NBA Free-Agency: The best free-agent signings of the last four years
First Published Jul 6, 2022, 4:00 AM ISTHere are the best NBA free-agency signings from each free agency in the last four years.
Here are the best NBA free-agency signings from each free agency in the last four years.
With the 2022 NBA Free Agency ongoing, Here’s looking at the best free-agent signing from the last four years.
Demar Derozan (2021): A lot of eyebrows when the Chicago Bulls acquired unrestricted free-agent Demar Derozan in a sign and trade from the San Antonio Spurs. The team gave up important rotation player Thaddeus Young and two first-round picks. Chicago fans got more than they expected from Derozan, as he averaged a career-high 27.9 points per game while leading the Bulls to their first playoff appearance in five years. For his performance, Derozan finished in the top 10 for Most Valuable Player (MVP) voting and was part of the all-star and all-NBA teams.
Brandon Ingram (2020): Brandon Ingram re-signed as a free agent with the New Orleans Pelicans in 2020. Coming off his then career year, Ingram was expected to lead his franchise to the post-season shortly, and he’s done just that. Despite co-star Zion Williamson missing the entire season, Ingram put the franchise on his back as he led the Pelicans to their first Playoffs game in four years and put up a strong showing in a six-game against the number one seeded Phoenix Suns this season.
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Jimmy Butler (2019): Not many would’ve predicted Jimmy Butler being the best signing of a free-agency class, including Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Kawhi Leonard. However, he’s done something none of these free agents could: lead his team to the NBA Finals.
Nikola Jokic (2018): When Nikola Jokic signed a five-year maximum contract for the Denver Nuggets, who hadn’t made the playoffs since 2013, many saw it as a risk taken by the team. Jokic has repaid the faith shown in him as the Serbian has led his team to a playoff appearance every season, including the franchise-best Western Conference Finals in 2020. Individually, Jokic has won the Most Valuable Awards for 2021 and 2022. Recently, Jokic signed the most expensive contract in NBA history when he extended his contract.