NBA: 5 Best Remaining Free Agents

With 2016 NBA free agency winding down, here’s a look at the five best players remaining on the market.

Halfway through July, the 2016 NBA free agency period is all but settled. Kevin Durant is joining the Golden State Warriors, Al Horford is heading to the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat legend Dwyane Wade is, of course, heading to the Chicago Bulls (wait, what?).

Other than LeBron James, who is expected to re-sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers after bringing them their first championship, the major names have already been taken off the board.

Most of the role players and value plays are gone, leaving us with only the truest bargain bin options remaining.

As the NBA focus shifts to Summer League, deals will trickle through far more slowly. But in the interest of being thorough, here’s a look at the five best remaining free agents and what they bring to the table — excluding King James, since his return to Cleveland is all but assured.

Honorable Mentions:  Randy Foye, David Lee, Raymond Felton, Ty Lawson, Miles Plumlee, Alan Anderson

Next: No. 5

5. Lance Stephenson

The perennial fixer-upper, this notorious bad boy is veering further away from “I think I can change him!” into “This is just an abusive emotional roller coaster and I need to get out now” territory. That being said, the fact that he hasn’t been scooped up yet means he might not be a costly acquisition for the right team.

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After the Memphis Grizzlies declined his $9.4 million team option, it felt like a sad moment for the Born Ready era. He had somewhat rebuilt his reputation in the muck of grit-n-grind, averaging 14.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game on .474/.355/.815 shooting splits with the Grizz.

Okay, so maybe that 26-game sample size is small, and maybe it ignores how he quickly flamed out with the Los Angeles Clippers in his 43-game stint there, but at 25 years old, Stephenson still has a lot of basketball left to play in his career.

After matching on Tyler Johnson, the Miami Heat may no longer be a great fit for Born Ready, but teams like the Brooklyn Nets or even his old Indiana Pacers would be wise to at least consider trying to scrape together a manageable deal.

Next: No. 4

4. Donatas Motiejunas

By signing Ryan Anderson to a massive four-year, $80 million deal, the Houston Rockets may have bid adieu to restricted free agent Donatas Motiejunas, another stretch-big whose potential has been overshadowed by recurring injury problems.

Though the Rockets could still retain D-Mo, even after James Harden‘s massive contract extension, they might not be inclined to hand him a contract extension after he played in only 37 games in 2015-16.

Following a 2014-15 campaign in which he showed great promise as a stretch-5, averaging 12.0 points and 5.9 rebounds per game to help make up for Dwight Howard‘s injury-riddled year, D-Mo was unable to build on a potential breakout season. In his first four NBA seasons, Motiejunas has missed 114 total games.

That’s not exactly a strong selling point for prospective free agency buyers, nor is the fact that the Detroit Pistons rescinded a deal at last year’s trade deadline after he failed the required physical.

However, Motiejunas is only 25 years old and shot 36.8 percent from three-point range only a season ago. He has great touch around the basket and though he still needs quite a bit of work defensively, a decent offer for this restricted free agent could be enough to pry him away from Houston.

Next: No. 3

3. Maurice Harkless

Another restricted free agent, Maurice Harkless is the last potential piece of the puzzle for general manager Neil Olshey’s summer.

The Portland Trail Blazers had a mixed bag this offseason, overpaying Evan Turner (even under the new salary cap) after missing out on Chandler Parsons; grabbing an absolute steal in Festus Ezeli at $14.7 million over two years; and once again overpaying to match a four-year, $75 million offer from the Brooklyn Nets on Allen Crabbe.

Despite Portland’s two overpays, or perhaps because of it, no one has tested the Blazers on 23-year-old swingman Mo Harkless.

It makes sense, given his raw skill set at this point. Last season marked Harkless’ fourth in the NBA, but he only averaged 6.4 points and 3.6 rebounds in 18.7 minutes per game for a very young but surprisingly competitive Trail Blazers team.

The Orlando Magic were unwise to pass on his potential in the first place (which has been a recurring theme for the Magic over the last year or so), but with Harkless possibly playing out the 2016-17 season on his $4 million qualifying offer, a team with enough cap space looking to burn some extra money might consider Harkless a viable option.

Then again, considering how Olshey was so quick to match a massive offer for Crabbe, his unwillingness to blink might scare away some prospective buyers and leave Harkless to his qualifying offer.

Next: No. 2

2. J.R. Smith

While Harkless’ value rests in his potential, J.R. Smith is coming off the most important season of what’s been a memorable career. He just won his first ever championship, he actually contributed in the decisive Game 7 of the NBA Finals, and he won over America between his emotional podium session and his unwillingness to wear a shirt ever since.

Though he’ll turn 31 in September, Smith has shown he can play a more measured brand of his game with the Cleveland Cavaliers, averaging 12.4 points per game on 40 percent shooting from three-point territory last season.

More than likely, the defending champs will do everything in their power to make sure that Matthew Dellavedova is the only key loss from the depth chart this summer:

However, the right offer may entice this veteran swingman to take the money. Three-point shooting is at a premium these days, and J.R.’s commitment to the defensive end was not lost on anyone during Cleveland’s playoff run.

However, there are some obvious question marks with Smith, aside from the obvious concern that Cleveland will re-sign him first. Can J.R. bring that same focus and poise to another team, or was he just locked in because he was playing with LeBron James on a title contender?

In other words, would that same maturation translate elsewhere? Or would he slip back into old habits without such a stable locker room around him? J.R. Smith still brings a lot to the table basketball-wise, but his free agency may just be a lesser version of LeBron’s where he ultimately re-signs and nobody’s surprised by it.

Next: No. 1

1. Dion Waiters

Inhabitants of Waiters Island, your moment has finally come! Dion Waiters is the top candidate on a list of the best remaining free agents!

Sure, all the marquee names like Kevin Durant, Al Horford, Mike Conley, Chandler Parsons, Nicolas Batum, Pau Gasol, Hassan Whiteside, Dwyane Wade and Dwight Howard are all off the board. And yes, Waiters’ most likely free agency outcome — re-signing with the Oklahoma City Thunder — may be out of the picture thanks to the Serge Ibaka trade that netted OKC Victor Oladipo.

Wait, where was I going with this again?

FanSided

Oh, right: Dion Waiters still has value for someone! Though his restricted free agency complicates things a bit, Waiters is coming off the best season of his career, averaging 9.8 points per game on 35.8 percent shooting for a legitimate title contender.

Those numbers are pedestrian alone, but combined with his 37.5 percent three-point shooting and important defensive minutes in OKC’s playoff run, this 24-year-old playmaker shouldn’t be given up on.

The question is what kind of offer it’d take to lure him from OKC. Though the Thunder might not have interest in an extension, GM Sam Presti would probably be inclined to match an appropriate offer for his restricted free agent now that Kevin Durant’s departure freed up extra cap space.

If Russell Westbrook is not interested in leaving OKC and the Thunder aren’t trying to trade him, retaining Waiters makes sense. He’s a competitive player who fits alongside Russ off the bench and for Westbrook to stay with the Thunder long-term, this team needs to remain competitive.

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But if a lucrative offer were to swoop in — which would be a substantial risk for that team, even in this market — perhaps we would see Presti opt for around $20 million in cap space and the flexibility that comes with it rather than remain an inhabitant of Waiters Island.