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June 1, 2025, 4:54 amLast Updated on June 23, 2025 2:20 pm by André Lemos | Published: June 1, 2025
If you’re an NBA GM most things revolve around whether you’re buying low and selling high.
And there is no better month for that than the two week happening known as the NBA Draft, followed by the start of NBA free agency.
30 competing agendas all play out in concert, with big tectonic plates shifting over months and years of angling, and about 100 other deals will go down in some cadence around this time that determine how the next 3-5 seasons will go.
Some of the GMs are good and some are quite terrible and that’s before you get to the owners!
Still, for all that variance the basic idea is that you need to get the most value for your salary cap buck.
What these ranks attempt to do is give a cheat sheet for the big event.
On one hand I rank players based on overall rank of the acquisition … independent of how efficiently the player is using salary cap dollars
Then I rank players by how valuable they are as an asset, balancing the need for high-end play against all of the downstream impacts the cost of the contract will have.
Underperforming assets sometimes just run their course and aren’t as impactful but more often than not underperforming assets create circumstances and needs which put stress on future decisions, creating a cycle of bad choices.
Some decisions are so bad they can singularly doom a trajectory (see Sabonis in Sacramento).
On the other hand, if you can nail down important roster slots and get starting level and above talent at 10% of the going rate you enter those same decisions with flexibility and leverage. These choices are illustrated by what I call our Cash to Value Free Agency Ranks.
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MORE ON HOW THIS WORKS
CASH-TO-VALUE RANKS
The concept is this — you’re looking to get the best players at the cheapest costs. If you do that effectively, you have more money to spend elsewhere.
These ranks lean into that pretty strongly. However, you can’t win in the NBA without getting above average and elite players. The key is spending up to get the right players and for the purpose of these rankings, above average players get plenty of love in their cash-to-value rank, depending on how much they cost of course. As mentioned above the Cash to Value ranks are going to significantly reward players who are both cheap and high-end, most likely giving them the top Cash to Value ranks.
VETERANS VS. UPSIDE
These ranks will give older veterans that can still contribute a bit more value than a pure Cash to Value rank might represent. Teams aren’t lining up to sign them and deals may vary, but in terms of winning it all a quality old vet that’s willing to play at or close to the minimum represents a better play than some younger upside guys.
OVERALL RANK
If you just want to know who the best players are you can sort by the overall rank column. This rank will include some elements of upside, which is unavoidable when assessing overall free agency value. However, short-term production and win-now scenarios are going to show up in the overall ranks. For example, James Harden is not going to do well in the Cash to Value ranks, but in terms of overall rank he’ll have higher marks.
POSITIONAL GROUPINGS AND APPROACH
I did something new two seasons ago and went with four different groupings. Ballhandlers and Small Guards, Wings, (the terribly named) Frontcourt Non-Fives and Bigs.
Ballhandlers are legitimate point guards or can play on the ball (excluding point centers and FNFs that run the point).
Wings are either asked to be outstanding shooters or they’re being asked to lock the perimeter down, or both. They’re valued in their ability to switch and otherwise facilitate offense.
A key difference between Wings and FNFs is that you’re not generally seeing Wings play the four slot. This (FNFs) group is often a rangy 6’8″ to 6’10” being asked to defend 2-4 or 3-5 (well or not is another story). They’ve become much more important as teams employ five-out looks, and elite ballhandlers and offensive initiators have grown in size and versatility. With so many different player types landing in this group one commonality is that they’re being asked to play 3-5 in tons of small lineups as the league goes small, but they’re just simply not able to command the paint. As has been the case with the league at large, they’re firing away from deep.
Bigs are the aforementioned muscle you need to control the paint and shooting is a bonus.
SYMBOLS AND ANNOTATIONS
A QUICK WORD ON THIS FREE AGENT CLASS
There are the typical assortment of extraordinary values this season but the class as a whole is really underwhelming. The ballhandling cohort has a ton of expensive, risky players that are rough propositions. The wings classically include those extraordinary values but the group most certainly lacks star power. The frontcourt non-fives are LeBron and then the star power plummets. The fives (bigs) have some big names like Myles Turner, Naz Reid and Brook Lopez where the profit margin will be tight, and while there are some nice targets they could easily fly underneath the radar.
LOOKING BACK AT THE RESULTS
Joe Ingles in 2017, Fred VanVleet in 2018, in 2019 Richaun Holmes was the big win we had seen coming for way too many years. In 2020 Jerami Grant was my top Cash-to-Value rank and predictably blew up. Top ranked wing De’Anthony Melton was awesome all season long and in the postseason. In 2021 years ago it was our second ranked cash-to-value wing Max Strus knocking in big shots all season long for literal pennies and in 2022 he was making big plays alongside other alumni of the 2022 class — top ranked Caleb Martin and Gabe Vincent. Back to 2021, we begged everybody to grab Isaiah Hartenstein as the 10th ranked cash-to-value big when he didn’t even get picked up in free agency. We made him our top ranked big in 2022. In 2024 he got big time paid. Also in 2022 we pick-pocketed Malik Monk, correctly hit the gas on Jalen Brunson, and went on a wing bonanza including third ranked wing target Caleb Martin as well as Kyle Anderson and Bruce Brown. In 2024 it was a very boring class but it felt like we had the answers before the test as we correctly ranked Austin Reaves, hit real big on Donte DiVincenzo, saw Coby White coming from a mile away, had Naz Reid and more. Last season it was Isaiah Hartenstein again after he got paid.
All the previous years’ ranks for your perusal.
2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017BALLHANDLERS AND SMALL GUARD
At least the ballhandling crew is extremely interesting this season as Josh Giddey started breaking the pinball machine toward the end of last season and it virtually guarantees he’s going to get paid like a superstar.
Contrast that with the journey of Davion Mitchell as he was practically waived by Sacramento, flirted with by Toronto but ultimately landed in Miami and became an impact player (who still needs to fix his handles and his shot). His defense and winning instincts catapult him to the top of this list because he will be affordable and in a choice between he and Giddey it’s hard to take the guy that’s a turnstile.
And then you get to the big name guards who are old and injured and in the case of Kyrie Irving, amazing. Throw in playoff flamethrower for a few games, Fred VanVleet, polarizing Kevin Porter Jr., high-octane/low defense Ty Jerome and scoring powerhouse Cam Thomas and there’s just a ton of name value on the board at a position that historically leaves players out in the cold cash-wise (hello Dennis Schroder). This list is intriguing 30 players deep for various reasons.
$/V FIRST LAST COST AGE EXP TYPE COMMENTS 4 1 Davion Mitchell $$+ 26 3 yrs rfa Look, this list has issues. Josh Giddey is 22 years old and still I'm not sure if he can beat his likely cost due to all of the counting stats. On the other end, Davion Mitchell is a beast defensively and had a great run with Miami doing winning player things. Give me the cost to value here but it's extraordinarily close. 5 2 Josh Giddey $$$$+ 22 3 yrs rfa I don't doubt that Josh Giddey is capable of crazy triple doubles the rest of the next decade but can he solve the defensive issues? Can he win the high leverage minutes? I think he has a non-zero shot at being good in big moments but he's going to get paid like an All Star the rest of the way. How much better than that luke-warmish assessment can he be and do you lock your team into mediocrity? 1 3 Fred VanVleet $$$$- 31 8 yrs ufa 2 FVV showed he can still cut you in the playoffs. Whether he stays with Houston or not he will be paid well. As long as it's not a drastic overpay a team could get a baller for high leverage minutes without having to break the bank. Best as a short-term win-now play. 7 4 Kevin Porter $$+ 25 4 yrs ufa 1 Off the court issues are what they are and people's mileage will vary there. Ranking outside of that he is on the short list of players with real pop to break the paint and a chance to compete at a higher level. Overaggressive ,in him. 3 5 James Harden $$$$$- 35 15 yrs ufa 1 Harden can shoot and play old man game for another five seasons but he's going to lose advantage-creation exponentially the rest of the way and there is no way he will play up to his contract. That's before you get to the bad intangibles and tempo crushing stuff. Last year's configuration in Los Angeles was an outlier best case scenario. 2 6 Kyrie Irving $$$$$- 33 13 yrs ufa 1 This is a tough situation. If Kyrie is hell-bent on returning to top form teams need to take him seriously because he is that good and on the other hand any number of outcomes can be way worse than that. How this deal goes is really about fit and if we assume he gets paid big regardless his rank has to get hit because injury risk and degradation is a massive downside 6 7 Dennis Schröder $$$ 31 11 yrs ufa Schroder has been competitive in high leverage minutes for many seasons now and is getting close to a Rodney Dangerfield award. He will probably have a pretty healthy market and still be well within the ability to meet that number. After years of being extraordinarily undervalued this might actually tip toward equal money so in that regard the timing isn't great 9 8 Cam Thomas $$$$- 23 3 yrs rfa Thomas can get his shot more or less when he wants and the question is just whether the rest of his game will travel. 10 9 Jared Butler $$+ 24 3 yrs ufa 2 Butler isn't going anywhere but this is a fun exercise in ranking him. 11 10 Ajay Mitchell $$ 22 0 yrs rfa 2 Mitchell isn't going anywhere but this is a fun exercise in ranking him 8 11 Ty Jerome $$$$- 27 5 yrs ufa Jerome is a legitimate offensive talent but the defensive issues aren't going anywhere and at 27 years old teams should legitimately be looking to max his usage in a 28 to 30 minute role while he is still elite. That's a few too many hoops to jump through at such a high price with questions about the high leverage minutes 15 12 Ryan Rollins $$ 22 2 yrs rfa Rollins started showing some solid minutes toward the end of the season and at his age with his physical attributes there's a lot to like here 12 13 Cameron Payne $$+ 30 9 yrs ufa Payne has played big minutes and made some big plays in multiple playoffs now and you know what you are getting 13 14 Markelle Fultz $$- 26 7 yrs ufa Markelle's lack of shooting really stands out because he looked great on defense in Sacramento. On the ball he finds ways to be effective but when teams go all the way under the tempo gets bad real fast. 23 15 Keon Johnson $+ 23 3 yrs ufa 2 Legitimately explosive and active enough in his minutes within the context of Brooklyn's whatever campaign. Hard to see the Nets passing him up this season. 24 16 Collin Gillespie $+ 25 1 yrs rfa 4 Gillespie played really well and for teams that have a need at point guard they would be crazy not to make an offer in a low cost deal. 25 17 Tre Jones $$- 25 4 yrs ufa A lot of corporate knowledge from San Antonio and plenty of basketball left in him at 25 years old. A lower upside target that won't cost much. 14 18 Chris Paul $$$- 40 19 yrs ufa Paul can bring leadership if there is other good leadership around as well. Other than that he is mostly cooked on the floor, but can facilitate and stand in the right places 28 19 Reece Beekman $ 23 0 yrs rfa 4 Beekman got on the radar a little bit and he's probably not going anywhere but young guards who have flashed some skills deserve a little bit more attention 26 20 Sam Merrill $$ 29 4 yrs ufa Merrill has had a nice ecosystem to operate in and showcase his game. Has that elevated his play in a way that it wouldn't on a different team? It's a fair question but he has earned the right to have an elevated status heading into the offseason 16 21 D'Angelo Russell $$$- 29 9 yrs ufa Russell still has some basketball in his veins but it needs to be the right circumstances and folks shouldn't be paying for that name value but they likely will 29 22 Jeff Dowtin $ 28 3 yrs rfa 4 Dowtin has been around a long time and it feels like there has been a vote of no confidence in the league despite some promising performances. Teams with a need should absolutely be taking a look here. 17 23 Gary Trent $$ 26 6 yrs ufa Trent had the highest of highs in the playoffs and lowest of lows in that fateful final possession letting the ball go through his legs. He needs to get better on defense to become more viable beyond 24 MPG 18 24 Spencer Dinwiddie $$ 32 10 yrs ufa Dinwiddie can still get buckets and give you some sort of bottom barrel defensive presence in certain rotations. He just doesn't profile well enough in the proficient areas to justify spending more than minimum amounts, which the name value might draw 19 25 Russell Westbrook $$+ 36 16 yrs ufa 1 Westbrook competes but if you can avoid the Russell Westbrook show you're ahead of the game 31 26 Bones Hyland $ 24 3 yrs rfa 4 Bones needs to get good at multiple things real quick because the intrigue is wearing off 27 27 Danté Exum $$- 29 7 yrs ufa Exum has been playing well and surviving his injury riddled career rather well. He could probably handle 16 high leverage minutes for a top four seed and will probably be available 30 28 Tre Mann $+ 24 3 yrs rfa Not being able to play much last season is a little bit worrisome, and otherwise there would have been a lot optimism because he was great when on the floor (within the context of playing for Charlotte) 20 29 Luke Kennard $$- 28 7 yrs ufa There is some basketball left in him but his durability and injury risk is all sorts of problematic. A team wanting 18 MPG can aim for fit as long as the price isn't too high based on name value 21 30 Dru Smith $+ 27 2 yrs rfa 4 Smith was playing so well before he got injured and for that reason alone he should garner some interest but we will have to see how Miami plays this 32 31 Jordan Goodwin $ 26 3 yrs ufa 2 Goodwin has an NBA body and does a lot of unique things on the basketball floor ... and has actually survived a bumpy career arc decently. It's doubtful that this is the year for him but he's not dead money just yet 33 32 Aaron Holiday $ 28 6 yrs ufa 2 Still a pretty good third point guard that brings some competitive elements you won't typically see at that depth 22 33 De'Anthony Melton $+ 26 6 yrs ufa Injuries have really derailed his career and if not for those he would obviously be ranked much higher 34 34 Ben Simmons $$ 28 6 yrs ufa If you approach him as a 10th or 11th man to be used in very specific situations and he is all the way humbled that's probably the best way to approach his value 35 35 Keaton Wallace $ 26 0 yrs rfa 4 Has put down some good NBA minutes as a pure backup/reserve and teams could do worse if they are looking for 9th or 10th man 36 36 Wendell Moore $ 23 2 yrs ufa 4 Young legs but not much proof that he can take it to the next level. Teams should kick the tires for sure, though. 37 37 Vasilije Micić $ 31 1 yrs rfa 2 Can run some offense and not much more. Asking for 16 good minutes in a game is about the ceiling here. 38 38 Bryce McGowens $ 22 2 yrs rfa 4 McGowens has flashed some versatility and at 22 years old there's still a chance for him to raise his level of play. But if we don't see it this season it's probably not happening 39 39 Elfrid Payton $ 31 8 yrs ufa 2 Payton probably has another few seasons as an emergency backup point guard 40 40 Damion Lee $ 32 6 yrs ufa The knee injury came at the worst time for his career and this will be his prove it season that he can hang around the NBA 41 41 Josh Christopher $ 23 2 yrs ufa 4 Good physical tools and worth checking into given his age but he hasn't been able to turn the corner. This will be a prove-it season for him. 42 42 Pat Connaughton $ 32 9 yrs ufa 1 Has lost the physical tools to compete the way he used to just a few seasons ago on both ends of the floor 43 43 TyTy Washington $ 23 2 yrs ufa 4 Size limitations and an ominous start to his career obscure some potential here, but he is getting close to the end if he doesn't show something fast 44 44 Monté Morris $ 29 7 yrs ufa Unless he has another gear hiding away somewhere he has lost the physical edge he never really had to be playable in most rotations 45 45 Trevelin Queen $ 28 3 yrs rfa 4 Time is running out at 28 years old but 14 MPG in 31 games for Orlando wasn't nothing. Some sneaky third string value for a player that probably summarily gets written off 46 46 Garrett Temple $ 39 14 yrs ufa One of the best people to pass through the NBA and worthy of a roster spot to fill the mentor role 47 47 Delon Wright $ 33 9 yrs ufa Usually I'm pushing for more Delon Wright rather than less Delon Wright but I think this is it for him. Maybe he can help out a very young team and give 12 to 16 MPG of somewhat respectable minutes 48 48 Eric Gordon $ 36 16 yrs ufa 1 Amazing longevity especially considering the early injuries but he's officially cooked 49 49 David Duke $ 25 3 yrs rfa 4 At least getting time with the San Antonio culture gives him an opportunity around the rest of the league. If he has it in him, somebody else will know and pick him up 50 50 Jevon Carter $ 29 6 yrs ufa 1 After a precipitous decline in Chicago and at 29 years old he will be battling younger players with more upside for the final slots on rosters. 51 51 Seth Curry $ 34 10 yrs ufa Maybe he can gear it up to bring emergency minutes to a team that's good or have some veteran role, but physically he might be all the way done 52 52 Patty Mills $ 36 15 yrs ufa You're only bringing him on to be a team dad/babysitter 53 53 Cory Joseph $ 33 13 yrs ufa 2 Better than one would have thought this past season. No real on-court value. 54 54 Jordan McLaughlin $ 29 5 yrs ufa He looked promising in Minnesota and by the time he got to Sacramento he looked unplayable. Those are the breaks when the ceiling is low 55 55 Kyle Lowry $ 39 18 yrs ufa Enjoy your Hall of Fame retirement, sir. 56 56 Malcolm Brogdon $ 32 8 yrs ufa Solid early career and then got too ball dominant before it all fell apart. $/V FIRST LAST COST AGE EXP TYPE COMMENTS WINGS
This year’s Wings are just an amazingly cool group of players. There is a battle at the top between Keon Ellis and Quentin Grimes and ultimately I take the game changing defensive player but it’s such a close call. Grimes has the physical profile to be a two-way impact player but Ellis was a walking indictment of NBA awards voters as he turned in a Defensive Player of the Year season and didn’t even get a single all defensive team vote. I don’t begrudge any voter for taking on the responsibility of voting or even being bad at it, but is this the best we can do?
Throughout the top 10 there are several fun targets but it is not a deep position in terms of market valuation. The difference between the top 10 and top 20 isn’t very great so teams tend to mail it in with these decisions, which again is where smart decision-makers plunder.
OVR $/V FIRST LAST COST AGE EXP TYPE COMMENTS 1 1 Keon Ellis $$+/- 25 2 yrs rfa 2 He's not going anywhere. Had a defensive player of the year type season and not one voter did the work to know that. Excellent shooter, expandable offensive game. One of our classic figure it out five years before anybody else plays. 2 2 Quentin Grimes $$$+ 25 3 yrs rfa Grimes is really really good. He's got athleticism and strength on almost everybody and makes use of it efficiently. I wouldn't rule out his ability to be a low-end number one scorer but how much he makes other players better is his next threshold to get to. Not as surprisingly high end on defense but has the tools to compete on that end. The league probably catches up with him a bit now that he's on the scouting report. He's going to get paid and it's probably going to be worth it whatever the number may be. Stunning climb to stardom. 3 3 Malik Beasley $$$+ 28 8 yrs ufa One of the top gravity players in the league and not terrible in other facets. Probably still underrated as just a three point shooter. He's not coming at an amazing discount but folks probably don't fully grasp how much of Detroit's big season was because of him 4 4 Nickeil Alexander-Walker $$$ 26 5 yrs ufa NAW isn't going to lack suitors but as long as he doesn't get some crazy deal he's going to be a good value because all of the ingredients are there. His prime season awaits. 6 5 Josh Minott $$- 22 2 yrs rfa 2 Minott has a ton of pop and has been unfortunately been buried on the bench in the most literal sense. When given opportunities he has made noise and it's unlikely he gets past the team option. 11 6 Justin Edwards $$- 21 0 yrs rfa 2 With great physical attributes, Edwards just needs to round out all of the edges and prove he can be consistent. If he does he has a legit shot at being a solid bench player 5 7 Kelly Oubre $$$+ 29 9 yrs ufa 1 Oubre needs to add more high-end skill across the board as he slowly loses elite lateral quickness. This feels like the season he finally gets paid and for that reason this deal might lose steam in the long run. 12 8 Brandon Boston $$- 23 3 yrs ufa 2 Boston played really well this last season and has the physical tools that make him an excellent prospect 13 9 Dalano Banton $$+/- 25 3 yrs ufa Banton is about to enter his prime seasons and he has all sorts of pop on the offensive side. Assuredly he will have holes in his game but this is the year he's really going to be worth more than the cost. 14 10 Kessler Edwards $+ 24 3 yrs rfa 4 I've been trying to make Kessler Edwards happen for a while and he actually got back on the radar again. The razor's edge of physicality needed for a player with lower skill has held him back but he still extremely spry and just laid down some great minutes for Dallas 7 11 Gary Payton $$- 32 8 yrs ufa He probably has one more season being serviceable in high leverage minutes. Golden State got a title because of this guy 18 12 Duncan Robinson $$ 31 6 yrs ufa 3 Provided he hits shots, he can be a serviceable 20 to 25 MPG guy. Also a great candidate to get overpaid based on what he did many seasons ago 19 13 Tyrese Martin $ 26 1 yrs rfa 2 Some very poppy games season and I love the bet here. Minimal risk and might end up being useful seventh or eighth player off the bench 16 14 Ziaire Williams $$ 23 3 yrs rfa Williams did enough to maintain about 25 MPG last season and consistency was generally a 50-50 proposal, even within the context of a bad Brooklyn squad. There's enough body of work here to justify consideration for a rotation slot on at least two thirds of the league 8 15 Tim Hardaway $$$- 33 11 yrs ufa Age obviously looms large but Hardaway isn't falling off next season or even the season after that. Teams shouldn't want to rely on him for more than 25 MPG anyway but especially this upcoming season he will be able to do the same stuff he has been doing for the last four to five seasons 10 16 Taurean Prince $$ 31 8 yrs ufa Prince has another solid deal under his belt as a 25 MPG placeholder starter or shooter coming off the bench 9 17 Caris LeVert $$$- 30 8 yrs ufa Injury history and bigger name value make this next deal unlikely to be a winner but he is a solid player. Perhaps there is enough fatigue surrounding his value that his next deal becomes more of an even proposition 15 18 Amir Coffey $$$- 27 5 yrs ufa Coffey probably gets paid as a classic young player who has played a lot of minutes, probably something in the 40th percentile. With enough teams circling him the juice probably isn't worth the squeeze as the winning team is overpaying for the floor. 17 19 Caleb Houstan $$- 22 2 yrs rfa 2 Houstan has seen enough minutes to be considered a prospect with rotational upside 21 20 Gui Santos $ 22 1 yrs rfa 2 Santos did enough to show that he can be a rotational player in this league. Lower overall upside and lower offensive versatility keep him in an affordable range for the foreseeable future 20 21 Garrison Mathews $$- 28 5 yrs ufa This might be Mathews' peak season. It would be great to see him on a contender coming off the bench and truly seeing how far his brand of punchy ball can go. 22 22 Javonte Green $+ 31 5 yrs ufa Age and injury history take the fun out of his future but he has constantly out produced expectations. Definitely worth a look as a backend rotation player on a team friendly deal 26 23 Bruce Brown $$ 28 6 yrs ufa My fear is that the knee issues are too much for him to step into what should have been a very good long-term career 27 24 Lonnie Walker $ 26 6 yrs ufa 2 Walker has generally gotten less opportunity than the name value and even the performance would suggest he should have received. Over the long haul it's hard to explain that away but there's certainly potential here 24 25 Matisse Thybulle $$ 28 5 yrs ufa 1 I can't really conjure a use-case other than on a contender. He could flourish with that type of help, while other scenarios seem pointless. 29 26 Pat Spencer $ 28 1 yrs rfa Spencer showed he can be a useful reserve doing a little bit of everything and staying out of the way 28 27 Gary Harris $$- 30 10 yrs ufa 2 Harris can probably provide 15 MPG going forward. 23 28 Rayan Rupert $+ 20 1 yrs rfa 2 Long and can shoot with good measureables for this stage of his career 25 29 Landry Shamet $$- 28 6 yrs ufa Just never got up and over the hump physically with not enough tools to justify the mediocre value 33 30 Khris Middleton $+ 33 12 yrs ufa 1 Probably cooked 30 31 Lamar Stevens $ 27 4 yrs ufa Good strength but probably too much of a tweener size wise at his lower overall value. 31 32 Alec Burks $ 33 13 yrs ufa Might be good for a few buckets in a pinch but the game has probably passed him by 32 33 Jae'Sean Tate $ 29 4 yrs ufa Tate a good example of how physically additive one needs to be in order to maintain a lower skill profile 34 34 Emoni Bates $ 21 1 yrs rfa 4 The once highly touted prospect might be worth checking on to see if whatever spun him out was able to be addressed 35 35 MarJon Beauchamp $ 24 2 yrs ufa 4 At one point he seemed like a promising youngster but has faded. It's a decent value proposition but there are a lot of players better than him that won't get roles 36 36 Chuma Okeke $ 26 4 yrs ufa 2 Probably to dinged up to hang on in the NBA but versatile enough to not be declared dead money just yet 37 37 Kevin Knox $ 25 6 yrs ufa Knox has somehow survived and it wouldn't be surprising if he somehow stuck around one more season 38 38 Talen Horton-Tucker $ 24 5 yrs ufa THT can score and look 40 years old at the same time. It's not the greatest combination but perhaps he sees the floor for one more season 39 39 Doug McDermott $ 33 10 yrs ufa Not enough juice/shooting to be worth the squeeze OVR $/V FIRST LAST COST AGE EXP TYPE COMMENTS FRONTCOURT NON-FIVES
Yes, Lebron James is at the top of this thing but Jake LaRavia actually pushes him here and that’s mostly a statement about LaRavia being very good at basketball (and most importantly his price), while obviously Lebron comes with a lot of strings attached at this stage of his career.
LaRavia has shown upside competing at a high level on both sides of the ball and is a player that we been crushing over since his time in Memphis, which was almost always overwhelmingly positive and saddled by the crowd. He found his way to Sacramento and they instantly needed him on the floor at pretty much all times.
This group gets sour real fast as even the players I like don’t have the ceiling or the profit margin to make any magic happen. I thought the victory parade for Julius Randle was predictably short-lived as he disappeared in high leverage moments against Oklahoma City. He needs to be a really good third or fourth option on a team but he’s going to get paid like a number two option on a bad team. Jonathan Kuminga and Bobby Portis stand out as places squads can make a mistake. Going down the list there are very few players to get excited about.
OVR $/V FIRST LAST COST AGE EXP TYPE COMMENTS 1 1 LeBron James $$$$$ 40 21 yrs ufa 1 I don't pray at the altar of Lebron but even with injury concern at the end of the season he still tops the list. And because he's not a top 10 player anymore there's actually way less ancillary bullshit to deal with. 2 2 Jake LaRavia $$+ 23 2 yrs ufa LaRavia is GOOOOOOOOD. He will have a long career unless some weird injury hits and he has potential to be a starting role player on a championship team. 3 3 Santi Aldama $$$- 24 3 yrs rfa Aldama is about to hit his prime and he has the length and skill set teams covet for good reason. Still has potential to hit another level or two higher than the market considers him to be. 4 4 John Collins $$$+ 27 7 yrs ufa 1 Collins is really good and whoever gets him next will be getting a solid player without having to drastically overpay. Still, the profit margin probably is thin at best 5 5 Julius Randle $$$$ 30 10 yrs ufa 1 Randle will get more credit than derision after his playoff run and that alone will make him dead money going into his next deal. There are too many teams who can defend him in a seven-game series and not be worried if he is a team's number two or even number three player. He will be overpriced and getting older by the minute. 10 6 Jonathan Kuminga $$$+ 22 3 yrs rfa Kuminga will get attention in free agency no matter what. And no matter what you think about his game any team would be crazy not to kick the tires, but they have to get a blood oath that he can be flexible during development. He needs to be thinking about what the best fit is as he makes his decisions. If the fit is right he can be worth the risk. 9 7 Chris Boucher $$- 32 7 yrs ufa Boucher has 1-2 good seasons left and could be useful to just about any team for 15-18 mpg. 8 8 Isaac Jones $ 24 0 yrs rfa 2 Sometimes it's hard to reconcile but there is at least a chance Jones can be a decent rotation player. This list gets thin quick so taking a chance on a younger upside guy with low risk makes sense 6 9 Bobby Portis $$$$- 30 9 yrs ufa 1 Portis is going to continue doing Bobby Portis things but it's all downhill from here and the name value makes the price too high 7 10 Nicolas Batum $$ 36 16 yrs ufa 1 Batum deserves another shot at the playoffs as he can still be an impact player at practically zero cost 11 11 Sandro Mamukelashvili $+ 26 3 yrs ufa Teams could do worse than to have him as their backup hybrid power forward 12 12 Jeremiah Robinson-Earl $+ 24 3 yrs ufa JRE handled a decent amount of minutes for New Orleans and there's enough (minimal) upside here to check into 13 13 Trendon Watford $+ 24 3 yrs ufa If you're going to take a chance on Watford it has to be the next 2-3 seasons before athleticism issues take hold. He's a backup at best but might have some sneaky potential in the very short term before degradation drops him 15 14 Lindy Waters $ 27 3 yrs ufa Between Waters and some of the other names on this list at least he's younger and versatile. You probably don't want him as a rotation guy but if pressed into action he might be able to hold up 14 15 Dorian Finney-Smith $$ 32 8 yrs ufa 1 Between the name, age and the recent stint in Los Angeles he is too high profile to like the value here, but if he goes and plays on a team friendly deal then maybe he should be ranked about five slots higher 16 16 Drew Timme $ 24 0 yrs rfa 2 Fun little run for Drew Timme late in the season but hard to get truly excited for somebody that might never be a rotation player 17 17 Trey Lyles $+ 29 9 yrs ufa The kind of player that never plays at value because folks overvalue his offense and bury their heads in the sand about his defense. If he plays for the minimum he could have some value because the speed of the game doesn't get to him, rather just the speed of the athletes. 18 18 James Johnson $ 38 15 yrs ufa The only enforcer ranked higher is Chuck Norris 19 19 JT Thor $ 22 3 yrs rfa 4 Low likelihood hit but a decent amount of minutes at such a young age bring a unique low-end intrigue 20 20 Torrey Craig $ 34 7 yrs ufa Not likely to provide good high leverage minutes, may be of use as a resident old dude 21 21 Jae Crowder $ 34 12 yrs ufa Hasn't found a lot of takers lately and needs to carve out a lane as a 12th man 22 22 Joe Ingles $ 37 10 yrs ufa Jokes and smokes, smokin' Joe Ingles everybody OVR $/V FIRST LAST COST AGE EXP TYPE COMMENTS BIGS
Myles Turner is going to get paid after his second straight amazing playoff run and Naz Reid will have all sorts of suitors and potential for upgraded playing time.
Brook Lopez probably gets some attention despite his advanced age and then a pair of younger unknowns are nicely positioned for future success. I’m talking of course about Nikola Vukcevic and Jaylin Williams. Luke Kornet put it all together as a winning player this season and Isaiah Jackson is a question mark after the injury. The list is semi-interesting as you get down into the 10-20 range.
OVR $/V FIRST LAST COST AGE EXP TYPE COMMENTS 1 1 Myles Turner $$$$ 29 9 yrs ufa Of all the skills he has shown it's the toughness that has shot him up the ranks. Indy's run will drive this price UP. 2 2 Naz Reid $$$ 25 5 yrs ufa 1 As he gets evaluated as a higher tier player, he needs more strength and versatility at the cup. A number two ranking is nothing to scoff at but defensively it's not getting much better from here. 4 3 Jaylin Williams $$$- 22 2 yrs rfa 2 One team's third stringer is another team's treasure. Shooting, defensive positioning and strength, awareness. 5 4 Tristan Vukcevic $$- 22 1 yrs rfa 4 So much potential here. He can shoot and move and he's tall and seems to get the game as much as most 22-year-olds. 3 5 Brook Lopez $$$+/- 37 16 yrs ufa Even at 37 years old Brook Lopez can stand around and drop bombs. He's not chopped liver on the defensive side either. A true physical specimen. 8 6 Guerschon Yabusele $$$- 29 2 yrs ufa Rocksolid season for a guy not yet at 30 years old. This list starts to get thin pretty soon and at the same time statistically he had a lot of advantages last season that a typical season wouldn't have. 12 7 Isaiah Jackson $$ 23 3 yrs rfa Here's a bet on medical technology. Jackson's main value was always his leaping ability and it's concerning that this facet of his game could be at risk. He was starting to get a feel for things and if he can get to 90% of what he was he can still be a very good, young versatile center in this league. 6 8 Luke Kornet $$+ 29 7 yrs ufa The UniKornet would be much higher on this list if he wasn't 29 years old and close to the ever-so-real cliff that bigs face when their feet get slow. Currently, he is moving really well and has a lot of size and understands the game. 9 9 Steven Adams $$+ 31 10 yrs ufa It's kind of amazing he's only 31 years old and all analysis aside we saw what he was capable of in the playoffs and that alone is worthy of a very high rank 13 10 Dominick Barlow $ 21 2 yrs rfa 2 There is a lot to like about his archetype and physicality. He has a long way to go but there's something to work with here and that alone intrigues us 14 11 Jaxson Hayes $$+ 25 5 yrs ufa There is still a lot of juice in these legs but that won't be true for more than a year or two. Hayes can start to get ordinary real fast if he doesn't keep his foot on the pedal and learn new skills 16 12 Bol Bol $$- 25 5 yrs ufa The knock on Bol coming into the NBA was maturity and it's hard to believe that hasn't followed him around. Mike Budenholzer lost his shit about him last year and benched him after a great stretch. There's too much talent here not to take a chance especially when every year is another year that he can "get it." 15 13 Paul Reed $$- 25 4 yrs ufa Reed has slowly rounded out the edges and made himself into a useful backup center in the NBA. 7 14 Moritz Wagner $$+ 28 6 yrs ufa 2 His age and injury are enough of a risk to knock him down this list but he was cruising as an underrated winning player 18 15 Day'Ron Sharpe $$- 23 3 yrs rfa It would've been a lot nicer if he was able to take the opportunity and run with low competition in Brooklyn. At 23 years old there is enough skill set and mobility to keep betting into him as a backup with upside 19 16 Precious Achiuwa $$+ 25 4 yrs ufa The lack of perimeter game and offensive versatility after so many years is mostly damning, but he has great pop and should have a place in the league for a long time. Teams could do worse. 17 17 Kai Jones $+ 24 2 yrs ufa 4 Jones needs to put on weight and keep the same physicality to truly make it in the league. And there are several other boxes for him to check but he is springy and young and had a nice stretch for Dallas. 11 18 Al Horford $$+/- 38 17 yrs ufa Could Al Horford be effective in next year's playoffs? Probably for about 10 to 15 minutes per game and that's quite the compliment. Teams will be lining up to get him at the end of their bench. 10 19 Clint Capela $$$- 31 10 yrs ufa Capela has one or two seasons as a nice backup that can handle high leverage minutes in the NBA. He might get overpaid based on name recognition but not by much. 21 20 Larry Nance $$$- 32 9 yrs ufa Nance is a strict 20 MPG guy that you should pencil in for 55 games and hope for the best. He can be good in that role and at the same time I'm not sure he would be effective in the playoffs at this stage of his career 20 21 Luka Garza $$- 26 3 yrs ufa 2 I would like to rank him a whole lot higher, but I'm just not sure if he can hold his own defensively and if there is enough offensive game ... so I won't get over my skis here. He's still a live wire toward the bottom of the ranks. 25 22 Micah Potter $ 27 3 yrs rfa 4 Potter handled a decent amount of minutes for Utah last season and he's raw but might have backup potential. At his age teams could do a lot worse. 22 23 Tony Bradley $+ 27 6 yrs ufa 2 Barely hanging around in the NBA last season he did get small amounts of playoff minutes and played well enough. This will probably be his peak season in the NBA but it's no guarantee to get consistent rotation minutes 23 24 Quinten Post $+ 25 0 yrs rfa 2 Post has a purpose and spot in the NBA given his range but he can't be relied upon in the playoffs unless he has an unlikely change in physical dynamic 24 25 Kevon Looney $$- 29 9 yrs ufa Looney looked like he was 40 years old as a rookie and it has finally caught up to him. He probably has two to three years being a low-end backup in the league with upside in very specific match ups 28 26 Christian Koloko $ 24 1 yrs rfa 4 Koloko's injury pushes him down the list a little bit and we just need to see him do something good over a sustained period of time to give credibility in ranks like these 26 27 Alex Len $+ 31 11 yrs ufa Len has lost time on his career playing in places like Sacramento and now he might only be a matchup based backup 29 28 Marvin Bagley $+ 26 6 yrs ufa Bagley might surprise us for a couple seasons but that just means he would stay in rotations. 27 29 Thomas Bryant $+ 27 7 yrs ufa I've bagged on Bryant for about five years now but I was actually fairly happy with his performance in Indy. Teams still targeted him relentlessly and finally he stopped getting overrated, but his teammates made life easier on him and had one solid playoff game. 36 30 DeAndre Jordan $ 36 16 yrs ufa Surprisingly effective backup minutes for somebody who has been washed for a while. Asking for a repeat performance is not great math 30 31 Charles Bassey $ 24 3 yrs ufa Injuries really do dampen his outlook and with lower production potential teams have to consider passing for more specific needs 33 32 Jeff Green $ 38 16 yrs ufa There's barely any basketball left in those legs but if anybody can get in there and handle five high leverage minutes it's Jeff Green 34 33 Mason Plumlee $ 35 11 yrs ufa A decent veteran to transport have at the end of the bench but the game has more or less passed him by this point 37 34 Dwight Powell $ 33 10 yrs ufa 1 Couple of years ago he would've been a great fit on so many teams but injuries and age make him more of a locker room guy at this point 40 35 Taj Gibson $ 39 15 yrs ufa The new UH. 41 36 Jericho Sims $ 26 3 yrs ufa It's not too late to try out for football 31 37 Andre Drummond $ 31 12 yrs ufa 1 Maybe he shocks the world and gets into great shape to maintain standing as a 15 MPG backup center but it's a terrible bet 35 38 Bismack Biyombo $ 32 13 yrs ufa Not capable of providing high leverage minutes but probably on-call in case an NBA team wants a warm body that they don't have to worry about 39 39 Dario Šarić $ 31 7 yrs It's hard to see Saric doing anything at the NBA level anymore 38 40 Tristan Thompson $ 34 13 yrs ufa Teams should run away from his veteran advice OVR $/V FIRST LAST COST AGE EXP TYPE COMMENTS
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I’m a father, husband and friend. Also, a high stakes fantasy basketball player and I’ve been working in fantasy sports since the turn of the century. Before founding SportsEthos, I spent nearly a decade at Rotoworld building their NBA operation, where we won the FSGA award for Best News and Analysis Site regularly. I cut my teeth in the reporting world at ProBasketballTalk.com on the Kings relocation story, developing sources in Sacramento and throughout the NBA. I’ve won two FSWA Basketball Writer of the Year awards and been nominated four times. I started SportsEthos to help this industry evolve so content producers can have some long-term security and customers can get a better product.
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