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2024 Free Agents - Brandon Boston, Jr.

Summary
Boston was a high-level recruit coming out of high school in 2020, and early on was projected to be a top-10 pick in the 2021 draft. However, his freshman season at Kentucky went about as poorly as possible, and he ended up falling all the way to the 51st pick. His rookie season went pretty well though, as he was productive in the G-League and even got some decent minutes with the Clippers, playing in 669 minutes of non-garbage time over 44 games, according to Cleaning the Glass. Those minutes declined in '22-'23 and '23-'24 as the Clippers got deeper and healthier, and he was not part of the regular rotation.

Boston can create separation off-the-dribble, and isn't afraid to take pull-up jumpers in isolation or out of pick-and-roll. He can beat his defender off-the-dribble to get to the rim, and has the size to elevate in the midrange and shoot over defenders. His scoring is his primary skill right now, and he has averaged over 21 points per game in the G-League.

However, his shot selection could use improvement. Boston's true shooting of 49% is really poor, and some of that is due to him taking tough off-the-dribble jumpers, and simply not hitting them at a high rate. It's nice to have someone that can get a decent shot off late in the clock, but it's not just in late-clock situations that Boston takes tough jumpers.

Defensively, Boston could use some improvement, but that is true for most young players. He isn't always locked in on that end, and can get caught upright or reaching and allow blow-bys. Boston will likely get stronger as he ages, and his height and length give him some tools to potentially become a good defender.

Despite his flaws, Boston has outperformed his draft position, and still could carve out a long career, but time is running out if he doesn't get regular playing time soon.
 
Cap Considerations
Boston will be a restricted free agent with full Bird rights and a $2.4 million cap hold and Qualifying Offer. If a player has a smaller cap hold than his starting salary, his team can use cap space to sign-free agents before using Bird Rights to re-sign its own free agents. However, since the Clippers will likely be operating over the cap, Boston's cap hold is likely not relevant. There's also a chance the Clippers don't give him a QO, making him an unrestricted free agent.

Depending on how close the Clippers are to the luxury tax after free agency, if Boston is brought back by the Clippers on a multi-year contract above the minimum, they could benefit from frontloading his contract, as it could give them additional flexibility in the future.

Other teams will have multiple ways to sign Boston as even teams without cap space could use any of the Non-Taxpayer MLE, Room MLE, or possibly even the Taxpayer MLE or Bi-Annual Exception to sign him to an offer sheet (although you rarely ever see offer sheets for less than the full Non-Taxpayer MLE). There's also a chance that Boston is an unrestricted free agent with only minimum offers.

Potential Teams: Clippers, Wizards, Jazz, Kings, Bulls

Predicted Contract: 1-year, $2.4 million with the Clippers

Actual Contract: 1-year, $2.2 million (non-guaranteed) with the Spurs

Boston ended up signing a training camp deal with the Spurs, where he will compete for one of the final roster spots. The Spurs already have 15 guaranteed contracts on the roster, so Boston is at a disadvantage and may end up in the G-League.

Last updated: 8/9/2024

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