Earlier this week, I took a look at the best free agents currently still available. Today, I’ll begin a series that looks ahead toward July of 2020, when next summer’s free-agent crop hits the open market. First up, we have the point guards.
1. Mike Conley – Player Option – Utah Jazz:
Conley has a player option for the 2020-21 season worth a whopping $34.5 million. Opting out would require him having to accept a significant pay cut in terms of annual salary; however, Conley will be 32 years old at that point and it’s possible he may want to lock in one last long-term deal. Still, the smart money says he opts in and happily collects his $34+ million.
2. Kyle Lowry – Unrestricted – Toronto Raptors:
After averaging 22.4 points in 2016-17 and then 16.2 ppg in 2017-18, Lowry’s scoring average dipped to 14.2 points last season (his lowest since 2011-12). In addition, he’ll turn 34 years old next year. However, Lowry did dish out a career-high 8.7 assists per game last season and greatly exceeded expectations in the postseason, helping carry the Raptors to the first championship in franchise history.
3. Dejounte Murray – Restricted – San Antonio Spurs:
Last year at this time, it appeared Murray was on the verge of emerging as a cornerstone player for the Spurs franchise. By the end of his sophomore season in 2017-18, he had replaced Tony Parker in the Spurs’ starting lineup and was named to the NBA’s All-Defensive team. He was only 22. However, Murray tore his ACL last October and had to sit out the entire 2018-19 campaign. Now fully recovered, expect to pick up where he left off. The Spurs have until October 31st to sign him to an extension, or else he’ll be a restricted free agent next summer.
4. Fred VanVleet – Unrestricted – Toronto Raptors:
During the 2018-19 regular season, VanVleet started 28 games for the Raps, giving teams a solid sense of the production he is capable of when playing significant minutes. He averaged 13.9 points, 3.3 boards, 5.7 assists, 1.0 steals and 2.1 treys in 32.4 minutes in those 28 starts. And he then took his game to an extraordinarily high level in the postseason, averaging 14.9 points on 49% shooting over Toroton’s final eight playoff games.
5. Goran Dragic – Unrestricted – Miami Heat:
Yes, Dragic struggled last season, as he battled numerous injuries that limited him to just 36 games (22 starts), and he averaged fewer than 15 points and five assists per game for the first time since 2010-11. However, in 2017-18, he was named to the All-Star team while tallying 17.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.8 assists a night. The season prior, he averaged 20.3 points, 3.8 boards and 5.8 dimes. He’ll look to show he still has plenty of gas left in the tank in 2019-20.
Best of the Rest:
Jeff Teague, Reggie Jackson, Evan Turner, Frank Ntilikina (restricted), Kris Dunn (restricted), D.J. Augustin, Austin Rivers (player option), Tyler Johnson, Elfrid Payton (team option), Rajon Rondo, T.J. McConnell, Isaiah Thomas, Matthew Dellavedova
