Teams around the league are always looking for the most valuable contract. With the way the new Collective Bargaining Agreement works, it is hard for teams to build around high-salary guys. Every contending team needs to be smart and try to find cheap players who contribute to winning. With that in mind, today, we will look at some of the best cheap free agent guards on the market. With free agency around the corner, these players might not garner headlines, but they will contribute to winning.
Best 6 Free Agent Guards Available for the Mid-Level Exception
Here is an interesting fact: the last two championship teams traded for a guard role player in the offseason. The Boston Celtics traded for Jrue Holiday and won the title, and then the Oklahoma City Thunder traded for Alex Caruso, winning it all this year. Will any of these cheap free agent guards sign with a contending team and tilt the scales? It is a possibility. With only the Brooklyn Nets having sizable cap space, teams around the league will rely on the mid-level exception to sign free agents. Depending on whether the team is above or below the tax, they can offer between $5 and $14 million. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the list of free agent point guards and free agent shooting guards.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker
The Minnesota Timberwolves had two important free agent decisions to make this summer. They re-signed Naz Reid recently, but that means they might let go of Nickeil Alexander-Walker. He was their best defender for the last two seasons.
Alexander-Walker appeared in all 82 games the previous two seasons, showing his reliability. He played for $4.3 million last season and is up for a raise. Shooting better than 38% from three the last two seasons shows he is a true 3-and-D guy.
Ty Jerome
Ty Jerome was one of the finalists for Sixth Man of the Year last season. He was maybe the most valuable player salary to contribution ratio. Playing for $2.5 million, Jerome averaged 12.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 3.4 assists on 51.6% shooting from the floor and 43.9% from behind the arc. The Cleveland Cavaliers would love to have him back, but they will be limited in what they can offer due to being a second-apron team next season. Jerome will probably demand more than the $5 million per season tax-payer mid-level exception they can give him.
Quentin Grimes
Quentin Grimes is another role player who benefited from a mid-season trade. After being moved to the Philadelphia 76ers, Grimes seized the opportunity of more shots and playing time. He exploded for 21.9 points per game, 5.2 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 1.5 steals per game on 46.9% shooting from the floor. In a game against the Houston Rockets in March, he exploded for 46 points. His rookie contract ended last season, and Grimes should get something in the range of $10 to $14 million per year.
Tre Jones
Speaking of cheap free agent guards, Tre Jones is a name to watch. The Spurs had to give him up during the De’Aaron Fox trade. But that helped him get more playing time and show his skills. In Chicago, Tre Jones averaged 11.5 points and 4.9 assists in 25 minutes of action. He is not someone who shoots a lot of threes, unlike most guards on this list. But he shot 50% on 1.2 attempts per game for the Chicago Bulls last season.
Malik Beasley
Teams around the league aiming to add three-point shooting should look at Malik Beasley. Los Angeles Lakers fans are surely asking how he didn’t play as well when he was in LA. After leaving Los Angeles, he has shot better than 41% from three-point range. He was one of the key contributors off the bench for the Detroit Pistons last season. That made him one of the finalists for the Sixth Man of the Year award.
Tyus Jones
Last summer, the Phoenix Suns managed to sign Tyus Jones for the veteran’s minimum at $2 million. The idea for Jones was to up his value and hope teams would have cap space this summer and look for bench contributors. When he was playing for the Memphis Grizzlies, Tyus was one of the best backup point guards. Last season, he proved he can also play a starting role, averaging 10.2 points and 5.3 assists on 44% shooting from the floor and 41.4% from behind the arc. Jones will get more than the $2 million this summer for sure.
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