Brook Lopez, Clippers Reportedly Agree to 2-Year, $18M Contract amid Lakers Rumors

Brook Lopez is moving on.

The veteran center and the Los Angeles Clippers agreed to a two-year, $18 million contract on Monday after he had been linked frequently to the Los Angeles Lakers, according to ESPN's Shams Charania.

According to ESPN's Bobby Marks, the signing came out of Los Angeles' $14.1 million non-taxpayer mid-level exception.

Lopez, 37, had a productive seven-year run in Milwaukee. He was a solid rim-protecting center on defense and a floor-spacing option on the offensive end, two qualities teams covet in modern centers.

Though Lopez did what he could, the Bucks were a failure in that latter half of his tenure, losing in the first round three consecutive seasons.

There was much excitement after the acquisition of Damian Lillard in October 2023, but the Bucks never quite morphed into a championship contender as expected. Head coach Adrian Griffin was fired after leading the team to a 30-13 record. His replacement, Doc Rivers, went 17-19 to finish the 2023-24 season.

Injuries to Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo led to a first-round ouster in six games against the Indiana Pacers. And the overall tenor of the season made it questionable whether the Bucks would look to build a different supporting cast around Giannis and Dame.

The Bucks, however, were far more stable in the 2024-25 season and Lopez continued to be a steady figure, averaging 13 points, five rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game. They once again lost to the Pacers in the first round, this time in five games after Lillard tore his Achilles.

Lopez had a healthy market in free agency, and Los Angeles ultimately scooped him up, looking to improve at both ends.

The Clippers are coming off a solid 50-32 season that saw them fall to the Denver Nuggets in the first round. The breakout season from Ivica Zubac means Los Angeles has a solid starting center, but Lopez should provide a spark off the bench for a team hoping to compete for a title.