At the rate the Portland Trailblazers are losing their players, will they even have a team for the upcoming NBA season?
They have already lost Nicolas Batum to the Charlotte Hornets and chances are, they will lose LaMarcus Aldridge, Wes Matthews and Arron Afflalo, who is set to join the New York Knicks. The latest addition to that mix seems to be center Robin Lopez, twin brother of Brooklyn Nets center Brook Lopez.
The former big man of Stanford is now the target of at least three teams: the New York Knicks, Milwaukee Bucks and New Orleans Pelicans.
For the Knicks, Lopez could be a key acquisition, especially if they fail to hook up free agents Greg Monroe or LaMarcus Aldridge. Being an unrestricted free agent, Lopez could be a reasonable find as teams try to shop for not-so-expensive free agents.
Lopez is coming off a three-year contract with Portland worth more than $15 million. Heading into the next season, Lopez is entitled to a base salary of more than $9 million. Those numbers should suit the Knicks if they are wary of using up their salary budget.
The Bucks, on the other hand, could be pursuing Lopez after his twin brother Brook opted to stay with the Brooklyn Nets and Tyson Chandler ended up in the Phoenix Suns' roster. Bucks coach Jason Kidd earler expressed his desire to get Brook Lopez and Chandler into the Bucks' lineup to beef up their frontline, but that is all water under the bridge now.
The Pelicans initially planned to trade for Robin Lopez last season, but this didn't push through for ome reason. There were plans to trade him for Tyreke Evans. Now however, they have a chance to re-sign him with no strings attached and possibly provide the muscle that Anthony Davis needs upfront.
Will the Blazers let Lopez go that easily?
