This trade and signing would make Cavaliers true title contenders

The signing to replace Jarrett Allen

The Milwaukee Bucks are facing a series of tough questions this offseason, much tougher than whether “this season was a failure” or not. They are searching for a new head coach, with two of their four core players hitting free agency and massive team-building restrictions heading their way in the new CBA if they commit to everyone.

The most likely path forward for the Bucks is to re-sign Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez and hope to win another title before they have to pay the piper. They might just try to ease the sting a bit and offer Lopez a smaller deal, perhaps shorter or with non-guaranteed seasons, so they aren’t stuck paying him if his game drops off as he ages into his late-30s.

That’s where a team like the Cavaliers could swoop in. They can’t offer an unlimited per-year salary, but they can give Lopez years and total guaranteed money. If the Bucks offer him two-years and $36 million with a non-guaranteed third season, would Lopez rather sign for four years at the MLE, which would start at $12.22 million for a four-year total of $52.67 million?

It’s at least reasonable, as that could be the most guaranteed money on the table for Lopez and would afford him the chance to continue contending for a title. He can hear firsthand from his twin-brother Robin about the organizational culture, and perhaps Robin would even stick around as a deep reserve center for another year.

Lopez finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting this season as a truly elite rim protector, and few players are as good at defending a pick-and-roll downhill attack in drop coverage as Lopez, filling the space perfectly to contest the driver but not allowing an easy lob pass. Add in that Lopez has become a true stretch-5, shooting 37.4 percent from deep on 4.7 attempts per game, and Lopez would be at worst an even swap for Allen.

Now that we have laid it out, the question becomes: would this sequence of moves actually work?