Draymond Green, Kyrie Irving among top players to watch as NBA free agency set to open

NEW YORK: Some of the players to watch in NBA free agency, which starts Friday evening:

Kyrie Irving, Dallas

This one will be interesting. Irving is one of the best players in the NBA. He also tends to be a challenge, and evidently got unhappy over time at his previous stops — Cleveland, Boston and Brooklyn. It seems unlikely that Irving will want a short-term deal, but there aren’t many teams that can afford him, either

Fred VanVleet, Toronto

If Houston doesn’t land James Harden — who opted in to his $35.6 million contract with Philadelphia on Thursday as a likely prelude to a trade — then maybe the Rockets take a swing at VanVleet and throw a ton of money his way. The Raptors need to decide on a direction; the next few days will show if the plan is to win right now, or take some time to reset. What they offer VanVleet will likely tell the tale. He may be moving on.

Austin Reaves, Los Angeles Lakers

Talk about a success story. Reaves was undrafted, averaged 7.3 points per game as a rookie, averaged 13 points per game this past season, and became the Lakers’ third-best player behind LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Teams can offer him four years for almost $99 million, and that’ll likely be what it takes the Lakers to keep him.

Draymond Green, Golden State

No team spends more than the Warriors. And Green might not be the easiest personality to deal with on a daily basis. But he was a very big part in all four of Golden State’s recent championship runs. It’s hard to envision him someplace else, though the new CBA rules raise the possibility that it’ll happen.

Khris Middleton, Milwaukee

This one should be easy. Middleton, somehow, seems to remain vastly underrated. The Olympic gold medalist and NBA champion is