What Robin Lopez Will Bring to New Orleans

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The Phoenix Suns have not officially announced the three-way trade that is sending Robin Lopez & Hakim Warrick to New Orleans yet, but expect one soon. Minnesota has already sent Wesley Johnson to Phoenix and shortly after signed free agent Andrei Kirilenko.

The Hornets acquisition of Lopez and Warrick is something Hornets fans should be excited about. Lopez more than Warrick but don’t Hakim out just yet, given an opportunity he may have a few good seasons left. I’m just not sure if that opportunity for Warrick is in New Orleans.

Apr. 25, 2012; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Phoenix Suns center (15) Robin Lopez defends against San Antonio Spurs forward (22) Tiago Splitter in the second half at the US Airways Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE

Robin Lopez, 7 Ft center who just turned 24 years old this year has a lot of great years ahead of him. So far he has played 4 “OK” seasons after being drafted 15th overall by Phoenix in the 2008 draft. Robin is a extremely hard worker and hustles on the court, unfortunately for him he has been out-shined by his twin brother Brook who was drafted 10th overall to the Nets in the same draft. I would mainly blame this on the lack of opportunity Robin has had in Phoenix vs Brook coming in as a starter in New Jersey. This past season Robin was a backup for Marcin Gortat and as a result only averaged 14 minutes per game.

Here is chart of Robin Lopez’ career stats:

Career Season Averages

Year	Team	G	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	OFF	DEF	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	TO	PF	PPG
08-09	PHX	60	7	10.2	0.518	0.000	0.691	0.9	1.1	2.0	0.1	0.2	0.7	0.47	1.62	3.1
09-10	PHX	51	31	19.3	0.588	0.000	0.704	2.0	2.8	4.9	0.1	0.2	1.0	0.80	2.29	8.4
10-11	PHX	67	56	14.8	0.501	0.000	0.740	1.2	2.0	3.2	0.1	0.3	0.7	0.72	2.13	6.4
11-12	PHX	64	0	14.0	0.461	0.000	0.714	1.4	1.9	3.3	0.3	0.3	0.9	0.67	2.00	5.4
Career	–	242	94	14.4	0.517	0.000	0.714	1.4	1.9	3.3	0.2	0.2	0.8	0.66	2.00	5.8

Robin’s best season came in 2009-2010 when he averaged 19 minutes per game. As a result he averaged 8.4 points per game and 4.9 rebound per game. This is a clear sign that given the opportunity Robin can produce and will be more effective. New Orleans is the perfect situation for Robin as he currently has the starting job at center. With Robin being the only true center on the team right now I would expect him to see close to 25-30 minutes a game. Don’t get your hopes up and expect Lopez to be an all-star but you can bet that given a staring role he will average 8 points and 8 rebounds per game, at least.

Robin Lopez and Anthony Davis will take a lot of pressure off of each other as they both are very long and athletic. Davis can now slide to his natural power forward position with Robin relaxing on the defensive end a little as Davis will block most the shots put up.

The Hornets had a big need at center and filled it very well with the addition of Robin Lopez. Especially considering they were able to obtain him for a very cheap price, Jerome Dyson and two second round draft picks.