Free Agency – The Minimum Guys

 

Every year we have a handful of team looking to either round out a roster or fill a roster with minimum guys, and every year there is a shortage. This year, is no different. If you were hoping to fill out a roster and you need to get 5+ minimum guys to do it because of various aprons and the like, you might just be out of luck this year or scraping that barrel bottom. Not to say there aren’t any good minimum guys out there, there are quite a few as you will see, but there’s only about 40 of them, including RFAs that will return, and guys on resign bonus, who are very much desired by the GM to remain with their current team.

Just to get them out of the way, if you were looking at James Wiseman, Charles Bassey or Orlando Robinson, I suggest you keep on walking. They are RFAs as long as their GM extends that QO!

 So without further adieu, let’s take a look at the guys who are going to be most sought after on the minimum market.

 

You’d love them, but you’re going to have to fight the resign:

Tier 1: Bol Bol and DeAndre Jordan

Does a 2k Free Agent name get much bigger than this pair of big men? With JaVale McGee seemingly done and Boban Marjanovic gone, the pool of EXTREME 2k Big men who are far more valuable than their NBA counterpart has shrunk to a mere two this year. The Spurs would be crazy not to put down the required points (70 odd?) to bring Bol back, and OKC would be crazy not to do the same with a squad that’s fairly locked in otherwise. They resigned with their NBA team which makes it a non-99 bid for the owner, and a sure fire 99 if you want a hope of stealing, but these guys are the types that decide a teams standing position down the stretch since they also stay healthy when not playing much time in the NBA. Have at it!

 

Tier 2: Alex Len, Tristan Thompson, Luke Kornet, Thomas Bryant and James Johnson

This crew is a marked step down and might even be considered quite questionable by some, but these guys have all been very handy 2k guys over their time because they are strong rebounding bigs, just plain big, or versatile in a defensive role like Johnson. You might not bid your house on them, and maybe no one even attempts the steal given the resign head start, but if they were open slather you can imagine a handful of bidders on each of these guys duking it out.

 

The Rest: Xavier Tillman, Keon Johnson, Sandro Mamukelashvili, Bruno Fernando and Seth Curry

The rest of the minimum guys with a resign bonus, that are still with rights held to a team, are a paltry bunch. Bruno and Seth have only the waived and signed bonus of 19 points, but it’ll be enough that the owning GM can probably bring them back cheap or for no points and they’ll serve as decent depth.

 

 

For those counting at home, we started the pool of minimums with ~40, and with RFAs and resign bonus guys now accounted for, we’re down to ~25 in the “free for all” pool…how’s your chances of filling out a roster looking?

 

*Disclaimer: The following is not a complete list of minimums, as the final rosters aren’t fully set in the NBA. However, these are guys with guaranteed deals at this time*

 

The Free-for-all pool, where the big bids happen and anyone can win!

Tier 1:

Kevin Porter Jnr.

Did you forget that this guy was around after his off court stuff about 12 months ago saw him traded and dumped, seen to be forever banished from the NBA? I did. I’m sure some others may have too. Toby won’t have…which you’d expect. Well, don’t look now but KPJ is in the FA pool on a minimum deal, he’s a big scoring guard who can play PG and he’s also playing for the NBA Clippers who are basically going to be running a Harden and…maybe KPJ? scoring crew. This guy was pushing 80 rated, if not already over that, and is young with it all in front of him…if he can keep his head on straight. He’s going to be the biggest point sink in FA in my opinion, outside of maybe a Drummond fight.

 

Gary Trent Jr.

Did you look at him scoring in bunches in Denver at times over the last couple years and think, gee it would be nice to have a scorer like that off the bench. Might be tricky to match the salary though. Well, now he’s a minimum guy and not even held by Denver as rights. He’s going to cost you, but he’s going to be worth it.

 

Mo Bamba

Bamba is a big, long, young guy, and that fits a lot of teams bills. He should be looked at like a Bol Bol probably. Someone big who will help you in 2k but is probably just about dead to the NBA world. That said, he’s big, young, long and 2k loves that. He’s going to get bids and he has no resign bonus.

 

Spencer Dinwiddie

Spence has been lighting it up in 2k for years now and been shipped around the league a plenty too. A seriously big guard who can play the point and scores in bunches. You may have balked at the $20mil price tag over the years, but now he’s on the minimum and everyone will want a piece.

 

Kyle Lowry

From $40mil star fading type, to minimum contract guy you’d love to have leading your bench and pinch hitting as a starter. It took a while for him to get here but he’s here now and that is important to those bargain hunters and title chasers.

 

Eric Gordon

Gordon was last years KPJ…the guy that you’d be forgiven for forgetting was a minimum guy after his non-guaranteed deal was waived and he became a minimum guy late. This year, he’s there again and he moved teams again, so there’s no bonus and an elite scoring guard who can play both guard spots is a wanted commodity.

 

Tyus Jones

Last but not least of the tier 1 guys, is Jones. The Raptors loved him last year and he scored in bunches right down to their dying breathe in the playoffs, but he didn’t resign in the NBA and that cap hold was too much to have hanging on the books so he’s in the pool for everyone. Expect a lot of bidders. I’m looking at Toronto to go hard to bring him back, and others will have to follow suit.

 

Tier 2: Mason Plumlee, Delon Wright, Alec Burks, Cam Payne, Devonte Graham, Seth Curry and Taurean Prince

This crew get the nod for the next tier down. They might yet generate a whole lot of GM point buzz to the right team as all of these vets are well renowned on the 2k circuit and can all help you in their roles to get wins on the board. These guys I think are the ones that get 10 bidders, but maybe only a couple of smaller GM point bids (non-99) with others just hoping to land a lucky shot. That said, Wright is being held by the Wiz and he played a big role there, so we can expect at least one point bidder surely.

 

Tier 3: Cory Joseph, Taj Gibson, Trendon Watford, Garrison Matthews, Lindy Waters, Luka Garza, Daniel Theis, Monte Morris, Javonte Green, Vlatko Cancar, Joe Ingles, Patty Mills, PJ Dozier, Jordan McLaughlin, Anthony Gill, Damion Lee, Garrett Temple and Guerschon Yabusele

These are the guys that are likely going to see minimal GM point action on FA day. Of course, there are always exceptions and surprises. Yabusele for one is back in the NBA after a big Olympic performance and could be anything. Waters who takes 80% of his FGs from outside the arc, is suddenly on an NBA Warriors team that loves that type of play. Monte Morris was for some reason worth a pick last year. There’s guys that can help here, and will fill out rosters, whether they are point bid or not.

 

So, this is the majority of the minimum FA pool this year. Of course, there could be a couple I have missed, and there could be a few others that end up having their Exhibit 9 and 10 deals converted into minimum deals to stay with the team after a strong training camp, who will be added to the pool, but these should be the main body of the guys! Good luck in your bidding and filling out those rosters!