumors that have popped up around the Bucks, some interesting names that the Bucks could possibly target again with more flexibility this summer. and a couple more to get to on today’s show, but a a larger discussion about the Eastern Conference as a whole as well. Um, I guess let’s just start with the East here and the Bucks certainly appear to be as Camille and I have talked about this too, Van. It’s interesting that you may phrase it as a gap year assuming you keep most of this group together and Giannis more importantly say well maybe it’s a gap year they take a step backward the benefit you have this year too is knowing even mentioning on yesterday’s show the Pelicans insinuating everybody’s available that it’s probably going to be a down year for New Orleans again as well they have the pick swap so look as long as even if you’re you know not where you hope to be as long as you’re at the the back half of the playoff teams doesn’t really hurt you. You’re keeping your pick and there’s going to be no pick swap there. Um, but teams are going to take a step back for the Bucks. I don’t know. I I just I I get on the surface what it means, but I have a hard time saying Bucks are going to be taking a step backward when if taking a step backward is, you know, winning 45 games opposed to 49 and 48 the last two years and losing in the first round, how much of a step backward is that? seems like lateral motion might be more likely um based on the Buck situation as we know it now with Giannis and without Damen Lillard. But looking around the rest of the East, I mean you two have talked about it. Boston even before Jason Tatum to his Achilles was in a a tough spot um financially because the extensions for Brown and Tatum are are coming to and the these guys are each making over making over 70 million bucks pretty soon. So they’re way over the second apron. Uh there’s only one year left on Porzingis’ deal. Drew Holiday, our old friend. He’s got, is it three or four years left at like 110 million bucks? He is. Uh, he’s almost 35, you know. Yeah, he’s got two years. And then the player option, right, which seems like very likely to be picked up because he’ll be 37 years old. And then Derek White, who has the best contract out of any of them. I don’t think he’s even making 20 million next year, but uh he seems the most likely one that they’ll keep. I think one of those other two names. Next year is when he gets a sizable increase. He goes up to 28 next year. But yeah, it’s it’s still relative to the rest of the group. That’s the best deal of those three. So, and then Hal Horford’s a free agent’s 39 years old. The the Celtics are having to kind of break up the band like even sooner than the Bucks had to. and their their tax bill just came due. Their their credit card bill maybe is a better way to put it just came due a lot sooner. So they didn’t time it out where they they didn’t buy everything at the beginning of the month. They waited until Exactly. Yeah. before they got paid. So um that those they’re in a similar situation as the Bucks where you know they might kind of be in that mid tier like the Bucks are were just a mid-tier East team last year. Um then because you you had three teams, so Boston finished second, you have the Cavs who won 64 games, but there there are a lot of questions about them still, especially as it relates to the postseason. Um and then you had the Pacers and the Knicks each round 50 wins, just a few games ahead of the Bucks. the Pistons who were at 44 but of course an up andcoming team the Magic if they find someone who could score and shoot and had better health luck too. They did get decimated throughout this they they sure did. I mean they and I think also believe it or not the Philadelphia 76ers will be looking at just the top six and thinking well if we’re healthy and maybe we just reshape our roster a little bit this off seasonason we can get into that group. Um maybe even the same with the Hawks, dare I say the the Toronto Raptors. Um depending, they they seem to want to to add a little bit this off season. Um it’s just like it it’s an open conference because I don’t think that the Knicks or the Pacers are the Cavs, certainly not the Cavs based on what happened in the second round, are just like unimpeachable favorites at the top of it. like, yeah, their regular seasons for New York and Indiana just weren’t dominant enough. And despite their luck in the the postseason, well, I shouldn’t say luck, like maybe a little bit for the Pacers, but their success in the postseason, uh, they they probably like they they were doing this from sort of that mid tier of the of the conference, too. Um I I just it’s it seems just easier than ever now if you are a mid-seated team to make a run to the NBA finals. Uh just based on you know what we’ve seen happen to some of these teams like Boston and Cleveland in the playoffs where they just they run out of gas, they get injured. And of course that’s happened to the Bucks too. It has. And I think that’s also the argument around like the whole depth conversation of like when you look at the Pacers, a team that used the regular season of saying like, “Hey, we’re going to lean on our depth to make sure that when we get to the playoffs, guys are fresh. They’re good to go. They’re healthy. Woo woo woo.” They get to the playoffs and instead of them actually restricting a lot of these minutes, well, I guess they don’t go 12 deep now. It’s only 10 deep, you know, for the Pacers at this point. but kind of scoffing at the face of traditional playoff logic of you only play your top seven, eight guys and you play them heavy minutes and that’s it. And the Pacers are like, “No, if we got the numbers, we’re going to continue to roll with it.” And with that, looking at the East, if the N or if the Celtics take a step back, which I assume that they will, not a 61 win team again next year, do the Cavs cross 60 wins this upcoming season possibly in the reg. like I have no question what they could do in the regular season, but you have playoff questions about them. Um, and if there’s more wins to be had, and we’ve talked about the parody that you’re starting to see, I think it’s spread out a lot more. And Justin, you made the comment of like, how much different is the expectation when, you know, you got 48 wins this year, 49 wins last year. What’s a 45 win season look like for you? And I made the joke earlier when we had the episode with Frank just saying the expectation is just different now. The difference now is like you went into this season thinking championship and then you’re a five seed and it’s like dang. But next year a five seed and understanding like if you get the right matchup, you could possibly make some noise along the way. And we’ve said it time and time again. In addition to being good and playing good basketball at the right time, you have to have some luck. You have to be healthy along the way as well. So depth is another piece that can help with that. But overall, when I look at the Eastern Conference, I I’ve said it before, but I don’t see why Giannis would want to leave the Eastern Conference because of the amount of parody and like the Bucks, I don’t see them being projected to be so bad where it’s like a failed season. Like they could make some noise if things break their way. Yeah. To Vance’s point, you know, we look at the last three finals, you’ve had a four seed in the Pacers, a five seed in the Mavs, an eight seed in the Miami Heats. Um I think it was two three seeds when it was or a two and a three seed when it was the Warriors and Celtics. So same with the Bucks and Bucks and Suns was a three and a two. The Heat were a four seed uh in their bubble run too. So yeah. Yeah. Um, so yeah, it it’s it is creating that path whereas, as we’ve said, it’s just kind of reached the point of it’s no longer a star league so much as it’s just limit the liabilities that you have on the floor. And this is really the test case this finals, I think, of is it better off to have we have um we’ve got some guys or we have a guy in the model of building your team. So, that’s going to be an interesting thing to watch in this finals. But, we mentioned the Celtics quite a bit. There’s another interesting name that came up when we were talking about the layout of the Eastern Conference that does not get quite as much mentioned, but um financially they’re not that different from the Boston Celtics. We’ll get into that conversation and start to take a look at the market for Brook Lopez coming up after this unlocked on Bucks. Well, this as this episode of Locked on Bucks is sponsored by Better Help. Let’s talk about something that doesn’t get talked about enough. Men’s mental health. There’s this pressure to always keep it together, to perform, provide, and never show any weakness. The truth is, real strength comes from opening up, and taking care of your mental well-being. Every year, 6 million men in the US experience depression, and many go undiagnosed. But talking to someone, a friend, a loved one, or a therapist can make a huge difference. Therapy isn’t just for crisis moments. It’s great for learning how to set boundaries, build healthy coping tools, and be the best version of yourself. With over 35,000 licensed professionals, BetterHelp makes it easy to find a therapist who understands you. You can connect from anywhere, switch therapists at any time, and fit sessions into your schedule just a click. As the largest online therapy provider in the world, BetterHelp can provide access to mental health professionals with a diverse variety of expertise. Our listeners get 10% off their first month at betterhelp.com/lockedonba. That’s betterhelp.com/lockedonba. So that other team that was referenced before the Cleveland Cavaliers and you know we talk about the spot that the Celtics are in and their big strength. Look, this contrary to the uh the belief of some Celtics fans out there, this didn’t just pop up all of a sudden with oh no, here’s the second apron and this means we’re screwed. like we knew this the last couple of years. Hey, eventually it’s going to get expensive and they’re going to have to look into breaking things up here. Um the benefit that they had though was that starting five is really good. The depth piece of there’s only so many things you can do if you’re bringing in minimum guys. You got a pretty solid starting five. You got a decent bench when you started to develop guys like Sam Hower and Pton Pritchard that you felt like we got a couple of years that we can coast on this. Then Jason Tatum gets injured and then you’re staring at that Bill and you realize we got to start to break this up. Even names like Sam Hower who jumps up from what the minimum to$10 million this upcoming season. There’s a chance you got to trade him too. The Cleveland Cavaliers are in a pretty similar spot. And I think the difference for teams like the Bucks, uh, like the Celtics, if it comes to this with the Denver Nuggets, those teams at least won championships that they can say, “Well, at least it worked that one year that we got a title to show from it.” Right now, that’s not the case for Cleveland. And we mentioned that that salary figure, it’s what, 227, I think, that the Celtics are currently facing with 12 guys under contract. It’s $219 million for the Cavs with 11 players under contract. So that second apron level is 207 million. They’re already $12 million past the second apron and need to fill out the rest of their roster. Donovan Mitchell’s going to be approaching $50 million in the next season. Darius Garland’s extension is going close to $40 million. DeAndre Hunter, you just brought in 23 million for him. Jared Allen is all of a sudden a very interesting conversation and he’s under contract through 2029. Evan Mobleyy’s deal goes from 11 million to 46 million next season. So, it’s all of a sudden a very expensive group that hasn’t gotten out of the first round with essentially the same cast for the last three or out of the second round with the same cast basically for the last three years. They just they they strike me as kind of like uh maybe maybe an eastern version of like uh the I shouldn’t say the Suns, but like the Jazz from a couple years ago, maybe. Yeah, that’s that’s a good example. I wasn’t saying like I wasn’t saying this iteration of the Suns like as we know now, but more like the Yeah. like the one a couple years ago like before the Bradley the one that was building something before they just completely quit in the Mav series, right? Yeah. Like the the Jazz is maybe the better comparison to as well. Um which never made it out of the second round either and had committed a lot of money to a big and Donovan Mitchell. Uh, I think maybe the the Cavs have a few more years prior to that that scenario eventuating, but they’re going to be very limited in what they can do because they’re well over that second apron. I mean, because Jared Allen, if they want to trade him or Hunter, let’s say, or Garland, who is now popping up in trade rumors again, which makes sense, they’re going to have to break that up into smaller contracts or at least just take someone smaller salary-wise back. prior to this year. I mean, there were a lot of there was a lot of talk over the last few years about whether that that Garland and Mitchell back court can work. It’s it’s small. The defense, you know, all that stuff. Um, they committed to it. It got them 64 wins this year, uh, with a new coach and everything. I don’t get the but I still don’t get the sense that it it’s going to work too well going forward because they now kind of look like uh, one of these just star-heavy teams that we’re starting to move away from in the NBA today like the one thing I I mentioned you two off air is how because of the new CBA and it’s shifted away from like a team that’s built around two or three all stars making you know max salaries is that the Bucks were kind of right at the tail end. They were sort of right straddling the border between this era of the 2010s and early 20 like till 2022 I guess where you’re focused around high paid stars to now seeing a team like the the Thunder in the finals who just have guys on rookie contracts still and then one superstar or the Pacers who don’t really have a superstar and just don’t really have any weaknesses either. Yeah, these are the this is I I read this today. This is the first time the NBA Finals has not had a taxpayer in it in the history of the luxury in the history of the tax being put in. Yeah. Going back to 2003. So yeah, that is going to make teams re-evaluate things a lot. And the Yeah, the Bucks just kind of, you know, the Bucks, the the the Celtics, the Cavs now, like they you’ve got all these allars on your team. They’re very highly paid. uh the Bucks might be in better position to pivot into something more like what the the Pacers and I guess the the the Thunder are than those other teams. I’m not saying they will, but it’s just going to be a lot easier for them because they don’t have to deal with the second apron and those other teams do. And Camille, the the Pacers benefit is um they have two high contracts next season and this season too. and Pascal Syakam and Tyrese Hallebert and that those two combined they’re making the same amount. They’re they’re at just over $90 million combined. But outside of that, uh, as of this moment, you got Andrew Nemhard who who whose extension kicks in and he goes from 2 million to 18. So, you start to take on a little bit of water there, but outside of that, it’s all guys making around 114 million that they don’t have all of those. Okay, you got a 40 million, you got a 30 million, you got a 25 million, kind of like the Cavs are spread out. Now, this is um with no Miles Turner under contract, and that’s going to be interesting to see what happens there with him, but still, they don’t have that influx of really expensive contracts. They’ve done a good job of turnurning out the back half of the roster and finding guys that work at manageable salaries and not only work but fit with the team that they’ve built. And to me, that’s the more interesting part about the Cavs moving forward in the discussion that probably isn’t going to go away once we get closer to the draft over what about these four guys? Does it work? That that annual conversation of can you have Garland and Mitchell? and you have Jared Allen and Evan Moley is uh not just the fact of that that cap figure we put out there and how how much it’s already over the second apron this upcoming season but those four guys I mean if if we include the player option for Donovan Mitchell in 2728 all four of those guys are under contract through that season um one of those guys is under contract through 2930 two are under contract through 2829 so even getting out there. What? 3 years from now, they’re already pushing up against the second apron with just five guys under contract. That’s the bigger problem is you can handle this for two years, your window is probably three years, but as that goes out further and further, that’s where it’s just we we got to exit this. We got to start to sell off pieces. Yeah. And I think for some teams, they don’t really care about the the future part. Like I make the joke with the Celtics of like the prior ownership was like, “Yeah, let’s sign sign all these contracts for sure. Do it. Do it. You get a championship.” And it’s like, and then they sold the team, right? I’m not about to deal with that. It’s like the Magic Johnson one come to life. I’m not going to be here. I’m gonna be here no more. Yeah. Yeah. Get your money. Yeah, we gonna pay you. Sure. Sure. I’m not going to be here to make the decision on how we make this continue to make sense going forward. And even thinking about a few more years out into the future, like if expansion does hit the league, which it feels like we’re heading in that direction of adding, you know, two more NBA teams and you spread this talent out even a bit more. Like now some of these guys who are making these contracts now you’re going to be heading your own teams. like just the landscape overall, even outside of just how the CBA is now affecting this next era of the NBA. Thinking about what expansion is going to do when you have to spread this talent pool out even more. Um, and maybe that’s what brings the middle class quote unquote back a little bit of just having a few more teams, a few more slots, uh, to compete for. But up until then now like again that middle class I think is going to be an area where um teams who were building under the the previous CBA of trying to get those starts then relying on minimum contracts which we’ve seen the Bucks go that route. I mean we just mentioned Phoenix going that route. A lot of teams who have been cashstrapped just attach it to the fact like we have this star and you have a real shot to win here. Um, let’s see how many guys are still up to take minimums when there’s opportunity to maybe take, you know, a few million more to play for a team that might not have that big star, quote unquote, but if we can get enough of these guys here who like the hoop, can play together, have a certain style, have good coaching, like we can take that risk. So, it’s going to be really fun to kind of watch how the NBA continues to evolve over the coming years. Yeah, that’s an interesting point about the middle class maybe coming back as there’s more money coming in the league or the talent pool has to diffuse a little bit. I think I probably see that happening more towards like the latter part of this decade if you know if we’re all still here on planet Earth. Uh because I think a lot of these contracts are going to have to like run their course first like for you know like even like Damen Lillard being paid what 63 million or no 58 the 35% is something that I do wonder in the next CBA like at what point do we start to change super max you know? Yeah, right. Or like limit we can only have x amount of super maxes that are out there otherwise what’s the point of a super max. And you’re seeing few of those signed regardless like even like think about Rudy Gobear. He was eligible for a super max. He didn’t get it because that just wasn’t the market for him um as good as he is at you know everything except I guess shooting outside of five feet or whatever. So yeah, I think the the team building it’s it’s just totally changed. And you look at these rosters which don’t have weaknesses, there’s the whole weakest link theory that you guys have brought up, which I don’t remember exactly, but uh it it kind of and and looking at the Pacers who are going sort of 10 deep now and no one really has a flaw. They can all play in and I think the this is true for the Thunder too. They have about the same amount of guys and all of them can play in just kind of any matchup. And then you look at the Bucks who well they just have had players who aren’t suited for matchups that they’re in pretty much every season u since the title and prominent players none of them have been at the top of the roster but because of injuries you know they’ve had to step into bigger roles like think about you know what had what Grayson Allen George Hill had to do in 2022 when Chris Middleton went down or I guess Kyle Guzma and and Kevin Porter Jr. this year when Dame Lillard went down. Now, obviously Kevin Porter Jr. did a little bit better, but uh for the for the Bucks, you know, I I always looked at it and this is again based on the old kind of star topheavy way of roster construction that the that the Pacers and uh Thunder don’t currently ascribe to. You need to have seven guys in any playoff game, any series who you can you can rely on, like who are going to help you you who are going to help you more than they hurt you. Um, that kind of works with this this weakest link theory. Um, but yeah, seven at least like we we saw like when in the Brooklyn series in 2021, they only had six. Um, and it was just because Kevin Durant put his toe on that line. That was the difference. So, uh, and of course an injury to Kyrie Irving and some injuries to James Harden, too. I I think yeah, you have to I mean for the Bucks, they have to find guys who are just better suited for every series that they can play. Um it doesn’t have to be the same guys every night. I think that’s happening with the Pacers, too. Like you don’t see Ben Shepard some nights. You don’t see uh Jer Well, you’re not going to see Jerus Walker really anymore, but you don’t see Tony Bradley pop in. Yeah. Tony Bradley. Yeah. And like he’s got some sort of little day-to-day thing now. So, is it gonna be Thomas Bryant? I mean, the I think the Bucks have some of those guys now. Like, how about Jericho Sims, you know, AJ Green, Gary Trent, uh, if they can retain him? Kevin Pory Jr. if they retain him. They have more of those guys than they did in previous seasons. Certainly in 2024 when I mean, by the end of that series, it’s like who do who who do the Bucks trust? Uh, besides Chris Middleton and Dame Lloyd, if he can play, it’s basically like I guess Patrick Beverly and maybe Brook Lopez. Certainly not Bobby Portoris. Bobby Portoris was one of those guys this year. So I think they have more of those dudes, but it’s sort of filling out that middle of the roster now with more reliable guys um which they couldn’t really do or they just didn’t do in like 2022, 2023, 2024. There’s an interesting conversation to be had about the Oklahoma City Thunder, the other team that’s in the finals, Camille. Um, and we’ve mentioned it quite a bit, but uh, Van’s thoughts on Brook Lopez, a very polarizing name out there among Bucks fans. We’ll get to that conversation coming up after this. Time to talk to our friends over at Open Phone. If you’re running a business, you know that every missed call is money left on the table. If you think about it, when was the last time you had an urgent need? Maybe for a plumber or a service provider. If the first person you called didn’t answer, did you wait? Probably not. You just moved on to the next on the list. That’s why you need Open Phone. 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I don’t want to spend too much time on them since we’re primarily focused on the East, but it is going to be interesting just to see what’s the window for any team moving forward because the Thunder are set up better than any team we’ve seen in this era. Certainly, um, with your young players, they’re going to have to pay those guys. And that was my next point is even when you look at, you know, their cap situation, they’re in a good spot next year that they’re still projecting to be under the tax and well under the first apron with everyone under contract for next season. And Nicola Topic, who we did not see this season, gets thrust into the mix next year. And you mentioned all the young guys that they have. But it’s really once you get past next season that it starts to get interesting and that Shay’s going to be due for a supermax to be the highest paid player in the league. Uh Chad Homegrren and and JDub were making a combined what like 18 million this year. It’s 20 million next year that they’re going to have to pay those guys. So I I do think this model gives you a window to be the most competitive for about three years and you know that’s going to butt up to right where the Thunder are going to have to start to pay guys and they’re no longer like clear of that first apron. And as you guys have mentioned, you got to hit on your draft picks. Yes. It’s kind of got to have draft picks. Oh yeah, too. Yeah, that that too. Well, and the Thunder have more than anybody, right? So yeah, yeah, I I I there it’s not just those guys either, like Kesan Wallace, um AJ Mitchell, AJ Mitchell, uh Isaiah Joe, uh Dort is possibly and and um Isaiah Hardenstein, they have club options due on them. So, I mean, they have they have some time, but they’re in this position really because they they hit on like a number of draft picks, the high draft picks between 2021 or so. Uh, well, I guess that was the Josh Giddy year, 2022 and 2024, really. And Camille pulled the rip cord on Josh Giddy and they got the guy that Doc Rivers was telling everybody is going to be the MVP and best player in the He just knew. He knew SJ was going to be the guy. But I mean, he I don’t want to say he can’t I won’t say he felt the same way about AJ Johnson, but you know, Doc is now on the record of, you know, it was it’s tough to let an AJ Johnson go, but no, I I think the Thunder are interesting. But this finals matchup is a team of two teams with depth. Um, and they young teams playing a certain way. So, it’s going to be a really fun finals. I could care less about the markets. I I don’t care that it’s Indiana and Oklahoma City. I care about Well, let me ask Camille, did you know that Paul George used to play for both those teams, the Paul Yeah, I forget what they’re calling it, but like Yeah, the Paul George finals here of he his departure benefited both of these teams um greatly to get them on the track to be where they are today. But I know we’re coming up close on time, too. And I am I am really curious about the Brook Lopez piece uh that we have been talking about because we’ve mentioned on the show that we think the path forward all the everyday have heard us younger team get some guys who can play some defense. Um but we have mentioned the fact as well of like but we do think there’s a role for certain players if it’s different than what we’ve seen before. So for Brook Lopez, don’t think that Brook Lopez if he came back to Milwaukee as somebody who I’m like, “Yeah, you need to start him.” But I do think he offers a valuable skill set even though some of the skills are starting to decline at the age of 37 with just his foot speed and whatnot, but he is still a floor stretching footer, uh, who can play some defense. So Van, you mentioned that you’ve been kind of looking into the market for Brook Lopez. So, I’m really curious to know what your thoughts are about where he might end up and also how much he might get paid. Yeah, I actually just put up a piece about this on Brew Hoop today and read. Yeah, I’ll try not to spoil all of it, but I agree with both of you where, you know, where I think wherever he goes, whether it’s the Bucks or elsewhere, uh it’s going to be in more of a role player type situation, uh where he probably isn’t starting. And I looked this up. Um he’s if if you look at if you just take out one season in Brooklyn, he’s and one season when he uh came let’s see like he he was injured uh I think early in his career that that he had the foot problems. He’s started I guess a,021 of a,033 games. Um but I think those those days are are are probably over for him no matter where he goes. And yeah, he still has a lot that he can bring uh teams and I think there are a lot of places he fits and one of them is still Milwaukee, but um the the Lakers we know have always kind of rude letting him leave for the Bucks in 2018. Um they’ve been rumored for him in the past. Uh I don’t think I’ve seen that necessarily this off season. Uh but the the the team I have seen and you probably talked about is the Warriors might be interested in him too. Um again I think yeah I don’t think he’s necessarily I mean he might be a starting center for both those teams but he’s still probably playing like 20 some minutes. Um the Rockets as we know tried to uh give him a big contract two years ago. I think they they probably they could still get involved um because they’re losing Steven Adams. Jock Landale is non-g guaranteed next year and I think he works with Shenun. Um the Pelicans have had some interest in the past. Uh and I think he makes sense next to uh Zion if Zion remains there. But talking about the actual contract he’s going to get. Um earlier in the season like he had a let’s let’s be clear he had a very good regular season offensively. I mean, it was one of the the best shooting seasons. I think he was only.1% uh fewer uh under than his uh his career high uh from deep. Um true shooting at 62.4. He played in what all but like three games. Um he still protects the rim. I mean, he’s not as fleet foot as he used to be. He’s not switching on to guards like he was in 2021, but uh I think he he can be a good role player for a lot of teams. It’s just a matter of whether, you know, they can sign him and honestly if they can out bid the Bucks really because the Bucks have bird rights on them. Um, which means that they can just go over the cap. They don’t have to worry about they can sign to whatever they want. They don’t have to worry about cap space. They got to wait and and Yeah. Like let’s we’re going to sign you, but let’s we’re going to use these other things first. Yeah. Right. So, um, yeah, you have to keep his cap hold on the books, uh, in order to do that. So, you won’t be able to get cap room, but, um, I thought maybe, you know, during the year with just how he was playing, he might be able to get the t the non- tax pyramid level, I should say, like 14 that 14 million certainly over one year at most two with I think the second year would be a team option. I still think that length is possible, but now looking at more like it’s probably going to be the tax pyramid level, 5.7 million. Um, and those teams I mentioned, LeBron James is sticking around on that player option, it sounds like. So, um, the Lakers are not going to be able to give him more than that. They’re just going to have the taxpayer mid level. Um, the the uh the Warriors too, they can’t go more than that. Um, and if the other teams I mentioned, like the Pelicans or the the Rockets want to do that and go, you know, beyond 5.7 million, that’s going to hard cap them with the first apron. Do you really want to do that for Yeah. Uh, Brook Lopez at this point? Um, so none of this applies to the Bucks. Um and again like if his market is limited to 5.7 million over one year maybe with that like I said team option the second year um the Bucks could just you know go a little bit higher than that like around six maybe honestly if they even went up to like 9 million or so it wouldn’t be so bad because it at least gives you a tradable contract right um I I know a lot of fans will bristle at it, just bring him back, but I I think there’s a there’s a good number to have him Yeah. at the role where he’ll be best suited for in Milwaukee. Um and whether or not he plays out that entire contract in Milwaukee, we’ll we’ll see. But um it would I think for nothing else, it would just if nothing else, I should say it would be a a good like expiring contract to use in a trade. I I think if his market is the taxpayer mid level, I’m not gonna say you have to, but I I would strongly urge the Bucks to retain him if that is the market value for him. Even if it means, hey, it’s a reduced role or we’re going to severely limit the number of games that you play for us. That that’s part of our way of kind of enhancing you and expanding your career or extending a little bit is all right, you don’t need to play 80 games in a season anymore. like we’re going to play every handful of games and we’re going to monitor your minutes. Yeah. Yeah. And and if he doesn’t start too. Yeah. Um but the other piece is a tradable contract and just have one of those level deals to keep around. Um that’s where I kind of am too is you look around at other teams and I I think we’ve kind of assumed and a lot of it is Bucks fans hoping unfortunately that Brooke isn’t on the team next season. Um I if that if it does come to that, I’m going to be very bummed because of how important he’s been throughout this era of Bucks basketball. There’s a strong case that he should have his number hanging in the rafters when it’s all said and done. and just again the value that he brings and it’s easy to look at the last thing that happens and say it’s Brook’s fault, but I was talking about this with somebody else that covers uh the Packers and saying, well, I think the frustrating part for a lot of us that look at Brooke, and I’m not trying to say that there’s no foot speed issues or any of that and he’s not showing signs of age, but there’s still value there. It’s easy to look at that last part of the play and say, “Well, he screwed when it’s kind of similar to watching football and saying blown coverage, the quarterback was was beat there when like well was it zone? Was it his guy? Was the guy supposed to take him in the flats there? All that goes into play. Um I think in looking through it, there was three teams that stood out to me. So, as as we start to wrap here, I’m curious your guys thoughts on these landing spots of teams that are going to have that figure to spend and the fit seems to make sense. Um, you mentioned the Warriors. Yeah, there’s there’s that component that would we’ll we’ll keep that. But three other ones, I mean, the Lakers. Yeah, I I get the his name always pops up with them. It just seems like that’s not the center type you want to pair with Luca Donuch. So to me, the three teams I landed on were the Orlando Magic to give you a stretch big and not only the fit for Brooke too on the court, but to be living that close to Disney World or playing that close to it, he already lives that close. Yeah. Um Orlando seemed to make sense to me. the San Antonio Spurs to give a true big that it’s another stretch big and another rim protector and and some more protection for Victor Wignyama and the Detroit Pistons who we already know are in the market for a big even though it seems like the roster is full of bigs. Um but to help out with some more offense and a guy that again bringing in another vet and a guy that’s been through some big playoff games to help them take that step forward. That Pistons team to me is the one that that I keep going back to. this makes the most sense. The the thing with Brook Lopez as well, like those destinations all make sense. And again, I agree that the Bucks should continue to be in the running for him with all the parameters that we discussed. The thing with Brook Lopez, it’s like we don’t really know, and from everything I can understand, we probably won’t know what Brooke is looking for this off seasonason until he actually signs wherever it is that he plans to sign and play basketball. So if it’s a situation where again I think we can all we all are in agreement of the role probably is diminished for Brook Lopez going forward but if he comes back to the Bucks is a situation like hey with us going forward this way you’re not going to start we’re going to bring you off the bench this is the role that we envision for you this is we don’t know at this point would he be more inclined to go somewhere else like in Orlando of like hey you can start down here um so your role is going to be bigger the minutes might up being similar you might get a little bit more down here, but you’re going to have a quote unquote bigger role as a as a starter. Someone we can kind of guarantee you that we’re like, which team can just guarantee the most playing time for Brook Lopez? Like, is that what’s important to him? And I’ll be curious to see what his priorities end up being for whatever his decision that he makes is going to be this off seasonason. The Spurs weren’t really a a team I I considered, but I can see it. Um I guess I just was sort of defaulting to it’s like well they have WMBBI but um you know we’ll see this obviously he dealt with the same thing Damian Lillard did this year um the deep bane thrombosis uh hopefully that’s not anything longlasting for him but yeah they could use another big um but I think his you the thing about him and and Brook Lopez is like you know they’re kind of their skills are a little bit duplicative. It’s like Webby is is a what like 15 18 years younger version of Brook Lopez uh in his idealized state. Um so I could see it. The magic I don’t see because as much as Brook Lopez would like it um they are pretty stacked in that front court besides uh Berrow and Wendell Carter Jr. I mean they they still have Jonathan Isaac, they still have Goa Patads. Um they seem to want to retain Morris Wagner, but he is uh he he he he’s going to come back on a minimum, I’m sure. Yeah. Um and then uh the Pistons. Yeah, I I thought about them. I mean, they have Duran who uh certainly like doesn’t have an outside game. Um and then maybe they I don’t know. they maybe they bring back Paul Reed, but their other guy in the front court is Isaiah Stewart, who looked to be like a stretch big coming into the season, but then barely took any threes at all this year. Um, so I don’t know how much that two years ago you’d buy it. But, um, I think with either of those teams, yeah, I he might certainly with Atlanta or not Atlanta, I’m sorry, Orlando, he’s probably looking at a minimum. And well, and that’s one that also kind of interested me in Atlanta because I don’t think Clint Capella is gonna be on the team next year. Yeah. Yeah. They’ve just got Okangu. Um I I I don’t know. I think they’re like they have uh Mohamad Wei behind him. I I may be pronouncing it wrong. Gay. Yeah. Yeah. Um who who saved his best for the games against the Bucks. Against the Bucks. Exactly. Um, yeah, you could I I can see the fit in these places, but I think it just comes down to like do they want to use that that taxpayer mid-level Emperor Lopez or is there a a player who will help them out a bit more than a backup center? Um, and a guy who’s a true center like who can only play the five um but will be coming off your bench. like do you really want to use your main free agent acquisition tool for a limited player like that? Yeah. And I think as as we bring it to a close here, Camille, the the interesting part is what we don’t have the answer to and that’s as you mentioned what what Brooke is looking for. Um, I I don’t think as much as I personally hope it would be the case, I don’t think it’s you can even confidently say, well, all things being equal, if everybody’s offering the same, that he’ll just stay here in Milwaukee because he nearly bolted for the Houston Rockets for what I would assume was a similar, if not same deal two summers ago. So, uh, that’s one of the more interesting ones is there is going to be a market for Brook Lopez and, um, where it is that shows the most interest and and what is plan B for the Bucks, too. Because look, if if he leaves, I’m not saying that Jericho Sims is the Brook Lopez replacement, but it puts even more pressure on, okay, I think Jericho Sims is a name that’s going to come up with a lot of other teams, too, of like, well, this a cheap, affordable, young guy that can switch out there on the perimeter that let’s bring him into the fold. And it it puts a lot of pressure to retain him if you lose Brook Lopez. Yeah, he’s someone who could be on that that taxpayer mid level maybe for some teams, too. But the Bucks also do have his birth rights, though. Yep. Um, you know, they can give him much more than a minimum. Yeah, it’ll be Yeah, Jericho Sims is another one where it’s like I think we’ve seen enough from him last year of saying like this is someone who we should bring back. Again, I know that there’s going to be questions around his fit next to Giannis going forward because he is non-shooting big. But let’s see if these coaches can find some ways to scheme that into something that is not going to kill you when they share the court together because you can unleash them defensively in a way uh that can cause havoc and lead to other buckets. But again, like it’s nice just to have different guys who can give you different things depending on what the situation calls for. Like versatility is so key and Jericho Sims is a piece that can just he can give you some things that we have not had from a Bucks big in god, I don’t know how long. Yeah, it’s uh I mean, long story short, as we’ve said over the last two days here, it’s going to be a very interesting off season for the Bucks and at least one where you have options and it’s not just another year of well, is this guy going to sign for $3 million because that’s all we have to offer here. Um, a lot of things are going to be in play for the Bucks here over the course of the summer. That’ll do it for today’s show. Well, our thanks to Van for his time these last few days sharing his insights for Camille. I’m Justin. We’ll talk with you guys once again tomorrow on Locked on Bucks.

Bucks’ roster shake-up looms as Eastern Conference power dynamics shift. Will Milwaukee’s championship window stay open?

Justin Garcia and Camille Davis, joined by Brew Hoop writer Van Fayaz, dissect the Bucks’ future and the evolving NBA landscape. They analyze the financial tightrope walk facing Eastern Conference contenders, explore Brook Lopez’s potential landing spots, and debate the merits of the “weakest link” theory in team building. The trio examines how recent CBA changes could reshape roster construction, potentially bringing back the NBA’s middle class.

Tune in for expert insights on how the Bucks can navigate the salary cap crunch while keeping their championship core intact. Will Milwaukee’s strategy set a new standard for NBA team building?

0:00 Weakest link model for building teams
5:07 Eastern Conference parity and playoff success
13:30 Cleveland Cavaliers’ salary cap challenges
19:31 NBA shifting away from star-heavy teams
25:20 Brook Lopez’s free agency and potential destinations
30:50 Brook Lopez’s market value and contract options
36:34 Potential landing spots for Brook Lopez
42:23 Final thoughts on Brook Lopez and Bucks’ offseason

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