The NBA Season has completed a third of the total games this season, and we can finally determine how the 2023-24 free-agency market performed.
With stars and role players moving from team to team during the off-season, we can see if an organization made the right move of acquiring or disposing of their assets.
Criteria of Selection
We included each player’s performance last season before signing to their new team and their current performance this season.
However, the most important criteria in the selection process of the best player acquisition are the player’s win shares per 48 minutes or the estimated number of wins contributed by a player per 48 minutes (league average is 0.100) taken from Basketball-Reference.com.
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This is to properly evaluate a player’s performance despite playing limited minutes on their new team, which would hopefully equalize the results.
This way, even if a player joins an already strong team, but his performance didn’t create more win shares, he may be lower in the ranking or even fall off the list.
Please note that while some players had lower averages this season than last year, as long as they had a higher WS/48, they can still get a higher ranking.
10. Malik Beasley (UTA/LAL to MIL)
2022-23 – 11.1 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 1.2 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.0 BPG
2023-24 – 11.9 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 1.4 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.1 BPG
WS/48: 0.109 (94th in the NBA)
Win Shares: 2.5 (84th in the NBA)
Malik Beasley spent the first half of last season with the Utah Jazz before shipping to the bright lights of LA to play for the Lakers, where he averaged 12.7 points per game.
This season, he is part of Milwaukee’s revamped roster, hoping to help the Bucks reach the finals again. He is currently averaging incremental upticks to his numbers than last year.
With one-third of the season in the books, he has shown to be a dependable three-point shooter, averaging a career-best 46.2% from beyond the arc.
9. Jrue Holiday (MIL to BOS)
2022-23 – 19.3 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 7.4 APG, 1.2 SPG, 0.4 BPG
2023-24 – 13.0 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 4.6 APG, 0.9 SPG, 0.8 BPG
WS/48: 0.115 (82nd in the NBA)
Win Shares: 3.0 (59th in the NBA)
Coming off his second All-Star selection after ten years, defensive specialist and Buck’s starting point guard Jrue Holiday was shipped to the Celtics in a surprise move following the acquisition of Damian Lillard.
However, everything is good as Jrue is paired with a fellow defensive-minded guard, Derrick White. He is now an integral part of the Eastern Conference leaders, Boston Celtics.
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8. Chris Paul (PHO to GSW)
2022-23 – 13.9 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 8.9 APG, 1.5 SPG, 0.4 BPG
2023-24 – 8.9 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 7.2 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.1 BPG
WS/48: 0.129 (68th in the NBA)
Win Shares: 2.4 (91st in the NBA)
Chris Paul is one of the best point guards to ever hold a basketball, leading the league in assists five times and in steals six times during his long and lustrous career.
This season, he is playing with arguably the best three-point shooter in NBA history, Stephen Curry, which prompted him to come off the bench instead of his usual starting role.
Though he is averaging a career-low in points per game, he made sure to make his presence felt in terms of leadership and distributing the ball.
As they say, you can’t run away from Father Time forever, as the point god is now 38 years old and is running on fumes.
7. Dario Šarić (OKC to GSW)
2022-23 – 7.4 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 0.9 APG, 0.4 SPG, 0.1 BPG
2023-24 – 10.5 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 2.4 APG, 0.6 SPG, 0.2 BPG
WS/48: 0.136 (61st in the NBA)
Win Shares: 2.4 (90th in the NBA)
Veteran Center Dario Šarić revitalized his career after signing a one-year deal with the Golden State Warriors.
He is now averaging 10.7 points and playing 20.8 minutes per game, the highest since the 2019-20 season.
6. Jusuf Nurkić (POR to PHO)
2022-23 – 13.3 PPG, 9.1 RPG, 2.9 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.8 BPG
2023-24 – 12.4 PPG, 10.5 RPG, 3.4 APG, 0.9 SPG, 1.1 BPG
WS/48: 0.137 (59th in the NBA)
Win Shares: 3.0 (56th in the NBA)
Jusuf Nurkić has spent almost seven years with the Portland Trail Blazers before getting shipped to the Phoenix Suns as part of the Lillard to Bucks deal.
He is now the starting center for the Suns. He is currently averaging a double-double in points and rebounds while playing alongside the two most prolific scorers in recent years, Kevin Durant and Devin Booker.
5. Fred VanVleet (TOR to HOU)
2022-23 – 19.3 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 7.2 APG, 1.8 SPG, 0.6 BPG
2023-24 – 17.1 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 8.5 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.8 BPG
WS/48: 0.149 (47th in the NBA)
Win Shares: 4.4 (24th in the NBA)
If there’s one thing Fred VanVleet loves to do, it is betting on himself, like how things worked out for his career in Toronto.
This year, he decided to bet on himself again, which paid off after the Houston Rockets signed him with a three-year $130 million contract.
He is now leading the young and inexperienced Houston Rockets in assists and adding the gritty identity that led the team to playoff contention.
4. Donte DiVincenzo (GSW to NYK)
2022-23 – 9.4 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 3.5 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.1 BPG
2023-24 – 11.2 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 2.1 APG, 1.2 SPG, 0.3 BPG
WS/48: 0.155 (43rd in the NBA)
Win Shares: 2.8 (71st in the NBA)
Donte DiVincenzo agreed to a four-year, $50 million deal with the New York Knicks to join his fellow Villanueva alums, Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart.
He is now contributing in the rotation, averaging ten points per game and shooting 44.8% from beyond the arc while occasionally coming off the bench.
3. Damian Lillard (POR to MIL)
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