With the NBA’s March 25th trade deadline in the rear-view mirror, several franchises will now look towards the buyout market. This year’s trade deadline saw 16 different trades made between 23 teams, along with 46 players changing teams, which are all record-breaking stats. The NBA buyout market is where contending teams will have the opportunity to sign free agents who were recently bought out of their contracts from their perspective teams.
The buyout market typically consists of veterans who have larger contracts that are too large to just outright waive. Getting bought out of a contract requires cooperation on both the player and franchise’s sides to come to an agreement to part ways. This year’s buyout market is composed of a few key players who can make immediate impacts on some of the league’s top contenders. This article will address four players who are already on the buyout market, or potentially heading that way in the coming weeks.
1. LaMarcus Aldridge
Season Averages: 13.7 PTS, 4.5 TRB, 46 FG%, 36 3P%
After playing five full seasons for the San Antonio Spurs, Texas native LaMarcus Aldridge and the Spurs mutually agreed to part ways yesterday afternoon. Aldridge’s career in San Antonio was somewhat disappointing, only making the conference finals one time back in 2017, but he made two All-NBA teams and three All-Star teams during his tenure.
The 35-year-old power-forward’s buyout comes during a season where he is averaging his lowest statistical averages since his rookie season for the Portland Trail Blazers in 2006-07. Despite a lower production in his 15th NBA season, Aldridge is still more than capable of contributing to any contender in the league. He currently shoots 36% from deep on a respectable 3.6 three-point attempts per game, which is very necessary in a league where three-point shooting big men has become more essential.
Aldridge’s contract buyout costed the Spurs approximately $5.8M, and had him giving back $7.25M from the remaining salary on his contract. As of right now he is the top unrestricted free agent, and is currently having conversations with the Miami Heat, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, and Brooklyn Nets about potentially joining their rosters.
Yahoo Sources: LaMarcus Aldridge will have conversations with the Miami Heat, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers and Brooklyn Nets before deciding on his next destination.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) March 26, 2021
The defending Eastern Conference champion, Miami Heat are seen as the frontrunners to land Aldridge where he could potentially join one of the league’s deepest rosters. Aldridge still has a lot left in the tank, which was proven when he had a career-high 56 points back on January 10, 2019. Expect Aldridge to sign with his new team within the next week or two.
2. Andre Drummond
Season Averages: 17.5 PTS, 13.5 TRB, 47.4 FG%
Drummond is arguably the top free agent target in the free agency pool. After playing only 33 total games with the Cleveland Cavaliers since being traded there in 2020, the 2x NBA All-Star center agreed to a contract buyout earlier this afternoon.
Drummond is currently having a bit of a down year, shooting a career low 47.4% from the field. He also hasn’t played a game since February 13th when the Cavaliers decided to bench him as they looked towards moving him via trade, or a buyout. With Drummond hitting free agency this upcoming summer, it was difficult for the Cavaliers to get back any good assets for the 27 year-old center.
Despite not having his best season efficiency wise, Drummond still led the league in rebounding for the past three seasons. He is an elite rebounder who is in the back-end of the prime of his career, so any team that is able to land him for an expected veteran’s minimum contract would be getting a steal. Earlier this season he had a dominating 33 points and 23 rebounds performance against the New York Knicks.
Now that Drummond is an unrestricted free agent, the biggest question mark revolves around what exactly he wants. He will be having conversations with the New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Boston Celtics, and Charlotte Hornets. If he is seeking a large contract extension this summer he’ll likely wind up playing the rest of this season for the Knicks or the Hornets, since both teams have the cap space to pay him the most money. If he signs with the Lakers, Clippers, or Celtics, it would be probably be a rental for the rest of the season, because they won’t have the money to pay him long term.
Yahoo Sources: Andre Drummond will listen to pitches from the New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Boston Celtics and Charlotte Hornets.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) March 26, 2021
Going to one of those three teams would give Andre Drummond an opportunity to contend for a world championship in his 9th NBA season, which will still allow him to sign elsewhere this summer for more money. Regardless of where he goes, Drummond’s free agency decision this upcoming weekend could impact the entire league especially for all of the teams he is currently speaking with.
3. Jabari Parker
Season Averages: 2.7 PTS, 2.0 TRB, 57.1 FG%
*Only played three games
Jabari Parker isn’t exactly a buyout market player, because he was released by the Sacramento Kings, but he is an intriguing free agent target. The former No. 2 overall pick in 2014 has had a difficult NBA career so far, full of knee injuries that have prevented him from reaching his full potential.
Parker missed most of last season for the Atlanta Hawks and Sacramento Kings with a shoulder injury, which ultimately affected his rotation spot this season with the Kings. Despite his injuries, Jabari Parker is still a young player in the league, as he just turned 26 years-old on March 15th. He is an exceptional scorer who can provide on offense for just about any team in the NBA, but his main issues have always been on the defensive end.
Multiple knee surgeries have drastically affected his defensive movements, which makes him essentially unplayable in late-game situations. These deficiencies are the main reason why wherever he signs will be his 5th team since 2019. It is unclear whether or not he will get a contract before the 2021 playoffs, but he could still be a solid role player on contending teams looking for more offense for their bench rotations moving forward.
Parker holds career averages of 14.8 points per game, 5.7 rebounds, while shooting 49.3% from the field over 288 total games since being drafted in 2014. He only played three games this season, most of which are due to Kings’ coach Luke Walton’s decision, but it will be interesting to see if any playoff teams pick up Parker before the playoffs begin in May.
4. Hassan Whiteside
Season Averages: 8.0 PTS, 6.0 TRB, 1.4 BLK
Another 2020-21 Sacramento Kings player who could potentially hit the buyout market is 31 year-old center, Hassan Whiteside. Whiteside is the only player on this list who is still currently under contract, but it has been talked about him possibly becoming a free agent soon.
Whiteside signed with the Kings during the 2020 off-season on a 1 year/$2.3M contract, which raised a lot of fans’ eyebrows. He was coming off a very successful season with the Portland Trail Blazers in which he averaged, 15.5 points, 13.5 rebounds, and a league-leading 3.0 blocks per game. It was shocking to see someone of his caliber sign a one-year minimum contract for a team that hasn’t made the playoffs since 2006.
Hassan Whiteside has only played in 28 out of 45 games for the Kings this season and his role is consistently diminishing as the season progresses. He could be an above average rim protector on a championship contender, instead of the Kings who currently sit at 20-25, which has them in the 11th seed out in the Western Conference. Given that Whiteside’s contract is so small, it would cost Sacramento virtually nothing to buyout his contract, or even release him into unrestricted free agency.
There are multiple teams around the NBA that have been closely watching Whiteside’s situation, in hopes that they can land the seven-footer for their benches. Whether or not he does end up on another team this season, it would likely land him in a similar role to his current one with the Kings. If he does get bought out, the decision would come sooner rather than later with the trade deadline being over.