Reaction to the Wizards using most of their midlevel exception to sign free agent center Robin Lopez was swift and negative, including from me. But as the dust settles on Washington’s somewhat befuddling 2020 dive into free agency, I wanted to take a deeper look to determine if a) they’re seeing something I overlooked, and b) could I at least understand what they’re thinking, even if I don’t agree.
The Wizards’ decision to sign Lopez appears to be founded on three key stats:
- He led the NBA last season in defensive box outs per 48 minutes,
- Among players who appeared in at least 25 games, he was fourth in at-rim defensive field goal percentage, and
- When he was identified as the defender, opponent effective field goal percentage declined by 3.