Top 10 NBA Free Agents Expected to be Available This Offseason
Many of those who can be UFAs will ultimately re-sign with their current teams, names like LeBron James (LA Lakers), Tyrese Maxey (Philadelphia 76ers), OG Anunoby (NY Knicks) and James Harden (LA Clippers, who are the only team with interest in him).
So our list of the Top 10 free agents will consist of star players who might—even though the chances could be very small in some cases—be available on the open market.
- Pascal Siakam
- Paul George
- DeMar DeRozan
- Nic Claxton
- Miles Bridges
- Tobias Harris
- Klay Thompson
- Buddy Hield
- Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
- Isaiah Hartenstein
Siakam and George are near-certain to stay with the Indiana Pacers and LA Clippers, respectively, but nothing is definitively cast in stone. In fact, PG has already been the subject of some rumors about moving on.
DeRozan is a wild card, as it's questionable whether the Bulls, who've loved his contributions over the past three years, would be prepared to offer up a big-money extension heading into his age-35 season, seeing as they will not be a serious contender over the next couple of years.
The bidding on a rim-protecting center will be an interesting one, as Hartenstein has proven himself with the New York Knicks as a viable piece in the middle, while Claxton had his breakthrough season in 2022-23 and slid back just a tad this year, though is still very highly regarded and will cost likely upwards of $20M a year for any team to steal him from the Brooklyn Nets.
Thompson's case will be fascinating to follow, and we'll see whether he's willing to take a hometown discount to stay in The Bay with his career-long Splash Brother, Steph Curry.
Honorable mention as potential starters available on the free agent market include Jonas Valančiūnas, Malik Monk and Gary Trent Jr.
Photo: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
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