Welp, it’s August, which means the NBA world is dryer than it’ll be all year long.
Players are taking it easy (before they have to attend training camp), and team executives are kicking back, as they wait to see how their roster comes together before they add any more pieces.
Yet, even now, some notable and very capable NBA players remain available on the free agent market, quietly waiting for their chance.
You might be surprised who is still unsigned this late into the summer… or, maybe not. Either way, here’s the top ten free-agents still available on the market:
Joe Johnson
Big shot Joe is far removed from his good days.
Now, he’s just kind of a streaky, no-defense off the bench scorer.
Obviously, that title is not going to intrigue too many teams, but it should be enough to earn Johnson at least a vet-min contract on a desperate team.
Jason Terry
If you’re going to sign Jason Terry, it’s not really for what he can give on the floor but, rather, for what he could provide off of it.
He won a Championship with the Celtics back in 2008 and still has plenty of lessons and experience to pass on to anyone wise enough to listen.
Terry is probably closer to retirement than a return to the court, but it’s not inconceivable that he could get signed by a team filled with youngsters.
David West
David West hung around just long enough to earn his Ring.
After that, well, he just doesn’t have much left in the tank. What make sit worse for West, it that he’s more of a traditional, back-to-the-basket type of big man, rather than the space-the-floor type of guy that teams typically look for.
Who knows, maybe the Warriors liked West enough to give him another run.
Nick Young
After a “meh” season with the Warriors last season, it’d be absurd to think Nick Young deserves a big pay-day this summer.
Though, even with that being said, it doesn’t mean he doesn’t belong in the league at all. He can shoot, which is valuable for any team, and his stand-out personality and style would add an interesting dynamic to any NBA locker room that needed spicing up.
Rodney Hood
We’ve seen two different sides of Rodney Hood.
In Utah, we saw a multi-dimensional player who could bring some valuable minutes to any NBA team. In Cleveland, we saw a guy that was a disruption to the locker room and just seemed to be out of place.
His reputation has yet to recover from the latter, which is why he is still a free-agent.
Maybe Utah would be willing to take another chance at him?
Jarrett Jack
Jarrett Jack has always been one of those below-the-radar, underrated bench players.
Back in his prime, he could have been started for at least half of the teams in the league. Like it does for all players though, Father time has taken a toll on Jack, and his skills have dwindled pretty significantly
Hopefully, a lottery team will value his experience and sign him on to a low-risk contract.
Ty Lawson
With the Nuggets, Ty Lawson was a valuable member of their backcourt.
Once he left the team, though, things kind of spiraled out of control.
His play became a major liability and now finds himself struggling to find his place in the league. His diminished game coupled with multiple DUI’s has seriously jeopardized his future in pro-basketball.
Patrick McCaw
McCaw played surprisingly well for the Warriors. He performed well in his role and knew his place on a team with a heap of superstars.
Why he remains unsigned now is a bit of a mystery, seeing as to how useful and adaptable his game is. Maybe GMs just aren’t willing to sign a guy who might just be a product of superstars making their role-player better.
Still, it seems unlikely that he’ll stay a free-agent for very long.
Jamal Crawford
Make no mistake, Jamal Crawford was not Michael Jordan for the Timberwolves. Despite that, however, there’s no reason why a team shouldn’t be willing to offer him a deal.
He’s old, and not nearly the player he was in his hay-day. But he can still light up the offense of whatever team ends up signing him.
LeBron and the Lakers, I’m looking at you.
Dwyane Wade
Nobody really knows what’s next for D-Wade.
The fact that he’s taing this long to decide, though, points to retirement.
It’ll be up to the Heat to try and convince him to come back, and he’ll definitely have a whole lot to give if he does.
He has made one thing clear though: it’s either Miami or nothing.
