While many NBA free agents might be looking to stay put on their current teams, a number of them would be better served taking their talents elsewhere.
Never before has there been so much uncertainty regarding the future of the salary cap. Such is the result of a global pandemic that has forced the NBA to adjust on the fly and scrape up as much revenue as they can.
Do players opt for a one-year deal in pursuit of potentially more lucrative offers to choose from in the summer of 2021 without any assurance of what the league’s financials will look like? Is it best to sign for as much money as possible in the present to lock in some guarantees amid the turbulence that still lies ahead?
The answer will be dependent on the player who has to make that choice for himself. But through all these financial discussions, how easily we forget the importance of the basketball fit when weighing options.
Money will always play a prominent role in the decision-making process for free agents. But these guys also want to go where their basketball talents can be properly utilized. For these five players, for a variety of reasons, that’s not with their current team.
5. Hassan Whiteside
Hassan Whiteside’s tenure with the Portland Trail Blazers was always set up to be no more than a one-year gig. Portland needed to fill the void left by Jusuf Nurkic’s injury. Not many options offered the sheer talent of Whiteside with just a single year remaining on his deal, lowering the risk for a team looking to maintain momentum following a conference finals appearance.
The two sides came together via trade and it worked out pretty well. Whiteside put up three-year highs of 15.5 points and 13.5 rebounds while also leading the league in blocks at 2.9 a night. Nurkic then made his return in the bubble and performed better than expected, leaving Whiteside on the outside looking into Portland’s short-term future.
At 31-years-old, Whiteside is likely looking for one last long-term deal. Figuring out which team that will come from is hard enough considering the reputation he’s earned as a gaudy stats contributor backed by little to no actual value in the arena of winning and losing.
No matter the market, it’s hard to imagine a Blazers team already with significant money tied up elsewhere being players in that bidding contest. Not when the only role they can offer is one he likely wants to avoid.