5 Bargain Bin Free Agents

It’s about that time for NBA teams to begin shopping for players of the cheap variety.

As the free agency season slows to a crawl, most of the best players have already found destinations. However, many valuable veterans remain ready to play for ultra-cheap rates. Here are some of the best values still on the market.

Leandro Barbosa

Last season, Barbosa signed with Phoenix at the veteran’s minimum to pick up while Bledsoe recovered from his injury. Unfortunately, he suffered a variety of his own injuries and could never stay on the court long enough to alleviate Goran Dragic’s load. Most of these were petty injuries that don’t lower Barbosa’s chance of staying healthy. Whichever team picks up Barbosa likely won’t have to deal with these injuries and instead will find a strong shooter (46.0 career FG%, 39.0 career 3-point %) with great speed who can come off the bench and help spark the offense.

Ekpe Udoh

Last season, Udoh rode the bench for the Bucks, his book club the only contribution to Milwaukee. The Bucks have now made him an unrestricted free agent. Udoh is expected to go near the veteran’s minimum, but has the ability to play above his price. Udoh isn’t necessarily special offensively, but he has solid passing skills and is undervalued for his skills on the elbows. Defensively, Udoh delivers. A terrific shot-blocker, Udoh has a high defensive IQ and can guard the best of them. He may not always stick out, and he struggles with rebounding, but Udoh contributes way more than this cheap price would indicate.

Gustavo Ayon

With Atlanta dropping Ayon’s contract, Gustavo joined the pool of vets that can help their teams more than the one-year veteran’s minimum may imply. Ayon has never been a scorer (4.7 career points per game) but is a very consistent player off the bench who helps offensive rhythm with his passing and movement. Defensively, Ayon is solid and will not cause any problems, nor will he create any for the other team. He is good enough to be in the rotation and the more often he plays, the better he performs. His career highs in points, blocks and rebounds per game all came in his rookie campaign where he averaged 20.1 minutes. Ayon is not the best player on this list, but if he falls into the right situation could prove himself to be worth more than the minimum.

Chris Douglas-Roberts

Last year, CDR played for Charlotte, but now, he, too, is an unrestricted free agent. CDR is a good wing player that played above his $700,000 contract last year and will likely do the same this upcoming year. Douglas-Roberts shot 44.0 percent from the field last year and averaged 20.7 minutes. That’s some solid production for a cheap price. CDR has his moments offensively but overall represents a player that can come off the bench and produce (6.9 points per game last season). Defensively, he’s not a liability and has the length to guard both guards and forwards. CDR has proven himself over the years to be a consistent player off the bench and one who can be an integral part of a second unit.

Emeka Okafor

Emeka Okafor got paid $15 million last year. $15 million! This year, he will not come close. After being traded to make the money side of a deal work, Okafor was left to rehab his back injury. However, only two years ago, Okafor was a vital part of a Wizards team for which he averaged 9.7 points and 8.8 rebounds. Okafor is a great defender with a high IQ and always has been a strong rebounder on both sides of the ball. Offensively, Okafor can’t do much, but he isn’t going to cause any real problems, either. The former No. 2 overall pick arguably could be the best player to play for the minimum next season if his back injury issues don’t resurface.