2018 NBA free agency includes the biggest names in basketball

The 2018 NBA free agency period includes the biggest names in basketball. The likes of LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are just a few of the NBA stars that will be available in free agency in the summer of 2018. Do the Raptors have a chance of attracting any of these big names to play in Toronto?

The 2017 NBA offseason has been abuzz with several big name players switching teams via trades and free agency and several more big stars are still asking for trades. Chris Paul is in Houston, Gordon Hayward is in Boston and Jimmy Butler is now in Minnesota to name just a few.

For the first time in ages the NBA has dominated the NFL in the offseason headlines. If you enjoyed all the player movement, gossip and stories being leaked to the media in the summer of 2017, you must be salivating at the thought of what is going to transpire in the summer of 2018.

Here are just a few of the names that will be available on the free agent market at the end of the 2017-18 season: LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, DeMarcus Cousins, Joel Embiid, LeMarcus Aldridge and DeAndre Jordan.

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This upcoming season is such a pivotal year for the Toronto Raptors organization.

The team must have another competitive season and make a deeper run in the playoffs than they did this past year if they are going to have any hope of attracting one or more of the big name free agents available in 2018.

Masai Ujiri and new general manager Bobby Webster have about 10 months to start working some magic and attempt to transform this franchise by adding another superstar.

The likelihood of LeBron James taking his talents to the great white north (eh!) at this stage of his career are slim and none. You have to think the same for Russell Westbrook.

However, there is a case to be made that several other big names would consider the move to Toronto.

NEW YORK, NY – SEPTEMBER 23: Kevin Durant and Drake attends Kevin Durant’s birthday party at Avenue on September 22, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Shareif Ziyadat/FilmMagic) /

Here is a list of five of the big names available that could be a fit with the Raptors:

Kevin Durant – Durant got his ring with Golden State this year and the Warriors are the odds on favourites to repeat this year. KD is leaving a significant amount of money on the table by playing with the Warriors. He will be 30 years-old at the start of the 2018-19 season and it makes sense that he will be looking to cash in on one more massive contract opportunity.

We all remember the incident back in 2014 when Drake was fined by the NBA for making comments to KD about him playing for the Raptors at one of his concerts in Toronto.

KD is a fit on every team in the league but just think about how good the Raps would look with KD in the front court being fed the ball from Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan.

DeMarcus Cousins – Boogie turns 27 years-old next week and is in the prime of his career. The guy is as good of a big man as there is in the NBA when he is on and would be a massive upgrade at centre for the Raptors over Jonas Valanciunas.

Joel Embiid – He has only played in 31 games in the NBA so health will be the major concern in scratching him a massive cheque come free agency. The Philadelphia 76ers will be cautiously monitoring his health this season before they’ll decide on offering Embiid an extension, but neither side has made a public commitment to each other as of yet.

Embiid and Ujiri have been involved with basketball camps in Africa together so it’s safe to assume there is some relationship between the two that could perhaps give the Raps an edge if Embiid becomes available in free agency.

Wilson Chandler – Chandler is 6-foot-8 and can play both forward positions and some shooting guard. He could play the role that DeMarre Carroll was supposed to play and would be an upgrade in the Raptors line-up. Chandler averaged 15.7 points per game for Denver last year and should come a little cheaper than some of the other big names available in free agency.

Jabari Parker – The former No. 2 overall pick in the 2014 draft out of Duke has already torn his ACL twice. That’s the down side of Parker but the upside is that he will only be 23 years-old at the end of this season and he did average 20.1 points per game for Milwaukee before his knee injury cut his season short in February. The 6-foot-8 Parker is long, lean and athletic and would be an upgrade in the Raps front court.

Many of these names are long shots for the Raptors but that doesn’t mean the organization shouldn’t throw their hat in the ring and make a pitch for them to come to Toronto.

Wayne Gretzky said, “You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take.”

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