The ideal landing spots for the top 30 NBA free agents

Kawhi Leonard loves Southern California. He grew up in the Inland Empire, played his college ball at San Diego State and recently bought a huge house in Rancho Santa Fe. That's a fine place for him to go in the offseason, but he owes it to himself and the Raptors to return and defend their first NBA title, even if it's on a short-term deal. It's hard to imagine a more ideal situation than he had in Toronto, unless it were 20 degrees warmer in the winter and Drake wasn't allowed to grope the coaches.

Kevin Durant was already unlikely to re-sign with the Warriors even before his Achilles injury. But after the team medical staff controversially cleared him to return in the Finals, and Klay Thompson tore his own ACL, the Warriors dynasty is on hiatus, if not canceled entirely. It’s the perfect time for KD to get his own team in New York, join up with R.J. Barrett and Mitchell Robinson and let the Knicks use their bounty of cap space and draft picks to build around him. Durant should demand every concession possible from the desperate Knicks — agent Rich Kleiman as team president, season tickets for Charles Oakley, a role in Spike Lee's next film and a ban on James Dolan playing guitar on the team plane.

Point guard/philosopher Kyrie Irving reportedly "didn't like living in Boston," and the "worst-kept secret of the summer" is that he's headed for the Brooklyn Nets. It makes sense. Irving grew up a Nets fan. The Nets offensive philosophy involves shooting as many threes as possible, and Kyrie loves that. And considering how Kyrie feels about the curvature of the earth, it's fitting that he'd play at the Barclays Center, at the intersection of Atlantic and FLATbush Avenues.

The Warriors might break up their championship team this summer, but it's hard to imagine they'd break up the Splash Brothers. Expect Klay Thompson to re-up for five more years of toasters, scoring explosions, ridiculous postgame comments, Bergmanesque commercials, and man-on-the-street interviews about scaffolding.

Jimmy Butler wants to be a star, he wants to play for a winner and as shown by his time in Minnesota, he dislikes young players . That's perfect for the Lakers, who are in the process of getting rid of all the young players on their roster, save Kyle Kuzma. And while Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins might stay up all night playing video games , LeBron James is so devoted to rest that he sleeps through his own holiday parties.

Though it's unlikely that Michael Jordan will pay Kemba Walker the supermax contract he earned by making the All-NBA team, Walker says he's willing to take less to stay in Charlotte. The Hornets can give Walker more dollars and years than any other team, and if they don't bring back their all-time leading scorer, it's not clear who's left for the fans to watch — Nic Batum? Marvin Williams? Kemba should get paid and have his jersey retired in the Queen City.

The Mavericks traded a former lottery pick and two future first round picks to get Kristaps Porzingis from the Knicks and took on the bad contracts of Courtney Lee and Tim Hardaway, Jr. in the process. There's no way they aren't matching any and all offers for restricted free agent Porzingis, no matter that he's missed more than a full season and no matter what happens regarding his legal troubles. After all, that fits in seamlessly with the Mavericks' workplace culture.

When Milwaukee traded the No. 30 pick in the draft to dump Tony Snell's contract, it was a clear sign they're trying to retain all of their biggest free agents. Middleton's relatively low cap hold means the Bucks can sign other free agents — perhaps starting center Brook Lopez — before locking up Middleton to what should be close to a max deal. But how could they let Middleton walk when he was Giannis' first pick among the reserves in the All-Star draft?

Tobias Harris is a good NBA player who's been treated as an afterthought his whole career. He was traded on draft night, after being traded as a future pick twice before, then Orlando and Milwaukee each dumped him for very little. Harris was having the best year of his career for the Clippers last year, at which point they traded him to Philadelphia. If he excelled on the little brother team in Los Angeles, why wouldn't perpetual second choice Tobias Harris also thrive with New York City's junior franchise? Brooklyn has a gaping hole at power forward, and Harris is an ideal stretch four to pair with Jarrett Allen — that is, until he's unceremoniously traded again two years into this contract.

Though Boogie Cousins strongly considered signing with Boston last summer, Bill Simmons' dream of Cousins in Celtics green probably died when a fan allegedly called Boogie a racial epithet last season. Instead, Cousins will end up with the team that openly coveted Dwight Howard and DeAndre Jordan for years and is likely to strike out with its top free agent targets. Cousins will be a good frontcourt partner to Porzingis and an assist magnet for Luka Doncic, and he can bond with Mark Cuban about arguing with the refs. And it doesn't matter that Cousins may have lost a step because Rick Carlisle doesn't want his team to play fast anyway.

The Nets want Kyrie Irving, and Karl-Anthony Towns wants to play with his good friend D'Angelo Russell. And while the Wolves don't have the cap space to sign Russell outright, if they can find a third team to take Jeff Teague (with a pick attached as incentive), they can get Russell on a sign-and-trade. It'll be like Stephon Marbury and Kevin Garnett all over again, only without the resentment or interior defense.

Al Horford clearly has a long-term offer, since he opted out of $30 million for next year and broke off negotiations with Boston. Odds are that team is the Los Angeles Clippers, which can play Horford at either power forward or center, providing much-needed shooting and defense. Plus, although Doc Rivers is no longer the GM, he fits the Doc free agent ideal: a guy who was an Eastern Conference All-Star 10 years ago.

Marc Gasol has until June 27 to decide on his 2019-20 option, but for the purposes of this exercise, let's assume he opts out to get a long-term deal. And after so many great years in Memphis, Gasol should go further down the mighty Mississippi and team up with Zion Williamson in New Orleans. He can teach Zion the principles of grit and grind from his Grizzlies days and empathize with Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram and Josh Hart about what it's like to get traded away from the Lakers for a star big man. And like New Orleans itself from 1763-1803, Gasol used to belong to Spain.

Brook Lopez had an incredible season for the Bucks last year, who provided a showcase for "Splash Mountain" on the national stage during the playoffs. The Bucks can give Lopez up to $14 million next year and a real chance at a title, but they can't give Brook what he truly craves: proximity to theme parks, which is why Orlando is such a perfect fit, given that Brook already has a house on the grounds of Disney World. He's a better fit for Orlando's offense than its incumbent free-agent center, Nikola Vucevic, and he knows way more Disney trivia.

Do the Bucks want to bring back Malcolm Brodgon this summer? Of course. But after signing Eric Bledsoe to a $70 million extension, are they willing to pay two point guards big money? The Suns coveted Brodgon back when they traded Bledsoe to Milwaukee two years ago, and now they can steal him with an offer large enough to make Milwaukee flinch. And as evidenced by its selection of Cameron Johnson, Phoenix loves guys who turn 24 during their rookie year, not to mention point guards who get hurt a lot.

This is the biggest free-agency period for the Knicks since 2010 when they cleared their books to make room to sign LeBron James. When he rejected them, the Knicks spent their money on Amar'e Stoudemire, a dynamic athletic forward with a history of leg injuries who played no defense at all. The closest thing in this free-agent class is Julius Randle, who is at least younger and healthier than Stoudemire was in 2010.

Willie Cauley-Stein doesn't want to return to the Kings . While the Kings have solid young big man prospects in Harry Giles and Marvin Bagley III, they could use a veteran presence in the middle, especially one who can shoot like Vucevic. After all, Vucevic is a highly skilled big man from Montenegro, and Kings GM Vlade Divac is a highly skilled big man from neighboring Serbia — and Vucevic has spent his entire career in Orlando, which makes Sacramento look like a cultural mecca.

Mirotic is a tall white guy who knocks down threes and rebounds. He'd be perfect for the Pacers even if they didn't have four different forwards entering free agency this summer. Three-point shooting is probably Indiana's greatest need, so who better than the Montenegrin Troy Murphy? After all, neither Mirotic or the Pacers could hit a shot in the playoffs this year.

He may not be Philadelphia's top target, but if Harris and/or Butler leave, Harrison Barnes may be the best possible consolation prize for the 76ers. He can play both forward spots and shoots threes better than than both Harris and Butler. With Ben Simmons dating celebrities and Joel Embiid hitting on pop stars on Twitter, the Sixers could use a thoughtful young man like Barnes who married his college sweetheart and has the NBA's dorkiest nickname: "The Black Falcon."

The Morris twins once negotiated their contracts together in Phoenix, and they should be allowed to sign as a tandem this summer as well. Why not split a mid-level exception in Denver, serving as an identical pair of backup forwards, intimidating and confusing opponents in equal measure?

Yes, Redick will get offers from all over the league, but he's got to make his decision based on what's most important to him: podcasting. He might have left the 76ers, but leaving his podcast studio, with the microphones set up just the way he likes it, would be too much to bear. Expect another one-year deal in Philly, unless he gets a max offer from NPR.

Milwaukee is expected to waive George Hill and his $19M salary for next year. If so, his old team could use a veteran point guard, in the same city where he played his college ball and he still runs his charitable organization, George Hill Rising Stars . Hill can mentor Aaron Holiday, knock down threes and delight all the IUPUI fans in the crowd.

The Bulls have a pair of promising young bigs in Wendell Carter and Lauri Markkanen, but behind those two and Otto Porter, they have little in the way of backups. Thaddeus Young is a perfect addition to their bench. He's well-rounded, plays both forward spots, locks down on defense and doesn't need plays called for him. That his signing would weaken division rival Indiana is just an added bonus.

If you lose Kevin Durant and have limited resources to replace him, his old friend Rudy Gay is the best discount KD on the market. He even has his own Achilles tear! The Warriors can use Gay's scoring, especially if he can keep up his hot three-point shooting from last year. 

The Kings have a chance to pair Bojan Bogdanovic and Bogdan Bogdanovic on one roster. It's worth it just to see what the back of their jerseys look like. BOG and BOJ? If he doesn't sign him, Vlade Divac should at least trade Bogdan to wherever Bojan does end up.

There are rumors that Kevin Durant suitors are trying to sign his friend DeAndre Jordan as a recruitment effort, but there's another superstar friend who needs DeAndre badly. That's Chris Paul with the Rockets. If Clint Capela gets traded, the Rockets need a dunker in the middle, but even if he stays, Chris Paul's feud with James Harden means he needs a new co-star for his State Farm commercials. DeAndre has experience destroying Paul's cursed homes, and this time CP3 won't make him wear a dress.

Danny Green and Kawhi Leonard have been teammates for Kawhi's entire career and most of Green's. Green is a perfect complement to Kawhi on the wing, draining threes, playing hard defense and rebooting his operating system when it freezes. They're not even exactly friends...just perfect co-workers: Danny Green is loquacious; Kawhi is silent. Danny catches and shoots; Kawhi dribbles and drives. Green slaps passes away; Kawhi snatches them in his massive hands. They should both stay in Toronto, but if Kawhi goes he shouldn't leave Danny behind.

D.J. Augustin had his moments, but the Magic could use a reliable point guard who can stop the ball at the point of attack. That's Ricky Rubio, who may not shoot well, but he can run an offense and get the ball to Orlando's army of long-armed bigs. Plus, Rubio, the happiest boy in the NBA, deserves to finally play somewhere sunny and warm.

Jonas Valanciunas put up the best numbers of his career after coming to Memphis in the Marc Gasol trade, averaging 19.9 points and 10.7 rebounds. He opted out of his player option to negotiate a longer deal with Memphis, which sounds like a splendid idea for everyone involved. JV is still only 27, so there's not a ton of risk on the back end of his contract, and he'll let Jaren Jackson, Jr. play more power forward minutes until he gets bigger and stronger.

Paul Millsap has a $30 million team option for next season, but he shouldn't really be on this list because Denver should just pick it up. The only reason to decline the option would be to re-sign Millsap to a longer, cheaper deal. But why mess around? The Nuggets don't have the cap space to sign a significant free agent anyway, and they're still $10 million under the luxury tax line.