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James Harden, Kyrie Irving lead loaded NBA free agency class of … – NBC Sports Washington
The NBA free agency negotiating period begins on June 30 at 6 p.m. ET with moves becoming official six days later on July 6. Here is a rundown of this year’s free agent class of guards as the Wizards continue to rework their roster:
Harden, Irving among several big names
The Wizards have made it clear they would like to be a free agent destination someday and they cleared considerable cap space by trading Bradley Beal, though it won’t be fully realized until after this season and in the years to come. That said, they just began a roster overhaul and they spent the seventh overall pick on Bilal Coulibaly, whom they believe can be a guard at the next level. So, all of that needs to be factored in when trying to predict how aggressive they will be this summer.
Regardless of where they stand in going after guards in free agency, there are going to be some big names potentially on the move. Former MVP James Harden can test free agency after playing the last two seasons for the Sixers. His former Nets teammate Kyrie Irving is also a free agent after finishing last year with the Mavericks. Then there is Fred VanVleet of the Raptors, making for three recent All-Stars set to hit free agency.
That’s a lot of big names available in one single offseason at the same position. And there’s more, as D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves of the Lakers, Jordan Clarkson of the Jazz and Bruce Brown of the Nuggets should all garner significant interest from teams. Former Wizards star Russell Westbrook is also available after playing last year for both teams in L.A.
Wizards’ decisions to make
The Wizards have one free agent at guard in Kendrick Nunn. He was acquired at the trade deadline in the deal that sent Rui Hachimura to the Lakers. That move was made under previous front office leadership. Nunn, 27, averaged 7.5 points while shooting 44.7% from the field and 39.2% from three in 31 games with the Wizards last season.
While Nunn is the one player the Wizards have to decide on, Coulibaly will likely factor into a lot of what they choose to do in the interim at the guard and wing positions. They drafted him seventh overall and traded up to do so. His development will be very important, so they will likely want to make sure he at a minimum has a path to playing time at the two and the three.
Cheaper options
In addition to the marquee names leading this class of free agent guards, there is also a ton of depth. Donte DiVincenzo (Warriors), Gabe Vincent (Heat), Max Strus (Heat), Caris LeVert (Cavs), Dennis Schroeder (Lakers), Malik Beasley (Lakers) and Lonnie Walker (Lakers) all contributed to playoff teams.
Tre Jones (Spurs), brother of new Wizards point guard Tyus, is potentially available and so may be Coby White (Bulls), Ayo Dosunmu (Bulls), Pat Beverley (Bulls) and Seth Curry (Nets). Top-to-bottom, this class seems to have an unusual amount of talent ready to be had at guard. If the Wizards want to add backcourt help, there will be a lot of options.