Lakers ‘Bracing’ for Run at Championship Center: Report

The Los Angeles Lakers‘ search for a center continues to point to a reunion with 37-year-old veteran Brook Lopez.

The one-time Lakers center is an unrestricted free agent and there are rumblings he would not return to the Milwaukee Bucks, according to NBA insider Jake Fischer.

“Numerous rival teams are bracing for the center-craving Los Angeles Lakers to make a run at luring Lopez away from the Bucks,” Fischer wrote on “The Stein Line” Substack newsletter.

Lopez averaged 13.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.9 blocks and 1.8 assists in 80 games last season for the Milwaukee Bucks, where he won a championship in 2021. He shot 37.3% from the 3-point line.

While he isn’t the lob threat that Luka Doncic wants, Lopez’ 3-point threat, rim protection and experience could give the Lakers a better shot at making a deeper playoff run than their first-round flameout last season.

However, the Lakers will have strong competition for Lopez, who might be out of the Lakers’ price range.

Lopez has also been linked to the Golden State Warriors and the Houston Rockets.

The Lakers will only have access to the $5.7 million taxpayer midlevel exception if LeBron James opts into his $52.6 million player option and brings back Dorian Finney-Smith, who is likely to decline his $15.4 million player option to sign a longer deal.

They may need more than the taxpayer MLE to bring Lopez back to Los Angeles.

Interest in Brook Lopez is Real

Previously, ESPN’s front office insider Bobby Marks said the Lakers are expected to show interest in Lopez this offseason. Longtime NBA insider Gery Woelfel, who spoke to an NBA executive, also linked the Lakers to Lopez.

“There’ll be plenty of interest in him. I’m sure the Lakers have already talked to him,” an NBA executive told Woelfel.

Lopez is from California.

A homecoming and competing for a championship at the twilight of his career is a dream scenario.

The 7-foot-1 center once played for the Lakers during the 2017-18 season, the gap year between the post-Kobe Bryant and LeBron James eras.

Lakers Called About Hawks Center

According to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, the Lakers also have their eyes on Onyeka Okongwu, the  Atlanta Hawks’ starting center last season.

“The Lakers called the Atlanta Hawks about their 6-10, athletic big man Onyeka Okongwu last season, sources told ESPN,” McMenamin wrote.

Okongwu, 24, is much younger than Lopez and the ideal athletic rim-runner and lob threat, which Doncic loves to play with.

The 24-year-old center who boasts a 7-foot-2 wingspan averaged 15.0 points, 10.1 rebounds and 2.7 assists with 1.2 steals and nearly a block in 31.2 minutes across 40 starts last season.

“I feel overall I’ve always had the tools, but since I became a starter, it’s just putting it all together,” Okongwu said during the Hawks’ exit interviews.

The Lakers are hoping Kristaps Porzingis‘ arrival in Atlanta poses a threat to Okongwu’s starting job that, in turn, may lead to a trade demand.

Okongwu is entering the second year of a four-year, $62 million contract. The Lakers can easily match his salaries with one of their expiring salaries, plus their 2031 or 2032 first-round pick.

The Hawks could ask for more, but the Lakers have up to four picks swaps to sweeten a potential deal. However, there is no indication from the Hawks that they want to part ways with their young center.