It didn’t take long for the big name free agents to find a new home during NBA free agency but the signings have continued over the last two weeks with teams plugging holes. At this point, teams are just rounding out their depth charts but it’s still very important for fantasy. Here is a look at some of the notable recent depth signings from the last two weeks in the NBA.
Seth Curry, Sacramento Kings
Curry impressed in the Summer League enough to earn a two-year, $2 million deal with the Kings with a player option for the second year. He will have every opportunity to prove he deserves a larger role with the team this season. Curry averaged 24.3 points per game and earned MVP honors with the New Orleans Pelicans’ Summer League team.
While he will never be able to emerge from the shadow of his brother and father, the fact that he shares their last name probably helped him get this job. The consensus is that he can make an impact this season. The Kings were very vocal about their desire to acquire a third point guard and Curry put on a scoring clinic in the summer league where he hit 45.9% of his shots. Curry is a decent playmaker and an excellent pure shooter with a high ceiling. Playing time could be a challenge with Rajon Rondo and Darren Collison in the way, but Curry could see action as a backup at either the point or shooting guard positions.
Chris Copeland, Milwaukee Bucks
Milwaukee has been among the busiest teams this offseason and they continued their reload when they signed the veteran forward Copeland to a one-year, $1.1 million deal. Copeland’s 2014-15 season ended prematurely when he was stabbed outside of a New York nightclub and there were some doubts about whether he would land with an NBA team this season.
However, Bucks head coach Jason Kidd played with him when the two were with the New York Knicks in 2012-13 and felt the upside was high enough to bring him in. Copeland has the opportunity to be a quality depth option off the bench for Milwaukee this season and he could offer some value in deeper leagues. He’s been a decent source for threes as he averages 1.0 per game for his career and that’s only in 13.3 minutes of action. If he sees more, all of his stats will go up across the board. And you have to like the Kidd relationship. He knows how to get the most out of him on the floor.
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Samuel Dalembert, Dallas Mavericks
Dallas had no chance at finding a replacement center after losing out on DeAndre Jordan in free agency but they made a minor move with the addition of a veteran big man in Dalembert. It will be interesting to see how he figures in to the mix this season with the Mavericks likely to use Dalembert as a veteran big man that can provide them with 10 minutes or so per game off the bench this season. He’s not worth drafting in most leagues but remember that Zaza Pachulia, the man in front of him on the depth chart, is quite injury prone.
Jimmer Fredette, San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs won the offseason when they re-signed Danny Green and then added LaMarcus Aldridge and David West, but they weren’t done there with a smaller signing this past week in Fredette. The former first-round pick was deemed expendable by the Kings and that makes it that much more intriguing that the Spurs were so quick to grab him. Nobody is better at getting the most out of his players than Gregg Popovich and it will be interesting to see how he figures in to their rotation this season.
Coming out of college, Fredette was supposed to be a difference maker but Sacramento has laid waste to many careers. Don’t be surprised if the Spurs revive him. They need him as they lost a couple of depth guys like Marco Belinelli and Cory Joseph.
