2019 Free Agent Class

After the NBA Playoffs end and the champions are crowned, we will enter a very busy offseason with many star players in Free Agency. In this post, I will look into the best players and see if they stay with their team, or if they will leave and go to another team and be a snake. 🐍

Kevin Durant: Speaking of snakes, Durant has had huge success after joining the Warriors and becoming the most criticized athlete of all time. But he will have a player option with the Warriors. If he declines, he could go to places like the Knicks or the Lakers or Clippers. If he decides to stay, he and his teammate, Klay Thompson will be fighting over deals with the Warriors, seeing who will get more money.

Kawhi Leonard: After leaving the Spurs, Kawhi has been very good with the Raptors who look to make a deep run in the playoffs. Kawhi is not only one of the best offensive players, but he is also one of the best defensive players in the league, winning Defensive Player of the Year in 2015 and 2016. He will have a player option with the Raptors, and if he declines, he could go to the Knicks, Lakers or Clippers, who will make an aggressive push for Leonard. But, if he decides to stay in Toronto, he will continue to make deep playoff pushes with the Raptors.

Kyrie Irving: Kyrie Irving has been one of the best point guards in the league ever since he hit the game-winning shot in Game 7 of the NBA Finals against the Warriors. Last year, without Kyrie, the young Celtics went all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they lost to Lebron James and the Cavaliers. So, with Kyrie and Gordon Hayward both healthy, we all thought that this team would easily make it to the NBA Finals. But this may not be the case as the Celtics find themselves in 4th place in the East, where they will play the Pacers in the first round. For the Celtics to go deep into the playoffs, they will have to beat some good teams including the Pacers, Bucks, and either the 76ers or Raptors. It’s possible, but it will not be easy. But, this offseason, Irving has a player option with Boston. If he declines, he could go to places like the Knicks or the Lakers.

Kemba Walker: Kemba Walker has established himself as one of the best point guards in the league, but he has played on a not-so-good team and he does not make the playoffs that often. Kemba is an unrestricted free agent, and teams like the Lakers, Knicks, and Mavericks are teams who all need point guards. It will be interesting to see if he stays loyal to Charlotte or if he puts winning first. I personally think that Kemba should leave because he is wasting his talents on this team, and if he leaves, he could win more games and playoff series and be better known across the league.

Klay Thompson: Klay Thompson has been a core part of this Warriors team that has been contending for championships since 2015. Without Thompson, the Warriors would be a different team, not only on the offensive end but also on the defensive end where Thompson is a really good perimeter defender. But Thompson will be an unrestricted free agent, but it will be unlikely that he signs anywhere else because he has said that he wants to finish his career with the Warriors.

Demarcus Cousins: Cousins, the newest part of the stacked Warriors, has not been the same dominant big man since returning from injury. This coming offseason, after he will probably win his first ring, he will be an unrestricted free agent. This Warrior will probably be the one most likely to leave the Warriors because if they pay Thompson and Durant the big money, Cousins won’t get as much money. Maybe that won’t matter to him because he is currently getting 3.5 million, so maybe he will get another contract like that. But if he wants to leave, the Lakers will be the team out to snag him and the Knicks might a throw a deal at Cousins, but some teams might hesitate because he has not been at his peak shape since his injury.

Jimmy Butler: Ever since Butler joined the 76ers, he and Tobias Harris have helped shore up the scoring other than Simmons and Embiid. But, Butler has been known to have chemistry problems with not only his teammates but his coaches as well. There was a storyline back in January that Butler had challenged Brett Brown about his role in the offense. This has cooled down, but there’s no way for us to know if he is having other chemistry problems. If Butler declines his player option with the 76ers, he might go to teams like the Knicks or Lakers. People have said that Butler’s offensive game does not translate with what the 76ers want to do, so he may leave because he wants more offensive touches.

Nikola Vucevic: Nikola Vucevic is having the best season of his career and is becoming one of the better centers in the NBA. But, this offseason, he is an unrestricted free agent. The only team that has wanted Vucevic really badly is the Sacramento Kings, how have good big men right now with Marvin Bagley and Willie Cauley-Stein who have been playing well, but if they get Nikola Vucevic, then Bagley and Stein may have to come off the bench, but then they have a really solid frontcourt for the future. But if he decides to stay, then the Magic might have to get better players around Vucevic to get to the playoffs more often.

Tobias Harris: Tobias Harris and Jimmy Butler were the 76ers two big additions this year, helping with the scoring. But at the end of this year, Harris and Butler will both be free agents, and Harris is an unrestricted free agent. He has been putting up solid numbers, but no rumors about any moves yet. But for right now, Harris is one of the main scoring options for the 76ers, and will hope to make a deep playoff run for the first time in his career. There may be no reason for him to leave.

Kristaps Porzingis: After getting traded to the Mavericks, Mark Cuban has made it clear that he wants Porzingis for a long time. When Porzingis was at his peak with New York, he was almost unstoppable because he is 7’ 3” and can shoot the ball pretty well. He will probably play the role of Dirk Nowitzki when he was in his prime. Posting up, but he could also shoot the ball. When Porzingis gets back to full health, he and Luka Doncic, who is in the running for Rookie of the Year plus whomever Dallas picks this year in the draft. They traded their first-round pick this year in the Luka Doncic, Trae Young trade, and it is top five protected, but right now the Mavericks are not in the top 5 in terms of records, so they will most likely keep this pick. With this pick, they could take players like Keldon Johnson, Coby White, Jarrett Culver, Cameron Reddish. The future looks bright for Porzingis and the Mavericks.

Thank you guys for reading this post, and I hope you guys enjoyed. My next topic will be the Rookie of the Year race, between Trae Young and Luka Doncic!