Rondae Hollis-Jefferson – UFA 2020
Hyphenated last names and placement in this category aren’t the only things Rondae Hollis-Jefferson has in common with Kidd-Gilchrist. They have near mirror-image games. Hyper-athletic, defense-oriented, and offensively limited. Injuries and the Brooklyn Nets style of play resulted in his playing a reduced role with diminishing returns as a result.
Unlike Kidd-Gilchrist, Hollis-Jefferson has put up solid stat lines, hanging 13.9/6.8/2.5 in 59 starts just two years ago. He is another nice flier for a team to take for his defense and on the off-chance (there’s that term again) that 2017 was legit. But that again would be as a backup, just as he will be for Toronto this season.
Maurice Harkless – UFA 2020
Teams might want to bring in Maurice Harkless just because he might be the best recruiter going in the NBA. His best season came three years ago when he started a career-high 69 games and put up a career-high 10 points with 4.4 boards and 1.1 assists per game. He is another defense-first player but has actually shown the ability to be much more on offense than he has been.
His outside shooting has fluctuated in efficiency and he has never shot for volume. But he has made enough to make one wonder how effective he would be if he was more aggressive offensively. Harkless will have to suck it up and play alongside a couple of guys in L.A. this season but will hit the open market in 2020, maybe with a championship ring.