When it comes to bringing in talent, teams don’t want to do it during free agency.
Players in their prime are costly, so obviously drafting and developing talent is the goal with the occasional trade acquisition here and there, in terms of making the best investment.
Then, you hit the open market to find an edge and buy low.
Here are five underrated players about to hit NBA free agency as the window opens up on Monday.
Patty Mills
After 10 years with the San Antonio Spurs, the 12-year vet is rumored to be moving on. As streaky of a player as they come, Mills is a marksman capable of going off from deep any night. He’d make a great scoring spark off the bench for a contending team.
Norman Powell
There are questions as to whether or not the Portland Trail Blazers will break the bank to retain him after obtaining Powell at the trade deadline, but he’ll have no shortage of suitors after averaging a career high in points (18.3 per game) and 3-point percentage (41 percent).
Victor Oladipo
This free agency’s wild card, Oladipo is coming off a run of injury-riddled seasons. Acquired at the deadline by the Miami Heat last season, he opted to have surgery to repair his right quadriceps tendon, making him a low-risk, high-upside signing.
Richaun Holmes
From being Joel Embiid’s backup and barely seeing time in Philadelphia with the 76ers to being stashed away in Sacramento averaging 14.2 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game while shooting 63.7 percent from the field, Holmes suffers a bit from lack of exposure. He had a great year, but it was all for the Kings, so no one really saw it.
Spencer Dinwiddie
Coming off a career year before partially tearing his right ACL, Dinwiddie declined a $12 million player option with Brooklyn. He won’t be back with the Nets if they at all care about saving themselves some tax, and the injury makes us wonder if he’ll get low-balled by other teams.
