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15. Wilson Chandler, Denver Nuggets

Age: 30

2016-17 Per-Game Stats: 15.7 points points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 0.7 steals, 0.4 blocks, 46.1 percent shooting

Advanced Metrics: 14.9 Player Efficiency Rating (PER), -1.24 Real Plus-Minus (RPM), -35.99 Total Points Added (TPA)

Player stocks don't usually rise much on the heels of a 30th birthday, but Wilson Chandler lands in a unique situation with the Denver Nuggets. They're short on real wings, which will prompt more than a few funky solutions: Gary Harris playing up a position; should-be 4 Juan Hernangomez being groomed as a 3; and Paul Millsap switching onto more small forwards.

Chandler, along with Will Barton, will be crucial to mitigating the Nuggets' dependence on the unconventional and impractical. His game melds nicely will whomever they throw around him. He gets buckets off the dribble, hits enough of his standalone threes to justify shooting them (34 percent) and ran about as many pick-and-rolls per game last season (1.6) as Harris and Danilo Gallinari.

Denver would do well to conjure some minutes for Chandler at power forward, but his value isn't predicated on simplification. He maintains the lateral gait to stalk opposing 3s and the north-to-south acceleration conducive to whirlwind offense.

14. C.J. Miles, Toronto Raptors

Age: 30

2016-17 Per-Game Stats: 10.7 points, 3.0 rebounds, 0.6 assists, 0.6 steals, 0.3 steals, 43.4 percent shooting

Advanced Metrics: 13.8 (PER), 0.35 (RPM), -21.29 (TPA)

C.J. Miles doesn't receive enough credit for his positional plasticity. He defends up to power forwards, and while he's often outmuscled or outfoxed off the bounce, the option of having a 6'6" protective patch in the frontcourt is on its own a luxury.

For the Toronto Raptors, much like the Indiana Pacers before them, it could prove to be a necessity. Patrick Patterson is gone, and Serge Ibaka doesn't have the sidelong spring to rotate as often as most 4s.

Pascal Siakam can replace much of that fast-twitch zip, but he isn't as easy to integrate into the offense. Miles, by comparison, is a catch-and-shoot crackerjack. Out of the 240 players to work through at least 75 spot-up touches, he finished first in points scored per possession.

Shifty defense and reliable shooting are hallmarks of the most coveted three-and-D specialists—a niche group to which Miles doesn't just belong, but helps headline.

13. Trevor Ariza, Houston Rockets

Age: 32

2016-17 Per-Game Stats: 11.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.8 steals, 0.3 blocks, 40.9 percent shooting

Advanced Metrics: 12.4 PER, 1.93 RPM, 92.43 TPA

Trevor Ariza would have found himself trickling down the NBA's food chain if the Houston Rockets' offseason didn't save him.

His 34.4 percent clip from downtown will explode while catching passes from both James Harden and Chris Paul, and he won't need to tackle the quickest wings on defense with Luc Mbah a Moute and P.J. Tucker in the rotation.

This doesn't imply he'll be doing less. The Rockets should be mixing and matching him more than last year. And that suits him.

Ariza works much better when he's not pigeonholed to an inflexible job description. Some nights he'll have it in him to switch pick-and-rolls. Other times he'll be better off scrapping with low-post bangers. There will be games in which he should get stashed on more stationary assignments.

Houston has set itself up to play matchmaker with his defensive duties, paving the way for him to do more without straining himself on the offensive end by year's end.

12. Joe Ingles, Utah Jazz

Age: 30

2016-17 Per-Game Stats: 7.1 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.2 steals, 0.1 blocks, 45.2 percent shooting

Advanced Metrics: 12.4 PER, 2.55 RPM, 97.84 TPA



Inviting Joe Ingles to the party isn't blasphemous just because Gordon Hayward and George Hill are gone. The Utah Jazz offense is a giant question mark without its two most important shot-creators and -makers, but Ingles' breakout 2016-17 wasn't borne entirely from privilege.

Neither Hayward nor Hill reduced his defensive responsibilities. He switched from point guards through power forwards, using his anticipation and keen sense of space, and his surrounding personnel, to offset his slow-motion movements.

Utah similarly didn't experiment with Ingles as a pick-and-roll instigator because it looked fun. Repeated absences from Hill and a largely suboptimal backup point guard rotation dictated he broaden that part of his game. And though his 44.1 percent three-point conversion rate may be in jeopardy, he's never converted less than 35.6 percent of his outside attempts.

Three other players cleared four assists and 1.5 steals per 36 minutes last season while putting down 40 percent or more of their threebies: Malcolm Brogdon, Stephen Curry and Chris Paul. Anyone who makes nice with that club deserves recognition—not to mention the benefit of the doubt that he won't completely fall off next time around.

11. Robert Covington, Philadelphia 76ers

Age: 26

2016-17 Per-Game Stats: 12.9 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.9 steals, 1.0 blocks, 39.9 percent shooting

Advanced Metrics: 13.2 PER, 3.55 RPM, 60.88 TPA

Ever wonder how Michael Kidd-Gilchrist would fare with a jump shot? Look no further than Robert Covington.

Ben Golliver expanded on this for SI.com:

"The undrafted forward firmed up his reputation as one of the best multi-positional defenders in the NBA last season, ranking fourth overall in Defensive Real Plus-Minus and finishing (a very distant) fourth in Defensive Player of the Year voting despite playing for the 28-win Sixers. One of just 10 players to average at least one assist and one block per game, Covington's length, mobility and strength make him a nuisance for point guards and power forwards alike."

Covington drained an uninspiring 33.3 percent of his treys in 2016-17, but his efficiency should explore career-best terrain now the Philadelphia 76ers have multiple A-plus playmakers around him. And with his combo-forward defense approaching All-NBA levels, he needn't do more than pump-and-drive or spot-up offense to rationalize this induction.