Lopez has been a big part of the Bucks' success since joining them in 2018, providing value as a stretch big on offense and being one of the best rim protectors on defense. His spacing allows for more open driving lanes for Giannis Antetokounmpo, and defensively those two provide a two-headed monster of rim protection, as Lopez is the steady anchor while Giannis is the disruptive back-side rim protector when Lopez gets pulled away from the rim.  Offensively, Lopez started bombing away from outside once he joined the Bucks. His 37% 3-point shooting over the last three seasons isn't a great number, but it's above-average for a center, and he gets respected just enough to have some gravity. There are times in the playoffs when teams have chosen to leave Lopez open, but it has never come to the point where he's not providing value by spacing out or not being guarded. Lopez hardly posts up anymore compared to his early days in Brooklyn, but he still has nice touch inside and can finish as the roll man in pick-and-roll or just when receiving dump-offs around the rim. Defensively, Lopez has been one of the best rim protecting centers during his time with the Bucks. He consistently gets blocks at a good rate, but also knows when to stay home and not chase blocks. He uses his size and knows where to be and when to be there, and even finishied second in voting for Defensive Player of the Year as recently as '22-'23. He's strictly a drop coverage big since you don't want him defending on the perimeter, so that does cause some limitations. Lopez will be 37 years old as free agent in 2025, so his age will certainly be a factor for any team considering signing him as a free agent.

Lopez will be an unrestricted free agent with a $34.5 million cap hold and full Bird Rights, meaning the Bucks will have no restrictions on re-signing him. Since the Bucks will most likely be operating over the cap, and since his cap hold exceeds his likely starting salary, his cap hold is not really relevant. For other teams, if Lopez demands a starting salary of more than the full $14.1 million Non-Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception, only teams with cap space will be able to sign him, unless a sign-and-trade is worked out. However, it's possible that Lopez could be had for the full MLE or slightly less.

Al Horford (2 years, $19.5 million, 2023) Steven Adams (2 years, $35 million, 2023) Nikola Vucevic (3 years, $60 million, 2023)