Top Remaining NBA Free Agents
The NBA offseason has already seen some insane moves. Some of which include Lebron becoming a Laker and Demarcus Cousins becoming the newest NBA snake by joining the Warriors. Then, Kawhi Leonard being traded to the Raptors for Demar Derozan was just icing on the cake for this offseason. Derozan might be salty, but NBA fans are amped up about the deal. Also, we’ve seen some somewhat major deals like Smart back to Boston and DeAndre Jordan to Dallas (for real this time). Smart absolutely bleeds green. For Dallas, Jordan with the combination of Doncic and Dennis Smith JR. makes for an intriguing team. Most of the major moves have been complete, but there are still some good names still out there. I’m going to name some of the top guys still yet to be signed.
Clint Capela
Capela is far and away the best player that isn’t officially signed to a team. It seems pretty likely that he will resign with the Rockets, but things haven’t been going smoothly. First, there have been issues with how much money Capela will receive. The Rockets offered him 5 years 85 million, but the Center wants something closer to the max of 5 years 148 million. Capela hopes to receive something in the middle between 85 and 148 million, that has yet to happen unfortunately. Luckily for the Rockets, at this point no other team can even offer him a contract that’s worth considering. The 6’10” big man is coming off a season with averages of 14 points and 11 rebounds on the best team in the NBA. He’s only 24 and deserves to get paid by Houston.
Dwyane Wade
To start off, Wade is 36 years old. That is incredibly old in NBA years. Fortunately for Wade, he can look to be a mentor to younger guys at this point and still play somewhat decent on the court. Miami however has such a logjam at the wing position that it might be tough for him to sign there and get any playing time. At Wade’s position they have to spread out minutes between Tyler Johnson, Dion Waiters, Justise Winslow, Wayne Ellington, Josh Richardson, and young gun Derrick Jones JR. That’s a boatload of names there, and unless Wade wants practically no minutes he doesn’t fit.
The Spurs and Wade
I would love to see Wade sign with the Spurs for a few reasons. First, being alongside Gregg Popovich, Wade will absolutely be as effective as he possibly could. He could maybe even unlock some things in his game DWade didn’t even know he had at age 36. Also, the Spurs have great young talent at guard in Dejounte Murray and recently drafted Lonnie Walker. Those guys would benefit tremendously from Wade’s mentoring. Finally, Demar Derozan is now the face of their franchise. He has a super similar playstyle to prime Wade and maybe with Wade’s guidance, Derozan can get over the hump and lead a team deep into the playoffs.
Nick Young
Nick Young aka Swaggy P is one of the most memed about players in the NBA. He’s fresh off winning an NBA title with the Warriors and is now on the hunt for a new team. As much as we all like to joke about Nick Young, he’s actually a pretty good option to have on the bench that can add instant offense. To start, he’s a volume shooter with a great stroke from 3. In his career, Swaggy P’s 3-point percentage is right around 40%. Teams won’t have to play him a bunch of minutes to get results from him. He’s headed more than likely for a minimum contract and I see Houston and him as a great fit. They’re one of the best teams that would benefit greatly from his shooting.
Jahlil Okafor
Okafor has had quite interesting career so far. He went from being one of the top guys in Philly’s “process” averaging around 25 minutes a game, to them begging any team to take him. The Brooklyn Nets eventually agreed to take the young center. However, in Brooklyn Jahlil Okafor still struggled to get any minutes hovering right around 10. The 22-year-old is currently a free agent and there has been no noise around him. Considering he is a 7-foot-tall center who is in his early 20’s, I think he could definitely improve his game and make a difference on a roster. With more playing time and a better midrange game, Okafor could be huge for a team. The Denver Nuggets are a team that could really use a backup big man behind Jokic and Millsap. If he goes there on the minimum, Okafor could have a chance to really shine.
Elsewhere
There are many other names I didn’t dive into such as Greg Monroe, Jamal Crawford, and Shabazz Muhammed. Each of those guys have potential be nice pieces to teams that want to build up their depth a bit. Carmelo Anthony is technically a free agent since he was bought out from the Hawks. He didn’t need mentioning as it’s well known that he will be going to the Rockets once everything clears, and I would consider that more of a transferring instead of a free agency move. All in all, the NBA has been shaken up this offseason and should result in some exciting basketball.
-Brandon Black (Follow @bhblack02)