Markelle Fultz
- Last with: Orlando Magic
- 2023/24 stats: 7.8 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 2.8 apg, 47.2 FG%, 22.2 3P%
In our offseason preview piece for the Magic here at HoopsHype, it was speculated that perhaps Fultz would join a playoff-calibre team, albeit for the minimum salary:
For Fultz as an individual, perhaps the best thing to do will be to take a minimum-salary contract on a high-profile team and rebuild his career/value, in the way that Malik Beasley and Kelly Oubre have done this season.
So far, though, he has not done so much as that, and there is scant little about him on the rumour mill. Stardom and riches in China likely await, but if Fultz wants to stay in touch with the NBA – and he should – then his options are dwindling.
Talen Horton-Tucker
- Last with: Utah Jazz
- 2023/24 stats: 10.1 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 3.5 apg, 39.6 FG%, 33.0 3P%
In a market where quality players such as Tyus Jones have settled for the minimum salary, when clearly deserving of much more, it is hard to see anything above that for Horton-Tucker, who so far has not even gotten that much. The Jazz – preferring Brice Sensabaugh – have renounced his cap hold as a means of facilitating the extension of Lauri Markkanen, leaving him with, it would appear, no suitors. Horton-Tucker has talent, but his deployment of that talent (such as driving into closed lanes, shooting when he should pass, et cetera) is still not where it needs to be, and given that he now has five years on the clock, he is no longer the prospect. Needs a bounce-back season.
Dennis Smith Jr
- Last with: Brooklyn Nets
- 2023/24 stats: 6.6 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 3.6 apg, 43.5 FG%, 29.4 3P%
Having fallen out of the NBA for a bit, Smith Jr made his return with a solid bounce-back season with the Hornets in 2022/23, and was solid enough in his consolidation season with Brooklyn. The athleticism, defense and effort were good things to imprint on the rebuilding roster around him, and while he is insurmountably far away from the upside he was once thought to have, it is not a bad role to embrace going forward.
Jordan Goodwin
- Last with: Memphis Grizzlies
- 2023/24 stats: 6.5 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 2.7 apg, 36.9 FG%, 29.8 3P%
Goodwin was one of the main beneficiaries of Memphis’s lost season, as the absence of Ja Morant gave him plenty of playing time. After spending the first half of the season with the Suns, he spent 17 games with the Grizzlies to close out the year, starting 12 of them, and averaging 10.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game. The three-year veteran has not got a consistent shot profile, struggling from all areas, yet his energy, hustle and commitment are infectious, and he wins possessions and bothers bigger opponents much more than a 6-foot-3 player normally would. He still has some years to develop as a scorer and shooter, although the time to kick on is now.
Ish Smith
- Last with: Charlotte Hornets
- 2023/24 stats: 3.2 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 3.4 apg, 41.8 FG%, 50.0 3P%
At age 36, the book on Smith has been long-since written. He has been – in the nicest possible definition of the word – a journeyman reserve in the NBA for 14 years now; if there is to be a 15th, his best bet might be as an in-season 10-day contract or partially-guaranteed signing.
Others: Jacob Gilyard, Trent Forrest, Jared Butler, Lester Quinones, Shabazz Napier
