NBA: 5 Former free agents who will thrive with new teams in 2023-24

NBA players who will thrive with new teams – Yuta Watanabe, Phoenix Suns

For teams in the hunt for more perimeter shooting, Yuta Watanabe was one of the top targets on the board this off-season. The Phoenix Suns ultimately landed the wing after handing him a deal worth $5 million over two years. Phoenix has done an excellent job of improving its roster with a handful of minimum contracts, and Watanabe is a prime example of that.

Watanabe is coming off the best season of his career, largely due to him shooting 44.4 percent on his 3-point attempts. The Suns will look for the wing to build off of that performance, and looking at how their roster is constructed, he certainly can. Alongside Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, and the newly acquired Bradley Beal, Watanabe will find himself open on offense quite a bit, as teams will not be dialed in on Watanabe with those three on the floor.

If Watanabe can knock down his 3-pointers with regularity, another career year could very well be in store for the 28-year-old sharpshooter. On that same note, he could end up being one of the big steals of 2023 NBA Free Agency. In short, the Suns gave Watanabe a very team-friendly deal that could pay off in a big way down the line.