5 NBA free agents that could change the fate of teams next season

The 2020-21 NBA season will start as early as December 2020 or January 2021. Typically, there are at least five months for teams to rest and reorganize before they embark on another championship campaign, but that is not the case this time.

The long hiatus brought about by the coronavirus pandemic changed the schedule. The teams' financial situation would mean that players from the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat, two teams still playing in the finals, will only have two or three months to get back in the game.

Other teams are not waiting for a champion to be crowned and are already reshuffling their players and coaches to prepare for the next season.

Basketball Insiders published a complete list of players going into free agency at the end of this season. Here are some notable names that other teams can look at to reinforce their squads.

Hassan Whiteside
15.5 points, 13.5 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 2.9 blocks

Defensive monster Hassan Whiteside, who is known for his Rodman-style rebounding ability and blocking, is one of the best players in free agency this coming season. He is a one-time rebounding champion and a two-time blocking champion.

AT 7'0 and 31 years old, Whiteside has 3-5 more years left in his career, perfect for one contract. Unfortunately, his last salary was over 27 million, and it would be difficult to sign him without matching his salary at that level.

Andre Drummond

If Whiteside is too expensive, stepping down a bit to 27-year-old Andre Drummond would work. His last salary of 22 million is still a bit too expensive, but Drummond is a four-time rebounding champion and still averages 11.1 rebounds a game this season.

Kyle Korver

One of the best 3-point shooters of all-time, Kyle Korver, is also going into free agency. If Stephen Curry didn't exist, he would have taken his place in history.

The 39-year-old Korver shot 42% beyond the arc in his career and is still shooting that way even with his advanced age. He led the league in three-point percentage four times, including the highest ever at 53.6% in the 2009-2010 season. He holds the record for most consecutive games with a three-pointer at 90.

Last season, he signed a minimum salary contract of 2.5 million dollars averaging 6.7 points a game.

Joakim Noah

Center Joakim Noah is another player on a minimum salary contract. He was the Defensive Player of the Year in 2014, and a two-time all-star. At 35 years old, he is still playing as energetic as he used to but can no longer put in the minutes as he did in his younger days.

In 2018-2019, his last full season, he started 42 games for the Memphis Grizzlies but only averaged 16.5 minutes per game. However, in those 16.5 minutes, he was able to grab 5.7 rebounds, scored 7.1 points, and 0.7 blocks. If taken into 36-minute averages, his numbers are similar to Drummond and Whiteside.

Kendrick Nunn

Suppose teams are looking for minimum salary players who aren't at the twilight of their careers. In that case, Kendrick Nunn is an undrafted rookie player who made many contributions to championship contender Miami Heat. In his first five NBA games, he scored 112 points, the highest by an undrafted player, and only one point behind Kevin Durant for drafted players.

He posted a career-high of 135 points against the Atlanta Hawks and is the fastest rookie to reach 500 points in Heat history. By the end of the season, Nunn averages 15.3 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 3.3 assists a game.