Top 18 NBA Free Agents: LeBron James, Paul George lead intriguing class

And with that, the NBA season has come and gone. For the better part of eight months, hoops fans were treated to heartbreak, glory and everything in between in yet another all-time year for the Association. 

With the Celtics coming out on top, only one team can well and truly look back on their year without nitpicking and dreaming of what could’ve been. However, now is the time to be rid of all those what-ifs and turn them into what-nows. 

It’s officially F5 season, so ready those refresh buttons and turn on your Twitter notifications because the time for team building is upon us. 

Free agency technically kicked off the second the clock struck 12 on Tuesday — the day after the Celtics lifted the Larry O’Brien — as teams were able to negotiate with their own upcoming free agents and pen some extensions right off the bat. Notably, the Indiana Pacers were the first team to take advantage of the new rule, extending Pascal Siakam with a four-year, $189.5 million deal. For all those testing the more open waters, free agency opens up on June 30 as teams are able to begin negotiating with players and then will be able to formally sign them on July 6. 

There are more than enough names out there still left to be accounted for. Here’s Sportsnet’s list of the top 24 free agents in what should prove to be an intriguing class. 

1. LeBron James, F, 39 years old — Player option for $51.4 million

Who but the King would top this list? Though it seems likely he’ll re-sign with the Lakers given his ties to Los Angeles and their willingness to draft his son Bronny James, you should never count LeBron out to stir up some drama. He may be turning 40 next season, but every team should at least be having conversations internally about bringing in the timeless superstar. 

2. Paul George, F, 34 years old — Player option for $48.8 million

In terms of who could garner the most intriguing market and line up the most suitors, Paul George is likely at the top of the list. Though the Clippers will want to retain the six-time All-NBA wing as they move to a new stadium, other teams on the brink of contention like the 76ers, Knicks and Magic should be making a big push for his services. 

3. Tyrese Maxey, G, 23 years old — Restricted free agent (RFA)

There’s no way the 76ers let Maxey go anywhere after the young guard had a breakout year, emerging as a tried and true lead guard and earning the Most Improved Player award in the process. They also won’t have to break the bank for him as he’s not eligible to sign a supermax rookie extension after not being named to an All-NBA team.

4. DeMar DeRozan, F/G, 34 years old — Unrestricted free agent (UFA)

Though it may not have worked with the core the Bulls wanted to build around DeRozan, the former Raptors legend has continued to excel individually, continually refining his game well into his 15th season. The question now becomes if he’d rather spend his twilight years in Chicago or see if his talents, particularly his closing ability, would be better suited on a contender.

5. James Harden, G, 34 years old — UFA

The wear-and-tear, lack of playoff success and consistent drama have lowered the former MVP’s status as a marquee free agent going into this summer but Harden still enjoyed a solid year with the Clippers and should be in line for a lucrative extension, though not a max. His scoring numbers continue to decline, but his playmaking only seems to get better and L.A. feels like one of the better places for him to work his magic at this point.

6. Isaiah Hartenstein, C, 26 years old — UFA

You’d be excused if you didn’t know about Hartenstein before the Knicks’ playoff run. The big man hasn’t put up eye-popping stats in his six seasons in the Association, but when he’s on the court, he’s hard to miss. His work on the glass and defending the paint helped define the Knicks’ scrappy identity and he’ll now cash in because of it. Expect him to double his $9.2 million contract from last season. 

7. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, G, 31 years old — Player option for $15.4 million

Jrue Holiday and KCP are the only two players with two championships in the 2020s. That certainly doesn’t mean a Holiday-level extension is set to come his way, but Caldwell-Pope has proven to be one of the best connective role players in the league, hitting over 40 per cent of his threes while being the Championship Nuggets’ primary point-of-attack defender. 

8. Miles Bridges, F, 26 years old — UFA

Bridges is undoubtedly one of the more talented players in this crop of free agents, but signing him comes with some hefty baggage, as the wing has faced two separate domestic violence allegations. After sitting out the 2022-23 season, he scored a career-high 21.0 points per game this past year, but any team wanting that scoring production will have to swallow a bitter pill. 

9. Klay Thompson, G/F, 34 years old — UFA

Are the Golden State Warriors finally ready to break up the band? Seeing Thompson in a different uniform will surely come as a shock, but after being hampered by injuries for the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons and seeing his production decline, the Warriors may not want to pay up for his services with the team already toeing the tax apron lines. 

10. Tyus Jones, G, 28 years old — UFA

Jones might be one of the most steady point guards in the league as he leads the Association in assist-to-turnover ratio at 7.3/1.0. He’s not a guy who will carry an offence, but he’s proven in recent years to be one of the most reliable bench pieces or stand-in starting guards out there. Any team looking for guard depth should be picking up the phone.

11. Patrick Williams, F, 22 years old — RFA

Williams has been a favourite potential breakout guy for a couple of seasons now with his upside as a 40+ per cent 3-point shooter and the big, physical defender has always looked tantalizing in theory. However, in practice, he hasn’t been able to put it all together and has been sidelined for good chunks of two of his four seasons in the league since being drafted fourth overall in 2019. 

12. Tobias Harris, F, 31 years old — UFA

The albatross five-year, $180 million deal Harris signed after the 2018-19 season has come under frequent fire and for good reason, as the deal massively overvalued the forward. But with his perception around the league perhaps lower than it was in the late 2010s, Harris and his steady production could come as a steal for a team willing to offer him something a bit bigger than the mid-level exception. 

13. Gary Trent Jr., G/F, 25 years old — UFA

Trent Jr. made an interesting choice last off-season, opting in to his player option for $18.6 million, but it may not have been the right choice as he saw his scoring average drop to 13.7 points and was asked to come off the bench for much of the year. However, he’s still 25 and had his best 3-point shooting season in Toronto, so any team looking for a young, microwave bench scorer could be interested. 

14. Caleb Martin, F, 28 years old — Player option for $7.1 million

Maybe it’s just a consequence of Heat Culture, but Caleb Martin has been known to show out when it matters most. The forward went from averaging single-digit points in the 2022-23 season to crushing Boston in the Conference Finals. Though we didn’t see that production translate over this year, it’s apparent that the talent for more is there. Will a team take that gamble? 

15. Luke Kennard, G, 27 years old — Team option for $14.8 million

If the Grizzlies choose to decline Kennard’s option, he’ll automatically slot in as the best pure shooter in this free agent class. He has the highest career 3-point percentage of all active players at 43.9 per cent and didn’t show any signs of slowing down last year, hitting at 45.0 per cent. However, he only suited up for 39 games due to injury and a bit of tanking from the Grizzlies. 

16. Jonas Valanciunas, C, 32 years old — UFA

Despite his best efforts, Valanciunas hasn’t been able to develop a reliable 3-point shot meaning that his value as a back-to-the-basket big is somewhat hindered in the modern NBA. His lack of shot-blocking also doesn’t help. But any team needing someone to clean the glass and soak up some reliable minutes at the five could look at the former Raptors centre. 

17. Simone Fontecchio, F, 28 years old — RFA

The Italian sharpshooter really started heating up after he was traded to the Pistons at the deadline last season, shooting 42.6 per cent from beyond the arc and scoring 15.6 points per game. Though Detroit can match any deal, he likely isn’t a long-term piece for the team still facing a long road through a rebuild and Fontecchio could be better suited for a contending squad needing depth shooting from the wing. 

18. Buddy Hield, G/F, 31 years old — UFA

Meanwhile, Hield had one of his worst seasons in the league last year, seeing his scoring average drop to 12.1 points split between the Pacers and 76ers. However, he’s a proven shooter and has hit the most 3-pointers in the league over the last five seasons with 1,322 at a 39.2 per cent clip. He can likely be had for the cheap now, so any team in need of shooting could make a run at him.