NBA Free Agency: A starting 5 of the most overrated free agents

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Apr 7, 2017; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Nuggets center Mason Plumlee (24) in the fourth quarter against the New Orleans Pelicans at the Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports /

Miles Plumlee, C, Restricted

His story?

Mason Plumlee has bounced around the league, starting his career with the Nets, before moving on to the Portland Trail Blazers, and finally Denver. He is a restricted free agent who may attract some interest with his offensive ability, with his passing being a key aspect of his game. Defensively his is also improving.

Plumlee was one of the five players to average at least 10 points, seven rebounds, three assists and one block per game this year

How was his season?

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Plumlee started the year in Portland where he was their starting center. In a trade with an almost instant backfire, Denver traded Jusuf Nurkic and a pick for Plumlee. The thinking at the time was to send the out of form Nurkic to start at center for the Blazers, giving Denver a better run at the playoffs. Well, it didn’t really work out like that as Nurkic was a phenom in Portland.

T.J. McBride of local Denver news outlet said it best when assessing Plumlee’s season in Denver.

"He went from the unquestioned starting center in Portland to a bench role in Denver where he would also see time at the power forward position. He also had to learn to play with an entirely different set of teammates in an entirely different offensive philosophy. While Plumlee did progress as the season went on there were clear struggles throughout the year like trying to overpass and struggling to finish at the rim but overall, Plumlee deserves a passing grade for what he brought to Denver over the second half of the year."

Why is he overrated?

Mason Plumlee may be the best center in this free agent class. However, that says a lot more about this year’s free agent class than it does about him. Plumlee is a player who is more than useful if you want him to fill a particular role. He is a unique big man who can play as a center and create options with his passing.

However, the center position throughout the league is pretty stacked, and teams are moving towards playing with only one big on the floor. Having Plumlee chasing floor-spacing fours around the court has proven to be a disaster. He is a terrible fit defensively in Denver with Jokic needing a defensive ace to cover his shortcomings.

Plumlee is being spoken about as a player who will attract a significant pay increase this off-season, but what side he starts for in the modern NBA? According to RealGM, the list of teams with highest projected cap space are tabled.

Team

Projected
Cap Space

Philadelphia

$39,371,805

Miami

$35,924,673

Brooklyn

$33,563,177

Dallas

$28,862,443

LA Lakers

$25,877,691

Minnesota

$25,026,084

Boston

$18,858,929

Denver

$17,266,154

Indiana

$13,223,718

Sacramento

$11,934,764

Must Read: Three Players The Houston Rockets Should Target Next

Which team from that list does Plumlee start at center on? Especially assuming Noel is signing in Dallas.

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