Free NBA Agency 2018: Top 20 Free Agents Still Available After First Wild Weekend



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LeBron James' move to the Los Angeles Lakers upset the league landscape and Paul George's decision to stay excited about everyone in Oklahoma City, but the vast majority of free agents have lived the past two days very differently. This is a favorable market for teams and, especially for players looking for a fresh start, there are few interesting options that do not involve sacrificing money.

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On no account, here is an overview of 20 players who are still in limbo:

The Rockets could be lucky enough to avoid paying Capela the max because the market is so barren, but it's hard to imagine much less than that. His development in Houston was exceptional, and at age 24, his combination of rim protection, switchability, selection and vertical spacing made him one of the best centers in the league.

There were rumors about Cousins ​​going to the Los Angeles Lakers, but that does not make much sense unless you extend Luol Deng's contract and waive their rights to Julius Randle . Why do all of this just to give a short-term contract to a big old school man who is still recovering from an Achilles injury? The pelicans would have called at the beginning of the free agency, but it is unclear whether they really want it back. After his injury and the acquisition of Nikola Mirotic, they improved defensively and became a more versatile and better shooting team.

The goalkeeper met the Thunder on Sunday and will meet the Lakers on Monday, according to Chris Haynes of ESPN . It should also be noted that his former agent is the general manager of the Golden State Warriors, Bob Myers. Evans outperformed his $ 3.3 million salary last season and transformed his game by throwing 3-off-the-dribble, which usually means that he would be looking for a raise massive. If he joins one of these teams, he will probably have to settle for a modest one. Could he settle for the $ 5.3 million mini-tier exception?

It is strange that Mbah a Moute is always available and that there has been so much talk about him. He is the most versatile defender on the market, and when he was healthy last season, he played an important role for the Houston Rockets. I think Golden State would be smart to continue and I imagine that re-signing would become an even bigger priority for the Rockets as soon as Trevor Ariza left for Phoenix.

Another candidate declared for the exception of the Warriors mini-middle level, Bradley would be suitable for any team that seeks perimeter defense, shooting and secondary play. Its value is not quite that of a few years ago, partly because it was not as productive when it left Boston and partly because that his mark of physical defense against the guards is not appreciated. Teams are looking for larger, longer wings that can control larger players. Almost no one harasses sharp guards like Bradley, though.

The sniper said that he wanted to stay in Miami, but the Heat did not have a ton of financial leeway if they wanted to avoid the luxury tax. Ellington seems to be a popular guy: Barry Jackson of Miami Herald reported that nine other teams are interested in him, and The Associated Press's Tim Reynolds reported Only 23 (!!!) teams reached out to his representatives. Everyone wants to shoot, but how many of these teams can afford to pay?

Lopez is the kind of player who seemed destined to take a serious discount on this market – as a 7-year-old 30-year-old who struggles to turn to smaller players, he does Not a ton of teams make sense for him. The Lakers, however, are one of them. If giving Lance Stephenson the exception of the room costs them the chance to bring back Lopez, I just do not understand it. It still seems like a good choice as a starting center, but I guess JaVale McGee could fill that position now.

The Celtics' chances of keeping Smart without overpaying are pretty good, the Indiana Pacers adding Doug McDermott and the Dallas Mavericks spending their money on Jordan. Will the magic go after him? And the Bulls? At this point, it would not be surprising that Smart accepts his qualification offer and is trying again the free agency within a year. The restricted free agency can be brutal.

How much do you pay a 23-year-old shooter who does not play a lot of defense and has a selection of questionable shooting? LaVine is surely better than what he showed last season in coming out of a torn LCA, but his full game has not matured yet and any long term commitment would involve a real risk. I believe that he will become an effective scorer again, but he believes that he should be paid as a star now . The Bulls are in a difficult position because it was a big part of Jimmy Butler's trade, and they have to be careful here. According to K.C. Johnson's Chicago Tribune they are willing to pay him $ 14M -16M per season. Will a team give him an offer sheet that is worth more than that?

Committing serious money to Exum is another gamble, but it's so fascinating after defending James Harden so well in the playoffs. I have no idea how to enjoy it because it has a long way to go offensively and it has been so subject to injury, but I can not imagine that the front office of Jazz wants leave it for the moment. I wonder what they would do if a team like the Magic gave him an offer sheet worth the full mid-level exception.

The situation of this restricted free agent was much more interesting as soon as the Lakers added LeBron … and they then gave up on Monday. I was trying to convince myself that Randle would go back to the Lakers for a big one-year contract and start as a small ball center, but that will not happen. No one is looking great, so I would be surprised if he agreed to an agreement of more than a year anyway.

Another riddle of unrestricted agent. Maybe you think he's the next Victor Oladipo, destined to come out and realize his full potential a little later than expected. Maybe you think that he's not a winning player because he does not bounce or defend as you want your power forward and he stops the ball in attack. Parker is not a good choice in Mike Budenholzer's system and the Bucks just add Ersan Ilyasova, a veteran of the stretch 4, but is the front office to have it? stupid look it shines elsewhere? Maybe a sign-and-trade is a possibility here.

Bjelica is a stretch 4 that can defend, the kind of "16-game player" of which Draymond Green spoke recently . He had his problems with injuries and inconsistencies in Minnesota, but the team will find him difficult to replace – he withdrew his qualifying bid on Monday, by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. There was not much buzz about Bjelica, but Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic reported just before the start of the free agency that Jazz was interested.

Unlike Bjelica, Nurkic may not be a 16-game player in the modern NBA. It does not really have its place in the Blazers series against the Pelicans, and although it has moments when it looks like a star, teams are usually looking for centers that can dominate defensively and / or lengthen the floor. Maybe he'll take the qualification offer, start shooting 3s next season and become an unrestricted free agent next year.

Harrell, the preferred free sub-radar free agent of all hipsters, had a fantastic year for the Clippers last season. I would love to see him come back and compete with Marcin Gortat for the starting point, and I wonder if any of the teams with the mid-level exception of $ 8.6 million are considering to offer him.

The Riders in Reconstruction should probably keep it, and his mostly poor play after the trading deadline could be a blessing in disguise from a financial point of view. No restrained free agent has hurt his worth as much as Hood did last season, but he remains a talented playmaker and a three-point career shooter by 37%.

Is there a team that wants to sign Thomas and give him the keys to the attack like Brad Stevens? At its best, Thomas can carry an elite attack, with an impressive arsenal of hesitant moves and creative finishes on bigger players. However, he could not do his normal thing by recovering from a hip injury last year, and his attack no longer offset his defensive deficiencies. Looking around the league, there really are not many teams with starting point guard jobs available as is currently built – would the Magic or the Suns be interested?

If you can see how slow Anderson is and how weird his game is, you can see an effective player: He's a good mid-range shooter who's doing extremely well, bouncing off rather good and plays a smart defensive position. It's not a ground spacer and you would not want it to be replaced by a fast perimeter or a bulky center, but it will find ways to help your team. It seems quite spurs-y that they do not hold it back.

My favorite darling in free agency, Curry was injured for the entire 2017-2018 season but proved a year ago that he belonged to a rotation of the NBA. He can obviously shoot, but he found his place with Dallas because he was smart with the ball in his hands and he used his anticipation to harass opponents in defense.

Everyone expects Wade to end his career in Miami because that's what he said it was going to happen. I can not help but wonder, however, that he would consider giving LeBron another try in Los Angeles.

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