That's basically Batum in a nutshell—smart enough to see all on the basketball court, skilled enough to capitalize on what he sees. He has 17 seasons under his belt, and his teams have been at least 2.1 points better per 100 possessions with him than without in all but five of them.

Which deals will impact the title race? Which will leave teams in regret by Christmas? Our NBA insiders make their picks.

There aren’t many sports where signing a single player has the potential to dramatically improve a team’s fortunes quite like basketball, and there are a ton of instances where NBA franchises have turned things after landing a big name in free agency.