Post-NBA Trade Deadline 2022 Buyout Candidates
Nothing can happen during this year's buyout market that can possibly upstage the blockbuster trade the Brooklyn Nets just made with Philadelphia 76ers in the waning moments before the NBA trade deadline.
After weeks of speculation and outright denials in the media by Nets head coach Steve Kerr, James Harden and Paul Millsap have been traded to the 76ers in exchange for Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond and two first-round picks.
As part of the deal, the former MVP opted into his $47.3 million player option for next season.
But now that the trade deadline has passed, the league moves on to the next phase of deals centered around buyouts.
Per the rules, players can be bought out by their current teams, then become unrestricted free agents able to sign with a team of their choosing.
One player that many think will be bought out after being traded to the San Antonio Spurs from the Toronto Raptors is Goran Dragic. Dragic was trade to the Spurs with a protect 2022 first-round pick in exchange for Thaddeus Young and Drew Eubanks, along with a 2022 Detroit Pistons second-round pick.
What other players are looking for buyouts? Here's a few players that could be looking for new teams.
Dallas Mavericks to Pursue Goran Dragic
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Goran Dragic hasn't played a game for the Toronto Raptors since Nov. 13, when they were beat 127-121 by the Detroit Pistons.
So now that the Raptors, who have wanted to move him since getting him as part of a sign-and-trade in the deal that sent Kyle Lowry to the Miami Heat, have traded him to the San Antonio Spurs, he's likely to be a candidate for a buyout.
According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the Spurs are "expected to negotiate a contract buyout with Dragic."
Teams expected to be interested in the 35-year old guard's services are the Dallas Mavericks, Milwaukee Bucks, Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Clippers.
Of those four teams, Dallas is the favorite to sign Dragic, reports Yahoo Sports' Chris Haynes.
In just five games with Toronto, Dragic averaged 8.0 points and 2.8 rebounds.
Could Dennis Schroder Reunite with the Lakers?
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The Dennis Schroder experiment in Boston is officially over.
The Celtics signed the 28-year-old guard to a one-year, $5.8 million deal this past summer after interest in his services around the league spiraled into nearly nothing after he reportedly turned down a four-year contract extension from the Los Angeles Lakers, worth up to $84 million.
Schroder's one-year contract was seen as an opportunity to improve his stock around the league so he could get a lucrative offer this summer.
And by all accounts, things were going pretty well in Boston.
The German-born veteran was averaging 14.4 points, 3.3 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game, all numbers just a shade lower than his stats with the Lakers.
But Schroder was the Celtic's best trade chip and just a one-year rental, so they moved him for former player Daniel Theis.
Now that he's headed to Houston, he may be looking at a possible buyout, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
Schroder isn't mentioned by name, but Wojnarowski reported that his former team is focusing on the buyout market to shake things up to counter their current slide in the standings.
Los Angeles has lost seven of its last 10 games and are in ninth place in the Western Conference.
Worse than that, they have hit a wall and one of the ways to combat that is to add a player like Schroder, who played well for them last season.
Additionally, Schroder could be a better fit alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis than Russell Westbrook has been thus far.
Schroder and the Lakers didn't part ways on the best of terms, but neither did Dwight Howard and they brought him back.
Will Eric Bledsoe Remain in Portland After Trade?
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The Los Angeles Clippers traded Eric Bledsoe, Justise Winslow, Keon Johnson and a 2025 second-round pick via the Pistons to the Portland Trail Blazers, in exchange for Norman Powell and Robert Covington.
But, according to John Hollinger of The Athletic, Portland is in full rebuild mode.
They want to build a new team around their perennial All Star, Damian Lillard, which means they will be trying to evaluate their young talent and prepare for free agency and the draft.
That should be a strong sign to Bledsoe that he is a likely candidate for a buyout.
"In the meantime, it’s tank season in the Rose City," Hollinger wrote. "Expect Lillard to sit out the rest of the season and [Jusuf] Nurkić to be held out of games with any malady worse than a hangnail. Eric Bledsoe, who has missed the last two games with a ‘sore Achilles’ after not appearing on a Clippers injury report all season, is a likely buyout candidate along with [Tomas] Satoranský. Instead, you’re gonna see all the Greg Brown and [Didi] Louzada you can handle."
So if the 32-year old guard is indeed bought out, where's he headed?
There are quite a few teams around the league that could use help in the backcourt and Bledsoe has shown to be valuable as a backup.
This season, he's averaging 9.9 points, 3.4 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game while shooting 42.1 percent from the field.
He's only shooting 31.3 percent from beyond the arc, but long distance shooting has never been his game.
Whether or not Bledsoe gets bought out or not, he's just going to take things day-by-day.
"Everything is up in the air," Bledsoe told Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian. "I’ll be professional. Come in and do my job, get along with my teammates, as I always have.
"I’m just going to finish the season strong. Finish the best I can and see where it goes from there."
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