Report: Warriors could target Brook Lopez in free agency

Report: Warriors could target Brook Lopez in free agency

Nearly one week removed from getting eliminated in the Western Conference semifinals, the Golden State Warriors have plenty of questions to answer this offseason.

They enter this summer with Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler allocating 90 percent of the salary cap entering 2025-26, roughly $25 million from the first apron and $37 million from the second apron with just nine guaranteed contracts on the books. They don’t a ton of maneuverability, so general manager Mike Dunleavy will have to get very creative to save this ship in a loaded Western Conference.

One of their priorities this offseason will be adding a big man, with Kevon Looney becoming an unrestricted free agent. Their size–or lack thereof– was a big problem (figuratively and literally) throughout the postseason.

According to ESPN NBA insider Bobby Marks, Golden State could target one aging former NBA championship big out East.

“I think the one name to keep an eye on, regarding that center position, is Brook Lopez,” Marks said during a recent appearance on NBA Today. “(Lopez is a) Stanford grad. Makes his home in Fresno. What is the number on a Brook Lopez-type contract if you can get him on a one-year flyer here to patch up that center position.

“The center market is thin when you look at Myles Turner–you’re probably not going to afford him–the next-best guy out there is Brook Lopez.”

Bobby Marks on the Warriors:

"I think the one name to keep an eye on regarding that center position is Brook Lopez" pic.twitter.com/OyjxdjaTnr

— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) May 15, 2025

Lopez, a two-time All-Defensive Team honoree, will be entering his age-37 season next year, making him a pretty risky option. A few of the other centers they could potentially add are Clint Capela, Steven Adams, Mo Wagner (club option) or Jaxson Hayes, among others.

Lopez averaged 13.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game last year, shooting 50.9 percent from the floor, 37.3 percent from 3-point range and 82.6 percent from the free-throw line.

The Warriors don’t have any cap space. So if they use more than the taxpayer’s portion of the mid-level exception–expected to be around $5.7 million–to sign Lopez, they would be hard-capped below the projected $195.946 million first apron, thus limiting their flexibility to build the rest of their roster (which is already mediocre, at best).

They were hard-capped this year after they used the mid-level to sign De’Anthony Melton and by acquiring Buddy Hield via sign-and-trade, so it was pretty impressive how they were able to pull off the Butler trade. But now they’re stuck in a “Well, what now?!” phase of trying to maximize the end of Stephen Curry‘s career.

Marks did mention that Golden State can use up to four first-round picks to potentially acquire a younger–and better–big man on the trade market. The players who make the most money not named Curry, Butler or Green, are Moses Moody ($11.6 million), Hield ($9.2 million) and Brandin Podziemski ($3.7 million), who was off limits last summer.

The Golden State Warriors may be screwed

Will that change? We’re about to see how desperate they actually are to improve this core, even though it still may be too little, too late.

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