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In 250 possessions at center last season, San Antonio outscored opponents by 6.5 points per 100 possessions, according to Cleaning the Glass. Rudy Gay was about as promising an option as they were going to find for the taxpayer mid-level exception. But they needed an alternative somewhere on their roster, if only for the minutes that Gobert sits out. It would be a waste of Rudy Gobert's transcendent rim protection. The Jazz are never going to switch as a base. When the playoffs arrived, that schematic versatility was critical against Brooklyn and Phoenix. Tucker at the deadline in part because of his comfort in that scheme. The Bucks dipped their toes into the switching pool on defense during the regular season after years of overreliance on dropping. Nobody is suggesting a complete overhaul, but Milwaukee laid the blueprint last season for a more modest adjustment. The Jazz play the way that they play and lacked alternatives when the Clippers solved their drop-coverage and 3-point barrage. Utah's fatal flaw last season was rigidity. The reported contract: Two years, $12.1 million (taxpayer mid-level exception): So let's look at some under-the-radar signings that will impact the championship picture either now, or, in one prominent case, potentially in the future. Last season's contenders largely did a good job of that. This, essentially, is the path traditional contenders need to take to develop depth. The Lakers carved out max cap space, but when Kawhi Leonard didn't take it, they had to use that space to build a worthwhile supporting cast around their stars. Milwaukee was hard-capped and needed players like Portis and Bryn Forbes to leave money on the table for an opportunity to win in order to build a remotely palatable bench. The two most recent champions had several.
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The 2019 Raptors are the only recent champion not to keep a below-market-value free agent in their rotation. Championship teams are star-driven, but the often exorbitant price of those stars makes these teams extremely reliant upon the bargain bin. Miami's nabbed Shane Battier and Ray Allen with back-to-back mid-level exceptions. Golden State's dynasty lived off of minimum-salary role players. The 2020 Lakers had Dwight Howard and Markieff Morris.