NBA free agent Brook Lopez apparently has a very short list of teams he would like to join.
ESPN’s “NBA Today” host Malika Andrews asked Lopez Wednesday where he would like to play. Lopez’s seemingly serious response: He wants to play for the Seattle Supersonics.
That’s not going to happen. The Supersonics left Seattle after the 2007-2008 NBA season and relocated to Oklahoma to become the Oklahoma City Thunder.
“My choice really would be Seattle, honestly,” Lopez said. “My fear though, the Supersonics went away the year I was drafted [2008]. … I might not get that chance because when I’m done, I feel like that year they’ll come back.”
"My choice really would be Seattle, honestly. My fear though, the Supersonics went away the year I was drafted [2008]… I might not get that chance cuz when I'm done, I feel like that year they'll come back."
Brook Lopez on his free agency 😅pic.twitter.com/eVll5w5KpP
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) June 29, 2023
Since the Supersonics are not an option, Lopez will have to get serious about finding an active team. The Houston Rockets have reportedly expressed great interest, but according to NBA insider Marc Stein, Lopez is “leaning toward” re-signing with the Milwaukee Bucks.
Lopez probably just didn’t want to delve into any of the details of his search and threw the Supersonics answer out there for fun.
The 35-year-old center averaged 15.9 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.5 blocks this season, and knocked down 37.4% of his shots from behind the arc. So he could be a clear asset to many teams.
Just not the Supersonics. They’re not coming back. Strangely enough, just before the Supersonics relocated to OKC, they participated in the 2008 NBA Draft. They had the No. 4 overall pick, and were rumored to be considering Lopez. (They picked some guy named Westbrook instead.)
Lopez ultimately went No. 10 overall to the New Jersey Nets.