The NBA preseason starts right away, with players from all 30 teams ready to become proficient in their rosters in 2022-23 and build chemistry with their teammates.
But the few available players are still not signed, and it's not yet clear which team they will help in the upcoming season, if any. Injuries, age and reduced playing time in previous games on teams with deep rosters have lowered their player inventory, but there are still times for several teams to have opportunities with these unsigned players and bring them in before the season.
Seasoned veterans like Jeremy Lamb and Hassan Whiteside, as well as former All-Star Blake Griffin, are among the top unsigned players who can add a solid late-stage addition to NBA teams, both as role players and mentors for young teams.
Lamb:
Lamb was healthier last season, playing 56 games between his games with the Indiana Pacers and the Sacramento Kings — the most since he had surgery on his left knee in 2020. He wasn't a brilliant scorer before he was injured, but he had some offensive flashes on the bench. In the pre-trade month, he played his best stats, averaging 8.5 points per game, shooting 43 percent from the field and 0.5 blocks.
He's been practicing shooting hard since his injury, especially his jump shot. In 2021-22, Lamb shot 32.4 percent from 3-point range and 44.1 percent from 2-point range while still shooting 10.4 percent from the field in one of the worst shooting seasons of his career. If Lamb finds a substitute role in 2022-23, he will have to improve the efficiency of his substitute appearances
Whiteside
Whiteside proved that last season he was still a solid option to rotate Rudy Gobert and that he could help a team find the size and experience on the bench. He averaged 8.2 points and 7.6 rebounds per game, made 5.1 attempts last season and averaged a 65.2 percent all-time best and served as a starter in Gobert's absence. In his eight starts with the Jazz last season, he averaged 11.5 points and 11.3 rebounds per game.
The best team for Whiteside to go to: the Nets, if there's a weakness in this Nets team, it's the lack of good players and rotations in the center position. The Nets re-signed Nick Clarkston, but the only substitute was Dairon Sharp. Brooklyn ranked last season last year for defensive rebounding percentages and there is still an urgent need to increase the size of the lineup. Unlike most teams, the Nets do have a roster of vacancies.
Aldridge
In the first half of the season, Aldridge provided the Nets with a steady veteran presence — averaging 15 points and 5.5 rebounds in six games in December while helping Brooklyn get off to a good start in the East.
After scoring 16 points and grabbing nine rebounds in the March 1 loss to the Toronto Raptors, the Nets didn't have Kevin Durant (knee) and Kyrie Irving (vaccination requirements), and Aldridge played only four games before being stuck on Steve Nash's bench.
griffin
Griffin averaged 8.8 points and five rebounds in eight games in December, and Griffin played just seven games from March 1 to the end of the season. Nash has repeatedly praised Griffin for staying ready — but after 13 seasons in the league, the athleticism and explosiveness that defined his career don't exist. Like veteran center LaMarcus Aldridge, Griffin was barely able to come off the bench in the final two months of the season
Bledsoe
Bledsoe started the season with the Los Angeles Clippers and came out on a 22-point effort on 10-of-16 shooting. Bledsoe, who sometimes started and came off the bench for the Clippers, had his best result in nine games from mid-December to New Year's Day, when he averaged 15.7 points, 5.7 assists and 3.4 rebounds while shooting 48.6 percent and 3.7 percent from the field.
The 22 points scored in the opener ended up being his second-highest scoring effort this season. Once Bledsoe was traded to the Portland Blazers in February, he ended up with an injury report with a left Achilles tendon and was officially excluded from the season on March 28. Overall, Bledsoe's shooting percentage continues to decline, shooting 42.1 percent from the field, the second-lowest scoring of his career, shooting 31.3 percent from the field, his lowest since 2011-12.