Sports
Ideal Landing Spot for NBA's Top 10 Current Free Agents – Bleacher Report
The 2023 NBA offseason is almost wrapped up, but a handful of potential difference-makers are still floating around the free-agent market.
With training camps approaching in October, there are available guards, wings and bigs who could still help teams all over the league.
The 10 best are below, along with the teams that make the most sense for them based on need and assuming everyone left is open to signing a minimum deal (and maybe even competing for a roster spot in training camp).
Milwaukee Bucks
The Milwaukee Bucks are in dire need of a point guard. Right now, the depth chart at that spot is populated by Jrue Holiday, A.J. Green, TyTy Washington and Lindell Wigginton.
Holiday, of course, is one of the game’s better 1s, but everyone else there is a fringe NBA player at best.
John Wall, 33, is well past his prime, but on a team with Holiday, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton handling the bulk of the ball-handling, he wouldn’t have to do a ton.
And if he could just create a few drive-draw-and-kickout threes for reserve shooters like Malik Beasley, Pat Connaughton and Bobby Portis in 10-15 minutes per game, he’d go down as a worthwhile add for a team competing for a title.
Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls really only have two true bigs on the roster in Nikola Vučević and Andre Drummond.
And while the 6’9″, 205-pound Wenyen Gabriel may not quite be that, he can provide a little more length inside than Chicago currently has.
After playing fewer than 400 minutes in each of his first three NBA seasons, the 26-year-old had a mini-breakout in 2022-23, when he averaged 5.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 0.5 blocks in 15.1 minutes for the Los Angeles Lakers.
As a rim-runner and hustle guy who can soak up some spot minutes at the 4 or 5, Gabriel could swing a few random quarters over the course of a season.
Cleveland Cavaliers
This one’s a little outside the box, since Justise Winslow is typically seen as more of a wing or forward, but the Cleveland Cavaliers could use another creator following Ricky Rubio’s departure from the team for mental health reasons.
And despite a career that’s generally been underwhelming for a top-10 pick, there’s still some lingering intrigue over his ability to run an offense.
In 2018-19, Winslow’s best season in the NBA, Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra was bold enough to entrust him with some playmaking responsibility. Winslow rewarded him with 4.3 assists in 29.7 minutes per game.
That and the solid defense he could provide all over the perimeter (he’s been above average in defensive estimated plus-minus in every season of his career) would make the 27-year-old an interesting and potentially versatile addition for Cleveland.
Oklahoma City Thunder
I’m a sucker for NBA homecomings, but this pairing is about more than the fact that Blake Griffin was an Oklahoma Sooner.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are loaded with young talent, and even without any additional moves, they should compete for a playoff spot for the second year in a row.
But even with Chet Holmgren returning from injury, they’re still small. And 34-year-old Griffin could beef up the front line while bringing plenty of experience to impart on the younger talent.
His presence on the roster wouldn’t be entirely based on the latter either. In a limited role, he can still help on the floor.
In 16 starts for the Boston Celtics, Griffin averaged 8.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists, while shooting 38.8 percent from deep in 2022-23.
Phoenix Suns
Even with a seemingly random off year in 2021-22, JaMychal Green has hit 37.4 percent of his three-point attempts over the last five seasons. Take out the Denver Nuggets campaign, and that mark climbs to 39.3.
That’s an excellent mark for someone who can play either the 4 or as a small-ball 5, and his ability to drag opposing bigs away from the rim could come in handy for a Phoenix Suns team loaded with one-on-one scoring.
Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal could all benefit from facing up against an open paint, which is what Green’s shooting could provide.
The 33-year-old wouldn’t take a ton of minutes from Deandre Ayton and would probably be behind Drew Eubanks on the depth chart too, but he brings an element neither of those bigger centers do.
Toronto Raptors
The Toronto Raptors are coming off a 2022-23 campaign in which they were 27th in threes per game and 28th in three-point percentage.
And after losing Fred VanVleet (2.4 threes per game and a 37.3 three-point percentage for his career), they signed Dennis Schröder (1.2 threes per game and a 33.7 three-point percentage for his career) as his replacement.
This squad is in dire need of outside shooting. And at this point in the offseason, beggars can’t be choosers.
Jaylen Nowell’s career mark of 32.2 percent from deep doesn’t inspire a ton of confidence, but he’s only 24 and did hit 39.4 percent of his threes in 2021-22.
If he can recapture whatever perimeter mojo he had during that campaign, he’d absolutely improve the Raptors’ shooting prospects.
Sacramento Kings
Terence Davis has quietly been a steady backup guard throughout his four-year career, but he apparently didn’t do enough as a member of the Sacramento Kings (his team for the last two-and-a-half campaigns) to get re-signed.
At least not yet.
For his career, the 26-year-old has averaged 8.0 points and 1.5 threes, while shooting 36.6 percent from deep in 16.1 minutes per game.
Sacramento gets plenty of playmaking and creation for others from De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis, but that kind of production would be a nice addition to a backcourt that has its depth fall off after Davion Mitchell and Malik Monk.
Miami Heat
If the Miami Heat aren’t able to swing a deal for Damian Lillard prior to training camp, they should be in the market for a little offensive juice, and T.J. Warren had some moments in 2022-23 when he appeared capable of providing that.
The 30-year-old wing who averaged 19.3 points from 2017-18 through 2019-20 put up just 7.5 in 2022-23, but that was in 16.4 minutes.
Per 75 possessions, he averaged 16.7 points. And when he was in the game for the Brooklyn Nets or Phoenix Suns, he flashed a lot of the same craftiness from the short- and mid-range that made him such an interesting scorer before a run of injuries altered his career.
For a team with Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, Warren may not be expected to do a ton, but their 25th-ranked offense could use a little help.
Memphis Grizzlies
When the Memphis Grizzlies lost Kyle Anderson and De’Anthony Melton in the 2022 offseason, it felt like an implied bet on the team’s ability to develop young talent.
But David Roddy, Ziaire Williams and Jake LaRavia never really filled that void, and the Grizzlies could still use a little two-way pop off the bench.
Hamidou Diallo can provide exactly that.
He ranked in the 93rd percentile in defensive estimated plus-minus in 2021-22 and then followed that up with a 99th percentile campaign on that end in 2022-23.
And his length (6’5″ with a 6’11” wingspan) and top-tier athleticism made him one of the league’s more underappreciated finishers last season.
Diallo took almost three quarters of his shots from within 10 feet of the hoop, and there were only 20 players (most of whom are bigs) who matched or exceeded both his two-point percentage and his average for two-point attempts per game.
Miami Heat
Much of the same reasoning from the Warren slide applies here, and Kelly Oubre Jr. could be the higher-volume (though likely less efficient) option to fill Miami’s need for offense.
The 27-year-old averaged a career-high 20.3 points in 2022-23. And though his effective field-goal percentage was well below average, he could still make a positive difference as a force-of-will scorer off the bench.
And while it’s never really translated to results on the court, he has the kind of frame (6’7″ with a 7’3″ wingspan) that can lead to dynamic defense. Perhaps the famous #HeatCulture is what could finally unlock his potential on that end.
Beyond all that, it appears Miami is actually interested in Oubre, particularly if it’s able to snag Lillard.