Top 40 NBA Free Agents for 2026 Offseason: Reaves, Duren, James Lead the Pack

The NBA trade market is crazier than ever. All-Stars routinely move out of nowhere. Players are traded for hauls of draft picks. Basically nobody in the league is untouchable. If you're a fan of player movement and chaos, you're mostly a fan of trades, because lately, NBA free agency has been far less exciting.

It's been a slow drip over the past several collective bargaining agreements. Contract extensions have become easier to sign. The best players never reach the market. Teams stop preserving cap space. It's a vicious cycle that has brought us to where we are now: a pretty limited free-agent class. There are names, to be certain, but most of them, for one reason or another, are unlikely to move. Those halcyon days of 2019, when Kevin Durant , Kyrie Irving , Jimmy Butler and Kawhi Leonard all moved as free agents, are long behind us.

But if you need an advertisement for the benefits of free agency, look no further than our reigning NBA champion New York Knicks . They climbed the mountaintop behind one of the greatest free-agent signings in league history. Is anyone in this class likely to become the next Jalen Brunson ? No. But Brunson's ascent reminds us that even the unlikeliest of players, when put in the right circumstances, can become an enormously valuable asset.

So let's go through the top free agents this offseason and rank the best theoretically available players. Unrestricted free agents, restricted free agents and players with player options were eligible for consideration. Those with team options, for now, were not, though the class could get a boost if any of them, most notably the handful from Oklahoma City, are set free. In cases where picking up the player option is the obvious move, as with Zach LaVine , we left them off the list. We ranked 40 players in total, so let's dive in:

1. Austin Reaves -- player option

Don't get your hopes up, cap space teams. The Lakers want Reaves back. Luka Dončić does too. Reaves is eligible for a five-year contract that starts at 25% of the salary cap. That would pay him a projected $239.3 million. Reaves might be able to drum up a true max market if he's willing to engage with the Brooklyn Nets or Chicago Bulls , but in the end, he'll likely return to the purple and gold at slightly below this figure as the Lakers retool their roster around their two  young stars .

2. Jalen Duren -- restricted free agent

Duren is technically eligible for more than Reaves. As an All-NBA selection, he can make up to 30% of the cap, or $287.1 million across five years from the Pistons . His disastrous playoff run almost certainly precluded him from making the max or close to it. The Pistons have a real decision to make here, especially with a non-shooting perimeter player in Ausar Thompson critical to their build and eligible for a rookie extension this offseason. If Detroit has doubts, Duren could get a hefty offer sheet from the Lakers, Nets or Bulls. More likely, he's back in Detroit below his max.

3. LeBron James -- unrestricted free agent

He's arguably the greatest player of all time. He's made max or near-max salaries in each of the past 19 seasons. And he's also 41, presumably picky about destination, and, while he remains enormously productive and a playoff riser, is not nearly the player he was at his peak. The Lakers have home-court advantage through their Bird Rights. They can pay him anything up to his max, which would be just shy of $58 million. If he moves, things get harder, but expect teams like the Golden State Warriors to at least come at him with the nontaxpayer mid-level exception, which starts at around $15 million.

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4. Trae Young -- player option

The widespread expectation following his trade to Washington was a three-year extension in the $120 million range. That's still on the table, and yet, there have suddenly been rumblings about Young being a backup option for the Miami Heat if Giannis Antetokounmpo ends up elsewhere. The Nets and Bulls are both blank enough slates to justify big contracts in free agency. It seems Young has a market developing, so the Wizards might have to go higher to lock him up next season and beyond.

5. Walker Kessler -- restricted free agent

He missed most of last season due to injury, and he's a shaky free-throw shooter, but we're headed into the Victor Wembanyama era, and that's going to put a real premium on size and rim defense. Kessler provides both, along with elite offensive rebounding -- an essential component to New York's championship -- and a hint of 3-point shooting upside. There are bigger names behind him on this list, but at just 24 years old, Kessler's market will be extensive. Reports indicate he's not thrilled with how the  Jazz  have negotiated, so expect sign-and-trade offers, and if talks really break down, Kessler could accept his one-year qualifying offer and become an unrestricted free agent next offseason.

6. Peyton Watson -- restricted free agent

Watson shares some similarities with Kessler, albeit as a wing. He is not as accomplished as players below him on this list. He's injury-prone and pretty unproven on the highest levels. But he's young, athletic and coming off a monster year in which he averaged just shy of 15 points on over 41% 3-point shooting in the biggest role he's ever played. If we again treat New York as a notable model here, the wing-heavy Knicks relied heavily on OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges to win their title. The hope is that Watson could grow into such a player on his next deal. The ultra-expensive Nuggets are presumably trying to move off some salary to facilitate a return, but if they can't do so, there might be a number high enough to scare them away from matching.

7. James Harden -- player option

Harden has a $43.3 million player option, but only $13.3 million of that is guaranteed. On the open market, he'd make less than that. We do this dance every spring. Some team trades for him midseason, he looks great at first, and then he disappoints in the postseason. He's now 36. The decline is coming. In all likelihood, he'll opt out of that $43.3 million and re-sign for multiple years at a lower number to help the Cavaliers duck the second apron.

8. Andrew Wiggins -- player option

At 31, the time for Wiggins to cash in on another long-term deal is now, and considering how limited their means of replacing him would be, it would probably behoove Wiggins to opt out and force Miami to the table. The Lakers are an obvious boogeyman if he does so. Wiggins remains a high-level defensive forward who can shoot 3s and create his own looks. He's been an essential component of a championship team. He's probably on the back nine, but is still a high-level player worthy of a rich, multi-year deal.

9. Draymond Green -- player option

Though they are opposites in terms of playoff resume and number of homes, Green actually shares some contractual similarities with Harden. He has a $27.7 million player option for next season, but the sensible move here would be for him to opt out, lower his salary, and re-sign for multiple years so he can hopefully retire with the Warriors. Doing so would also probably go a long way in helping the Warriors fit whatever big-name additions they want to make this offseason under whichever apron-induced hard cap they're stuck beneath. He's a possible free agent in name only. He should be back.

10. Ayo Dosunmu -- unrestricted free agent

Dosunmu really has the Wolves over a barrel. They're so expensive that they have no obvious means of replacing him if he walks, and the last key reserve they lost in free agency, Nickeil Alexander-Walker , just won Most Improved Player. There's probably a deal here above the mid-level exception that scares off most of the field. If the Lakers, Nets or Bulls get involved with cap space, though, that number climbs higher. He's a starting-level player, and without knowing what else Minnesota has planned this offseason, it's reasonable to assume they have a ceiling somewhere.

11. Tari Eason -- restricted free agent

He hasn't taken the offensive leap that Watson did last season, but similar logic applies. Eason is an athletic, defensive-minded wing with an improving jumper and aptitude for offensive rebounding. He just finished his age-24 season, and while Houston's finances aren't as dire as Denver's, the Rockets have to be mindful of Amen Thompson 's impending extension, so there's probably a line here somewhere.

12. Fred VanVleet -- player option

A new deal with Houston makes too much sense not to happen. VanVleet is coming off a torn ACL. The Rockets' offense was barely functional in the playoffs without him. Houston could have used his salary to trade for a guard last season and didn't. The Rockets and VanVleet seem to be tied together, so he'll either pick up his option or, more likely, decline it and re-sign for multiple years.

13. Kristaps Porziņģis -- player option

The high-risk, high-reward swing of this free-agent class. Shooting big men are worth their weight in gold in Wembanyama's NBA, and Porziņģis is one of the best. He's also enormously injury-prone. A new deal with the Warriors is the likeliest outcome, but if the Warriors need to preserve their money for James, a trade or some other move, somebody could swoop in with a deal in the mid-level range. Keep an eye on the Spurs here. They've been interested in the past, and Luke Kornet 's minutes were a real problem deep in the playoffs. They could give Porziņģis the mid-level exception, minimize his regular-season minutes with Kornet in place, and then unleash him as their backup center and possible Wembanyama front-court partner in the playoffs.

14. Rui Hachimura -- unrestricted free agent

How many 6-foot-8 players in the entire NBA have shot 42.6% from deep in the last three regular seasons... and 50.7% on 3s in the past four postseasons? That's Hachimura. He's not a good defender. He doesn't rebound well enough as a power forward. But he has grown into an absolute sniper with the Lakers, and he's not a standstill scorer, either. He can create some of his own looks and kill closeouts, so if you're looking for an offensive-minded power forward, he's one of your guys this offseason. If the Lakers elect to devote their cap space to external players, Hachimura is probably gettable at the mid-level exception.

15. John Collins -- unrestricted free agent

Collins is a more balanced player than Hachimura, but Hachimura's more consistent shooting gives him the edge among the "too small to play center, not quite quick enough to defend the best 4s" crowd. Still, Collins is a great pick-and-roll big offensively, and while he shouldn't be a primary rim-protector, being able to play him at center in certain lineups is a real bonus. The Clippers are so thin up front after trading Ivica Zubac that a new deal here feels likely.

16. Mitchell Robinson -- unrestricted free agent

He's a starting-level center who can't play starter minutes because of durability concerns. If you're looking for a timeshare center? Robinson is probably your man. Just let him protect the basket, finish lobs and own the offensive glass for 20 minutes and you'll probably win those minutes. If the Knicks are willing to go deep into the second apron, the market is out of luck. If they have a firm budget, well, they're only $13 million or so below that second apron threshold and have at least four roster spots to fill out. Any of the cap space teams are viable suitors, or any center-needy team in the mid-level market (with Charlotte standing out as a fit).

17. Quentin Grimes -- unrestricted free agent

He's spent the bulk of his career as a pretty standard 3-and-D shooting guard. Those players are valuable. But he averaged 25 points in March and April of 2025 in a bigger on-ball r

_Originally reported by [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/ranking-top-40-nba-free-agents-2026/)._