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2024 Free Agents - Max Christie

Summary
Christie was a high-level high school recruit in 2021, but after a somewhat disappointing freshman season at Michigan State he ended up dropping to the 2nd round of the 2022 draft. At 6'6" with good length, Christie fits the mold of an NBA wing, particularly if the shooting comes around. 

Christie got a little bit of time as a rookie in '22-'23, playing in 460 minutes of non-garbage time over 34 games, according to Cleaning the Glass. He played a bit more in his second season, with 830 non-garbage time minutes over 60 games. During his NBA minutes, he has shot 40% from three, but has struggled from two, leading to a slightly below-average 55% true shooting. He has been even less efficient if you include his G-League time in order to get a bigger sample. Combine that with the under 32% he shot from three in college, and it's just a little difficult to project what kind of shooter he will be despite his shot looking good and his rate in NBA minutes thus far. 

The hope is that his NBA minutes are most reflective of his actual role going forward, which is a good sign for his efficiency but could mean his ceiling isn't that high as an on-ball player, particularly since he isn't a great athlete and needs to add strength. He has shown brief flashes of play-making ability but isn't going to break defenders down off the dribble, and has always been a low-assist guy.  

Defensively, Christie has shown more promise there than a lot of skinny shooter types. He moves his feet well, gives good effort, and can use his length to contest shots. His lack of strength will make it hard for him to guard the most elite wings, but he should be a pretty switchable defender that can guard multiple positions. 

If Christie can knock down threes at an above-average clip, have enough off-the-dribble game to at least attack hard closeouts and make plays, and defend well enough, he could make a long career for himself as just a solid wing. He still has a lot to prove in those areas, but there's a reasonable chance he can do those things.
 
Cap Considerations
Christie will be a restricted free agent with a $2.3 million cap hold and Qualifying Offer, and the Lakers will have his Early Bird rights. There's also a chance that the Lakers do not give Christie a QO, which would make him an unrestricted free agent.

If the Lakers re-sign Christie using the Early-Bird Exception, they could offer him a starting salary of up to 105% of the average salary this past season (roughly $13 million), which should be enough to retain him.

Since Christie will only have two years of service, he will be subject to the Gilbert Arenas provision if he is given a QO. This means that any offer sheet he signs with a team besides Los Angeles can have a starting maximum salary of $12.9 million, but the third and potentially fourth years of that contract can have a large jump (up to the max). His cap hit would then be the average salary over the life of the contract. If the Lakers match, they could choose for his cap hit to either be his actual salary per season or the average over the life of the contract, provided the average fits within the Early Bird Exception or cap space. 

I do not expect the Arenas provision to come into play for Christie, as I think any offers for him would fit within the full Non-Taxpayer MLE over the length of the contract. There's also a chance that he's an unrestricted free agent with only minimum offers.

Potential Teams: Lakers, Pistons, Trailblazers, Wizards, Hornets

Predicted Contract: 2-year, $8 million with the Lakers

Predicted Contract: 4-year, $32 million with the Lakers

Christie got a pretty solid contract with the Lakers, and I was a little surprised he got this much considering he hasn't proven to be a rotation-level player yet. However, if he turns into one, this deal could be a steal.

Last updated: 7/10/2024

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