NBA Free Agency 2019: Top-20 Players on Market

NBA free agency begins on June 30. To set the stage, rankings are provided below of the best players available (including restricted free agents and players with a team or player option) ahead of this summer's hectic free agency period.

*Photos courtesy of HoopsHype.com

1. Kawhi Leonard

The 2019 Finals MVP is the best player in basketball.

2. Kevin Durant 

The two-time Finals MVP is expected to miss the entire 2019-20 season due to a ruptured Achilles tendon.

3. Kemba Walker

Walker earned All-NBA Third Team honors after registering 25.6 points per contest.

4. Kyrie Irving

Irving had the best regular season of his career, but flatlined in the playoffs. He missed 14 or more shots in each of the Celtics' final four postseason contests—all losses.

5. Jimmy Butler

Butler, acquired midseason by the 76ers, elevated his play in the postseason, executing best with the ball in his hands as the point forward.

6. Khris Middleton 

A first-time All-Star in 2019, Middleton helped the Bucks win a league-high 60 games.

7. Klay Thompson

A torn ACL could sideline Thompson for the season, but the five-time All-Star will still likely receive a max contract offer from the Warriors.

8. D'Angelo Russell (Restricted)

   

Russell attained All-Star honors in 2019 and finished second in the voting for the Most Improved Player award, trailing only Toronto's Pascal Siakam.

9. Tobias Harris

Harris averaged career-highs in points (20.0), rebounds (7.9), assists (2.8) and field goal percentage (48.7%). He played in all 82 games between the Clippers and 76ers.

10. Al Horford

The 33-year-old was a critical cog in the Celtics' consecutive runs to the Conference Finals in 2017 and 2018, but like his teammates, underperformed in 2019. He made one All-Star appearance in three seasons in Boston, which is expected to lose the big man in free agency.

11. Nikola Vucevic

Vucevic had a phenomenal regular season—registering career-bests with 20.8 points and 12 rebounds per contest—but was a total no-show in Orlando's first-round playoff defeat (11.2 points per game, 36.2 percent shooting).
12. Malcolm Brogdon (Restricted)

The former Rookie of the Year and restricted free agent guard, Brogdon became the eighth player in league history to join the 50-40-90 club—shooting 50.5% from the field, 92.8% on free throws and 42.6% from 3-point land.
13. Kristaps Porzingis (Restricted)

The 7-foot-3 big man hasn't played since February 6, 2018, then as a member of the Knicks. Expect the former All-Star to remain with the Dallas Mavericks.
14. DeMarcus Cousins

A four-time All-Star, Cousins endured an injury-riddled 2018-19 campaign.
15. Bojan Bogdanovic

Bogdanovic averaged 18 points and 4.1 rebounds while shooting 42.5% on 3-pointers in a career season.
16. Marc Gasol (Player Option)

Gasol played an instrumental role in the Raptors' elusive championship. He can accept his player option for this season to earn roughly $25.6 million with Toronto.
*Update: Gasol exercised his player option to remain with the Raptors.
17. Paul Millsap (Team Option)

Millsap is the Nuggets' defensive anchor. When Millsap was on the floor, Denver had a 107.3 defensive rating, which would have ranked eighth in the league over the course of an entire season. When he sat, the defensive rating plummeted to 111.9, which would have ranked 22nd in the NBA. 
*Update: Denver exercised its team option on Millsap.
18. JJ Redick

Redick accumulated a career-best 18.1 points per game last season, despite being a part of a loaded 76ers starting-5 in which he was almost always the fifth option on offense.
19. Harrison Barnes

Barnes surprisingly declined a $25.1 million player option with the Kings for next season. Barnes, 27, is a strong-boded defender who can score when called upon.
20. Julius Randle

In his first season in New Orleans, Randle registered a career-high in scoring with 21.4 points per contest with a 55.5 effective field goal percentage. He did, however, account for the third-worst Defensive Real Plus-Minus among centers in the NBA.

Clippers Clinch Unexpected Playoff Berth

The Los Angeles Clippers became the fifth team in the Western Conference to clinch a playoff berth with a 122-111 victory against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night.

Danilo Gallinari led all scorers with 25 points for the visiting Clippers, who won their 45th game of the season at Target Center. A year after missing the postseason with a 42-40 record, LA is playoff-bound for the seventh time in the past eight seasons.

Head coach Doc Rivers was well-aware of the pundits who said the Clippers had no chance of making the postseason in the ultra-competitive Western Conference. 

"I'm just really happy for our guys," Rivers said. "Before the year, we went through all the articles about us and how bad we were going to be. I just told them, they don't know us."

The majority of the offseason chatter focused on the Los Angeles Lakers—who were eliminated from postseason contention last week—but it was the Clippers who emerged as the City's best team.

Despite sending forward Tobias Harris—an All-Star snub—to the Philadelphia 76ers via trade in February, the Clippers continued to win against all odds. The Clippers are 15-5 since dealing Harris. They have ripped off six straight victories, the longest active streak in the NBA, and are 11-1 in March.

Clippers have beaten bookmakers win total by 12 games and have six more to go. Doc Rivers is well aware after they clinched last night pic.twitter.com/7gXGld4bRo

— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) March 27, 2019

The Clippers used a dominant first quarter to bulldoze the Timberwolves, outscoring the hosts 42-23. Minnesota managed to trim the deficit to six in the fourth quarter, but never got closer. Karl-Anthony Towns led Minnesota with 24 points and 13 rebounds.

Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell, two of the best bench players in the league, carried the Clippers’ second-unit. Williams scored 20 points with seven assists and four rebounds. Harrell registered 18 points, grabbed five rebounds and blocked two shots.

The only NBA team so far to clinch a postseason berth without an All-Star, the Clippers relied on their unmatched bench to exceed expectations. The 25-year-old Harrell has had a breakout season, accumulating career-bests in points (16.6), rebounds (6.7), assists (1.9) and blocks per contest (1.4). Harrell and his teammate Williams will be up for Sixth Man of the Year honors.

The Las Vegas over/under win total was just 33.5 for the Clippers. They were forecasted by Vegas to finish 12th (based off win total) in the West, but now have a realistic shot at attaining home-court advantage in the first round of the postseason.

"It's so hard to make the playoffs in the West," said guard Patrick Beverley, who exited the contest early with a hip point injury after scoring 11 points with five assists and two blocks in 18 minutes. "To be in the category with some of the teams that we're in the category with, it's truly a blessing."

76ers the Biggest Winner of NBA's Trade Deadline

By acquiring Tobias Harris from the Los Angeles Clippers, the Philadelphia 76ers now own the best starting lineup in the Eastern Conference. Their starting-five features 2019 All-Stars Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, along with Jimmy Butler, J.J. Redick and Harris.

Harris has made 43.4 percent of his 3-pointers this season, shooting 49.6 percent overall. He averaged 20.9 points and 7.9 rebounds per contest with an 18.69 Player Efficiency Rating (PER) with LA. Harris can play on or off the ball, which gives head coach Brett Brown more lineup versatility. The 6-foot-8 forward will be utilized as a stretch four in a lot of lineups.

Mike Scott and Boban Marjanovic were also sent to Philadelphia in the trade. Scott can serve as a backup power forward, while Marjanovic will be used as a center off the bench.

The 76ers’ acquisition of Harris comes just a few months after the team traded for Butler, a four-time All-Star. First-year GM Elton Brand and the 76ers are going all-in for this season.

"We believe we are in position to contend now," Brand said, "and our moves reflect that belief."

Philadelphia did give up on Markelle Fultz—shipping the second-year guard to the Orlando Magic for Jonathon Simmons, a protected first-round pick and a second-round pick—but the NBA's 2017 No. 1 overall pick had no future with the 76ers. Brand said the Fultz trade was made so Philadelphia could add wing depth—and it accomplished that by landing Simmons.

"The goal there, we expected him to be back some time this season," Brand said when asked what went into trading Fultz now. "That was our hope. But right now we had a chance to add a player, wing depth, and so we had to go do it now."

Simmons wasn’t the only wing Brand added at the trade deadline. The 76ers also traded for James Ennis from the Houston Rockets, who viewed the swingman expendable after they acquired Iman Shumpert from the Sacramento Kings. The Rockets saved $2.4 million by trading Ennis to the 76ers and are now $2.4 million above the tax threshold.

The 76ers' flurry of moves at the trade deadline enable them to challenge the East's elite and reach their first Finals since 2001.