Yup, it's happening. No chance to lure Brook away with that low of an offer that Bucks can trump in terms of money and years. Offer the MF about 25-30 million and then get creative with trades. Lopez & FVV is a great off-season. FVV & Brooks is mediocre AF.
Yeah hopefully we don’t let a few mil get in the way of locking this down. Signing Lopez is worth 5 wins right there.
If there's no Brooks deal, they can offer more by trading and renouncing players. They choose to chase Brooks too, so will not offer more. What's not to get?
I think it’s fair and wouldn’t go much further. $25M tops -35 years old -Coming off $13M salary -Vucevic just signed for $20M (3/60); Poeltl is expected to sign for similar -I think Lopez would start but the Rockets are looking for someone to split time with Sengun. Now is that 50/50, 60/40, 70/30… -Bucks have their own salaries to worry about Spoiler https://theathletic.com/4642658/2023/06/28/nba-free-agency-bucks-salary/ Here is the Bucks’ cap sheet heading into free agency. Guaranteed salaries for next season — $114.78 million: Giannis Antetokounmpo ($45.64 million) Jrue Holiday ($36.51 million) Bobby Portis ($11.71 million) Pat Connaughton ($9.42 million) Grayson Allen ($8.93 million) MarJon Beauchamp ($2.57 million) As covered above, the Bucks have $114.78 million in guaranteed contracts for six players and two second-round picks (Andre Jackson Jr. and Chris Livingston) that remain unsigned at the moment. Let’s push those second-round picks to the side for the moment because their contracts are even less than normal veteran minimums and this portion will focus on contract scenarios at the top of the roster and how it affects the space the Bucks could potentially have moving forward. If Middleton accepts a four-year contract between $130 and $160 million with the maximum annual eight percent raises, it could help out the Bucks’ cap situation significantly compared to what would have been a $40.4 million player option next season. Contract | 1st yr salary | 7-player salary cap total 4 yrs, $130M | $29.02M | $143.80M 4 yrs, $140M | $31.25M | $146.03M 4 yrs, $150M | $33.48M | $148.26M 4 yrs, $160M | $35.71M | $150.49M To be clear, all of those contracts would take the Bucks over the $136 million salary cap, but at least it would give the team some financial wiggle room under the $165 million luxury tax line and lots of room below the $182.5 million second apron threshold. It is also possible that Middleton signs for a shorter time period than four seasons as well. For example, if Middleton signed a four-year, $130 million contract and then the Bucks signed Lopez to a flat three-year, $60 million contract, the Bucks’ salary cap figure would be $163.80 million with eight signed players. In that scenario, they would have enough salary cap room to sign a player using the taxpayer mid-level exception ($5 million), another one of their players using Bird rights (like Jae Crowder or Jevon Carter) for up to $6 million, two players on minimum contracts and their two second-round draft picks to get to 14 players (enough to complete the roster) and still remain under the $182.5 million line for the second apron.
Well staying with your own team, competing in the play-offs for 20 million, guaranteed for an extra year over a rebuilding Rockets team seems like an easy choice no? Rockets need to get up to the $25 million range for at least 3 years to compete with that. 2 years for $20 million per is already taking yourself out of the race. I'm not buying the "don't expect Lopez to be with the Bucks at the start of training camp".
rockets are not looking to somebody to split time with sengun rockets are looking for a great rim protector that can shoot the 3 and create space for sengun to operate a myles turner type or a brook lopez type yes to play alongside sengun and back him up when he is taking a breather
The more I think about it, the more I think Brook Lopez would come to do what Jabari wasn't YET able to do (make threes and help protect the rim). He would take more minutes from Bari than from Alpi (unless Bari slides to the 3). And Brook could mentor both of them. Yes to Brook, no to Brooks.