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NBA buyout season is the last chance for teams to pick up extra help for the stretch run. Critically, any buyout candidate who wants to be eligible for the playoffs must be waived and on the market before March 1.
That means some of these guys are running out of time.
In many cases, free agents at this stage of the season would be happy to sign anywhere. At the same time, some destinations are better than others. Any player lucky enough to choose where he lands following a buyout should consider fit and role.
The same applies to teams scanning the market. If shooting’s a problem, find a sniper (or at least whatever passes for one from the bargain bin). Need depth up front? Grab a veteran big man on the cheap.
The players here have either already been waived or have been subject to enough buyout discussion to make their eventual liberation seem likely. Each of them can help in the right circumstances, but we’re looking for the best pairing from both the player and team’s perspective.
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Robin Lopez has been an obvious buyout candidate for months, but the Chicago Bulls have held the line on their refusal to set him loose.
First, Chicago didn’t waive him because it wanted to see what Lopez might fetch via trade, which was a defensible approach. But now that the trade deadline has passed and the March 1 buyout cutoff looms, there’s less of an excuse.
Lopez has yet to request his release, according to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. But when asked if his stance could change, he responded, “Who knows, man?”
That’s enough to keep the buyout possibility alive.
While the Warriors might be better served adding a wing in case Shaun Livingston continues to be sporadically unavailable, Lopez would be useful in Golden State. DeMarcus Cousins has struggled since looking terrific in his first few games back, and the new starting lineup (with Cousins) now has a negative net rating.
Cousins so far has not been the answer in the middle. He could improve as he continues to get his legs under him, but Lopez would be a reliable, no-fuss option to deploy against conventional bigs in the postseason.
One potential problem: The Warriors don’t have a mascot, which means Lopez’s greatest skill—terrorizing plush anthropomorphized animals—will go to waste.
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The Nets have had success rehabilitating damaged lottery goods. Just look at D’Angelo Russell, who the Los Angeles Lakers picked second in 2015 and is now an All-Star in Brooklyn.
Frank Kaminsky, the No. 9 selection in Russell’s class, is on borrowed time with the Charlotte Hornets.
Out of the rotation for most of the year and “very frustrated” with his circumstances, according to Sporting News’ Sean Deveney, Kaminsky fits the profile of a Nets reclamation project. While Brooklyn is nicely outfitted in the middle with Jarrett Allen and Ed Davis, a Nets team in love with the three would be a good destination for a player whose main NBA skill is long-range shooting.
Kaminsky owns a career three-point conversion rate of 34.7 percent, but he shot 38 percent from deep in 2017-18. That’s something worth investigating for Brooklyn, which owns the seventh-highest three-point attempt frequency in the league.
Defensively, Kaminsky leaves plenty to be desired. But with Allen and Davis both rating as fine stoppers, the Nets could easily pick and choose Kaminsky’s matchups.
There figure to be multiple teams interested in a floor-stretching big with Kaminsky’s lottery pedigree, even though he’s been a disappointment this season. But from his perspective, the Nets make a lot of sense because they’ve rebuilt guys like him before.
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If Carmelo Anthony winds up with the Lakers, it won’t feel right to call them his landing spot.
More like “royally decreed last resort.”
“I think it would be great to have Carmelo Anthony be on the Lakers,” LeBron James told ESPN’s Rachel Nichols in December. “I believe Melo can still play the game.”
James may not have full control over personnel decisions in Los Angeles, but he has long influenced roster moves. The Cavaliers didn’t turn over half their roster at the 2018 trade deadline because James felt like taking a patient approach, and the Lakers didn’t try to deal their entire young core earlier this month because James wanted to let them grow at their own pace.
Anthony is no longer a star. In fact, after washing out in seemingly ideal situations with the Thunder and Rockets over the last year, he may not even be a viable NBA player.
But if James wants someone around, that’s generally been sufficient to get something done.
The Lakers are Melo’s best landing spot because it’s hard to imagine anyone else has as much faith in him as James does.
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Lumbering bigs are out of favor, but good screens are still vital to a quality offense.
Immobile as he is on defense and diminished as he may be in the pick-and-roll department, Marcin Gortat can still put a body on a defender to free up his teammates. Among players who’ve logged at least 700 minutes this year, the 35-year-old vet ranks first in screen assists per 36 minutes.
If Gortat is willing to give up on playing for a postseason team, he could be helpful in Atlanta.
Trae Young has come alive in February, averaging 22.2 points and 9.2 assists while shooting 43.9 percent from deep. Why not give him a little extra daylight to see how much gaudier his numbers could get?
The Hawks rank only 24th in screen assists this season. There’s a natural fit here, even if it’d almost certainly be a short-term arrangement.
For Gortat, who may well be facing the end of his career, a steady performance in a key role could earn him another minimum offer in 2019-20—perhaps even with the Hawks if he establishes chemistry with Young.
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The Pistons have the right plan. It’s the execution that leaves something to be desired.
Detroit ranks seventh in three-point frequency but is only 26th in long-range shooting percentage. The threes fly when the Pistons are involved…they just don’t fly straight.
Ben McLemore, who the Sacramento Kings waived earlier this month, has several holes in his game. If he dribbles, a misadventure typically follows, and his defensive lapses happen too often to call them lapses. Inattention is the norm.
But he can shoot the deep ball.
McLemore, 26, has always looked the part of a prototypical shooting guard. He elevates easily on his jumper, and the ball comes out smoothly. It’s a pretty picture—one that has, at least this year, produced results.
In spot minutes for the Kings, he hit 41.5 percent of his threes. Last year with Memphis, he shot only 34.6 percent from three overall, but he was at 38.8 percent on catch-and-shoot looks.
There’s a role player in there somewhere, and the Pistons should see if they can coax him out.
Stats courtesy of NBA.com, Cleaning the Glass and Basketball Reference unless otherwise noted. Accurate through games played Monday, Feb. 25.
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