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NBA free agency has moved fast.
The one true difference maker, Paul George, has moved to the East Coast and made Philadelphia a threat. Klay Thompson left the Warriors — that still just feels strange — and brought Dallas shooting and championship experience. James Harden stayed right where he was, while Oklahoma City landed Isaiah Hartenstein (and Alex Caruso in a trade).
Whose left? Here are the top 10 free agents still available as of the evening of July 2.
(Note: LeBron James is not included in this list because he’s a free agent in name only, he’s not leaving the Lakers. The only question is whether GM Rob Pelinka make a trade for a player good enough to get LeBron to take a discount, or do they have to max him out?)
The trade of Alex Caruso sealed it for DeRozan — he wants to win but he doesn’t see a path to that in Chicago (ignore the fact that was the case for a couple of years and just go with it). DeRozan is a midrange assassin who averaged 24 points a game last season and was strong in the clutch, he’s not a great defender but he is an All-Star level player and clearly the best player still available.
There reportedly is mutual interest between DeRozan and the Miami Heat, but the Lakers have also had discussions with DeRozan about bringing him back to his roots in Southern California. This could come down to who will figure out a sign-and-trade to pay more than the midlevel exception and — more importantly for the 34-year-old — years. (LeBron James reportedly would take a discount on his salary to free up room for DeRozan to come to Los Angeles.
Every team can use a sharpshooter and Hield is the best one on the board and averaged 12.1 points a game shooting 38.6% from 3 last season, although his stint in Philly was not what either side hoped. Hield is playing for the Bahamas in Olympic qualifying — doing so without an NBA contract is rare and a risk (if he is injured) — and scored 24 points in their opening win.
Hield has been strongly linked to the Warriors in a sign-and-trade that Klay Thompson is gone, that seems where things are headed. The Kings are also known to have an interest.
There…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nba-free-agency-2024-10-043718884.html
Author : NBC Sports
Publish date : 2024-07-03 04:37:18
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