Report: Bucks have 'optimism' that one-time All-Star Brook Lopez could return this season
After being a starter on the 2020-2021 NBA-title-winning Milwaukee Bucks team, center Brook Lopez has been limited to one game this season due to a back injury. Lopez hasn't played since the team's season opener on Oct. 19 and it was reported on Thursday that he will be sidelined indefinitely following surgery on his back.
Per Eric Nehm of The Athletic, "there is optimism within the Bucks organization" that the 2013 All-Star could still return this season.
"He’s basically been making, you know, very, very slow, but little progress from the beginning," Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said, per Nehm. "So, I think after just consulting with the doctors and looking at things more, kind of realizing, I guess, if no progress is a setback, then that’s a setback. But it’s just really, lot of consultations with the doctors and Brook and his group and our group. I feel good about the results, the decision, the process and hopeful Brook will return healthy at some point."
The Bucks recently signed free-agent center DeMarcus Cousins as a possible replacement for Lopez. The twin brother of Orlando Magic center Robin Lopez averaged 12.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game last season during his second year in Milwaukee.
"We’re not going to put a timeline on it but we’re also not going to say he’s not going to play this season," Budenholzer told Nehm. "We feel good about the surgery today and he’ll begin his rehab and do everything he can I think to put himself in position to play for us."
The Bucks are currently in fourth place in the Eastern Conference at 14-9.
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