Not long ago, it was a no-brainer for the LA Clippers to decline Brook Lopez’s upcoming team option for next season. He was not reliable, a liability on both sides of the ball, and for a stretch, out of Tyronn Lue’s rotation. But the soon-to-be 38-year-old played his way into making his future with the Clippers a tougher, unavoidable decision than the front office once anticipated, and now, no one knows what to do.
It’s either: find a young center on the market and make Lopez an unrestricted free agent, or trust that his body can sustain another year of high-pressure basketball and keep him around on an expiring contract.