Low-Key Desirable Destinations in 2018 NBA Free Agency
You already know why the Philadelphia 76ers and Los Angeles Lakers are top-flight free-agent destinations.
Philly is a star-laden powerhouse on the rise, and everyone loves L.A.'s huge market, great weather and ability to split a heap of cap space between two marquee names.
Those aren't the only hot spots, though. There are others out there, even in a summer that features fewer teams with cash to spend than any in recent memory. Here, we'll lay out a few appealing landing spots you may not have considered.
Whether it's because they offer a real chance to win, a highly functional culture or some other less conspicuous perk, there are a handful of prime destinations out there. Some even have a few bucks to spend!
Utah Jazz
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If national anonymity is a priority—if going to work without being blinded by a zillion camera flashes and deafened by questions repeated ad nauseam in cramped media scrums—the Utah Jazz are the team for you.
Salt Lake City ranked 26th among NBA markets in last summer's Nielsen ratings, and while a lack of coverage is the kind of thing that drives most free agents away, there are probably some who'd view the lack of distractions that come with a smaller market as a real plus.
"Think of all the NBA cities. What city has got the best nature and landscapes and stuff like that?" Boris Diaw told Aaron Falk of the Salt Lake Tribune after being traded to the Jazz in 2016. "It's probably here. I'll feel more comfortable here than Los Angeles or New York because, yeah, I like the chillness of it."
And anyway, it's not like Donovan Mitchell's rise to stardom hit resistance because of his team's location and media coverage. If you're good enough, you can be a national story anywhere.
Aside from relative quiet, the Jazz boast one of the league's best coaches in Quin Snyder, stars on both ends (Mitchell and Rudy Gobert will be cornerstones for a long time) and an egalitarian style that keeps everyone involved.
Utah was the West's third-best team this past season, as measured by net rating. After the All-Star break, nobody was better.
Derrick Favors and Dante Exum lead an intriguing group of free agents who'll determine how much the Jazz can spend. They should have up to $11.7 million available, a figure that could grow. With so much going for it, Utah deserves to be a major consideration for any free agent interested in playing good ball on a great team in a sweet location.
Plus, press conferences are group projects for the Jazz. Nobody gets stuck doing all the work.
Indiana Pacers
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As was the case with the Jazz, the Indiana Pacers operate in a small market.
Remove that consideration from the equation, and you have an objectively phenomenal situation that'd be drawing peak interest from every free agent.
Indy has an All-NBA-caliber guard inked to a long-term, below-market deal. When you have a cornerstone locked into a contract like Victor Oladipo's, you've given yourself a massive advantage in the quest to build a surrounding roster. So when Myles Turner or Domantas Sabonis come due for their second contracts, Indiana won't have a problem paying market rates if it has to.
In addition to Oladipo's flexibility-enabling deal, the Pacers have no bad contracts on the books. His is the only long-term money fully locked in past next season, and Thaddeus Young, who's only slated to make $13.8 million if he picks up his option, is in line to be the team's second-highest paid player in 2018-19.
Toss in several key players on non-guaranteed deals—Bojan Bogdanovic, Al Jefferson and Darren Collison—and the Pacers can clear tons of cash if they want to.
Note, too, that Indiana perpetually puts winners on the floor. The franchise has made the playoffs in seven of the last eight seasons. From 1989-90 to 2005-06, the Pacers missed the playoffs once—when they finished a respectable 39-43 in 1996-97. There was a rough patch in the mid-to-late 2000s, but even amid a four-year drought, Indiana never tanked.
It's just not how business is done for this organization, and that has to be reassuring to any free agent who doesn't want to sign on for a rebuild.
Atlanta Hawks
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The Atlanta Hawks wouldn't have hired a rookie head coach in Lloyd Pierce, or taken on money to dump Dwight Howard last offseason, or bought out veterans like Jamal Crawford, Marco Belinelli and Ersan Ilyasova, if they intended to be competitive in the near future.
This is a ground-up, deliberate, "no skipping steps" rebuild that feels as close to The Process we saw play out in Philadelphia as anything we've seen.
Maybe that's a turnoff for many free agents. But consider the positives.
If you're a younger player looking to prove himself, the playing time will be ample and the leash long in Atlanta. Other than Taurean Prince and John Collins, the Hawks don't have any obvious long-term keepers who'd prevent a newcomer from earning big minutes. On the other end of the age spectrum, veterans looking to occupy leadership roles for (perhaps) slightly above-market, short-term deals can also find a home here.
Every rebuilder needs a Jared Dudley.
The Hawks have three first-rounders in the 2018 draft (one of which, their own, will be in the high lottery), no outgoing firsts owed to anyone and a good chance at major salary flexibility going forward. Miles Plumlee, the price of moving Howard, is due to collect $25 million over the next two years, but contracts for Kent Bazemore and Dennis Schroder aren't too onerous to be moved eventually.
Even with those deals on the books, the Hawks will still have between $18.3 and $27.8 million to spend this summer.
This isn't a win-now destination, but free agents in the right age range who want to grow with an organization pointed in the right direction could do a lot worse.
Brooklyn Nets
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Only the Houston Rockets attempted threes more frequently than the Brooklyn Nets this past season, so any free agent looking to get some shots up (and maybe inflate his numbers in the process) should give this team a look.
When an organization embraces the "three is more than two" math to this degree, it bespeaks a broader boldness and creativity—a macro understanding of what leads to success unencumbered by concerns about perception. The Nets aren't just firing away with no plan. They're committed to the grimier work of player development and have had success on that front.
"When I look at the job [head coach Kenny Atkinson] has done, I say look at our players that have improved over the course of the last two years," general manger Sean Marks told reporters. "[You can] call some of them diamonds in the rough, but I don't think we can argue with what Kenny and the staff have done in terms of developing talent."
Spencer Dinwiddie, Caris LeVert, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Jarrett Allen and Joe Harris all made strides in 2017-18. Once the Nets finally have control over their own lottery picks in 2019, they'll actually get to mold their own selections from the jump rather than starting with guys who slipped in the draft or were cast off altogether by their original teams.
With a projected $16.7 million to burn, Brooklyn has the money to land a starting-caliber player or two rotation-quality talents.
Brooklyn is also hipster central, which could cut either way as it applies to free agency. Maybe there's a small forward out there who likes pop-up shops, avocado toast and statement beards.
Dallas Mavericks
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The Dallas Mavericks have the ability to free up as much as $23.9 million in space this offseason, which could make them a player in a game without many participants: the pursuit of top-end free agents.
DeAndre Jordan, Mike Conley, Hassan Whiteside, Dwight Howard—all free-agent targets Dallas pursued and never caught. Known for ambitious swings and misses in recent years, the Mavs could finally land a contributor of consequence in this limited market.
In Dallas, free agents can expect the strategic wizardry of Rick Carlisle, every imaginable locker room creature comfort and the privilege of playing alongside Dirk Nowitzki. That last selling point should be particularly appealing to veterans concerned they're losing their athleticism; everybody looks bouncier next to a plodding 40-year-old.
The Mavs have the fifth overall pick in the 2018 draft. Adding a premium talent to a roster that already has Dennis Smith Jr. will set the Mavs up for long-term relevance. Harrison Barnes and Wesley Matthews are productive, mid-tier vets who offer stability, and jokes aside, Nowitzki can still get it done. The surefire Hall of Famer shot 40.9 percent from deep in his 20th season.
It might seem foolish to suggest a West team this far from contention is worth considering, but Dallas has long been a symbol of consistent success. Those habits die hard, and it feels safe to bet on the Mavericks ending their two-year playoff vacation soon. Free agents might want to consider signing on for the first phase of the upswing, which should begin this season.
Unless otherwise noted, stats courtesy of NBA.com or Basketball Reference. Salary information via Spotrac.
