Top 5 landing spots for Mike Muscala amid contract buyout ft. LA Clippers

Mike Muscala has had a tough campaign so far, playing for two of the worst teams in the NBA this season. He started the season with the Washington Wizards before getting traded to the Detroit Pistons along with Danilo Gallinari on Jan. 14 in the Marvin Bagley III deal.

Muscala appeared in 13 games for the Pistons before they finalized a buyout agreement on Tuesday. He joins a bunch of veterans in the buyout market like Joe Harris, Chimezie Metu, Ish Smith, Frank Ntilikina, Cory Joseph, Furkan Korkmaz and Kevin Knox.

The 11-year veteran was averaging 3.8 points and 2.8 rebounds per game. His main asset is his shooting, as he's a career 37.6% shooter from beyond the arc. He's also a big man who can provide bodies for contenders looking to contain someone like Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid or Karl-Anthony Towns.

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Top five landing spots for Mike Muscala

According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, there are some contenders to sign Mike Muscala for the rest of the season. These teams have until Friday to sign Muscala for him to be eligible for the postseason.

ESPN's Bobby Marks reported that Muscala will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. The veteran big man has $905,000 remaining in his current contract, which was a one-year, $3.5 million salary.

Let's look at five potential landing spots for Muscala:

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#1 LA Clippers

The LA Clippers are one of the top teams in the Western Conference this season. One of the teams they might run into in the conference semifinals or finals is the defending champions Denver Nuggets. That means they would need as many bodies to put on Jokic as possible.

Ty Lue has Ivica Zubac, Mason Plumlee and Daniel Theis to use at his disposal, but it's not a bad idea to add another. Mike Muscala would provide them lengthy big man who could shoot on offense.

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#2 Miami Heat

The Miami Heat have always built their roster differently than most franchises in the NBA. Thet are primed to have another run in the postseason despite their current record at the moment.

Bam Adebayo and Orlando Robinson are the only big men they have, while Kevin Love, Haywood Highsmith and Thomas Bryant can play small ball center. Adding a player like Mike Muscala could solidify their big-man rotation heading into another playoff run.

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#3 OKC Thunder

The OKC Thunder are primed to make their first deep postseason run since Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook were on the team. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the rest of the young Thunder could make some noise in the playoffs.

Sam Presti added a much-needed veteran presence in Gordon Hayward at the trade deadline. They could use another veteran, as well as another big man, to serve as backup to Chet Holmgren and Jaylin Williams.

Mike Muscala could slot in well and replace the recently released Aleksej Pokusevski.

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#4 New York Knicks

The New York Knicks might be the biggest winner at the trade deadline this season. The Knicks added OG Anunoby, Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks to an already solid lineup led by Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle.

One of the Knicks' problems this season is injuries to their big men. If they can add another center like Mike Muscala, they not only add his shooting, but his presence down low. He may not be a great defender, but he could make potential matchups work due to his size.

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#5 Philadelphia 76ers

The Philadelphia 76ers are hoping to have Joel Embiid back at some point later in the season. They are slipping in the Eastern Conference but will still be a dangerous team once Embiid returns regardless of their seeding in the playoffs.

Mike Muscala already had a stint in Philly, so he's a familiar face Elton Brand could welcome back. Muscala provides cover if another injury happens to Embiid. He provides something different from the Sixers' current big man rotation of Mo Bamba and Paul Reed.

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