3. Brook Lopez
While Brook Lopez might be the most intriguing name on this list, I see him as a slightly worse fit than the two guys ahead of him. Lopez’s ability to protect the paint and shoot threes makes him valuable to any team he is on. Although the Milwaukee Bucks have bird rights on the big man, they are coming off a disappointing round-one loss in the playoffs, and an aging Lopez could be looking for a change in scenery. I would love to see Lopez start at Center for this Kings squad and slide down Sabonis to the four.
Lopez was a big piece of the Bucks 2021 championship team and has continued to impress through his 15th NBA season. This past year he averaged 15.9 points, 6.7 rebounds, and a crazy 2.5 blocks per game. He shot 53.1% from the field and 37.4% from three.
Lopez is coming off his best defensive season, with a career-high in blocks per game and finishing second in Defensive Player of the Year voting, but receiving All-Defensive first-team honors. He also had his best rebounding year since his 2015-16 season with the Brooklyn Nets, along with his best scoring season since 2016-17.
There are a couple of reasons why Lopez is not higher on this list. One, he is 35 years old and would be a short-term player for the Kings, which does not fit their young core development. The counter to that, it would be good to have some veteran presence and championship experience in the locker room. Two, he is more expensive than the Kings may be looking for, and that is if he wants to leave Milwaukee at all. You all might also remember the last time Lopez played against the Kings:
Brook Lopez and Trey Lyles both got ejected after wild scuffle 😳 pic.twitter.com/OmzV0BwtfK
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 14, 2023