NBA Free Agents in 2016: These are Top Three Players Once NBA Finals are Over
Expect players to move around this summer.
With the NBA Playoffs at its fever-pitch, many teams are still battling to see how far they can go in the post-season.
On the other hand, there are also some teams who are on vacation and trying to figure out what they can do in order to contend in the following year.
Teams like the Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks and Chicago Bulls are very popular basketball teams and cities but did not experience the post-season this year – easily they are looking at the free agency to try and rebuild their franchise.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
And, as NBA fans know, this year's free agency talk will definitely be one of the most talked-about summers in the league given the amount of talent that will be available and the amount of money willing to be spent in order to rebuild.
Below are some of the big names in the league (stats all according to Basketball-Reference).
1. Kevin Durant – Oklahoma City Thunder
While still leading his team in the Western Conference Semifinals, many are wondering where Durant will end up next season when his current contract expires.
He has been with the same franchise, Seattle Supersonics/Oklahoma City Thunder, for his entire career and has gone to the NBA Finals once back in 2012.
Durant has gotten almost every individual accolade possible, with the league MVP, scoring title and All-NBA team but he is still searching for the NBA championship.
And at a ripe age of 27, Durant is at his prime and will definitely make any team stronger.
In the regular season, Durant averaged 27.4 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game in 35.8 minutes a night.
He is a great scorer with length and athleticism and is heavily linked to teams like the Washington Wizards and the Los Angeles Lakers.
2. LeBron James – Cleveland Cavaliers
Leading the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference playoffs, James has done it all. He has been MVP and an NBA champion.
He is 31 years old at the moment and averaged 25.3 points, 7.4 rebounds and 6.8 assists in the regular season.
James is desperately trying to give Cleveland a ring and has a player option by the end of the season.
He is on the list as there is still a little unpredictability on where he may be next season, but in reality it will be difficult to believe that James will leave.
3. Andre Drummond – Detroit Pistons
At 6'10 and a double-double machine, many teams are definitely looking for a star like Drummond.
Already entering his fifth year in the league, Drummond enjoyed his most dominant season so far as he averaged 16.2 points and 14.8 rebounds in the regular season.
He has always stayed relatively healthy, only missing two game in the last three seasons and at 22 years old Drummond is definitely going to get better.
Drummond is a restricted free agent which means that the Pistons still have the best chance of keeping him in the following year.
These are possibly the top three players who will go through free agency in the coming summer.
There are still a lot of big names, Hassan Whiteside from the Miami Heat, DeMar DeRozan of the Toronto Raptors and Al Horford of the Altanta Hawks are only a few who will test free agency so expect a lot of movement and rumors to swirl in the association.
