Syracuse Basketball: Where to Watch Former Orange Players This NBA Season

The dust seemed to have long settled on NBA free agency, but not Syracuse Orange fans waiting for all of the program's former players to sign. Of course, that's alluding to Dion Waiters, who was last to sign just this Monday.

So with that out of the way, where can you catch your favorite former SU players in the NBA this season?

(listed alphabetically)

Carmelo Anthony

Team: New York Knicks

Contract: Third year of five-year, $124 million deal

Outlook: Starting, of course. Anthony remains the franchise's most prominent face and will probably play a mix of the three and four spots this season, depending on who else is on the floor. While he takes some flack as a ball-stopper, his game has actually rounded far more recently and projects to continue to do so in 2016-17.

Michael Carter-Williams

Team: Milwaukee Bucks

Contract: Final year of a four-year, $10 million deal

Outlook: MCW had his healthiest season since he won rookie of the year in 2013-14, but his offensive numbers have been trending south. He's still a long guard who can rebound, however, so he'll be in the Bucks' lineup. There's a shot he'll start this year, though with Milwaukee shelling out a lot of money for Matthew Dellavedova this offseason, that might be tested.

Rakeem Christmas

Team: Indiana Pacers

Contract: Second year of a three-year, $3.1 million deal

Outlook: Christmas saw his first NBA action at the very end of last season, and now he has a chance to make the Pacers' roster full-time. Indiana loaded up on size this offseason, which could be a bad sign. But even with a substantive rotation spot cut off by players like Thaddeus Young and LaVoy Allen, he could still see some minutes off the bench. We'll see if he ends up in Indianapolis or Fort Wayne as the season gets closer.

Tyler Ennis

Team: Milwaukee Bucks

Contract: Final year of a three-year, $4.9 million deal

Outlook: The Bucks acquiring Dellavedova certainly hurts Ennis even more than it does Carter-Williams. Ennis, who's struggled to stay on the floor for the Bucks (and Suns before that) is in a critical season for his career right now. The hope is that he gets to start the year in Milwaukee, so he can establish some value in the larger rotation. Maybe even more so than Christmas, we'll have to wait until the fall to see if he's on the NBA roster.

Michael Gbinije

Team: Detroit Pistons

Contract: First year of a three-year, $2.5 million deal

Outlook: Silent G has himself a contract, which means he'll be getting paid like he's in the NBA, whether that's in Detroit or in Grand Rapids (D-League). The Pistons are pretty well situated already at the one through three spots, but there's still a shot he'll make the roster as a minimally-used reserve. In that respect, maybe he's better off spending some time in the D-League before making the jump? At some point, you'll see him in Detroit this year, though.

Jerami Grant

Team: Philadelphia 76ers

Contract: Final year of a three-year, $2.7 million deal

Outlook: Grant's been one of the biggest beneficiaries of "the process" in Philadelphia, though the team finally building some depth this offseason may start to cut into his playing time. Still, he's progressed since his college days, has shown himself able to improve and embrace opportunities. His playing time may be cut into a bit based on the construction of the roster, but he's safely on the roster and will see the floor.

Wesley Johnson

Team: Los Angeles Clippers

Contract: First year of a three-year, $17.6 million deal

Outlook: Following some early struggles in his career, Wes has seemed to carve out a living as a "three-and-D" player worth the mid-level exception. There were thoughts he could head elsewhere this offseason, but a solid season and a good chance to contend in the West kept him at Staples Center. Expect him to serve the same role as last year, coming in off the bench for 20 minutes or so per game.

Chris McCullough

Team: Brooklyn Nets

Contract: Second year of a two-year, $2.3 million deal

Outlook: Given Brooklyn's depth issues around the roster, it's safe to say that the second-year player will get plenty of chances behind Trevor Booker at the four. McCullough needs to add some weight (he's only 200 pounds) to be truly effective as an NBA power forward. But with his first healthy offseason and first full season upon him, there's hope he can continue to grow into the pro game.

Malachi Richardson

Team: Sacramento Kings

Contract: First year of a two-year, $2.9 million deal

Outlook: There's a lot in flux for Sacramento, which helps Mali in terms of making the Kings roster on day one. He'll sit behind some vets at shooting guard early on. But the names in front of him (Ben McLemore, Aaron Afflalo) are far from proven and the Kings' management is never afraid to make a trade. If Richardson can show some of the fire he did in Summer League, he'll get increased playing time as the year goes on.

Dion Waiters

Team: Miami Heat

Contract: First year of a two-year, $5.9 million deal

Outlook: Honestly, no clue. Waiters was seemingly ready to cash in on a productive playoffs, but then the qualifying offer from OKC left and the money never came from elsewhere. So now he heads to Miami, which is already pretty guard-heavy, to see if he can play himself into a larger deal next summer. Tough 2015-16 was his worst overall shooting season, he improved from three and played capable defense in spots. It could end up being a great signing for Miami.

***

That's it, in terms of players that currently have NBA contracts in hand. Others like Arinze Onuaku, James Southerland and more, seem to be giving it another go this summer and into preseason. But for now, the names are who you're cheering for when not cheering on your own NBA team (for the few of you that, like me, have one).