The New York Knicks were able to upgrade the frontcourt as they intended to do. The team may have not been able to draw the top-tier talent in free agency, but were able to acquire a solid veteran.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, Lopez has agreed to a four-year, $54 million deal with the Knicks:
The Knicks are finalizing a four-year, $54 million agreement with free agent center Robin Lopez, league sources tell Yahoo Sports.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 3, 2015
Only a highly improbable DeAndre Jordan change of heart on choosing between Clippers and Mavericks could derail Lopez deal in New York.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 3, 2015
With many centers agreeing to deals early in the free agent period, Lopez was seen as a high target and quality target for those missing out on LaMarcus Aldridge, DeAndre Jordan, and Greg Monroe. In addition to the Knicks, Lopez drew interest from the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Knicks want hard after Lopez offering him $13.5 million a year. Lopez earned the payday by being one of the better defenders down low while playing alongside Aldridge in Portland last season. It is unknown at the time if the Lakers attempted to compete against the Knicks or even made Lopez an offer.
After missing out on another frontcourt player, the Lakers are again looking at a thin market. Kosta Koufos remains avaliable, and the team has expressed some interest in him. The Lakers are also said to be interested in Amar’e Stoudemire and Jason Smith. Instead of signing someone, trade options are also available with the Golden State Warriors looking to get rid of David Lee and the Washington Wizards exploring options for Nenê.
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