NBA free agency began last Friday, June 30, and there were a flurry of moves. Now the league waits as two of the biggest stars of the era, James Harden and Damian Lillard, let their trade demands play out. Meanwhile, there are some good free agents still on the board. Who are the best of the remaining free agents?
No. 5. Ayo Dosunmu
The 6-foot-5 guard is a restricted free agent with the Chicago Bulls, meaning they can match any offer he receives. The Toronto Raptors are rumored to be interested.
He’s only 23 years old and is a very bouncy athlete and an above average defender. He took a step back last season after a very promising rookie year. But we’ll chalk that up to being asked to do too much in the wake of Lonzo Ball being out for the season.
Still, the poor year gave him a ton of reference points on what he needs to improve on to be an above average starting guard in this league.
No. 4. Kelly Oubre Jr.
At 27 years of age, the 6-foot-7 wing is what he is at this point as a player — an inefficient volume scorer who can get hot occasionally.
But if you need to bring someone in to help your team reach the salary floor as required by the new collective bargaining agreement, he’s someone that can come off the bench with your second unit.
Or, if you’re going to be bad and don’t have a lot of young assets that need developing, someone has to take those shots.
On a good team he can be an eighth man, maybe.
No. 3. P.J. Washington
The 6-foot-7 power forward is only 24 and had his best raw scoring season, averaging 15.7 points per game. Though his net impact on the floor declined to -0.8.
Maybe a change of scenery from that dumpster fire that is the Charlotte Hornets will help.
He is a floor-spacing four, and while he shot below 35 percent from three last year, for his career he’s at 36 percent and during his first three seasons he shot 37.5 percent from deep.
No. 2. Hamidou Diallo
At 24 he’s already an elite defensive player, ranking in the 99th percentile last season in defensive EPM. But as good as he is on defense, he’s as bad a shooter on offense. But he did manage to have an eFG% of 58. Which meant he focused on scoring around the basket.
Despite being only 6 feet 5 he has a 7-foot wingspan, which allows him to score among the giants in the paint. His athleticism makes him a very good lane filler in transition.
No. 1. Christian Wood
He had some regression on defense in Dallas last season. But who didn’t?
At 6 feet 9 and 27 years of age, Wood is only three seasons removed from ranking in the 95th percentile in EPM and the 92nd percentile the following season. There is talent there, for sure.
Which organization has the right environment to bring it out of him more consistently?
