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2022 Free Agents - JaVale McGee

Summary
Despite reviving his career in Golden State, many people (including myself) doubted that McGee could contribute to the Lakers when he joined them in 2018. It was one thing to catch lobs playing with the most talented team ever assembled and protect the rim when you have an elite defender in Draymond Green next to you and additional size at the wing with Kevin Durant, but I didn't think he could contribute in a non-perfect scenario.

However, McGee certainly contributed for the Lakers, starting the entire regular season in '19-'20. However, his minutes fell drastically in the playoffs, as he was taken out of the starting lineup and sometimes didn't even get minutes.

McGee struggled in '20-'21 with the Cavaliers and Nuggets, as his 66% shooting at the rim was his worst in a decade, according to Cleaning the Glass. Some of that was likely due to situation, as McGee tends to get a little careless when he's not on a title contender, but he didn't give the Nuggets much help in the playoffs either. 

McGee played well for the Suns in '21-'22, even stepping up and starting a number of games when Deandre Ayton was injured. He has always been a good finisher at the rim due to his size and athleticism, and his numbers bounced back from a down year in '20'-21. He has a big catch radius and good hands, allowing him to catch tough lobs and finish in traffic. On defense, he chases blocks a little too much, but can be a legitimate deterrent at the rim.

McGee will be 34 years old as a free agent this summer. However, he has shown he can be a solid backup on a really good team, and if he continues that level of play in the playoffs, he could earn himself another decent contract in 2022.
 
Cap Considerations
McGee will be an unrestricted free agent with a $6 million cap hold and Non-Bird Rights. Using his Non-Bird rights, the most the Suns could offer him is a starting salary of $6 million, which would likely be enough to retain him. If necessary, they could also use the MLE to re-sign him if he demands more than $6 million. However, there's a good chance that the Suns only have the $6.3 million Taxpayer MLE available. 

Other teams will have multiple ways to sign McGee as even teams without cap space could use either of the Non-Taxpayer MLE, Taxpayer MLE, or possibly even the Room MLE or BAE to sign him. There's also a chance that McGee could be had for the minimum.

Potential Teams: Bulls, Suns, Clippers, Bucks, Pelicans

Predicted Contract: 2-year, $10 million with the Bulls

Actual Contract: 3-year, $20.1 million (3rd year player option) with the Mavericks

Not sure I get this one at all. The per-year dollar amount isn't that much more than I expected, but giving 3 years, including a player option to a 34 year-old backup center doesn't seem like the best use of the Mavericks' resources, especially given the current makeup of their roster. Trades could change that, but I'll be surprised if this becomes a positive value contract for Dallas.

Last updated: 6/30/2022

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