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If you’re an NBA GM most things revolve around whether you’re buying low and selling high. 30 competing agendas all play out in concert. Some of the decisions are deliberated for years and some decisions are knee-jerk reactions to a development in the marketplace. Some of the GMs are good and some are quite terrible and that’s before you get to the owners! It’s all great fun and opposite the NBA Draft, fortunes are changing in these next few days.
What this list attempts to do is give GMs (or fans at home) a cheat sheet for the big event. They can target players based on overall value or the efficiency of those dollars spent, and if they are doing it right they are going to find the players that I lay out at the top of both of those lists. This list has been the home of big-time plays such as Joe Ingles in 2017, Joe Harris and Fred VanVleet in 2018, Richaun Holmes was the big win we had seen coming for way too many years. Two years ago Jerami Grant was my top Cash-to-Value rank and predictably blew up. In that season De’Anthony Melton was one of the league’s best players in terms of net rating and it wasn’t a fluke – he was awesome and a casualty of NBA politics in crowded Memphis. Last year it was our second ranked cash-to-value wing Max Strus knocking in big shots in the ECF and all season long for literal pennies, or our third ranked interior wing Jarred Vanderbilt getting loose, or Isaiah Hartenstein as the 10th ranked cash-to-value big when he didn’t even get picked up in free agency (now he’s closing in on top 10 big man status in the NBA as a whole).
We typically exclude elite players from the top slot in Cash-to-Value ranks even if they’re dominant like, say, Bradley Beal or Deandre Ayton, even if an argument can be made on their behalf (they’re still ranked that way in the overall ranks). The purpose of this list is to give decision-makers around the league, fans and anybody in the basketball space an idea of how to extract the most value possible in each of their free agent decisions. Pile up enough of these winners and you can have the cash and credibility to go after top tier players in the league.
So who has the top spot this year? I typically pick one player but this year I’m going to take two and they are none other than Gary Payton II and Isaiah Hartenstein.
Casual fans didn’t even get to see what Payton is capable of when he returned in the Finals and he was still great. Let’s cut to the chase I think he’s the best defender in the NBA and I haven’t seen defense like that in a long time.
He’s the first defender I’ve seen since championship Jrue Holiday that takes up as much space from offensive players as he does … if they don’t aggressively (and typically recklessly) keep him from taking that space. His speed and strength combo causes offensive players to stop everything they’re accustomed to doing and simply focus on whether or not they can dribble without having the ball taken. Jayson Tatum was able to shoot over him a bit but even then he had to earn it, a rare victory that required one of the league’s best offensive players.
You better believe Golden State knows that they don’t win that series without him, as we predicted and eventually was the case as once they let Payton loose the series turned on its head. I got a bit deeper in the writeup below but when you’re the best player at 50% of the game and you’re likely to go for less than the MLE, you deserve the top slot in the Cash-to-Value ranks.
So why is it even close between he and Hartenstein? Mostly because big man defense is exceedingly rare and high-end performers make such a huge difference in today’s game. Hartenstein will also be available for a song as he was inexplicably left on the bench as the Clippers bowed out this past season. He dominated advanced statistics leaderboards and it always matched the eye test. As with Payton I can go a bit deeper on the evaluation within his grouping below, but generally speaking Hartenstein can compete defensively out on the perimeter and yet still bang down low as one of the stronger fives in the league. He has unique offensive skills as well that keep him from being a defense only guy, though there is still a lot of room to grow there.
Payton is 29 years old and that’s getting up there for an elite perimeter defender but he probably has a solid 2 to 3 years with possibly no reduction in explosion. Conversely, life as an elite defensive big can turn fast as once you’re beatable the entire integrity of a defense is lost and the results manifest everywhere else. Say bye bye net rating. Quarter steps and half steps for big men matter a ton, whereas elite perimeter players can continue to stay elite or very good for years with much more degradation. In that respect, Hartenstein is 24 years old and has a great shot at two more years with his current speed and strength package, maybe more, but to carry that much strength and keep the agility requires incredible training and good luck with injuries.
So I am going to take the easy way out and call them both the best Cash-to-Value free agents this season. Other names to note include Jaylen Nowell, Malik Monk, Cody and Caleb Martin, Chris Boucher, Jalen Smith and Damian Jones. Nowell gets the top rank for ballhandlers and guards and he barely squeaked into that slot, almost on a technicality because as you’ll see below in the explanations I typically like to have the top ranked Cash-to-Value player in each grouping not be the top overall player in the group as to keep the spirit of the Cash-to-Value ranks in the forefront here. Still, the 3-level scorer may be eminently available for nothing and I don’t see why he wouldn’t profile as somebody that could earn at least 25 possibly very good mpg in a lot of different spots. Monk has really dialed himself in as one of the league’s up and coming offensive players and he is surrounded by very bad, expensive assets. The Martin twins are going to be great for a while, Boucher will be awesome for the price, as will Smith.
There are many more great Cash-to-Value plays and the overall ranks aren’t bad, either. Enough talking about what we were going to be talking about so let’s get into it!
GROUND RULES
CASH-TO-VALUE RANKS
The concept is this — you’re looking to get the best players at the cheapest costs. If you do that effectively, you have more money to spend elsewhere.
These ranks lean into that pretty strongly. However, you can’t win in the NBA without getting above average and elite players. The key is spending up to get the right players and for the purpose of these rankings, above average players get plenty of love in their cash-to-value rank, depending on how much they cost of course. As mentioned above the cash value ranks are going to significantly reward players who are both cheap and high-end, most likely giving them the top cash-to-value ranks.
VETERANS VS. UPSIDE
These ranks will give older veterans that can still contribute a bit more value than a pure cash-to-value rank might represent. Teams aren’t lining up to sign them and deals may vary, but in terms of winning it all a quality old vet that’s willing to play at or close to the minimum represents a better play than some younger upside guys.
OVERALL RANK
If you just want to know who the best players are you can sort by the overall rank column. This rank will include some elements of upside, which is unavoidable when assessing overall free agency value. However, short-term production and win-now scenarios are going to show up in the overall ranks. For example, Zach LaVine is not going to do well in the Cash-to-Value ranks, but in terms of overall rank he’ll have higher marks.
POSITIONAL GROUPINGS AND APPROACH
I did something new last year and went with four different groupings. Ballhandlers and Small Guards, Wings, Interior Wings and Bigs. I’d like to think I’m the first to say something as stupid or smart as ‘Interior Wings,’ but that’s my way of noticing increased importance of rangy 6’8″ to 6’10” players being asked to defend 2-4 or 3-5 (well or not is another story). They’ve become much more important as teams employ five-out looks, and elite ballhandlers and offensive initiators have grown in size and versatility. As has been the case with the league at large, they’re firing away from deep.
In previous years I was a bit more granular in the groupings, and maybe it’s the way the NBA is trending but I felt like four groups was enough. Ballhandlers are legitimate point guards at any size and small guards typically have enough offensive skill to warrant overlooking their defensive liabilities to some degree. Wings are either asked to be outstanding shooters or they’re being asked to lock the perimeter down, or both. They’re valued in their ability to switch and otherwise facilitate offense. Bigs are the muscle you need to control the paint and shooting is a bonus.
ELITES
Sometimes we’ll split these guys out into their own category but this year there are only two — with Elites being loosely defined as players you don’t have any questions about on the contract side. This year that’s Bradley Beal and Deandre Ayton. There are some big names that I don’t have in that designation, like Kyrie Irving and James Harden because they are disasters, and then as alluded to Zach LaVine is probably doomed by that knee issue and has zero shot of living up to earned big-time expectations. Miles Bridges is the other name that can be treated as elite in terms of a free agent target, with only the slightest of concerns that he won’t meet the value of a max deal. Not a lock, but as close as it gets.
SYMBOLS AND ANNOTATIONS
A QUICK WORD ON THIS FREE AGENT CLASS
As usual, there are no shortage of targets for smart teams. Give it up for the dumb teams y’all! But once again there are a ton of solid guard targets. There are some great wings to target at the top of our ranks but it starts falling off pretty precipitously after that. That dynamic gets even rougher for interior wings and then there are nearly 10 solid big man targets. Teams with needs should surgically strike in those wing categories and then try to let players from the guards and big men groups fall to them so to speak.
RECEIPTS
All the previous years’ ranks for your perusal.
BALLHANDLERS AND SMALL GUARD
Jaylen Nowell both intrigues me as a possible huge win for the Cash-to-Value ranks and at the same time I kind of want to tap the brakes here a bit and recognize how many good players there are in the league and what a challenge it will be for him to become a top 30 player in this group, including all players and not just free agents. Watching him throughout last year I just knew that he was gonna force my hand with these ranks because of his overall offensive execution. All of the elements of a great target are here. He was stuck behind big name signees, inefficient early on in his career, plays in a small market and now that team has new owners … just to name a few of the big things driving the opportunity here. Minnesota has a tricky contract situation to navigate, and while they should consider re-ranking their guys D’Angelo Russell is a big piece to move and who knows if that will happen. Anthony Edwards certainly isn’t going anywhere. If Minnesota hangs on here it could be another year in hiding for Nowell, but smart teams need to be quiet as to not attract attention and then be ready to pounce.
Bradley Beal is obviously the top overall free agent in this group (slightly behind Deandre Ayton overall) and surely sentiment regarding Jalen Brunson changed after the playoffs … but I’m generally a believer there. Malik Monk, as mentioned in the open, is about to have a Jordan Clarkson-esque rise. The Collin Sexton situation is extremely intriguing in that you’d think a defensive guard with offensive chops would command more attention and yet with the injury derailing his season and the rise of Darius Garland he is just sort of hanging out there as young, high end talent. As long as any intel comes back good I see no reason why it shouldn’t be competitive to get him. Anfernee Simons’ situation is basically that he is going to stay and get paid in Portland, but ranking him highly is fun nonetheless. We have some big time losers in any Kyrie Irving or James Harden deal, and I am down on Zach LaVine because of his knee situation.
Oh, and that whole Russell Westbrook thing is addressed in the ranks, too.
$/V OVR Name Cost Age Exp Type Notes 1 6 Jaylen Nowell $+ 22 2 yrs RFA 2 Minnesota is in a conundrum in that if they pay him peanuts with their option he becomes an unrestricted free agent on a team with a lot of guards to pay. I personally know where I would spend my money and that would be on *not* D'Angelo Russell and with new owners there are a lot of variables here. If they let him get to restricted free agency this summer in hopes of securing a team friendly deal a lurking smart team can snap him up. At 22 years old with the ability to score at all three levels he has high end sixth man and top 20 starter upside. 2 1 Bradley Beal $$$$$ 28 9 yrs UFA 1 Some of the shine is off in the leadership department but he is in a tier of his own, still an elite player for another year, maybe two 3 2 Jalen Brunson $$$$- 25 3 yrs UFA The hope would've been for the acquiring team that he didn't go gonzo in the playoffs, but then again he just showed how good he really is. A classic Moneyball style player whose surface level appearance still causes people to undervalue him, even after he gets paid this summer 4 9 Malik Monk $$ 24 4 yrs UFA Has slowly become one of the league’s more underrated scorers — think Jordan Clarkson before he hit his prime. 5 7 Collin Sexton $$$- 23 3 yrs RFA The big numbers here are 23 years old and whatever his contract offer will be. The market for guards can get tight quickly and Cleveland put out a lot of dissatisfaction vibes over the last two years. If you presume he bounces back from the knee issue you're going to be hard pressed to find more upside, and then the next question will be if you believe whatever those vibes from Cleveland were. 6 3 Anfernee Simons $$$$ 23 3 yrs RFA While you can teach shooting in the NBA there are diminishing returns when it comes to teaching elite shooting in the NBA. He and Damian Lillard are going to tear it up, presuming nobody makes Simons an offer he can't refuse (and POR can) 7 10 Tyus Jones $$ 26 6 yrs UFA Top 30 upside at his position and entering his prime. Because of the lack of sizzle with his name he will be a quality signing, though Memphis has played him too much and might end up paying him too much. 8 4 Kyrie Irving $$$-+#^! 30 10 yrs UFA 1 Perhaps the most unstoppable offensive player in the game but he's mentally weak, lacks leadership (to put it mildly) and has both injury risk and pack it in risk. 9 5 Zach LaVine $$$$+ 27 7 yrs UFA I am very concerned about his knee. It is requiring way too much in season maintenance and Chicago let him push through way too much. The talent is undeniable but everything gets harder as explosion goes down 10 11 Donte DiVincenzo $$ 25 3 yrs RFA DiVincenzo was one of our prized recommendations that hit in the past for both fantasy and reality but the injury really derailed him. He is going to get paid a decent amount and that takes away some of the margin here, but with a summer to heal he should be a lot better this upcoming season 11 14 Delon Wright $+ 30 6 yrs UFA Wright has been an underrated hype guy that has never quite gotten over the hump, but he will bring a serviceable 20 mpg to somebody and the price will probably be decent, though it is also possible after so many years of being an indie band wishlist guy perhaps somebody overpays here. 12 8 James Harden $$$$$ 32 12 yrs UFA 1 We predicted it with Russell Westbrook something like five years ago, that his game predicated on explosion would disappear and that he would get bad real quick. It's not exactly the same dynamic but for James Harden, even if he was getting the calls he used to be getting, but at his best even he no longer has the first step to get by people the way he needs to get by to justify his usage ... and that's before you consider that he's a poor finisher in many facets. That loss of athleticism and available tools, like Westbrook, is going to drastically impact his overall effectiveness. But as everybody knows it runs deeper than that… He doesn't appear to care enough to stay in top end shape, and there are times where it has appeared he doesn't care about basketball. He's not getting calls because of rule changes but he's going to get even less calls because he's not respecting the game and because he is not a high-end player anymore, and all of this points to tumbling performance, which we've seen as he has become passive… Almost knowing that he cannot do it anymore and not wanting to tip his hand to the league that he cannot. 13 12 Dennis Schroder $$ 28 8 yrs UFA You know what you were going to get with Schroder and the price is likely to be mostly fair 14 13 Victor Oladipo $+ 30 8 yrs UFA Oladipo started showing signs that he can be effective offensively and while he will never be what he once was as long as the name value doesn't get out of hand he might actually be underrated 15 15 Raul Neto $ 30 6 yrs UFA Neto faded as the year went on but it was a weird situation in Washington and somebody can get a quality top 45 point guard for peanuts 16 16 Shake Milton $ 25 3 yrs UFA 2 Milton had a really rough year and often when a player gets overshadowed as was the case with Tyrese Maxey there is a snowball effect. Between that and injuries there is possible hidden value in all of that, presuming Philly doesn't exercise their option 17 17 Chris Chiozza $ 26 3 yrs RFA 4 The Golden State effect as real as playing next to Steph Curry and Company is amazingly valuable. Chiozza can add offense and may end up being a poor man's Jalen Brunson. 18 18 Goran Dragic $ 36 13 yrs UFA Assuming he wants to make another run at postseason ball he might be good for 10 to 20 minutes per game in that setting 19 19 Aaron Holiday $ 25 3 yrs RFA Holiday needs to pull it all together but he has some nice athleticism to back his journey as a current top 45-60 point guard in the NBA 20 20 Patty Mills $ 33 12 yrs UFA 1 Mills is closing in on locker room veteran status but he can come in, hit shots and run what needs to be run. A title contender would be happy with situational use for 10 to 20 minutes per game 21 22 Ricky Rubio $ 31 10 yrs UFA Rubio showed he had a little bit of kick left but an ACL tear at 31 years old that will leave him likely looking at a late start to next season is a tough pill to swallow. Look for him to shop for a short term deal with a team that can use his organizational skills later in the year and in the playoffs 22 23 Austin Rivers $ 29 9 yrs UFA 23 24 Lou Williams $ 35 16 yrs UFA 24 25 Dennis Smith Jr. $ 24 4 yrs UFA 25 26 Gary Harris $ 27 7 yrs UFA 26 27 Bryn Forbes $ 28 5 yrs UFA 27 28 Hamidou Diallo $ 23 3 yrs UFA 2 28 29 Wesley Matthews $ 35 12 yrs UFA 29 30 Brandon Goodwin $ 26 3 yrs RFA 4 30 31 Ben McLemore $ 29 8 yrs UFA 31 32 Jevon Carter $ 26 3 yrs UFA 32 33 Lance Stephenson $ 31 9 yrs UFA 33 34 Tomas Satoransky $ 30 5 yrs UFA 34 35 Frank Jackson $ 24 3 yrs UFA 2 35 36 Elfrid Payton $ 28 7 yrs UFA 36 37 D.J. Augustin $ 34 13 yrs UFA 37 38 Wayne Ellington $ 34 12 yrs UFA 38 39 Michael Carter-Williams $ 30 9 yrs UFA 39 40 Matt Thomas $ 27 2 yrs RFA 40 41 Isaiah Thomas $ 33 10 yrs UFA 41 42 Kyle Guy $ 24 2 yrs UFA 42 43 Trey Burke $ 29 8 yrs UFA 1 43 45 Facundo Campazzo $ 31 1 yrs RFA 44 46 Avery Bradley $ 31 11 yrs UFA 45 47 Elijah Hughes $ 24 1 yrs RFA 46 48 Ryan Arcidiacono 28 4 yrs UFA 47 49 Cory Joseph $ 30 10 yrs UFA 1 48 50 E'Twaun Moore 33 11 yrs UFA 49 44 John Wall $$$$$ 31 10 yrs UFA 1 50 21 Russell Westbrook $$$$$ 33 13 yrs UFA 1 The only thing that can save Westbrook is total dedication to changing his game to match his attributes and that is about as likely as Scott Brooks and Kendrick Perkins not ruining the Thunder Dynasty (where all this nonsense started) 51 51 Rajon Rondo $ 36 15 yrs UFA $/V OVR Name Cost Age Exp Type Notes WINGS
We covered Gary Payton in detail in the open and there are more notes below … and for as good as he is and is highly ranked as he is … The Martin twins are right there with him. They don’t have the elite gear on defense that Payton has (and may never will) but eventually they will start getting consideration for all-defensive teams as their profiles rise. Look for both of them to continue improving their shooting, playmaking and start commanding more attention on offense, rounding out into peak Nicolas Batum territory.
There is a pretty steep fall off in this category after the top 10 ranks, Cash-to-Value and overall, and the upside starts to go away after the top six, so teams would be wise to take advantage of some really solid options. Kyle Anderson doesn’t have the elite defense that Payton has so he can’t change a series but he can certainly be a part of the reason you won one. And he is right behind the Martin twins, who I like just a bit more for their overall upside package, and even when you get down to Lu Dort and Lonnie Walker … these are players that bring pop to the equation. Anderson does everything right on both sides of the floor and despite being called criminally underrated by just about everybody he’s still underrated. Dort contributes offensively and can climb pretty high in defensive ranking conversations. Walker has a silky smooth game that’s begging to be cut loose with a San Antonio pedigree to boot.
Bruce Brown shouldn’t be a mystery to people but he probably will be, Yuta Watanabe is very much a mystery to many outside of Toronto and Stanley Johnson is the least of people’s worries in LA these days. Along with Oshae Brissett they represent super affordable, good options that will allow smart teams to spend elsewhere. In the case of Brown he has shown he can be good when it matters most, too.
$/Value Overall Name Cost Age Exp Status Notes 1 1 Gary Payton II $+ 29 5 yrs UFA My highest rated defender in the NBA at one of the positions that you need it the most - the point of attack. With more playing time in the NBA now that he has established himself he will continue to improve as he has on offense, perfecting his cuts to the hoop and improving on the shooting. Defense is half the game and I haven't seen defense played like this in a long time. 2 2 Cody Martin $+ 26 2 yrs RFA To be clear I don't know which Martin twin to rank higher. Until these playoffs I might've said Cody but Caleb proved himself quite nicely. Cody might get squeezed out of Charlotte and be the more acquirable of the two, and going just off of my general impression it feels like he might have more weight in the trunk. 3 3 Caleb Martin $+ 26 2 yrs RFA Continuing the Martin twin analysis in Miami, they can't go higher than the MLE and that's before any consideration of chasing other players. It's unlikely that they don't know what they have here, and either of these players can be quality fifth or sixth best players on a contending team. Their price is going to be so much lower than that. 4 4 Kyle Anderson $$++ 28 7 yrs UFA Anderson can flat out ball and contribute on both sides of the floor. I think this is the year that he gets paid but you never know with the player whose calling card is being well known to the basketball nerds 5 5 Luguentz Dort $$+ 23 2 yrs RFA 2 Dort, mannnnn. It's fun to envision what Dort could be. Can he reel it in enough on offense to not cancel out some of the positive he brings? He's been allowed to run some crazy offense and take some crazy shots in OKC. Defensively, he is right there with the top defenders in the league but my concern long-term, perhaps outside of the scope of the next 2 to 3 years, is that he is too top-heavy to stay in front of ballhandlers and he morphs into more of a 3-4 defender. Factoring in that it's anybody's guess what OKC wants to do these days and he becomes one of the more intriguing free agency situations in the league. A 23 year old high-end defender with offensive skills is hard to come by 6 6 Lonnie Walker IV $$+ 23 3 yrs RFA Walker has the chance to be a third option on a good team if everything pans out well. With a San Antonio pedigree and just 23 years under his belt, along with relative lack of name value, the RFA presents an intriguing option for smart teams looking to take a low end risk 7 8 Bruce Brown $$ 25 3 yrs UFA Brown is a classic winning player that teams should love to have as their sixth or seventh best player and it's not hard to see him giving 25 to 30 minutes to a contending team and having it work out. Minus an unfair late shot situation two playoffs ago he has already proven himself in that respect 8 9 Yuta Watanabe $ 27 3 yrs UFA Yuta is a classic smart team acquisition who knows his role, knows how to make winning plays, and has just enough athleticism to be useful against everybody but the elite. At 27 years old he is about to get his chance to prove he can be good in 20 to 25 mpg for a lot of teams. He might just go for the minimum or close to it, as well 9 14 Stanley Johnson $ 26 6 yrs UFA 2 It took a while but Johnson finally found his niche in LA. He's tough and can bang with the heavier 3/4 set. If the Lakers decide to cut all of their weight while chasing their tail, Johnson should be a target for virtually every team at the price point he will likely be at. 10 10 Oshae Brissett $+ 24 2 yrs RFA 2 Brissett is a player that Indiana should work to keep as they do the dance of team option versus restricted free agency. If your favorite team needs a young wing that can defend and provide decent offense at 24 years old, be mad at them if they don't check in here and try to pry him away 11 7 Pat Connaughton $$+ 29 6 yrs UFA 1 Connaughton is older than you would guess at 29 years old but he is still in his prime, can knock down big shots, has proven it in big moments, is tough on the glass and competes defensively 12 11 Jae'Sean Tate $$ 26 1 yrs RFA 2 Tate isn't likely to be given up on by Houston and profiles at having a pretty good shot at being a top 30 player at his 3/4 position. 13 13 Nicolas Batum $+ 33 13 yrs UFA 1 Batum probably has another one to two playoff runs in him 14 12 T.J. Warren $+ 28 7 yrs UFA Warren is obviously a risk reward free agent and at 28 years old he's not dead in the water in terms of at least approaching something resembling what had been pretty damn compelling play. Odds-wise it is much more likely that he goes down the ladder and by no small amount. Obviously, injuries have clobbered him. Factoring the name value it's unclear if there will be a bargain here or an overspend 15 15 Damion Lee $ 29 4 yrs UFA Lee was unplayable in big moments at times for the Warriors but he was also a solid contributor in the regular season, and at times in the playoffs. He has a ton of corporate knowledge and should be able to contribute off the bench for just about any team, and who knows maybe he will be able to improve in high leverage moments during championship action. For what he costs, this is a solid equation, unless a bad team swings in and overpays based on Warriors prestige. 16 17 Juan Toscano-Anderson $ 29 2 yrs RFA JTA has his limitations but he is a live wire on defense and because of that I like him better as a back end of the rotation acquisition than a lot of guys 17 19 Svi Mykhailiuk $ 25 3 yrs UFA 1 Svi has quietly carved out a nice role as a ninth or 10th player on any team, capable of adding 10 to 20 average or better backup minutes 18 16 Otto Porter Jr. $+ 29 8 yrs UFA Porter hit big shots throughout the playoffs and showed he can be reliable on that end, when surrounded by greatness of course. Still, he answered questions about whether he can still play. The defense is going to continue to get even worse as the clock ticks and the questions about his offense will continue to dog him the rest of the way. In terms of the upcoming season he has a decent shot at being useful in low minutes again, but teams definitely shouldn't overpay here or overpromise minutes based on the chip. 19 18 Robert Covington $$ 31 8 yrs UFA Covington had some crazy games later in the year but between the knee issues, age (31) and the already declining performance the name is definitely bigger than the game here 20 20 Kessler Edwards $ 21 0 yrs RFA 2 Edwards got more shine in Brooklyn than he would've gotten in a lot of places and he was very inconsistent, unplayable at times even, but he showed he belongs in the NBA and at 21 years old he showed enough to be worth a look as a backup, presuming Brooklyn doesn't find a way to keep him 21 21 Joe Ingles $ 34 7 yrs UFA Ingles was one of our first big hits in these rankings but at 34 years old coming off a major injury he's not going to be able to do much but spot up, hit threes and pass the ball to the right place. The defensive upside he once had has pretty much evaporated. 22 22 Taurean Prince $+ 28 5 yrs UFA Prince has morphed into a volume three point shooter and his defense is average at best. He is still a capable back up but teams can do better 23 23 Danuel House Jr. $ 29 5 yrs UFA 24 24 Jarrett Culver $ 23 2 yrs UFA 25 25 Troy Brown Jr. $ 22 3 yrs RFA 26 26 P.J. Dozier $ 25 4 yrs UFA 27 27 Amir Coffey $ 25 2 yrs RFA 28 28 Josh Okogie $ 23 3 yrs RFA 29 29 Kent Bazemore $ 32 9 yrs UFA 30 30 Josh Jackson $ 25 4 yrs UFA 31 31 Jeremy Lamb $+ 30 9 yrs UFA 32 32 Trevor Ariza $ 36 17 yrs UFA 33 33 Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot $ 27 5 yrs UFA 34 34 CJ Elleby $ 22 1 yrs RFA 35 35 DeAndre' Bembry $ 27 5 yrs UFA 36 36 Tony Snell $ 30 8 yrs UFA 37 37 Abdel Nader $ 28 4 yrs UFA 38 38 Isaac Bonga $ 22 3 yrs UFA 39 39 Louis King $ 23 2 yrs UFA 40 40 Rodney Hood $ 29 7 yrs UFA 41 41 Andre Iguodala $ 38 17 yrs UFA $/Value Overall Name