Tag: NBAs

Almost all of the big names in NBA free agency are off the board, but DeMar DeRozan still lingers. The Chicago Bulls star is the best player left on the open market on the brink of his 35th birthday, and there doesn’t seem to be an obvious fit for him out there. With the Bulls seemingly ready to commit to a rebuild, DeRozan is out there for the taking as a veteran wing who can still perform at a near All-Star level.

There’s already been so much action in free agency. Paul George signed with the 76ers, Isaiah Hartenstein joined the Thunder, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope inked a deal with the Magic at the start of the free agency period. Even second tier free agents like Naji Marshall (Mavericks), Derrick Jones Jr. (Clippers), Tobias Harris (Pistons), and Jonas Valanciunas (Wizards) have found new homes. When Klay Thompson agreed to a three-year deal with the Dallas Mavericks, another big name in free agency came off the board.

While the headline stars of this year’s free agency class are almost all gone, there are still some good values to be had. Who’s still left on the NBA free agent market? Glad you asked. Here are the 11 best players still unsigned in 2024 NBA free agency right now. Also read our instant grades for NBA free agency, and check out our live NBA free agency tracker.

This list has been updated following the Warriors’ sign-and-trade for Buddy Hield.

11. Saddiq Bey

Bey tore his ACL on March 11 and could be sidelined for the entire season. It’s awful luck for a player who could have seen a nice payday on the open market this summer. The 25-year-old wing has always been a good shooter, but his outside shot mostly abandoned him last season with the Hawks, making only 31 percent of his threes. It might make sense for a team to sign him to a cheap multi-year deal so he can rehab his knee and see if he can get back to his pre-injury levels in the 2025-26 season.

10. Kyle Lowry

Lowry can still be effective at 38 years old even if his play is rapidly declining. The veteran point guard somewhere played nearly 30 minutes per game for the Philadelphia 76ers in their first round series against the New York Knicks. He hit 39 percent of his threes on the season between Miami and Philadelphia, and is still an irritant on defense. Lowry will be a nice buy-low veteran addition for a team chasing a ring.

9. Markelle Fultz

The former No. 1 overall pick has still never figured out his broken jump shot, but he’s had some good seasons as a downhill guard who can compete defensively. Unfortunately, Fultz had a terrible year for the Magic just before entering free agency, and now likely won’t have much of a market despite being only 26 years old. Fultz needs to figure out a way to start finishing at the rim again if he’s going to save his NBA career. He can still be a solid playmaker, but his passing doesn’t hit the same without the threat of his own scoring.

8. Spencer Dinwiddie

Dinwiddie’s three-point shot and rim finishing fell off a cliff this past year in stops with Brooklyn and the Lakers, but that might make him a good buy low candidate for a contender. The 31-year-old is a big guard with pull-up shooting ability and some playmaking skill, but he failed to score efficiently from any part of the floor last season that wasn’t the free throw line. Guards who shoot under 40 percent from the field aren’t going to have a big market, but there’s still some value in Dinwiddie’s foul baiting and shooting.

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7. Malik Beasley

Beasley is a knockdown shooter who doesn’t provide much else. Still, there’s also a home for a player who hit 41.3 percent of his three-pointers on 542 attempts on the season. He’d be a welcome addition back for the Bucks, but his lack of defense and playmaking means he’s better in a smaller role.

6. Gary Trent Jr.

Trent can really shoot it from deep. He hit 39.3 percent of his three-pointers on 6.4 attempts per game with the Toronto Raptors last season. He’s decent defensively at generating steals, but has a bad habit of finding himself out of position on that end. Trent is kind of a one-trick pony, but every team needs shooting. Stil only 25 years old, Trent will find a home somewhere eventually even if he doesn’t get the big payday he was looking for.

5. Isaac Okoro

Okoro developed slowly as the former No. 5 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, but he showed real improvement in his fourth pro season with the Cleveland Cavaliers last year. The 6’5 wing is a tenacious backcourt defender quick enough to stick with speedy guards and strong enough to handle bigger assignments. The gaping hole in Okoro’s game has always been his jump shot, but last season he hit 39 percent of his threes on low volume. Okoro needs to keep upping his volume from three because teams still refuse to guard him from the outside, but his point-of-attack defense is so valuable that he should land a nice deal from Cleveland eventually.

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4. Tyus Jones

Jones is a classic point guard who consistently posts a high assist rate and a low turnover rate. He made a major leap as a shooter last season for a terrible Washington Wizards team by knocking down 41.4 percent of the 256 three-pointers he attempted. Jones is a smaller guard without top-end athleticism, and that limits his effectiveness as a driver and defender. Still only 28 years old, Jones is a solid caretaker point guard who can set up teammates but won’t have as much of an impact as his numbers might indicate.

3. Caleb Martin

Martin was one of the breakout stars of the Heat’s shocking 2023 NBA Finals run, but he had trouble sustaining his momentum last season. The 28-year-old forward is still tough defensively and has a 35 percent three-point stroke on low volume. It’s too bad he didn’t hit free agency a year earlier, or he’d be looking at a much bigger deal.

2. Miles Bridges

No team should want Bridges after the horrifying domestic violence allegations he faced in 2022 and beyond. The Hornets brought him back last season, and were smoked in his minutes on the floor despite the 26-year-old putting up career-best scoring numbers. Read our James Dator on how keeping Bridges killed his Hornets fandom.

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1. DeMar DeRozan

DeRozan is still incredibly productive as he enters his age-35 season. He’s a hyper-efficient mid-range scorer, he rarely turns the ball over, and he’s consistently amazing in crunch-time. DeRozan just requires a very particular fit due to his weaknesses as a shoot three-point shooter and defender. The Chicago Bulls appear ready to move on from DeRozan after three tremendous seasons so the team can rebuild in a loaded 2025 draft class. That’s a wise move for Chicago, but it leaves DeRozan without a home despite some good years left in his career. It feels like DeRozan could get squeezed in free agency due to the lack of money available. While that’s unfortunate for him, some team is going to end up with a great bargain.