While stars might be the ones that earn max contract deals, it is always the others that help a team. Basketball is a team sport, and no player, no matter how great, can win a championship on his own. Michael Jordan needed help, Kobe Bryant needed help, and LeBron James needed help. Listen to any interview by LeBron in the past few years, and he is talking about “snipers”.
Those guys can play defense and shoot threes, popularly known as 3-and-D players. Every team needs them. Even if you have five role players on your team, you need more. Let’s take a look at some NBA role players that will have a huge impact on the 2024-25 NBA regular season.
9 NBA Role Players That Will Impact the 2024-25 Season
Gabe Vincent
When the Lakers signed Gabe Vincent, they hoped he would be a piece that would help them both in the regular season and the playoffs.
During the 2023 playoffs, Vincent averaged 12.7 points, 3.5 assists, and 1.4 rebounds. One can make the case he was Miami’s second or third-best player en route to the NBA Finals. Sadly, he suffered an injury last season and had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee at the beginning of the 2024 NBA season.
If the Lakers have any chance to improve from a play-in team to a playoff team, Vincent will be key. Before his injury, he averaged 9.4 points on 33% shooting from behind the arc in 2022-23. Last season in just 11 games, he averaged only 3.1 points on 10% 3-point shooting.
Jerami Grant
To be fair, if Jerami Grant helps any team during the season, it will be the team to which he is traded. At the moment, Grant plays for the Portland Trail Blazers. He signed a five-year, $160 million contract in the summer of 2023. His contract might say a star, but he should be a role player like Aaron Gordon is in Denver.
There will be plenty of teams that want to win now, and if Grant shows he can contribute to a winning team, he might end up in one. Last season, he averaged 21 points and 3.5 rebounds. Grant is still 29 years old, and he should have a few good years left. Denver gave a shot to Gordon and it paid off. Someone should do the same with Grant.
Alex Caruso
Some might say that the Alex Caruso trade was the biggest move of the summer. Yes, the Philadelphia 76ers signed Paul George, the best free agent on the market, but Caruso went from a lottery team to a top-seed team in the West. And the Oklahoma City Thunder only had to sacrifice Josh Giddey from their roster.
Caruso made an All-Defensive team two years in a row, and now he is going to the team that led the league in steals. Caruso will certainly help improve an already great defensive team in Oklahoma City. With him on the roster, they do not have to sacrifice offense or defense when he is on the floor.
Jakob Poeltl
The Knicks and the Lakers could certainly use Jakob Poeltl‘s skills. At the moment, he is playing for the Toronto Raptors, a team that is in a rebuild mode and doesn’t need a 28-year-old center.
Poeltl is a classic center that doesn’t shoot threes. That might be his downside. In an era where stretching the floor and shooting are key ingredients for success, Poeltl is a classic inside guy. He would be perfect on the Knicks, a team with a glaring need at center.
Last season, he battled injuries and played in only 50 games. Yet in the previous two seasons, he played 70+ games. Playing for the Raptors, Poeltl averaged 11 points, 8.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.5 blocks during the 2023-24 regular season. He has two full years guaranteed, and a player option for the 2026-27 season at $19.5 million. That is $10 million less than what Isaiah Hartenstein signed for this summer.
Tyus Jones
Two seasons ago, Tyus Jones was considered the best backup point guard in the league. He is more than capable of leading a team, and he will get exactly that chance.
After being stuck in purgatory in Washington, he gets a chance to play for a contending team again. This time, he will probably be the starting point guard in Phoenix. The Suns needed playmaking, and they got it on the cheap. At a veteran’s minimum price, Jones is the steal of the offseason.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
For the past five years, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has appeared in at least 69 games and shot at least 38.5% from behind the arc. What is not to like? He is the prototypical 3-and-D guy. Many insiders and experts think the Denver Nuggets will not recover from losing him.
KCP has helped two teams win a championship in the past five years. He was instrumental in the championship run by the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets. Now, while the Orlando Magic are far from a championship contender, they could use KCP to improve their biggest concern, shooting and floor spacing. At $22 million per season, that is a decent contract for a playoff team.
Walker Kessler
Walker Kessler is a young center that is on the rise. He plays for the Utah Jazz though, a team heading in the opposite direction. The Jazz are probably the most intriguing and important team during the 2024-25 regular season. They hold the cards to help several contending teams improve.
One of their biggest chips for a draft pick, another young player, or a proven star is Kessler. Kessler will certainly be among the NBA role players trade targets at center, alongside Poeltl and Robert Williams III.
Here are the teams that should probably trade for a center: the New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers, New Orleans Pelicans, and Golden State Warriors.
Marcus Smart
The Memphis Grizzlies would love to forget the 2023-24 season. It was a disaster by any standard. The good news is they have a core that had the second seed in the West two seasons ago, plus Marcus Smart.
When the Grizzlies traded for Smart last offseason, they hoped he would be their missing piece to get over the hump. They needed wing defense, and Smart is a perennial All-Defensive player and a former Defensive Player of the Year. Last year, due to injuries, he played in only 20 games. With the Grizzlies on a redemption tour, led by Ja Morant, they hope Smart will also be there to help.
Jarrett Allen
Jarrett Allen has two ways he can impact the 2024-25 NBA season. He will either form a dynamic duo with Evan Mobley in Cleveland, or he will be traded.
The Cavs have a logjam at center, yet, they will give new coach Kenny Atkinson time to figure things out. Last year, it was obvious that the Cavs play better when only one of Allen or Mobley is on the floor. The Cavs will probably wait until the trade deadline to decide what to do with their team.
Whether coach Atkinson decides to stagger their minutes, or find another solution, we will have to see. Either way, Allen is an All-Star caliber role player earning less than $30 million per year. In the new apron era, that is not a high contract for a starting center averaging 16 points and 10 rebounds.
