10 Defensive anchor free agents the Dallas Mavericks should target this offseason

4. Brook Lopez

In the grand scheme of things, there’s a very small chance the Milwaukee Bucks allow Brook Lopez to slip away from them. He’s anchored their defense throughout the Giannis Antetokounmpo years and helped win them a championship in 2021.

However, with the way things ended for Milwaukee this season, big changes are in order. They already fired head coach Mike Budenholzer, so who’s to say they won’t look to switch things up in the frontcourt?

Depending on how much Lopez asks for on the open market, the Mavericks could get priced out, but it would certainly be worth it for them to check in with the big man.

After spending the first portion of his career dominating the post, Lopez completely transformed his game in Milwaukee. Now, not only is he an elite 3-point threat at the five, but he’s also one of the league’s best rim protectors.

Lopez finished top-three in Defensive Player of the Year voting this past season, and if Dallas could convince him to come to town, he could completely change the way their defense works.

Having a player who can protect the rim as well as Lopez would take some pressure off of Luka Doncic and others on the perimeter, as they would feel much more comfortable funneling ball handlers into him.

While it’s an unlikely move, it’s one the Dallas Mavericks should look into.

Important note: The Mavericks would likely only have enough to make this work if they let Kyrie Irving and Christian Wood walk.