With the NBA Finals over and the Golden State Warriors anointed as the kings of the association, the off-season gives the other 29 teams to make a run at the heralded Larry O'Brien trophy. As of now, many of the marquee free agents have agreed to the terms with teams already, so I will be ranking the top five best and worst free agent decisions.
Top Five Free Agent Moves
1. LaMarcus Aldridge
The Dallas,Texas native is coming back to his home state in the 2015 NBA season. LaMarcus Aldridge, 29, narrowed down his potential destinations to the Spurs, Suns, and Trail Blazers before agreeing to terms with San Antonio on a 4-year, $80 million max contract. Aldridge averaged 23.4 points and 10.2 rebounds last season with the Blazers and is known for his penchant mid-range game. A career .485 shooter, Aldridge depends on a widely inefficient area (mid-range) to score the majority of his points. Last season he attempted 18.5 two-point field goals per game, which was 1.9 less than his career high two seasons ago. Although the NBA has shown an increase in 3-point preference over the years, Aldridge has shown that his high efficiency past 15 feet is nothing to forget about. The Spurs are gearing toward another Finals run this year because Aldridge will allow them to pose diverse match-ups offensively, as well as strike fear on defenses from around the elbows. Look for Aldridge's scoring numbers to dip a little in the Alamo next season due to Coach Pop's use of his entire roster during the regular season and his emphasis on ball movement. However, his efficiency will most likely take a nice bump like fellow smooth-stroking big, Chris Bosh, who saw his shooting efficiency rise when he left the Raptors for the Heat. Aldridge will most likely play power forward (played 91% of minutes at PF in '14/15), while Tim Duncan will protect the paint, so Aldridge can focus more of his energy on the offensive end. Forget that Aldridge is approaching the dirty thirty, the Spurs are looking for one last ride with Snagging a western conference foe's best player adds icing on the cake.
2. Kawhi Leonard
It's incredible to think that the reigning Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY), Kawhi Leonard, is still only 24 years of age! The LA native, who attended SDSU, was then drafted by the shrewd and tactical Spurs for his athleticism, high IQ, and NBA length at the 3 spot. It seems every year Leonard improves another aspect of his game whether it's his shooting form, his isolation defense, or passing ability. Since his rookie year, his scoring average has increased from 7.9 to 16.5. Although he averaged double digit points and rebounds at SDSU, he needed to improve his shooting form in order to elevate his offensive game for the NBA. His effective field goal percentage has never been below a .547, but what's even more impressive is he attempted a career high 12.8 field goal attempts (previous career high was 9.8). Leonard has gained the confidence to shoot the ball and knows he is the future of the Spurs once Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili retire, if they ever do. While I am praising his tremendous offensive strides, this is the reigning DPOY we are talking about here. He ranked 6th last year in DRPM with a 4.59, while also collecting 4.4 defensive win shares in the regular season. Although my money was on Draymond Green to win DPOY, you can't disregard this next statistic. Of the top ten starting-5 lineups the Spurs utilized in the regular season, Kawhi Leonard was a part of all ten of those lineups! The ten lineups listed totaled 2032 minutes with Kawhi playing all of them. This really emphasizes the significance he plays in the Spurs system. Leonard will be tormenting opponents with Aldridge for years to come. Well done, Spurs, well done.
3. Draymond Green
Whether you love him or hate him, Draymond Green does not give two cents what you think. He was a three-star recruit coming out of high school (ranked #122nd on Rivals150), and was undervalued on draft night in 2012 by getting selected 35th overall by the Golden State Warriors. You can't name any better players from that draft over Green, other than Anthony Davis and Damian Lillard. Fellow teammates Harrison Barnes and Festus Ezeli were even picked before him and all Green needs to show is his new 5-year, $85 million contract. Green earned every penny and will continue to show the rest of the league they made a mistake passing on him. Dray enjoyed career averages of 11.7 PPG, 8.2 TRB, and 3.7 AST. He worked on his shot all summer and it paid off as he attempted shots beyond 16 feet .499 percent of the time. Green also shot 4.2 threes per game and converted .337 percent of those attempts. Dray doesn't have the shooting touch like his Splash Bros duo, however, he can become a reliable spot-up shooter in certain situations. We haven't even gotten to his dynamic defense yet! Forget that he came in 2nd to Kawhi Leonard for DPOY, but he finished 2nd in defensive win shares, 5th in defensive plus/minus, 4th in defensive rating (97.2), as well as ranking 9th in value over replacement player. Not to mention, he played in 79 games during the regular season, which was 15 more than Mr. Leonard did this season. Draymond also helped the Warriors achieve the top defensive ranking in the NBA at 98.2 and topping it all off with a triple double in the title clinching game against the Cavs.The Warriors were smart to lock-up Green long term because he's really the "warrior" the Dubs will need if they plan on repeating next year.
4. Jimmy Butler
Who thought a junior college player could become an NBA All-Star in the span of a few years? Facing unfair odds to achieve his dream of playing in the NBA, Butler continued to persevere when he had to live at a high school friend's house because he was kicked out by his own mother. All he did was transfer to Marquette University his sophomore year and ended up starting his junior and senior years. The Bulls clearly saw potential in him by selecting him 30th overall in the 2011 NBA draft. He didn't start showing his athletic ability on the court till his second season in the league, which he played all 82 games in. He started making an impact on the defensive end and that allowed ex-Bulls coach, Tom Thibodeau, to lean on him for heavy minutes. As we know, Thibs relied on his starting unit quite a bit during the regular season and postseason. In 2013, Butler averaged 38.7 minutes per game, which was second in the league that year. Those are heavy numbers even if you're LeBron James. To follow 2013, he again averaged 38.7 minutes this past year, but this time he led the league in that category.Coincidentally, he played 67 and 65 games the past two years respectively. So we know he's a workhorse who will challenge you defensively, but it's his offense that's started to sparkle. This year he averaged his first 20 PPG season, while increasing his PER from 13.5 to 21.3, as well as raising his usage rate by 4.8 percent, his offensive win shares to 8.2, and his two-point attempts to 14.8. He's still only 25 years of age, so the Bulls were smart to resign him on a 5-year, $90 million deal. The new Bulls head coach, Fred Hoiberg, will implement a more offensive friendly game plan to better utilize Butler's growing offensive repertoire. I would watch for a slight decline in his minutes with an increase in non-ball movement sets to capitalize on Butler's .624 field goal percentage around the rim.
5. Marc Gasol
I am never a fan of signing a 30 year old NBA player to a 5-year, $110m max contract... unless your name is Marc Gasol. Yes, he will turn 31 the next calendar year, however, Gasol's game has never been dependent on his athleticism, or lack thereof. He is a giant, yet nimble tree who has a reliable low-post game and footwork to match. Plus, he has increased his range the past couple of years, which keeps opposing bigs honest, thus allowing Gasol to take harder drives to the basket. Not to mention, Gasol had his best year at age 30, so there's still a few more years of elite level production coming from the big euro. Offensively, he had career highs in points (17.4), PER (21.7), AST% (19.7), usage percentage (24.6), and percentage of shot attempts between 16-23 feet (.242). Defensively, he was the anchor for the Grizzlies all year and he's got a good shot at DPOY next year (won DPOY in 2012). I think Gasol will produce at a high level for the majority of his contract and if we've got a strong reference to compare, look no further than his brother, Pau. He had the his highest PER since 2010 with the Bulls last year at age 34, so have no fear, Marc will do just fine. Expect another gritty postseason run for Gasol and the Grizzlies because it's not like Memphis will have the highest offensive pace this year or something..
