Free agency in the NBA for 2019
Whitley Bras, Staff Editor
Photo Courtesy of neONBRAND with Unsplash.com
Free agency within the NBA is ramping up and rumors are swirling to see what free agents will remain with their current team and which ones will make a switch.
Free Agency for the 2019-2020 season begin on July 1, 2019, but teams are preparing to recruit the best players from the NBA on their team in order to be bigger and better next season.
Some of the top players that are in the running as free agents so far include Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Kyrie Irving, Kemba Walker, Klay Thompson and Demarcus Cousins. There are many free agents within the NBA that will be eligible to be recruited to another team, but the names listed include a few that are top picks for NBA fans.
Kevin Durant currently plays for the Golden State Warriors as a small forward and is considered by USA today sports to be one of the three best players in the NBA. There is speculation that he is considering leaving the Warriors for the Knicks which would be considered an interesting move because of the success of the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors are at the top of the western league and have become a household named team because of players like Durant and Stephen Curry. Durant averages 27.4 points per game and 7.1 rebounds per game and is a huge asset for the Warriors.
Kawhi Leonard is a small forward for the Toronto Raptors and is presumed to be one of the best players in the league now that he has recovered for a recent injury. With his success there will likely be a large contract given this summer in hopes of recruiting him for next season. With the Toronto Raptors not as big as other teams it will more than likely come down to what time will be able to offer him the best offer. The Raptors has had a relatively successful season, and is currently ranked second in the Eastern Conference having a record of 43-16. The Raptors have been performing especially well this season and are currently considered on of the favorites to win in the Eastern Conference according to CBS Sports, which is not common for the franchise. A writer for CBS Sports, Jack Maloney states that, “While having the chance to be a great team this season was one of the Raptors’ main reasons for making the trade, the ability to pitch Kawhi Leonard on staying in Toronto long-term was just as important. Of course, any sort of decision from Leonard is still months away, and will likely depend at least partly on how the team performs in the postseason.”
Kyrie Irving is a point guard for the Boston Celtics. He is termed but HoopsHype to be “one of the hardest-to-defend point guards in the league.” Irving is a strong player for the Celtics with an average of 23.8 points per game, and 7.0 assists per game. It is currently up in the air whether he will be persuaded by another team or if he will re-sign to the Celtics. The Celtics are currently ranked fourth in the Eastern Conference with a record of 37-21.
Throughout the NBA there are a multitude of free agent players that have been extremely successful on their team that are up for grabs this coming basketball season. When the free agents begin their decision making in July of 2019 it could cause a turn in tides for many NBA teams.
Sources: USA Today Sports HoopHype, CBS Sports, ESPN
