Thursday 1 August 2019 09:21, UK
Which NBA free agents are still available and how likely are they to be signed by teams ahead of the 2019-20 season?
The rollercoaster NBA free agency period at the start of July saw a record-breaking level of player movement, big-money moves and numerous teams scrambling to recover after their dreams of signing franchise-changing players were shattered.
The free agency frenzy illustrated the power the players at the top of the NBA food chain can wield. However, further down the pecking order, life is much tougher, as Jeremy Lin showed earlier this week when he broke down in tears while giving a motivational speech in Taiwan.
Lin is one of many well-known NBA players yet to sign with a team for the 2019-20 season. We take a look at a selection of the best free agents still available and assess their chances of catching on with a team before training camps begin.
Shumpert spent the 2018-19 season with the Sacramento Kings and the Houston Rockets and made positive contributions to both teams.
In Sacramento, he was a strong locker room presence on an otherwise young team in need of NBA experience. In Houston, he shot an uncharacteristically good 38.1 per cent from three-point range in the postseason while playing trademark excellent defense.
Shumpert also played meaningful minutes on the title-winning Cleveland Cavaliers team in 2016. It's hard to believe he won't be picked up before the start of the season.
The 42-year-old Carter is the league's oldest active player and he has already expressed his desire to return for a 22nd NBA season.
Once the league's premier high-flyer, Carter is now a mentor-for-hire in his twilight years, dispensing experience as he moves from young team to young team (he was the wise old head on the youthful Atlanta Hawks roster last term).
While the awe-inspiring dunks are long gone, Carter's shooting ability will enable him to contribute, albeit in limited minutes. What price a return to Toronto, the city where he made his name, for a fairy tale end to his long career?
As Lin's Taiwan tears proved, the fall from the beloved but short-lived 2012 'Linsanity' era to struggling to find a spot on a team in 2019 is difficult to deal with.
On paper, Lin is an ideal back-up point guard. He can create his own shot and finish at the rim. He is also a skilled distributor and his plenty of experience as a starter. Having a player like that on your bench to step in if your starting guard misses a week or two with injury would seem ideal.
Lin's injury history might be why teams have been unwilling to sign him. He played just 37 games in his two seasons in Brooklyn - a back-up guard who may not always be available to step up when needed isn't attractive to teams in need. However, Lin went some way to disproving those doubts last season, making 74 regular-season appearances for Atlanta and Toronto.
Unless you're a New York Knicks fan, the prospect of a rejuvenated Noah being added to your roster on a team-friendly deal would seem like a no-brainer.
After a disastrous spell in the Big Apple, the former Defensive Player of the Year looked much more like his old self in a back-up role for the Memphis Grizzlies last year.
Noah's energy fires up fans and team-mates alike, he has often been hailed as a locker room leader and his rebounding and passing are still stellar. He is another veteran player who could be influential for a young, improving team.
Melo's presence in the NBA next season depends on his ability to accept his role has changed. As his former team-mate Chauncey Billups noted recently, Anthony's inability to adapt from being a team's primary scorer to a veteran role player is the reason he is currently out of the league.
Like Allen Iverson before him, Anthony just can't seem to shed the notion that he has to be a team's go-to scorer. His unwillingness to play defense isn't going to help him find a home either.
It's easy to envisage Anthony as a scoring leader of a bench unit on any number of NBA teams. But for that to happen, the 10-time All-Star will need to change his mindset.
After winning three NBA titles in five years with the Golden State, bench guard Livingston was waived by the Warriors on July 10.
Many expected the 15-year veteran to announce his retirement, but Livingston reportedly wants to continue his career, using his experience to mentor younger players and accepting that he will have a limited role.
Livingston started his career with the Los Angeles Clippers and fellow veteran Jamal Crawford believes Doc Rivers and Lawrence Frank should snap him up. His championship experience would benefit a Clippers team gunning for the NBA title.
Sharpshooting forward Jerebko earned some plaudits as a member of the Golden State Warriors last season but that good work has seemingly been erased by a roasting handed to him by Kawhi Leonard in the Warriors' NBA Finals loss to the Toronto Raptors. But better players than Jerebko have been victimised by the elite skills of Leonard and will be in the future.
Forwards able to shoot have value in the modern NBA, particularly if they can be acquired on cut-price deals. Expect to see Jerebko find a home as a bench contributor before the start of 2019-20 season.
While most of the free agents still available are veteran players past their best, there are some younger players available who, after completing their rookie contracts in underwhelming fashion, are now facing the prospect of being out of the league after three or four years.
Small forward Justin Anderson is one such player. Drafted by the Dallas Mavericks in 2015 before being moved to the Philadelphia 76ers and then the Atlanta Hawks, he has proven himself as a good defender.
The problem for Anderson is that his offense has not developed at all. His career three-point shooting percentage is a lowly 30.2 and he averages less than an assist per game. His NBA future will depend on a team believing they can improve his shooting - or by Anderson demonstrating improvement in Europe or China before returning to the NBA.
