Where to go? Taking stock of the six point guards in the free market in the offseason, Russell may be reduced to the basic salary

Although the 2024-2025 season has just ended, the NBA has seen many major deals one after another, among which Durant's joining the Rockets can even affect the overall situation of the West next season. In addition, there may be more surprising big deals in the following offseason, even all-star players such as Jaylen Brown may be sent away. In contrast, the free market this year seems much bleak. With Irving determined to renew his contract with the Mavericks, this undoubtedly led to less lively alliances. However, even so, there are still many good players in the free market. For example, the six point guards we will take stock of next. They are good choices for some playoff teams. If they can sign them at a suitable price, the team's strength is expected to be strongly supplemented in the new season!

6.Jones

After his contract expired in the offseason last year, Jones was favored by many teams, but due to his previous performance in the playoffs, these teams basically provided him with the basic salary insurance price. Finally, after some consideration, Jones decided to join the Suns with a basic salary because the latter gave him a starting promise at the time. However, after actually joining the Suns, although Jones did start at the beginning, the coaching staff began to try continuously due to the team's poor record, so Jones was transferred to the substitute later. In this case, it was obviously impossible for him to return to the Suns.

Jones averaged 10.2 points, 2.4 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 2 three-pointers this past season, and his three-point shooting percentage is as high as 41.4%, so he definitely has no shortage of next players in the free market. However, in the Suns, Jones still failed to increase his net worth, so his next contract is likely to be below the middle class. If he wants to join a strong team, his basic salary may be even greater.

5.Bro Gordon

Although Bro Gordon has only played in the NBA for 9 seasons, he is now 32 years old, so he is obviously a complete NBA veteran. Brogodon has changed teams a lot in the past few years. Good news is that his competitive form is still good. He averaged 12.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game in the 2024-2025 regular season. However, this year was the season that Brogodon suffered the most severe injury. Not only did he play only 24 games, but his efficiency on the court was greatly reduced compared to before.

Bro Gordon's three-point shooting percentage in the regular season was only 28.6%, which is far below his career average. However, given his age, even if this is not his current level, teams interested in him have to pay more attention to him. According to the latest reports, one of the teams Brogodon is the Mavericks, and they lack guards may try to quote the veteran with a basic salary.

4. Russell

Before the 2024-2025 season, although Russell and Lakers coach Ham were recognized as unconfrontation, under the latter, he was at least reused in the regular season. Therefore, he averaged 18 points, 3.1 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game last season. However, after Redick took office, he immediately reduced Russell's role in the Lakers, so he could see that the latter's condition quickly declined. Before he was traded, he could only average 12.4 points and 4.7 assists per game.

After being traded to the Nets, the outside world thought Russell would usher in a recovery, but he played worse. During this period, he averaged 12.9 points and 5.6 assists per game. It seemed that the data had improved, but this was also based on the ball rights and the actual efficiency was even worse. When he was at the Nets, Russell's shooting percentage and three-point shooting percentage were only 36.7% and 29.7% respectively. In this way, his identity in the offseason became lower. Currently, Russell is also a potential strengthening candidate for the Mavericks. Like Brogodon, he is a player who can shoot and organize. He is younger and better at attending the game than the latter. Moreover, Russell and Davis have partnered before, so he is undoubtedly a better choice in comparison.

3. After Gidy was selected by the Thunder in 2021, the team trained him for three years, but he has not been able to really perform as expected. In addition to the rise of Alexander and Jaylen Williams, the team chose to give up on him last year and trade him to the Bulls. At the beginning, Gidey's treatment was not much better than in the Thunder, but after the team traded in the mid-season, his playing time and ball rights had been greatly improved, which also motivated him to perform better.

Finally, looking back at the entire regular season, Gidey averaged 14.6 points, 8.1 rebounds, 7.2 assists and 1.2 steals per game. What is most gratifying is his improvement in shooting. He averaged 1.5 three-pointers with a shooting rate of 37.8%, setting a career high in both efficiency and output. In this case, Gidey has a lot of hope to renew his contract with the Bulls. Many insiders in the league also believe that he can get a five-year contract of 150 million yuan. Considering his 22-year-old age, the price may not be an exaggeration.

2. Paul

Paul, who is now 40 years old, still performed well in his 20th season. He played in the regular season for 82 games and averaged 8.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, 7.4 assists and 1.3 steals per game. If Wenban Yama had not announced the season's reimbursement early, the Spurs would have even had a chance to make the playoffs. After the season, Paul also expressed his thoughts about the future. The first thing he mentioned was that at this stage of his career, he no longer wanted to play too far from his family, so many fans thought he wanted to return to Los Angeles..

Among the two teams in Los Angeles, the Lakers definitely don't need Paul anymore. After all, they already have three major ball holders, Doncic, James, and Reeves, and the team's ball holding resources have overflowed during some of the teams. For the Clippers, they are likely to renew their contracts with Harden and Powell during the offseason, and there is no need to fight for Paul anymore. So judging from the current situation, the probability of him returning to Los Angeles to play is still very low. If he doesn't have to play in Los Angeles, then considering Paul's experience and status in the league, it should be very easy for him to find a new job.

1. Van Vliot

When Van Vliot signed this three-year, $128.5 million contract in 2023, many people from the outside world said that the Rockets lost, but after he joined the team, he helped the Rockets become a strong team that can win 50+ wins in the regular season in just two years. Although VanVleet's regular season performance this season is average, he averaged 18.7 points, 4.1 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 1 steal, 3.9 three-pointers per game in the playoffs. If Jaylen Green hadn't played too badly and other players had no experience, the Rockets would have a great chance to defeat the Warriors.

The Rockets can either choose to execute Van Vliot's team option or choose not to execute and sign a contract with him. Anyway, Van Vliot will most likely not leave the team in the end, especially considering the Rockets' lineup after the transaction, they seem to be even more inseparable from point guards like Van Vliot.