NBA Free Agency 2018: 5 best small forwards available

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As we prepare to enter free agency this year, we will look at the small forward position, and which players teams should be most excited about there.

Small forwards have been dominating basketball for the last few years. The top two players in the league, LeBron James and Kevin Durant both play small forward. Other stars at the position include Paul George and Giannis Antetokounmpo, who have a similar ability to impact the game in a variety of way. Unlike the power forwards and centers, the top small forwards available in this year’s free agency are slightly older and more established.

Stats courtesy of basketball-reference, offensive and defensive rating from NBA.com

5. Rudy Gay

Rudy Gay has been in the NBA for a long time now, 12 years to be precise, and he has often been a key player. Last year however, he took a step back. At the age of 31, he had his first season in which he averaged under 30 minutes per game since his rookie year.

Perhaps, the bench role suits him better. He posted the third highest PER of his career at 18 and was very good with him time on the floor. Taking his statistics per 36 minutes, he would have averaged 19.2 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. It will be up to teams to judge whether he should remain a bench player or if he can still thrive in an expanded role.

There are two reasons that may have contributed to Gay’s resurgence. First, there is his shot selection. A career low 9.5% of his shots were long twos, a shot analytics has said is the most inefficient shot. It is a shot that the Western Conference runner-up Rockets have essentially phased out. By shooting less from here, Gay tied his career high single-season shooting percentage and second best effective shooting percentage.

The other reason is where he played. Not San Antonio, but for the first time in his career, Gay played the majority, 84%, of his minutes as a power forward. He wasn’t asked to do as much creating as he has had to before. He had the third highest percentage of two pointers assisted in his career.

Now, Gay better understands his role and how he can help his team. As long as he is used in a similar manner next year, whoever signs him will have a solid contributor.

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