The Clippers landed a veteran center in the first few hours of free agency on Monday, agreeing to a two-year, $18 million contract with Brook Lopez. The former Milwaukee Buck will back up starting center Ivica Zubac, who he played with on the Lakers for one season.

The move brings Lopez back home, having been born in North Hollywood.

At 7-foot-1, the 37-year-old Lopez provides the Clippers with a quality stretch option off the bench and someone who should ease Zubac’s workload. Without a solid backup, Zubac averaged nearly 33 minutes per game last season.

After his one season with the Lakers, Lopez joined the Bucks as a free agent, where he played alongside forward Giannis Antetokounmpo for the past seven seasons and helped the team win the 2021 NBA title.

Last season, he averaged 13 points, 5 rebounds, and 1.9 blocked shots while shooting 37.3% from 3-point range. A 2013 All-Star, Lopez was the runner-up for the 2023 NBA Defensive Player of the Year award.

The Clippers made finding a center one of their offseason priorities and reportedly had been interested in acquiring Clint Capela or Luke Kornet. Capela agreed to return to the Houston Rockets, where he played his first six NBA seasons, while Kornet is leaving Boston to join the San Antonio Spurs.

The Clippers are still looking for a point guard to back up 11-time All-Star James Harden, who agreed to a new two-year, $81.5 million deal to stay with the team.

Batum to sign 2-year, $11.5M deal to return

As expected, free agent forward Nicolas Batum will sign a two-year, $11.5 million deal to return to the Clippers, according to multiple sources on the first day of NBA free agency.

The deal includes a team option as well as a trade kicker. His contract is the maximum he can receive with his non-Bird rights.

Batum opted out of his $4.9 million player option over the weekend, making him a free agent, but the versatile 36-year-old had expressed his desire to stay with the Clippers at the end of last season. He credits Coach Tyronn Lue for “saving his career” after finding out through social media that he had been waived by the Charlotte Hornets in 2020. Batum had been sidelined for much of that season because of injuries.

The 6-foot-10 Batum has said he thought his career was over at that point. Then Lue invited Batum to come to Los Angeles, where he played for three seasons before being sent to the Philadelphia 76ers in the trade that brought Harden to the Clippers in 2023.

Now heading into his 18th season in the NBA, the two-time Olympic silver medalist has previously said that this upcoming season will likely be his last.

The Clippers still have tax and apron flexibility to use the full mid-level exception or make a big trade.