MILWAUKEE — After a second consecutive early playoff exit, rumors swirled this offseason that the Milwaukee Bucks were open to trading veteran big man Brook Lopez.

Lopez, a one-time NBA All-Star and a cog in the Bucks’ 2021 NBA championship run, has remained one of the NBA’s better centers. In 79 regular-season games in 2023-24, Lopez averaged 12.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 2.4 blocks while shooting 48.5 percent from the field, 36.6 percent from downtown, and 82.1 percent from the free-throw line — reliable numbers albeit down from his career averages.

He is set to make $23 million in the final year of his contract and then there is the most important number: Lopez is 36 years old. Hence the trade buzz.

But according to ESPN Insider Brian Windhorst on The Hoops Collective, the Bucks are no longer shopping the NBA veteran.

“As of right now, I’ve been told firmly that they are not trading him,” Windhorst said. “And so is Brook. Brook heard some of the rumors and said, ‘Hey, what’s going on?’ They’re like, ‘No, we’re not trading you.’”

Lopez has been an imposing rim protector for the Milwaukee Bucks since joining the team in 2018-19. He earned first-team All-Defense honors just two seasons ago at age 34.

He also brings value as a non-traditional center who can step out beyond the arc and space the floor with his three-point shot.

So it appears that Lopez will return for his 17th NBA season. He joins a familiar roster with Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, and Damian Lillard, plus free-agent acquisitions Gary Trent Jr., Delon Wright, and Taurean Prince.

Training camp begins Oct. 3.