The NBA season over and the 2023 Draft passed, it is now time for “free agency”, which will shake up the first days of July.
This year, it will begin on the night of Friday June 30 to Saturday July 1, at midnight in France (6 p.m. in New York). As always, the signatures will only become official once the moratorium period is lifted, one week after the opening of the “free agency”, on July 6 at 6:00 p.m. in France (12:00 p.m. in New York).
Here is the Top 10 of the best playmakers available this summer, a position dominated by three former All-Stars at a crossroads in their careers, then a string of “role players” in search of stability.
1 – James Harden (33 years old – player option – Philadelphia 76ers)
2022/23 stats (regular season): 21 points, 6.1 rebounds and 10.7 assists
Stats 2022/23 (playoffs): 20.3 points, 6.2 rebounds and 8.3 assists
what will i do James Harden in a few days ? This is undoubtedly the central question of free agency, and certainly the first domino which should define the recruitment strategy of the Sixers and the Rockets, the two clubs which are likely to compete for his services.
“Torn” at the beginning of the month, “The Beard” will soon have to make a choice, and the only certainty so far seems to be that he will decline his “player option” of 35.6 million dollars to sign a last big contract, in Philadelphia or Houston.
As for the Sixers, a departure for Houston would leave the club featherless in the lead, and forced to find a plan B very quickly (meeting between Fred VanVleet and Nick Nurse?). On the Rockets side, the selection of Amen Thompson as point guard could indicate that the franchise does not expect the club’s former glory to return, although Ime Udoka has indicated that he wants a veteran point guard under his belt. orders anyway…
So, whose signature is James Harden? Answer, no doubt, from the first minutes after the opening of the market, Saturday at midnight.
2 – Kyrie Irving (31 – unprotected – Dallas Mavericks)
2022/23 stats (regular season): 27 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists
Stats 2022/23 (playoffs): none
Targeted by the Rockets, Kyrie Irving does not have many alternative options, if he wants to sign a big check, than to extend to Dallas, where he would like to bring in LeBron James.
The track of a “sign-and-trade”, with the Lakers for example to join “LBJ” precisely, is undoubtedly also to be considered, but the Los Angeles franchise does not have the “assets” necessary to convince Mark Cuban to give up the leader after only half a season in Dallas, concluded without playoffs moreover.
In short, the market for Kyrie Irving does not seem so big, and an extension in Dallas therefore seems like the logical decision, almost by default. Even if we know that the player is capable of surprising us at any time…
3 – Fred VanVleet (29 – unprotected – Toronto Raptors)
2022/23 stats (regular season): 19.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and 7.2 assists
Stats 2022/23 (playoffs): none
After having declined his “player option” of 22.8 million dollars to test the market, Fred VanVleet will certainly seek to obtain an equivalent annual sum this summer, or even greater, over several years. Third best point guard available on the market, by far, he should have no trouble finding.
The two most credible leads being in the first place his lifelong franchise in Toronto, where Masai Ujiri should keep his group and therefore possibly extend “FVV”, but also Houston, which is looking to recruit a veteran point guard and therefore logically has the native of Rockford on its “shorlist”.
Perhaps the Sixers option, with the arrival on the bench of his former coach Nick Nurse, is also to be considered as a plan B in the event of James Harden’s departure.
4 – D’Angelo Russell (27 – unprotected – Los Angeles Lakers)
2022/23 stats (regular season): 17.4 points, 2.9 rebounds and 6.1 assists
Stats 2022/23 (playoffs): 13.3 points, 2.9 rebounds and 4.6 assists
Difficult to gauge the market for D’Angelo Russell This year. A real option for the position of leader, it still seems to remain, at best, a plan B in the eyes of the franchises.
After a good half-season with the Lakers, we imagine that he would like to extend, but his club, if he has the opportunity, will undoubtedly go in search of Kyrie Irving instead. Problem: the Mavericks have already made it known that they were not at all interested in the option of a “sign-and-trade”…
This limits the options of the two camps, which could then, somewhat by default, work together on a contract extension. In any case, it seems that “D-Lo” will surely have to wait for the first dominoes to fall to see more clearly in his options on the market.
5 – Russell Westbrook (34 – unprotected – Los Angeles Clippers)
2022/23 stats (regular season): 15.9 points, 5.8 rebounds and 7.5 assists
Stats 2022/23 (playoffs): 23.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 7.4 assists
Never really in his place at the Lakers, Russell Westbrook found some bite in the neighboring team, the Clippers, in the second half of the season. Back in the foreground in the playoffs, in the absence of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, he seems to have convinced the management of the club, who would therefore like to continue to entrust him with his lead.
If the two camps agree on a duration (which we imagine to be quite short) and an amount, then an extension could be enacted from the first minutes after the opening of the “free agency”. »
6 – Gabe Vincent (27 – unprotected – Miami Heat)
2022/23 stats (regular season): 9.4 points, 2.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists
Stats 2022/23 (playoffs): 12.7 points, 1.4 rebounds and 3.5 assists
7 – Dennis Schröder (29 – unprotected – Los Angeles Lakers)
2022/23 stats (regular season): 12.6 points, 2.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists
Stats 2022/23 (playoffs): 7.4 points, 1.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists
8 – Ayo Dosunmu (23 – protected – Chicago Bulls)
2022/23 stats (regular season): 8.6 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists
Stats 2022/23 (playoffs): none
9 – Tre Jones (23 – protected – San Antonio Spurs)
2022/23 stats (regular season): 12.9 points, 3.6 rebounds and 6.6 assists
Stats 2022/23 (playoffs): none
10 – Patrick Beverley (34 – unprotected – Chicago Bulls)
2022/23 stats (regular season): 6.2 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.9 assists
Stats 2022/23 (playoffs): none
