Markelle Fultz
- Final with: Orlando Magic
- 2023/24 stats: 7.8 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 2.8 apg, 47.2 FG%, 22.2 3P%
In our offseason preview piece for the Magic right here at HoopsHype, it was speculated that maybe Fultz would be a part of a playoff-calibre workforce, albeit for the minimal wage:
For Fultz as a person, maybe the most effective factor to do will probably be to take a minimum-salary contract on a high-profile workforce and rebuild his profession/worth, in the best way that Malik Beasley and Kelly Oubre have carried out this season.
To date, although, he has not carried out a lot as that, and there may be scant little about him on the hearsay mill. Stardom and riches in China probably await, but when Fultz needs to remain in contact with the NBA – and he ought to – then his choices are dwindling.
Talen Horton-Tucker
- Final with: Utah Jazz
- 2023/24 stats: 10.1 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 3.5 apg, 39.6 FG%, 33.0 3P%
In a market the place high quality gamers similar to Tyus Jones have settled for the minimal wage, when clearly deserving of far more, it’s exhausting to see something above that for Horton-Tucker, who to this point has not even gotten that a lot. The Jazz – preferring Brice Sensabaugh – have renounced his cap maintain as a way of facilitating the extension of Lauri Markkanen, leaving him with, it could seem, no suitors. Horton-Tucker has expertise, however his deployment of that expertise (similar to driving into closed lanes, taking pictures when he ought to move, et cetera) continues to be not the place it must be, and provided that he now has 5 years on the clock, he’s now not the prospect. Wants a bounce-back season.
Dennis Smith Jr
- Final with: Brooklyn Nets
- 2023/24 stats: 6.6 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 3.6 apg, 43.5 FG%, 29.4 3P%
Having fallen out of the NBA for a bit, Smith Jr made his return with a strong bounce-back season with the Hornets in 2022/23, and was strong sufficient in his consolidation season with Brooklyn. The athleticism, protection and energy had been good issues to imprint on the rebuilding roster round him, and whereas he’s insurmountably distant from the upside he was as soon as thought to have, it’s not a nasty position to embrace going ahead.
Jordan Goodwin
- Final with: Memphis Grizzlies
- 2023/24 stats: 6.5 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 2.7 apg, 36.9 FG%, 29.8 3P%
Goodwin was one of many fundamental beneficiaries of Memphis’s misplaced season, because the absence of Ja Morant gave him loads of enjoying time. After spending the primary half of the season with the Suns, he spent 17 video games with the Grizzlies to shut out the 12 months, beginning 12 of them, and averaging 10.0 factors, 8.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.5 steals per recreation. The three-year veteran has not received a constant shot profile, struggling from all areas, but his vitality, hustle and dedication are infectious, and he wins possessions and bothers larger opponents far more than a 6-foot-3 participant usually would. He nonetheless has some years to develop as a scorer and shooter, though the time to kick on is now.
Ish Smith
- Final with: Charlotte Hornets
- 2023/24 stats: 3.2 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 3.4 apg, 41.8 FG%, 50.0 3P%
At age 36, the guide on Smith has been long-since written. He has been – within the nicest potential definition of the phrase – a journeyman reserve within the NBA for 14 years now; if there may be to be a fifteenth, his greatest guess may be as an in-season 10-day contract or partially-guaranteed signing.
Others: Jacob Gilyard, Trent Forrest, Jared Butler, Lester Quinones, Shabazz Napier
