Lakers Have Reportedly 'Long Been Fans' of Brook Lopez amid NBA Free Agency Rumors
As the Los Angeles Lakers look to fill their void at center in the offseason, Brook Lopez could be a player they keep a close eye on.
Per NBA insider Jake Fischer, the Lakers have "long been fans" of Lopez as he prepares to become a free agent this summer.
The center position has been a talking point for the Lakers for many months. Anthony Davis was talking about them adding a true center in January, shortly before he was traded to the Dallas Mavericks as part of the Luka Dončić deal.
Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka attempted to add a center before the Feb. 6 trade deadline when they agreed to a deal with the Charlotte Hornets for Mark Williams.
Before the deal became official, the Lakers announced they rescinded the move "due to failure to satisfy a condition of the trade."
Per ESPN's Ramona Shelburne, the Lakers' decision came amid concerns about Williams' long-term outlook after their medical staff gave him a "thorough" physical.
Los Angeles wound up relying on Jaxson Hayes as its primary starting center after Davis was traded. He did play well as the lob partner with Dončić down the stretch in the regular season, averaging 8.1 points on 75.8 percent shooting and 5.5 rebounds in 32 starts from Jan. 30-April 11.
The postseason exposed Hayes' weaknesses and the lack of a true big for the Lakers. He played a total of 30 minutes in four games against the Minnesota Timberwolves and didn't even play in the decisive Game 5.
LeBron James somewhat sidestepped a question about the difficulties of not playing with a true starting-caliber center following the Game 5 loss, though he did reference Davis' comments from January.
"No comment, I'll never say that, because my guy AD said what he needed, and he was gone the following week. I got no comment, I put that uniform on every night, I gave everything that I had, and that's all that matters," James told reporters.
Lopez, who turned 37 on April 1, isn't the same caliber of defensive player he was at his peak with the Milwaukee Bucks, though he's still an effective starter. The two-time All-Defensive team center has been very durable since a back injury limited him to 13 games during the 2021-22 season. He has missed a total of nine games over the past three seasons.
In 80 starts during the 2024-25 campaign, Lopez averaged 13.0 points on 50.9 percent shooting (37.3 percent from three), 5.0 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game.
