We’re two days into NBA free agency, and we’ve seen some moves that have turned the NBA on its head — Myles Turner to Milwaukee, with Damian Lillard getting waived, was one nobody saw coming. Also, most of the players at the top of free agent boards — James Harden, Julius Randle, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Ty Jerome — quickly had their names taken off the list, usually re-signing with their own team.
Still, there are good players available. Here are the top 10 free agents still on the board heading into Day 3 of free agency.
1) Damian Lillard
The name at the top of this list is the shocking new addition. On one hand, Lillard has Hall of Fame credentials — seven-time All-NBA, nine-time All-Star, member of the NBA’s 75th Anniversary team — who averaged 24.9 points and 7.1 assists a game last year. On the other hand, this is a guy about to turn 35 who is going to miss most — and likely all — of next season recovering from a torn Achilles. His buyout means Lillard is still getting paid $112.6 million over the next two years, allowing him to land where he wants and not worry about financial concerns. Don’t expect him to make a quick decision, and even when he does, it may be a situation where he doesn’t sign with the team until next summer, just to help out the team’s cap situation. One team name that frequently surfaces in rumors is Miami — there has long been mutual interest — but Lillard can and will take his time with this decision.
2) Josh Giddey (restricted)
There’s not a lot of drama here. Giddey is going to re-sign with the Chicago Bulls, the only questions are years and money. It took Giddey a little while to find his footing with the Bulls after being traded from Oklahoma City (for Alex Caruso), but after the All-Star break, he averaged 21.2 points, 10.7 rebounds, and 9.3 assists per game.
He’s now the hub of the offense in Chicago, and he’s not going anywhere
3) Jonathan Kuminga (restricted)
It was one of the more interesting questions entering free agency: Kuminga and the Warriors were mutually ready to part ways, but that was almost certainly going to happen via a sign-and-trade (the only team with cap room to sign him was Brooklyn, and that’s not the direction the Nets were heading). There are teams interested, but putting together a sign-and-trade for a guy coming off his rookie deal is challenging because it hard-caps the team that gets him at the first apron, and the sides have to navigate the complex and arcane base-year compensation rule. Nobody has stepped up yet, but we’re talking about an athletic young player who averaged 15.3 points a game despite spending a chunk of his season in Steve Kerr’s dog house. Kuminga re-signing with the Warriors is not out of the question.
4) Cam Thomas (restricted)
For a team looking for someone to come off the bench (or start) and just get them buckets, Thomas is the guy. He averaged 24 points a game last season in Brooklyn, although he’s not the most efficient scorer out there (34.7% from 3) and there’s not a lot of defense. The Nets hold his rights and are willing to discuss a sign-and-trade deal, or alternatively, he could just end up back in Brooklyn.
5) Mo Wagner
The Magic chose not to pick up his $11 million player option, making him an unrestricted free agent, however, Orlando still retains his Bird rights, and the expectation is that the young center will stay with his brother in Florida. Wagner is coming off an ACL tear from December, which cut his season short last year and likely limits him at the start of the next one. Before the injury, Wagner averaged 12.9 points a game and is a solid backup five.
6) Quentin Grimes (restricted)
The two guard thrived after being traded from Dallas to Philadelphia at the deadline, averaging 21.9 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.5 assists a game for the 76ers. There is not much drama here. Grimes is expected to re-sign with Philadelphia in the coming days. The Sixers prioritized him over keeping Guerschon Yabusele, and the only questions are money and years.
7) Deandre Ayton
Ayton has the talent to be at the top of this list, he averaged 14.4 points and 10.2 rebounds per game last season. However, well-known questions about his focus and off-court concerns — a story at The Athletic detailed him being late for team flights, being late for rehab assignments, throwing tantrums in the locker room, and largely being a diva — have teams cool on the idea of having Ayton in their locker room. Including Portland, which drafted centers the past two years and just bought out Ayton, essentially paying him $35 million not to be around its young players. Ayton has been linked to the Lakers in free agency, and if LeBron James and J.J. Redick can find a way to keep Ayton engaged and not a distraction, he is exactly what Los Angeles needs. That they haven’t jumped at him to sign him — nor has anyone else — speaks to the concerns.
8) Al Horford
In a limited role, he can be an impactful, winning two-way player — he can score inside, knock down corner or trail 3s, and is a quality defender still. However, at age 37, he can’t bring that for big minutes nightly. Horford has primarily been linked to the Lakers and Warriors, he likely signs with one of those two teams unless another team with deep run playoff aspirations emerges.
9) Russell Westbrook
When he is at his best, Westbrook and his energy are still game-changing. However, when the inconsistent Westbrook is bad, his decisions can be head-scratching. He averaged 13.3 points and 6.1 assists per game for the Nuggets last season and had a good chemistry with Nikola Jokić, but he turned down his $3.5 million player option to return to the Mile High City, looking for a larger deal and a larger role on a team. He has been strongly linked to Sacramento.
10) Chris Paul
The future Hall of Fame point guard is still an elite floor general and wants to play at least one more season, somewhere he can help a team win (and if he serves as a mentor, like he was to Stephon Castle and Victor Wembanyama last season in San Antonio, all the better). But Paul wants to be close to his family in Los Angeles again. That has sparked rumors of him reuniting with the Clippers, as well as the Suns.
Other names to watch: Spencer Dinwiddie, Chris Boucher, Amir Coffey, Precious Achiuwa.
Not on this list: Malik Beasley, who is an unrestricted free agent, but nobody will go near him in light of the ongoing gambling investigation.
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