22. Tony Bradley, Thunder (restricted)
Tony Bradley has bounced around over the past year, but he’s pretty good for what he is. The 23-year-old shoots 65 percent from the field every year and has one of the best rebound rates at his position (18.6 percent last year, and that was actually a career low). I don’t think it makes sense for the Thunder to pick up his $5.3 million qualifying offer, but given the rebuild in Oklahoma City, it does make a lot of sense to return a young center who has shown NBA-caliber production.
23. Gorgui Dieng, Spurs
The theoretical premise of Gorgui Dieng is pretty strong — he’s a good defender who is capable in switches and also shot 42.9 percent on 3s last year. However, his shot release is slow enough that it threatens the shot clock, so he only launched 70 total 3s last season, while inside the arc he lacks the explosion around the basket to be a threatening finisher.
Nonetheless, Dieng quietly posted a career-high 19.2 PER last season and should be in line for a back-end rotation spot this summer. BORD$ rates him as a minimum guy here, but he might be able to move a bit higher in the food chain.
24. Boban Marjanovic, Mavs
Everyone’s favorite teammate showed off his situational usefulness in the playoffs, starting against the small-ball Clippers while anchoring a Dallas zone. Teams that are willing to either play zone or an extreme version of drop coverage can still get a lot of mileage from Boban Marjanovic because he’s a huge target around the basket who also has shooting touch. Marjanovic has quietly scored and rebounded at a monumental rate throughout his career (31.0 points and 20.7 boards per 100!), a fact which is mostly masked by his short-minute stints.
That’s likely to be the case again this year, but Marjanovic has value as a third center for use in the right matchups and should find a market at the minimum or the biannual exception.
25. JaVale McGee, Nuggets
It’s been a truly bizarre few months for JaVale McGee. First, the Nuggets gave up two second-round picks to acquire him for 34 playoff minutes, nearly all of which were in garbage time. Then the U.S. Olympic team came calling for reasons that still have me scratching my head.
McGee is 33 but still can run and jump; he actually set a career high in rebound rate last season at 19.8 percent. While his decision-making at the offensive end can be bewildering and he can get lost on defense, McGee’s size and athleticism in the middle make an impact when he’s going well. That should be enough to net him another deal for the minimum, whether in Denver or someplace else.
26. DeMarcus Cousins, Clippers
Boogie isn’t quite a stretch big (34.1 percent career from 3) and isn’t quite good enough on the block to justify playing through him, and defensively, his lack of mobility is a major issue. That said, even after repeated injuries, he showed enough skill level to score and rebound at a healthy clip (24.4 points, 17.7 boards per 100), and he can be surprisingly spry with his hands poke-checking dribblers (2.3 steals per 100).
The total package is probably worth another year on a minimum deal as a team’s third center. The defensive issues are too serious to warrant a greater role, and at 31 in August with his injury issues, he doesn’t make sense for a non-contender.
27. Dewayne Dedmon, Heat
Dewayne Dedmon sat much of the year after he was waived and stretched by Detroit but joined Miami late in the season and was very effective over 16 games with some eye-popping per-minute stats (26.7 points and 20.3 boards per 100 possessions). Dedmon plays hard, but as he gets into his 30s, his defensive shortcomings have become more problematic; in particular, his foul rate has gone through the roof the past two seasons (8.5 and 8.3 per 100). Additionally, the 3-point shot he used in his best years in Atlanta has deserted him, leaving him more reliant on rim runs and post-ups.
Dedmon did enough last year to warrant a minimum or biannual exception deal as a backup or third center and in particular could be a strong candidate to re-up with Miami once the Heat have finished using their cap space.
28. Aron Baynes, Raptors (non-guaranteed)
Aron Baynes has a non-guaranteed contract for $7.35 million and most assuredly will be waived before it guarantees, affording Toronto a big chunk of cap space. He’s 35 and had a disappointing 2020-21, to say the least, but Baynes still has fans in the league because of his physicality, occasional slingshot 3s from the corner and an impressive beard. He should be able to stick around as a third center on a minimum deal.
29. Bismack Biyombo, Hornets
Bismack Biyombo can’t shoot and might have the worst hands in the league, a combination that makes him a wee bit of a liability at the offensive end. He’s always made up for that with his energy, smarts and athleticism at the defensive end, but last season saw him post a career-low rebound rate and seemingly a bit less athletic juice at age 28. He’s likely looking at a minimum deal as a third center.
30. Isaiah Hartenstein, Cavs (player option)
I’m mildly bullish on the 23-year-old Isaiah Hartenstein, who has shown some real juice as a rim runner and finisher around the basket and rebounds at a high rate. His shooting touch is the other interesting piece of this; he’s been a reluctant launcher as a pro but showed some potential in this area as a teenager.
Hartenstein has declined his player option for 2021-22, sources tell our Shams Charania, but I’d suspect he’ll be back in Cleveland on a low-dollar deal, where he can continue developing with the rest of the Cavs’ young core.
31. Moritz Wagner, Magic
A stretch five with a career 31.5 percent mark from 3 rarely faces a worthy free-agent market, and Wagner won’t be the exception. It doesn’t help that he’s more or less roadkill on defense, with a desperate penchant for taking charges as his only means of resistance. After three NBA seasons, it appears the Berlin product’s likely end game is going back to Europe.
32. Luke Kornet, Celtics
The Green Kornet is a 7-2 stretch big who hasn’t provided enough stretch (32.8 percent career from 3) to offset his lack of mobility at the defensive end. It doesn’t help that he rebounds like a guard, with just a 9.4 percent career rebound rate. Kornet is probably looking at a non-guaranteed minimum deal, and his next move might be overseas.
33. Harry Giles, Blazers
Portland’s dice roll on Harry Giles as a third center failed to pay off, as he shot just 43.3 percent from the field and couldn’t stem Portland’s bleeding at the defensive end. Giles is only 23, but at this point, he may need to head overseas to restore his value.
34. Udonis Haslem, Heat
Udonis Haslem is basically an assistant coach at this point; he hasn’t played more than a hundred minutes in a season since 2016-17 but keeps re-upping on one-year deals for the minimum. Last season he played just three minutes for Miami and, hilariously, picked up a technical foul (and scored four points!). He has no market outside Miami but look for another one-year deal with the Heat.
35. Ed Davis, Timberwolves
After back-to-back disappointing seasons in Utah and Minnesota, Ed Davis’ career may be on life support. A badly undersized five at 6-9, 218, he needed to offset the disadvantage with energy and athleticism, and that may be waning at 32.
36. Cristiano Felicio, Bulls
Yes, Bulls fans, it’s finally over. No, I don’t expect Cristiano Felicio to be in the NBA this year. But while we’re here, can we discuss the fact that the Bulls never tried to sign anybody else into this roster spot at the end of last year? What was that about?
Related reading
• Top point guards by BORD$ projections
• Top shooting guards by BORD$ projections
• Top small forwards by BORD$ projections
• Top power forwards by BORD$ projections
• John Hollinger’s Top 70 players in the NBA Draft
(Photo of Montrezl Harrell and Richaun Holmes: Hector Amezcua / Associated Press)
Tony Bradley has bounced around over the past year, but he’s pretty good for what he is. The 23-year-old shoots 65 percent from the field every year and has one of the best rebound rates at his position (18.6 percent last year, and that was actually a career low). I don’t think it makes sense for the Thunder to pick up his $5.3 million qualifying offer, but given the rebuild in Oklahoma City, it does make a lot of sense to return a young center who has shown NBA-caliber production.
23. Gorgui Dieng, Spurs
The theoretical premise of Gorgui Dieng is pretty strong — he’s a good defender who is capable in switches and also shot 42.9 percent on 3s last year. However, his shot release is slow enough that it threatens the shot clock, so he only launched 70 total 3s last season, while inside the arc he lacks the explosion around the basket to be a threatening finisher.
Nonetheless, Dieng quietly posted a career-high 19.2 PER last season and should be in line for a back-end rotation spot this summer. BORD$ rates him as a minimum guy here, but he might be able to move a bit higher in the food chain.
24. Boban Marjanovic, Mavs
Everyone’s favorite teammate showed off his situational usefulness in the playoffs, starting against the small-ball Clippers while anchoring a Dallas zone. Teams that are willing to either play zone or an extreme version of drop coverage can still get a lot of mileage from Boban Marjanovic because he’s a huge target around the basket who also has shooting touch. Marjanovic has quietly scored and rebounded at a monumental rate throughout his career (31.0 points and 20.7 boards per 100!), a fact which is mostly masked by his short-minute stints.
That’s likely to be the case again this year, but Marjanovic has value as a third center for use in the right matchups and should find a market at the minimum or the biannual exception.
25. JaVale McGee, Nuggets
It’s been a truly bizarre few months for JaVale McGee. First, the Nuggets gave up two second-round picks to acquire him for 34 playoff minutes, nearly all of which were in garbage time. Then the U.S. Olympic team came calling for reasons that still have me scratching my head.
McGee is 33 but still can run and jump; he actually set a career high in rebound rate last season at 19.8 percent. While his decision-making at the offensive end can be bewildering and he can get lost on defense, McGee’s size and athleticism in the middle make an impact when he’s going well. That should be enough to net him another deal for the minimum, whether in Denver or someplace else.
26. DeMarcus Cousins, Clippers
Boogie isn’t quite a stretch big (34.1 percent career from 3) and isn’t quite good enough on the block to justify playing through him, and defensively, his lack of mobility is a major issue. That said, even after repeated injuries, he showed enough skill level to score and rebound at a healthy clip (24.4 points, 17.7 boards per 100), and he can be surprisingly spry with his hands poke-checking dribblers (2.3 steals per 100).
The total package is probably worth another year on a minimum deal as a team’s third center. The defensive issues are too serious to warrant a greater role, and at 31 in August with his injury issues, he doesn’t make sense for a non-contender.
27. Dewayne Dedmon, Heat
Dewayne Dedmon sat much of the year after he was waived and stretched by Detroit but joined Miami late in the season and was very effective over 16 games with some eye-popping per-minute stats (26.7 points and 20.3 boards per 100 possessions). Dedmon plays hard, but as he gets into his 30s, his defensive shortcomings have become more problematic; in particular, his foul rate has gone through the roof the past two seasons (8.5 and 8.3 per 100). Additionally, the 3-point shot he used in his best years in Atlanta has deserted him, leaving him more reliant on rim runs and post-ups.
Dedmon did enough last year to warrant a minimum or biannual exception deal as a backup or third center and in particular could be a strong candidate to re-up with Miami once the Heat have finished using their cap space.
28. Aron Baynes, Raptors (non-guaranteed)
Aron Baynes has a non-guaranteed contract for $7.35 million and most assuredly will be waived before it guarantees, affording Toronto a big chunk of cap space. He’s 35 and had a disappointing 2020-21, to say the least, but Baynes still has fans in the league because of his physicality, occasional slingshot 3s from the corner and an impressive beard. He should be able to stick around as a third center on a minimum deal.
29. Bismack Biyombo, Hornets
Bismack Biyombo can’t shoot and might have the worst hands in the league, a combination that makes him a wee bit of a liability at the offensive end. He’s always made up for that with his energy, smarts and athleticism at the defensive end, but last season saw him post a career-low rebound rate and seemingly a bit less athletic juice at age 28. He’s likely looking at a minimum deal as a third center.
30. Isaiah Hartenstein, Cavs (player option)
I’m mildly bullish on the 23-year-old Isaiah Hartenstein, who has shown some real juice as a rim runner and finisher around the basket and rebounds at a high rate. His shooting touch is the other interesting piece of this; he’s been a reluctant launcher as a pro but showed some potential in this area as a teenager.
Hartenstein has declined his player option for 2021-22, sources tell our Shams Charania, but I’d suspect he’ll be back in Cleveland on a low-dollar deal, where he can continue developing with the rest of the Cavs’ young core.
31. Moritz Wagner, Magic
A stretch five with a career 31.5 percent mark from 3 rarely faces a worthy free-agent market, and Wagner won’t be the exception. It doesn’t help that he’s more or less roadkill on defense, with a desperate penchant for taking charges as his only means of resistance. After three NBA seasons, it appears the Berlin product’s likely end game is going back to Europe.
32. Luke Kornet, Celtics
The Green Kornet is a 7-2 stretch big who hasn’t provided enough stretch (32.8 percent career from 3) to offset his lack of mobility at the defensive end. It doesn’t help that he rebounds like a guard, with just a 9.4 percent career rebound rate. Kornet is probably looking at a non-guaranteed minimum deal, and his next move might be overseas.
33. Harry Giles, Blazers
Portland’s dice roll on Harry Giles as a third center failed to pay off, as he shot just 43.3 percent from the field and couldn’t stem Portland’s bleeding at the defensive end. Giles is only 23, but at this point, he may need to head overseas to restore his value.
34. Udonis Haslem, Heat
Udonis Haslem is basically an assistant coach at this point; he hasn’t played more than a hundred minutes in a season since 2016-17 but keeps re-upping on one-year deals for the minimum. Last season he played just three minutes for Miami and, hilariously, picked up a technical foul (and scored four points!). He has no market outside Miami but look for another one-year deal with the Heat.
35. Ed Davis, Timberwolves
After back-to-back disappointing seasons in Utah and Minnesota, Ed Davis’ career may be on life support. A badly undersized five at 6-9, 218, he needed to offset the disadvantage with energy and athleticism, and that may be waning at 32.
36. Cristiano Felicio, Bulls
Yes, Bulls fans, it’s finally over. No, I don’t expect Cristiano Felicio to be in the NBA this year. But while we’re here, can we discuss the fact that the Bulls never tried to sign anybody else into this roster spot at the end of last year? What was that about?
Related reading
• Top point guards by BORD$ projections
• Top shooting guards by BORD$ projections
• Top small forwards by BORD$ projections
• Top power forwards by BORD$ projections
• John Hollinger’s Top 70 players in the NBA Draft
(Photo of Montrezl Harrell and Richaun Holmes: Hector Amezcua / Associated Press)
