Checking In On Top Remaining NBA Free Agents

As we noted within our story on the Lakers’ sign-and-trade agreement for Walker Kessler, that deal is bad news for Duren, who can no longer use the threat of an offer sheet from Los Angeles as leverage in his negotiations with the Pistons. In fact, with Brooklyn and Chicago having also made multiple moves using their cap room, no team is currently in position to put pressure on Detroit with a maximum-salary or near-max offer sheet for Duren.

The Kings and Duren still reportedly have mutual interest, with Sacramento looking to make a sign-and-trade deal involving Domantas Sabonis, but the Pistons are said to have little enthusiasm for that concept — or for a sign-and-trade in general. They’ve indicated that they want to keep the All-NBA big man, and at this point, they appear to have the leverage to wait out the process and hope Duren decides to eventually accept their offer.

While the 22-year-old Duren is the best bet of the remaining free agents to get a lucrative, long-term deal, the 41-year-old James is perhaps the most intriguing name on this list. LeBron is a true free agent, having told the Lakers he won’t re-sign with them and inviting any team with interest to reach out.

The Warriors, Cavaliers, and Heat have long been viewed as the most logical non-Los Angeles landing spots for the 22-time All-Star, but teams like the Timberwolves, Nuggets, and Sixers have also registered their interest, and the word is that James will be prioritizing his “happiness” and an ability to contend for a championship over money.

In contrast to James, whose destination seems truly up in the air, Harden and Green are considered very likely to re-sign with the Cavaliers and Warriors, respectively. In fact, their eventual contract structures may hinge in large part on LeBron’s decision. If James chooses Cleveland or Golden State, Harden or Green may be prepared to negotiate their own contracts accordingly to help create enough room under a hard cap or an apron threshold.

Since Watson, Eason, Mathurin, and Jones are all restricted free agents, it’s possible the process will drag out for some of them. All indications are that the Nuggets want to re-sign Watson and have explored trading one of their higher-paid players to help create the spending flexibility to do it. The Rockets likewise have prioritized bringing back Eason and should have enough room under their second-apron hard cap to match any rival offer. We haven’t heard as much about Mathurin or Jones to this point, though the latter did briefly address his contract negotiations in a LinkedIn post.

A pair of potential frontrunners for Hachimura came off the board when San Antonio reached a deal with Tobias Harris to fill its hole at power forward and Detroit decided to add John Collins as its stretch four. The Nets are another team that has been cited as having interest in Hachimura, though it’s unclear how their agreement with Moritz Wagner, another floor-spacing frontcourt player, will impact their plans.

While there hasn’t been a ton of chatter about Simons or Williams since free agency officially began on Tuesday, Kuminga was the subject of an intriguing rumor late on Wednesday night, when a report from The Athletic indicated that he’s on the Lakers‘ radar. In order to offer the young forward more than the veteran’s minimum, Los Angeles would have to work out a sign-and-trade with Atlanta, his former team.

All of the free agent deals agreed upon so far can be found within our 2026 free agent tracker. The full list of free agents still available can be found right here (or here, if you prefer to sort by team rather than by position/type).