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2022 Free Agents - D.J. Augustin

Summary
When Augustin signed with the Bucks in the 2020 offseason, I'm sure he was expecting to be competing deep into the playoffs. However, he was traded to Houston as part of the P.J. Tucker trade, and went from one of the best teams in the league to one of the worst. His decision in 2020 likely gives us a hint at where his priorities lie, as winning may be a priority for Augustin at this stage in his career. Augustin ended up signing with the Lakers after being waived by the Rockets.

Augustin is 34 years old, so he may not have a ton of interest as a free agent. Guards his size historically have not aged well, and Augustin has shown some real regression in recent years. After shooting 43% from three in '17-'18 and '18-'19, Augustin only shot 36% and 38% from three in '19-'20 and '20-'21, respectively. While that number has bumped up to 42% in '21-'22, the sample size was pretty small, and he overall just didn't make much of an impact. He also has been getting to the rim less frequently, and his shooting percentages at the rim have also declined..

Because of his lack of size, Augustin's best fit is next to a playmaking wing that he can spot up next to, and a wing that could guard the elite point guards in the league. In his brief stint with the Bucks, Mike Budenholzer would usually stagger him and Bryn Forbes so that one of them was playing next to Jrue Holiday at all times, considering that playing both him and Forbes together was just too small. Against second units, Augustin's size is not as much of a problem.

Despite Augustin having some shot-making ability, I don't think he can be an impact player in the playoffs anymore. He would likely get picked on defensively too much. Not only does his size limit him, he has also never get steals, and doesn't rebounded well either.

Augustin might be best served as a veteran third point guard that can keep things afloat if a team suffers injuries during the regular season. Augustin is a well-liked player, and could be a solid locker room presence, but I would be surprised if he hopes gets more than minimum offers in 2022.

Cap Considerations
Augustin will be an unrestricted free agent with a $1.8 million cap hold and Non-Bird Rights. This means that the highest starting salary the Lakers could offer him using the Non-Bird Exception is $3.4 million. This should be enough to retain Augustin, since he settled for the minimum to come to Los Angeles after being waived by Houston. Alternatively, the Lakers could use their Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception to re-sign Augustin if he demands more than $3.4 million.

Other teams will have multiple ways to sign Augustin as even teams without cap space could possibly use any of the Non-Taxpayer MLE, Taxpayer MLE, or possibly even the Room MLE or Bi-Annual Exception to sign him. It's also likely that Augustin only gets minimum offers.

Potential Teams: 76ers, Clippers, Wizards, Lakers, Thunder

Predicted Contract: 1-year, $2.9 million ($1.8 million cap hit) with the 76ers

Last updated: 4/24/2022

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