After trading Ersan Ilyasova to the Detroit Pistons on Thursday, the Milwaukee Bucks reportedly are targeting Dallas Mavericks center Tyson Chandler and Brooklyn Nets center Brook Lopez in free agency this summer.
Milwaukee shed $7.9 million in cap space this summer by swapping Ilyasova for the nonguaranteed contracts of Caron Butler and Shawne Williams. With that added cap space, Milwaukee is looking to bolster its frontcourt and reportedly already has two free-agent targets in mind.
"League sources say the Bucks want a proven center in free agency if they can score one, and have pinpointed two kinds of former All-Stars - Dallas' Tyson Chandler and Brooklyn's Brook Lopez - as targets for the top of their wish list," Marc Stein of ESPN wrote Friday. "Bucks coach Jason Kidd knows both of them well, having played alongside Chandler in both Dallas and New York and having coached Lopez with the Nets. And word is that Milwaukee intends to chase both hard come July 1 in hopes of emerging as a serious contender for at least one of them."
The midseason departure of Larry Sanders in December left Milwaukee with a void in the frontcourt. Chandler and Lopez, though, are two very different kinds of frontcourt players. Whereas Chandler is a defense-first rim-protector, Lopez is offense first.
Chandler, 32, is set to become an unrestricted free agent in July and all signs point to Dallas not re-signing him. He's coming off a four-year, $55 million contract but could likely be had for somewhere in the $10-$12 million range. The biggest questions are whether Chandler wants years or money for his next deal, and just how much cap space Milwaukee is willing to commit to the veteran.
Lopez is a slightly different story. The 27-year-old has until the end of the month to decide whether to exercise a $16.7 million option next season with Brooklyn. Given how well he closed out the season, there's a market for him in free agency. Lopez may feel confident enough to decline the option and to trade money for the security of years. Again, the question is how much would Milwaukee be willing to pay for a player who has history of injuries?
Which players are available for Milwaukee at the No. 17 spot may shape that answer, especially if somebody like Sam Dekker or Frank Kaminsky were to fall that far. The problem is most of the bigs expected to be on the board by the time the Bucks pick aren't NBA-ready, something that may deter Milwaukee as it gears up for another playoff run next season.
Although dumping Ilyasova's contract gave the Bucks a little extra room to pursue Chandler or Lopez, the team also will be taking into account the restricted free agency of guard Khris Middleton, whom reports indicate Milwaukee has no intention of letting walk. That contract, though, is expected to be costly.
"A league executive told Sporting News that Middleton would garner a contract similar to that being paid to (Dallas Mavericks forward) Chandler Parsons, which was three years and $46 million," Sean Deveney of Sporting News wrote May 21. "The playoffs did nothing to discourage teams from that, as Middleton - despite having some poor shooting nights - was solid defensively and took the offensive onus (upon) himself when some of his younger teammates wilted."
Middleton improved his stock this season as a two-way wing player, and with the salary cap expected to jump in 2016, Deveney - and other NBA insiders - believe teams will be more inclined to spend money this summer and bite the luxury tax bullet for one season.
Free agency begins on July 1.
