In order to determine what players would be the best additions to our team, I first divided the players into three clusters; based on their total points, assists, rebounds and minutes played. Cluster 3 consists of the highest performing players, followed by Cluster 2 and Cluster 1, respectively. Since salary is another important consideration, I made a 3D plot with points on the x-axis, minutes played on the y-axis, and salary on the z-axis, where each player is represented by a point, with the point's color corresponding to their cluster. The plot is included below, followed by my interpretation of the results.
Note: Clusters can be toggled on and off by clicking them on the right side. Also, the name and salary of a player can be found by hovering over the data point.
Based on this three dimensional plot, it is possible to analyze which players we should definitely try to add, which players we should maybe consider, and which players we definitely should not add.
Players in Cluster 3 are the highest performing players. Any player in this cluster would help our team on the court, but we may not be able to afford some of them. One player we should definitely try to add is Kevin Huerter, who has the lowest salary (2.76 million) of any player in Cluster 3. We should also try to add players like Luka Doncic, Trae Young, Donovan Mitchell, and De'Aaron Fox, who are among the highest performers in Cluster 3 but still have salaries under 10 million.
While they may not be the greatest additions, players with middling salaries in Cluster 3 and players with low salaries in Cluster 2 (the second highest-performing tier), may still be of use to our team. These players are at least worth some consideration. Julius Randle, Jerami Grant, and Domantas Sabonis fit this criteria, as they are among high performers in Cluster 3, but have salaries under 20 million. While they are in Cluster 2, it may still be worth adding players like Luguentz Dort, Gary Trent Jr., and Duncan Robinson since they all have salaries under 2 million.
Cluster 1 consists of the lowest-performing players, who would be unlikely to significantly help our team at any price. However, we should be especially sure to avoid players in this cluster with high salaries, as they could hurt our financial situation as well. In particular, we should avoid adding James Harden, Kevin Love, and Otto Porter Jr., as they are in Cluster 1 with a salary over 25 million.