5 “Moneyball” free agents to look for during the 2024 offseason https://t.co/BwEfq71rve via @BasketBallInsiders
— LakerTom (@LakerTom) June 21, 2024
De’Anthony Melton
Why He’s Good: Ever since being traded to the Philadelphia 76ers, De’Anthony Melton has been one of the best role playing guards in basketball. First flanking James Harden, then Tyrese Maxey, Melton has done a great job taking on the other team’s toughest perimeter assignment (87th percentile Defensive Estimated Plus-Minus, per Dunks & Threes) while also spacing the floor (37.9% 3-point shooter over the last two years) and providing some off-the-dribble juice. Last year, he was in the 56th percentile in estimated shots created for teammates per 100 possessions (per the Thinking Basketball database). Two-way players like Melton are incredibly valuable when you get to the playoffs.
Goga Bitadze
Why He’s Good: What if I were to tell you that there was a center who was a good rim protector, rebounder, rim runner, and they had good hands? Is that something you would be interested in? Well then, Goga Bitadze is your guy. Last season, Bitadze was in the 97th percentile in block rate (rim protection), 94th percentile in offensive rebounding rate (rebounding), and 65th percentile in steal rate (good hands). Plus, he averaged roughly one dunk for every 18.8 minutes he played (rim runner). Bitadze can’t anchor the center spot for 30+ minutes a night, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a better backup big than him.
Jae’Sean Tate
Lonnie Walker IV
Why He’s Good: This last NBA Finals taught us the value of having rim protection come from positions other than center. Great rim protection is the best way to build a great defense, so being able to get it from as many different places as possible is a huge boost. Lonnie Walker IV can give you just that at the two-guard spot. Last season, he placed in the 57th percentile in block rate leaguewide (a good place to be if you’re a shooting guard). He gives you this rim protection while also not hurting your spacing. Last year, he was a 38.4% 3-point shooter while also placing in the 98th percentile in 3-point volume (9.8 threes per 75 possessions). Also, don’t forget that Walker is just a year removed from his heroic 2023 Western Conference Semifinals against the Golden State Warriors, where he averaged 10.6 PPG on 65.4% true shooting while providing excellent two-way play.
Gordon Hayward
Would love either LW4 or De-Melt on the squad, hard to see us getting both. One of the things that was infuriating about Ham was his ability to quickly alienate players with his odd way of awarding minutes and a larger role. I’ll never forget LW4 interviews after his game late game heroics in the playoffs. He all but said he’d be playing somewhere else.