Report: Kidd connection could make Bucks a player for Brook Lopez
Just because Jason Kidd's tenure with the Brooklyn Nets ended unceremoniously doesn't mean he didn't develop valuable relationships in his one year with the team.
One of those relationships could make Kidd's new team, the Milwaukee Bucks, a competitor for Brook Lopez in free agency this summer.
While Kidd and the Nets center never played together in New Jersey, narrowly missing out on overlapping tenures, their relationship is such that Lopez may consider the Bucks because of Kidd if he leaves Brooklyn, according to a report from Gery Woelfel of the Journal Times.
That remains a major "if," as Lopez owns a $16.7-million player option for 2015-16. Even if he opts out, the Nets would conceivably have an advantage in retaining him, since they own his Bird rights and represent the only franchise he's ever played for. The Nets have been adamant that they want Lopez back, and it sounds as if they'd be willing to make a long-term commitment. That's likely what it will take to land Lopez if he opts out as expected.
Milwaukee represents an interesting potential landing spot. Its defense is predicated on length and versatility, whereas Lopez's defensive value is almost exclusively as a rim protector, an area he excels in. It's not difficult to see the Bucks leveraging the length and speed of their perimeter players to funnel shots to a waiting Lopez, and he'd immediately represent their best offensive weapon.
Lopez averaged 17.2 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in 72 games this season, shooting 51.3 percent from the floor in 29.2 minutes. He's averaged 17.9 points on 51.1-percent shooting over seven seasons, making an All-Star appearance in 2012-13.
Milwaukee will probably look to take care of restricted free agent Khris Middleton in the early parts of his restricted free agency but they should have appreciable cap space even after that. Should Lopez go elsewhere, the Journal Times reports that Frank Kaminsky is the only center Milwaukee would consider drafting at No. 17 overall.