NBA Rumors: 5 potential buyout candidates after the trade deadline

Potential buyout candidate No. 5: Tony Snell

Tony Snell has made a career out of being a “3-and-D” player. He’s been a solid role player for most of his career. His primary job when on the court is on the defensive side of the ball. He’s often tasked with defending the opposition’s best perimeter player, who in most cases are adept at hitting tough shots, so advanced statistics aren’t going to really show his impact. Still, when you watch him, he doesn’t take any plays off, is always engaged, and makes his matchup work hard for almost every basket.

He’s also an elite marksman, sporting a 38.4 3-point percentage for his career and having never shot less than 37 percent from the perimeter in a season. Per Synergy Sports, Snell ranked in the 85th, 86th, and 90th percentile for half-court, transition, and overall offense, respectively, while playing for the Detroit Pistons last season.

An exceptional shooter, he ranked in the 75th percentile averaging 1.132 points per possession on 3-pointers last season and averaged 1.188 points per possession when shooting off the dribble (96th percentile).

He’s played sparingly in his first season with the Atlanta Hawks, which was expected given all the wing players on the roster. However, he’s still shooting 48.3 percent from behind the arc converting 14 of his 29 attempts through 15 appearances.

Once the Hawks are fully healthy, there won’t be much playing time left for Snell, and while he’s still a serviceable role player who can contribute in meaningful ways, his $12.2 million salary for the season makes him a difficult player to trade.

Atlanta can attach a draft pick with him to make the move more appealing to other general managers, but they have no reason to add any assets just to shed a salary that will be off the books at the end of the season anyway.

The only feasible resolution is to allow Snell to finish out the season with the team, albeit in a minimal role, or come to terms on a contract buyout that will allow the franchise to save some money and Snell to go to an NBA championship contender.

NBA teams that Tony Snell can help

Los Angeles Lakers, Denver Nuggets, Miami Heat, Brooklyn Nets, Portland Trail Blazers, Miami Heat, Boston Celtics