New look, familiar role as Lopez prepares Carter to take his spot
On the third day of Bulls training camp, Robin Lopez formally introduced his new beard.
"My clean shaven look doesn't last very long," Lopez said Thursday at the Advocate Center. "I've been telling people (it's called) Errol Flynn; Oliver Queen (aka the Green Arrow)."
Lopez is sporting a full goatee with a dangling beard. He resembles a movie musketeer or maybe a Medieval Times knight, enhanced by his usual shaggy, "Sideshow Bob" haircut. He also described it as a "creepy uncle" beard.
As for how long he'll keep it this way, Lopez said, "We'll see. We're going to play it game by game. What will happen is I'll get positive response, positive response, positive response. And that one negative response kind of really kills you."
How long Lopez remains the Bulls starting center this season is a situation where he has less control of the outcome. It seems logical for Lopez to open the season in the starting lineup and the Bulls can bring rookie Wendell Carter Jr. along at whatever pace they feel is necessary.
Eventually, this spot will be Carter's, but there's no real hurry to make a switch. A likely scenario is Lopez remains the starter long-term and whenever Carter shows he's ready, he'll take the fourth-quarter minutes. Lopez has rarely played in crunchtime anyway during his first two seasons with the Bulls.
"I love (Carter's) attitude on and off the floor," Lopez said. "He's a really skilled player, hard worker. And right now, Wendell, Cris (Felicio) and myself are really pushing each other, which I love.
"The greatest good is the team good. So we're out there trying to push each other for the team benefit. Whatever's best for the team, that's what we're aiming for. We're going to help each other out and try to make the whole better."
Lopez admitted he'd prefer to be the starter, but he's already assumed the veteran leader role, so he's ready for anything. Coach Fred Hoiberg and team management went out of their way last season to praise Lopez' leadership in the locker room.
As he appearance conveys, Lopez carries sort of an offbeat, quirky personality. But he's also a serious basketball player who is coming off the best offensive performance of his career.
That combination seems to play well with Lopez's younger teammates. There have been hints Lopez might be welcome to stick with the Bulls long-term, but that remains to be seen. Lopez is in the final year of his contract, which is worth $14.4 million. Carter is the team's center of the future, while Felicio still has three years left on a deal he signed last summer.
"Robin has been awesome for Wendell," Hoiberg said Thursday. "He's been great for our young bigs since he's been here. I think people will understand when they look back on their careers how fortunate they were to play with Robin."
The Bulls held an organized scrimmage, complete with G-League referees, during Thursday's practice session. Hoiberg said the team would play three 12-minute games, while mixing the lineups.
Hoiberg said one focal point of the scrimmage was taking better care of the ball after he saw too many turnovers on the first two days of training camp.
No interview with Lopez is complete with out a check-in on his twin brother, Brook. Robin mentioned his brother when discussing a summer visit to their hometown of Fresno.
"I spent a lot of time in my auxiliary garage in Fresno," Robin said. "Brook and I both own a house, (but) he doesn't do any of the work to maintain it, clean it. Speaking of a burden, it all fell to me."
The Lopez twins are back in the same vicinity now after Brook joined the Milwaukee Bucks this summer. A few years ago, Robin played for New York while Brook was in Brooklyn.
"It feels like he's states away," Robin said with a straight face. "The guy never contacts me, so it doesn't feel any different."
Twitter: @McGrawDHBulls