Three Remaining Quality Free Agents of 2023
Training camp is fast approaching and so is the October 24th opening night for the 2023-2024 NBA regular season. While most of the big names are already off the market, there remain a few players left in the 2023 free agent class that can contribute to teams willing give them the chance.
Christian Wood
Surprisingly, Christian Wood, who played 67 regular-season games last season with the Dallas Mavericks, is still a free agent despite ongoing speculation linking him to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Wood, who is turning 28 next month, averaged 16.6 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.1 blocks per game last season. He shot 51.5% from the field, including 37.6% from the three-point line.
Wood’s three-point shooting could benefit the Lakers should both parties come to an agreement on a deal. Last season the Lakers managed to reach the Western Conference Finals despite shooting 33.5% from three during the regular season. He could also ease the offensive load from both LeBron James and Anthony Davis. More importantly, Wood remains in the prime of his career at only 27 years old. He can still grow and contribute to a contending team.
While there were some rumblings of maturity issues in Dallas last year, joining a veteran heavy team such as LA could help round out some of the edges for the talented big man.
PJ Washington
The Charlotte Hornets were in the headlines the past few months after Michael Jordan sold a majority ownership stake of the team he bought in 2010. Now however, the team appears to be at a crossroads with forward PJ Washington as the soon to be 25 year old is looking for a long term deal. Something Charlotte seems reluctant to offer.
The 2022-2023 season saw PJ Washington play the best year of his career- averaging 15.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.1 blocks while shooting 44.4% from the field in 73 starts (a career-high). As a restricted free agent this year, Washington is likely to return to Charlotte although we shouldn’t count out the possibility of a sign-and-trade scenario.
Reports indicate Washington is looking for a deal in the $20M per year range, which could be too rich for Charlotte’s blood under new ownership. The front office is likely looking to evaluate its current talent before making any long term commitments to players who don’t fit into their future plans.
Washington has been a club rumoured to be interested in the services of PJ should Charlotte look to move on from him. He would fit well with their current core and rebuild timeline, and the Wizards have ample cap space to boot.
Keep an eye on this one as training camps begin to ramp up.
Kelly Oubre Jr.
PJ Washington isn’t the lone Charlotte Hornet looking to secure his future for next season and beyond. Next to LaMelo Ball and Terry Rozier, Kelly Oubre finished last season as the team’s third-leading scorer- averaging 20.3 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.1 assists, and 1.4 steals in 48 games.
Now, those are numbers worth paying big bucks for. However, even though Charlotte can afford to pay Oubre Jr. above $16M per season, that doesn’t mean they’re in a rush to do so. Which puts Oubre Jr. in a precarious spot. Most of the teams who would have been interested in his services have largely spent their money on free agents already, leaving the 27 year old with limited options.
If Kelly Oubre Jr. can’t get a new contract in Charlotte, a sign-and-trade deal is likely the way to go. However, one of the reasons why Oubre was limited to just 48 games last season is that he was reportedly battling a shoulder strain. On top of the shoulder problem, he previously dealt with a variety of other injuries in the past which made interested teams reluctant about signing Oubre to longer term deals.
Should Charlotte elect to move on from the former 15th overall pick in 2015, then Oubre Jr. could look to sign a short term deal and re-test the market when teams have more cap space to work with.
-Iggy Gonzales
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