There have been five intriguing signings by NBA teams so far prior to the restart of the season at the end of July. Unfortunately, due to reasons related to coronavirus, some players have decided to skip out for various reasons. This has now given teams an opportunity to retool their lineup in an attempt to get better down the stretch. Let’s take a closer look at six NBA players that have a chance to showcase their skills this season and have a chance to convince management to give them a contract for 2020-21.
5) David Nwaba–Houston Rockets–The 27-year-old small forward known as “Mr. Dunk” hails from Los Angeles. So far in 2019-20, he was averaging 5.2 points per game and 2.3 rebounds in 20 games with the Brooklyn Nets. The Rockets become Nwaba’s fifth team in four years as he has also played with the Los Angeles Lakers, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Chicago Bulls.
4) Tyler Johnson–Brooklyn Nets–The 28-year-old guard from Grand Forks, North Dakota was averaging 5.7 points per game with the Phoenix Suns in 2019-20. The seven-year veteran who has played two seasons with the Suns and five seasons with the Miami Heat, will look to rebound with Brooklyn. Johnson had career lows in field goal percentage (.380), and three-point percentage (.289) this year.
3) Trey Burke–Dallas Mavericks–The 27-year-old veteran point guard was averaging 5.9 points per game this season with the Philadelphia 76ers. The native of Columbus, Ohio is in his seventh year in the NBA. In addition to Philadelphia, he has played with the Utah Jazz, Washington Wizards, New York Knicks, and Dallas Mavericks.
2) Tyler Zeller–San Antonio Spurs–The 30-year-old center from Visalia, California was released by the Denver Nuggets in October. Entering his eighth NBA season, Zeller has previously played for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics, Brooklyn Nets, Milwaukee Bucks, Atlanta Hawks, and Memphis Grizzlies. Last year in six games with the Hawks and Grizzlies, he averaged 7.7 points in six games. Zeller’s finest NBA season was in 2014-15 when he had 10.2 points per game and 5.7 rebounds per game with the Celtics.
1)J.R. Smith–Los Angeles Lakers–The 34-year-old shooting guard from Freehold, New Jersey will now be reuniting with LeBron James in southern California. Smith was part of the Cavaliers team that won the 2016 NBA Finals. However, two years later in 2018, Smith seemed to forget the score in game one of the NBA Finals with the Cavaliers against the Golden State Warriors, and did not shoot or pass the basketball to James when he could have. Smith will now enter his 17th NBA season. He has also previously played for the New Orleans Hornets, Oklahoma City Hornets, Denver Nuggets, and New York Knicks. For 10 straight seasons from 2006 to 2016, Smith was known for his shooting consistency as he averaged a minimum of 12 points per game. Smith’s career-high was 18.1 points per game with the Knicks in 2012-13.
