BREAKING: Brook Lopez LEAVING Bucks, agrees to deal with LA Clippers 🤯 + Giannis’ future | NBA Today

BREAKING: Brook Lopez LEAVING Bucks, agrees to deal with LA Clippers 🤯 + Giannis’ future | NBA Today

our senior insider Sham Shiranya is back with us Shams what more can you tell us about Brook Lopez
We have big news out of Milwaukee Brook Lopez is departing the Bucks I’m told he has reached agreement on a 2-year $18 million deal to sign with the Los Angeles Clippers And so after seven seasons with the Bucks the one-time champion in 2021 Brook Lopez is departing where he’ll back up if he’s Zubach play a little bit more uh with Zubach potentially as well being able to space the force So the Clippers have a new big man someone that can start someone that can play off the bench Uh but Brook Lopez departs Milwaukee for the Clippers
Shams thank you so very much And a big man that can certainly shoot the ball as well Brian put this into context for us in the Los Angeles Clippers So this hits a couple of teams Obviously the Clippers just got a high high quality backup
The Bucks this has been their franchise center for their championship team Yannis and Tennako you are now having a question Who is our starting center going to be But this is a blow to the LA Lakers
Well when when Shawn said Los Angeles you see Udonis he starts to lean in Los Angeles and then it was Clippers
The Brook Lopez was an option for them Now in with the Lakers that would have potentially been a starting job Now we don’t know the Lakers may have another starter that they’ve got All right let’s wait and let’s see what happens there Uh Brook Lopez obviously from Southern California has played here before Um so he’s going into a backup situation You know a good contract two years $18 million Like certainly the Lakers could have afforded to match that So let’s I’m going to wait and see But I am surprised that the if the Lakers prioritized him that they would have lost out to the Clippers but I’m going to wait and see what happens with the Lakers because they still need a center and another guy that they had interest in and Clint Capella off the board to Houston
And he definitely comes off the bench but I see situations where you can actually play him next to Zubac I see situations where Giannis is the guy who’s getting downhill He’s getting in the paint And Brooke Brock um excuse me Brooke is spending most of his time on the perimeter So even though he will be coming off the bench I see situations I see rotations where both of those guys can play together And also Brooke is amazing at guarding protecting protecting the rim So he’s a guy who you bring in Zubac is not as big or as athletic Well neither one of those guys athletic but Brooke does a great job of protecting the rim So you play these both guys together you protect the rim you got size I like this move for them And I like this move for Brooke even though I was hoping it would be LA the Lakers but I like I thought you were I thought it was going to be I was waiting into it I like this move for Brooke I like this move for the Clippers as well And I think they can go big big and or they can go big and small
I love when you have a positional uh rotation where they don’t do the same things So it gives it gives a defense a different look And also Brook Lopez playing with a guy like James Harden You talk about a pick and pop dream for a five to play with a guy that can get downhill and make those kind of finds back out to the perimeter Tailor made for Brook Lopez who shoots that shot at a high rate and he still is an elite rim protector So he’s a guy that will give you something on that end of the floor too If you want to play four guards and Brook Lopez protect the rim you could do that as well
The NBA in 2024 25 the season just ended We got we got taught a lesson Size and depth depth and size You have to have it
Look at Houston Look at the Clippers They are reacting to the need for size and depth
We welcome back in our senior insider Sham Shirana Shams you reported that it’s really an end of an era for the Milwaukee Bucks in terms of Brook Lopez departing What more can you tell us about this deal
Malikica Two years $18 million for Brook Lopez with the Los Angeles Clippers So he’s exiting Milwaukee after seven years there This gives the Clippers a big man that can back up Zubach can play next Zubach with his abilities to spread the floor Brook Lopez was someone that was also in play with the Lakers here tonight but he ends up signing deciding to sign with the Clippers but again seven years in Milwaukee was part of that 2021 championship team And so Giannis Antono still with the Bucks Of course Bobby Port is still with the Bucks as well from that championship roster But Brook Lopez who’s been a staple there he is now departing
We play that video of Giannis and then I say it’s the end of an era I’m sure there were a lot of viewers that turned around and said “Wait what what’s going on there?” because this does all end up coming back to Giannis attent you’ve reported in the past that he’s going to monitor the way that this offseason looks for the Milwaukee Bucks We are a long ways to go It’s just getting started But what are these moves potentially mean for him
Bobby Portoris ressigning was a big step for the Milwaukee Bucks and for Giannis and Dukmpo That is one player that he definitely wanted to see back with him potentially But listen he’s monitoring all the moves that they’re making not only at the draft week Now we’re in free agency week So they have brought back Bobby Poris Kevin Porter Jr tonight I’m told reached agreement on a 2-year 11 million deal to return to the Bucks They still have their own free agent in Gary Trent Jr We’ll see what happens with him So it’s still wait and see I reported it during draft lottery week draft combine week The Jans Kumbo was open-minded about whether his best fit is in Milwaukee or elsewhere I have not felt a shift from that mentality but again we’re still in we’re not even in July yet We’ll get there in the next 24 hours That’s really important though So far have not felt a shift in that mentality Shams thank you We’ll let you get back to work We appreciate you stopping by Brian when you hear all of that when we talked about this as potentially being the summer of Giannis attent as it feels right now we’re not even at July 1 as Shams just said it feels a far cry from from from being there
It’s sort of on the horizon The teams are aware of it but Giannis has gone overseas for his traditional summer with family and he has not made any sort of move We went through the draft nothing We’re into free agency nothing But teams are looking at the Bucks and they’re saying they needed to bring their whole team back and then add some sort of replacement for Damen Lillard to really think that they could be just status quo If they were going to actually pass some teams in the East they needed to really upgrade their roster That doesn’t seem like it’s headed in that direction Maybe they’ve got a move that we don’t foresee So the question is if they are a team they finished fifth last year with with Dame on their roster If they come back and are a little bit lesser in Giannis’s eyes will he be satisfied There are a number of teams who think the answer might be no Which is why you saw some teams stay on the sideline during the Kevin Durant sweep stakes that may stay on the sideline a little bit when it comes to chasing talent in this at this spot in this in the calendar because you look at a team like San Die or San Antonio You look at a team like New York You look at a team like Miami These are teams that think if Giannis becomes available like Golden State like we talked to that they could make a move and that is definitely going to figure into their their strategic planning right now
You’ve said that Giannis the Bucks won’t trade him unless he asks out which makes all the sense in the world So let’s not shop Giannis before we’re there Let’s look at the opposite side of this as we bring back in Bobby Marks Bobby what could we do here if you are the Milwaukee Bucks and you’re looking to be able to upgrade this roster a bit If you’re looking to be able to upgrade as Milwaukee again we are not trying to ship off Giannis What is it that the Milwaukee Bucks can do at this moment knowing that Brook Lopez on his way here to the Los Angeles Clippers I
I think this number is the most important They don’t have cap space to go out and sign a player like Miles Turner for example here They need a center They use part of that exception their $14 million exception on Kevin Porter Jr DeAndre Aton certainly fits in that when you look at him as far as maybe in an 8 to9 million number Then it go then we’re talking about who’s playing point guard right He’s going to be out for an extended period of time Who’s your shooting guard They only have the veteran minimum exception for a player like Gary Trent So there’s so many holes for this Milwaukee roster when you look at as far as what they were able to do They’re bringing back Bobby Porters here but it comes down to a money thing as far as what they have to go out and get a top level center to replace Brook Lopez
There’s an opportunity for Milwaukee I just don’t see a whole lot of options here to go take advantage of it
I agree I think Malikica what’s going to happen here is at some point Jannis Takoupa just asks himself are we better than we were Are we closer than we were And you can’t just use other teams having issues as a reason for that Obviously Boston’s dealing without Jason Tatum for a while Tyresese Hallebert probably out the entire season The Knicks don’t even have a coach as we sit here Okay So I’ll get to that
So so all of those things yeah okay if you’re Giannis you go okay well some of these teams are having some problems Maybe that gives us a better chance But not when you see they haven’t really done anything to the roster to improve You know UD one of the things about the Brook Lopez pairing that was so perfect for Giannis he was out at 25 to 28 feet So that lane was open for Giannis So it was a big guy with a unique skill set that could play alongside of him to create spacing Those guys just don’t grow on trees
And not only the way he shot the ball but he led the league in challenges at the rim a year ago He was the guy down there challenging those guys when they did get to the paint But because they play that drop coverage when you got to the paint you understood that you had to see Brook Lopez But I really look on the other side of that and I say this to Yiannis and and this is coming from a guy who spent 20 years in an organization You don’t need to explain to nobody where you want to be If you want to be in Milwaukee then be in Milwaukee That’s where you want to be You don’t owe us the explanation But saying that you’re going to wait and see There’s nothing to see Dame is out for majority of the year right now You don’t know if you’re going to get your shooter back and and Gary Trent Jr You got Bobby Poris back but you lost your center You there’s really nothing to see So if you want to be in Milwaukee be in Milwaukee You’ve earned that right You’re a Hall of Famer most likely You’re a all-star You’re a defensive player of the year If you want to be in Milwaukee that is your right But to say that you’re looking to see I don’t know if there’s anything to see my brother I don’t I don’t know what you’re looking to see right now There there’s nothing to look around and see This You’re so right Yud And this is not a failure of the organization For the last seven years they’ve been competing for a championship They’ve spent almost a billion dollars in salary in tax Do you guys know that they have still not paid off the Drew Holiday trade They still owe a couple of draft assets Drew Holliday’s been traded three times He’s been traded twice to the Trailblazers They haven’t even paid off the majority of the Dame Lillard trade that they’re they’re mortgaged out It’s not because they failed as an organization It’s because Giannis had so much success so early that he’s lasted longer than their franchise horizon has been able to
Well I think that that’s that’s exactly right When you have an extended championship window which the Milwaukee Bucks have had sometimes you overextend yourself in order to make those moves That’s what the Milwaukee Bucks have done And now it’s just a matter I couldn’t say it better than you did Udonis of Giannis deciding what he wants to do And I learned long ago not to try to predict what it is that Giannis may want to do Try to post what I look like

On NBA Today’s Free Agency Special, Shams Charania, Tim Legler, Brian Windhorst, Bobby Marks and Udonis Haslem join Malika Andrews to react to Brook Lopez agreeing to a 2-year contract with the Los Angeles Clippers for $18 million and discuss Giannis Antetokounmpo’s future with the Bucks.

0:00 Brook Lopez signs with Clippers
4:05 Giannis’ future
6:50 Potential moves for Bucks

☑️ Subscribe to ESPN+: https://plus.espn.com/
📱 Get the ESPN App: http://www.espn.com/espn/apps/espn
🏀 Subscribe to NBA on ESPN on YouTube: http://bit.ly/2yxs3Og
☑️ Subscribe to ESPN on YouTube: http://es.pn/SUBSCRIBEtoYOUTUBE
☑️ Watch ESPN on YouTube TV: http://es.pn/YouTubeTV

#ESPN #NBA