© Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
Chicago Bulls center Robin Lopez has been discussing an exit plan through his agent and the team, in order to join the Golden State Warriors, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. Unfortunately for Golden State, Haynes reports that the Bulls will not be negotiating a buyout of the 30-year-old’s remaining contract.
Lopez, who signed a four-year, $54 million deal with the New York Knicks in 2015, was traded to Chicago in 2016 and is owed $14.3 in the final year of his deal. This season he has averaged 5.6 points with 2.5 rebounds in 16.3 minutes per game with Chicago. With DeMarcus Cousins expected back for this Friday’s matchup with the Los Angeles Clippers, the Lopez addition would have been a depth move to add to the Warriors thin front-court.
“You go there, they share the ball, they play defense, they play the right way,” Lopez said of potentially joining the Warriors. “But right now, that’s something we’re aspiring to do here. And there’s a certain joy in trying to build a culture like that, and I appreciate being a veteran in that position of helping shepherd a team towards that point.”
Lopez does have connections to the Warriors through Steve Kerr, who drafted him out of Stanford in 2008. Warriors centers in the past have been known for their defense more than their scoring ability, so their interest in the seven-foot tall center is not surprising to most. With DeMarcus Cousins scoring ability being more of a luxury for the Warriors, this move would have stabilized the team’s “big man” role if Cousins were to have a setback.