Deadspin fixes NBA free agency — Part 1: Point Guards

Free agency, the part many of you care about most, begins the evening of August 2.

We’re going position by position throughout the next week from point guard to center, naming five from each spot, with a few honorable mentions distributed accordingly. If your favorite isn’t mentioned, it doesn’t mean they suck; it just means that there are others worth paying a bit more attention to. If your favorite role player is here, then great, congratulations. Hopefully, it’ll help you find happiness in life knowing that he made the honorable mention on one of these stupid lists.

We begin the adventure in New Orleans.

Lonzo Ball averaged a career-best 14.6 points per game while shooting 37.8 percent from three last year. Though he doesn’t head to the free-throw line often or damn near ever, he’s draining 78.1 percent from what 60-year-olds call the charity stripe. Ball’s averaged a career 6.4 assists per game during his first four seasons. He was at 7.2 as a rookie with the ball primarily in his hands. Down to 5.4 in year two when LeBron James joined. Back up to 7.0 after being traded to the New Orleans Pelicans, and down to 5.7 last year because Stan Van Gundy tried that whole ‘Point Zion’ thing, which was actually kinda cool. Ball can also defend his ass off, which not everyone can in this era.

He’s a restricted free agent who will likely go in a sign-and-trade, as has been rumored with the Toronto Raptors in an exchange with someone we’ll get to later. Fred VanVleet and Malcolm Brogdon both got $85 million over four years at similar stages in their careers, but Ball is just 23, whereas the other two signed at 26.

Who should try their hardest:

The Knicks. They badly need a true point guard who can do all that the eldest Ball can, and give him the keys to run the offense beside RJ Barrett and Julius Randle. He also perfectly matches up the team’s developmental timeline, especially if they keep Immanuel Quickley and Obi Toppin.

Who probably will call, but shouldn’t:

The Lakers. Ball would make more sense with the Clippers or Raptors by comparison. He should go to a place where the ball will be in his hands more, and the Lakers should get more of an attacking guard… which is what they envisioned with Dennis Schröder, but it didn’t quite materialize. More on that in a bit.

Combo guard, creative, and tech guy Spencer Dinwiddie was limited to just three games last season after partially tearing his right ACL.

In college, he tore his left ACL, which caused him to fall to the second round of the 2014 NBA Draft. But remember, he became a Most Improved Player of the Year finalist in 2018, where he also was among the NBA’s most clutch players despite the Nets winning 28 games. He was a borderline All-Star the following year and may have gotten in over D’Angelo Russell had he not injured his hand. And he took another leap in 2019-20, scoring a career-best 20.6 points per game while distributing 6.8 assists for the playoff-bound Nets.

His career scoring per-36 minutes has gone from 12 to 16 to 22 to 24 points in four seasons with Brooklyn prior to this past injury-shortened campaign that barely was. His assists went from five-to-eight to six-to-eight per-36 in that same time. The knock on him is his shooting, as he’s a career 41 percent shooter from the field and 32 percent from three. He did get to the foul line seven times per contest in 2019-20 and hit 78 percent. He’s a proven contributor who could get you 18 and 7 while providing floor generalship, leadership, and offensive creativity. He’s also one of the boldest guys in the league.

Who should try their hardest: The Lakers. They need an attacking guard who could fearlessly create offense for himself and others next to LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Also: Dinwiddie is a California kid who, if you’ve covered the Nets, perhaps always felt he’d end up in Los Angeles one day. Why not now?

Who probably will call, but shouldn’t: The Bulls. They did have him briefly in 2016 and waived him, which opened the door for the Nets to scoop him up. But next to Zach LaVine, with Coby White already there, a pass-first point guard would make more sense in the Chi… if you could even find one of those anymore.

33-year-old Mike Conley was finally an All-Star this year while running point for the Utah Jazz, who were embarrassed in the second round of the playoffs by Reggie Jackson and the Los Angeles Clippers. Conley still had a great season, averaging 16.2 points, 6.0 assists, and 1.4 steals on 44 / 41 / 85 shooting splits. He missed time in the playoffs with a hamstring injury and was limited to just six games, where he averaged 15.3 points and 7.7 assists while hitting 49 percent from three and all 16 of his free throw attempts. He’s not quite the same All-Defensive level guard he was in Memphis in 2012-13, but he did record his best defensive box plus-minus (0.9) since that same All-Defense season. Utah could swerve in either direction as it pertains to their roster construction, and Conley could be a casualty as a result.

Who should try their hardest: The Jazz, and they know it. Conley’s health is concerning, but the team could keep him on a deal that’s much less of a burden than the over $30 million annually he’d been racking in prior. The moves around him, Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert are key, but Conley himself is not the reason for their 2021 downfall.

Who probably will call, but shouldn’t: The Heat. Miami’s got big plans for this offseason, and while Conley is their backup option, it doesn’t quite move things in the way their primary plan would, which is why they should go all out for the next guy here.

Kyle Lowry hasn’t been this well-rested in years. After nine seasons with the Toronto Raptors, including this previous season in Tampa, the six-time All-Star enters the market indisputably the second-best free agent point guard in the NBA, and one of the top available players period. Even at 35 — he turns 36 in March — Lowry has been one of the most highly productive floor generals, having averaged 17.2 points, 7.3 assists, and 5.4 rebounds per contest last season on 44 / 40 / 88 splits. He’s still a pitbull of a defender and is going to be highly sought after by several teams attempting to win now, like the Lakers and Sixers, both of whom he’d be perfect for. However ...

Who should try their hardest: The Heat. Ethan Skolnick and the 5 Reasons Sports crew has long reported Lowry’s ties to the Heat, who nearly landed him at the trade deadline. They’re expected to be highly involved in the Lowry sweepstakes, and are among the favorites at landing him altogether. Lowry is also the Godfather of Jimmy Butler’s daughter, and is the perfect PG to play alongside Butler and Bam Adebayo, who haven’t had a starting true point guard since becoming teammates.

Who probably will call, but shouldn’t: The Spurs. He had interest in San Antonio a few years ago, and people love reunions, so they’ll get behind the Lowry-DeMar DeRozan fantasy pairing in 2021. But is that the direction San Antonio should go? DeRozan is a free agent anyway, so if they were to reunite, it’d make more sense to do it elsewhere.

NBA Finalist Chris Paul is 36 years old and will turn 37 next May. He has a player option worth $44 million he could accept, or, just ink an extension now for something like three years and $100 million-plus. Here’s a little of what ESPN’s Bobby Marks reported behind a paywall earlier this week:

“Because of the Over 38 rule, Paul can only extend his contract for a maximum of two years. There are no restrictions on how much the starting salary in the first year of the extension can decline... What will transpire from now until Aug. 1 is that Paul’s representatives from Creative Artists Agency and the Suns’ front office will converse on what the future holds.”

Who should try their hardest: The Suns. Just keep him and don’t overthink this, Phoenix. But, yes, the Lakers should absolutely get involved. It’s our last chance to see James and Paul play together. Might as well sign Carmelo Anthony, too, if that’s the case.

Who probably will call, but shouldn’t: The Knicks. The timelines just don’t match-up, unless you believe Julius Randle is ready right now to take over in spots where Paul can’t, and/or, if RJ Barrett becomes that guy in year three. Depends on the stock you put into last season, where the mostly healthy Knicks made excellent use of the abnormal circumstances. Paul feels like a year too soon for New York, though, and the move might be to go younger.

Had an overall disappointing season after being one of the best Sixth Men in the NBA with Oklahoma City beforehand. He reportedly wants between $100 and $120 million, and let me tell you right now, Dennis, you are buggin’ out … respectfully.

The Dragon, like Lowry, will turn 36 late in the 2021-22 season. He averaged 13.4 points and 4.4 assists per game last year, his lowest in nearly ten years, but he shot 43 / 37 / 83. He’s Slovenian, as is Luka Dončić, and the Dallas Mavericks nearly got him in 2019, FYI.

The Knicks should just keep him. Rose finished third in Sixth Man of the Year voting and was their most important point guard during their playoff run. Get Ball, keep Rose to come off your bench, and continue along the path.