Three weeks after the start of the NBA\u2019s 2025 free agency period, most of the biggest prospective difference-makers have come off the board. That doesn\u2019t mean, though, that the market is devoid of talented players \u2014 veterans of all shapes, sizes, experience levels and skill sets who might be capable of meaningfully, tangibly helping a club next season.<\/p>\n
(Note: What follows will focus on unrestricted free agents. If you\u2019d like to read about the games and statuses of restricted free agents Josh Giddey, Jonathan Kuminga, Quentin Grimes and Cam Thomas, then, boy, do I have just the link for you<\/a>!)<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Let\u2019s take a spin through some of the best unsigned talent still on the board, starting with the big fellas, and a perennial postseason participant in search of a new home:<\/p>\n Best available free agents: <\/strong>Bigs<\/strong><\/a> \u2022 <\/strong>Ball-handlers<\/strong><\/a> \u2022 <\/strong>Wings<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n BIGS<\/strong>Al Horford<\/strong><\/p>\n The just-turned-39-year-old might not be on the market for long. He\u2019s been tipped for weeks to join the Golden State Warriors, though as of press time, the deal remains unconsummated. So as long as he isn\u2019t inked, Horford is the best big man available \u2014 one who\u2019s only available, really, due to the Celtics responding to the shocking combination of Jayson Tatum\u2019s ruptured Achilles tendon<\/a> and their earlier-than-expected exit<\/a> from the playoffs by pivoting<\/a> into cost-saving<\/a> mode<\/a> and away from the kind of immediate title contention that an 18-year vet would reasonably want to pursue as he nears the end of the line.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n [<\/strong>Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2025 NFL season<\/strong><\/a>]<\/strong><\/p>\n Horford\u2019s shooting efficiency dipped last season from what he provided during Boston\u2019s run to the 2024 NBA championship. He continued to produce, though, averaging 9.0 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.5 combined steals and blocks in 27.7 minutes per game, and remaining a key contributor for a Celtics team that won 61 games, finished in the top five in the NBA in both offensive and defensive efficiency<\/a> \u2014 and performed better on both ends of the floor<\/a> with the rock-solid vet on the floor. He\u2019ll organize coverages, space the floor, move the ball and generally provide whatever you need on any given possession, and do it while providing the kind of steady hand and measured leadership you need in the postseason.<\/p>\n Chris Boucher<\/strong><\/p>\n The last remaining member of the Raptors\u2019 2019 NBA title team, Boucher developed from the fringes of the rotation into a key frontcourt reserve over seven seasons in Toronto. Injuries and inconsistency have dampened his effectiveness from the 2020-21 peak that saw him finish eighth in Sixth Man of the Year voting \u2014 he\u2019s played just under 1,600 minutes over the last two seasons combined \u2014 but the 6-foot-9, 200-pound Boucher can still both hoist triples and wreak some havoc defensively.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Only 26 NBA players<\/a> last season blocked 20 shots, snagged 20 steals and made 70 3-pointers while shooting 36% or better from long distance. Boucher was one of them. That kind of potential two-way impact could be worth a flier on a short-money deal this late in the calendar.<\/p>\n Trey Lyles<\/strong><\/p>\n The glass-half-empty take: Lyles is about to turn 30 and hitting free agency coming off his worst season in several years, shooting just 42% from the floor and 34% from 3-point range for an exceedingly underwhelming Kings team. Glass-half-full: He missed training camp with a groin injury<\/a> and never quite got out from behind the 8-ball, and he\u2019d shot better in each of the previous three seasons<\/a>, during which more functional and less weirdly duct-taped-together Sacramento teams played better \u2014 sometimes significantly so \u2014 with Lyles on the floor than off it<\/a>.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n There\u2019s always been a bit of jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none to the Kentucky product\u2019s game; he\u2019s not the kind of obvious, demonstrative talent on either end of the floor that demands to be built around. At his best, though, Lyles is a capable gap-filler \u2014 the sort of extra-pass-and-timely-rotation-making grout and mortar that holds possessions together. If he can also make shots more like he did from 2020 to 2024<\/a> (.594 true shooting percentage) than he did last season (.551), then he\u2019s worth a look for a frontcourt rotation that\u2019s a live body short.<\/p>\n Thomas Bryant<\/strong><\/p>\n Bryant has spent the last three seasons backing up Anthony Davis, Nikola Joki\u0107, Bam Adebayo and Myles Turner \u2014 gigs that haven\u2019t exactly afforded him a ton of opportunities to log heavy minutes. When he has seen the floor, though, he\u2019s flashed ability as a pick-and-roll dive man, a pick-and-pop floor-spacer, an offensive rebounder and an active participant in the transition game \u2014 a useful combination of skills off the bench for a team with postseason aspirations.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n He also came up big in a couple of big spots during Indiana\u2019s remarkable run to the NBA Finals, making a number of huge plays in closeout victories over Cleveland and New York.<\/p>\n \u201cLook, Thomas has an indomitable spirit, as a person and a player,\u201d Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said after Indiana\u2019s win over the Knicks in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals, in which Bryant scored 11 points in 13 minutes. \u201cEven when he’s not in the rotation, he’s over there in a defensive stance on the sidelines, and he is into it, and he’s ready. He is ready.\u201d<\/p>\n Seems like a pretty decent guy to have around!<\/p>\n Precious Achiuwa<\/strong><\/p>\n It was a frustrating 2024-25 for Achiuwa, who missed the first six weeks after suffering a preseason hamstring injury<\/a> and saw his minutes and opportunities dwindle once Mitchell Robinson returned to New York\u2019s rotation after the All-Star break. But while the 25-year-old\u2019s interior finishing and perimeter shot-making both remain below league-average for an NBA big, he\u2019s still a mobile and versatile defender capable of moving his feet in space who has posted strong block, steal and rebounding rates in a rotation role, and who\u2019s just a year removed from playing real minutes (albeit due to a raft of injuries) for the Knicks in the postseason.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n If you\u2019re looking for a high-efficiency modern offensive big man, Achiuwa is probably not for you. If you need an energetic rebounder and defender to set screens and dive, though, he\u2019s got the tools to be effective in a defined role.<\/p>\n Also on the market:<\/strong> Tristan Thompson, DeAndre Jordan, Taj Gibson, Alex Len, Bismack Biyombo, Charles Bassey<\/p>\n BALL-HANDLERS<\/strong>Russell Westbrook<\/strong><\/p>\n Only 14 NBA players<\/a> last season logged at least 2,000 minutes and averaged at least 13 points, 6 assists and 4 rebounds per game. It\u2019s a list loaded with MVP, All-NBA and All-Star candidates \u2026 and Russ was on it.<\/p>\n Westbrook doesn\u2019t play at that exalted level anymore; as his shooting efficiency dips, his turnover rate rises and his defensive effectiveness vacillates, he can prove to be a tricky on-court fit. But at age 36, 17 seasons into a Hall of Fame career, he\u2019s still a productive player \u2014 one who injects energy into an offense in transition, operates effectively in the pick-and-roll and puts pressure on the rim, taking well over 40% of his field goal attempts at the basket<\/a> last season and making 64% of them<\/a>.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Westbrook can sometimes burn too hot for his own or his team\u2019s good; he shot just 34.8% from the field and 21.9% from 3-point range<\/a> with more turnovers than assists in Denver\u2019s second-round loss to Oklahoma City. (It\u2019s worth noting that, after the series, he had surgery to repair two broken bones in his shooting hand<\/a>.) But the fire he plays with and the burst he still brings to bear both remain rare, even after all these years, and capable of helping contribute to success.<\/p>\n You might not feel super comfortable needing to turn to Russ in a gotta-have-it playoff game. At this point in the calendar, though, I\u2019m not sure anybody left on the market is likely to prove more helpful in getting you through the regular season and to that kind of moment than he is.<\/p>\n Malcolm Brogdon<\/strong><\/p>\n One of just two players in NBA history to win both Rookie of the Year and Sixth Man of the Year (shout out to Mike Miller), Brogdon\u2019s star has dimmed in the two years since he shined as Boston\u2019s top reserve, with a pair of trades \u2014 first to Portland, in the deal that made Jrue Holiday a Celtic, and then to Washington, in the swap that brought Deni Avdija to the Blazers \u2014 shuffling him to non-competitive teams and a host<\/a> of<\/a> injuries<\/a> limiting him to just 63 games over the past two seasons.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n When healthy, Brogdon is a useful piece in the backcourt. He\u2019s a 38.8% career 3-point shooter, adept at knocking down shots off the catch or off the bounce. He\u2019s a low-turnover secondary ball-handler and pick-and-roll facilitator \u2014 a heady playmaker with playoff experience. He\u2019s a high-volume driver who can draw fouls and finish through contact. And while he\u2019s not a great defender, he at least has enough size (6-4, 230 pounds) to be tough to hunt and bully defensively. The recent injury history is enough to give interested suitors pause, but if he\u2019s able to stay on the court, Brogdon could be a low-cost, high-reward option for would-be contenders with a need in the backcourt.<\/p>\n Ben Simmons<\/strong><\/p>\n We\u2019re going on five seasons since Simmons last made an All-Star team, cracked double figures in points per game, played more than 51 games, or even attempted six shots or two free throws per game. Whether you chalk it up to a mental block dating back to that pass<\/a> against the Hawks in the playoffs, the ongoing physical toll of persistent back injuries<\/a>, some combination of both, or something else entirely, it seems reasonable to conclude that the former No. 1 overall draft pick isn\u2019t likely to return to the All-NBA heights he reached once upon a time in Philadelphia.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Even so: 6-10, 230-pound dudes who can facilitate, rebound and defend multiple positions in multiple contexts don\u2019t grow on trees. According to The BBall Index<\/a>\u2019s charting, only four players in the NBA last season (minimum 500 minutes played) finished in the 70th percentile or better in defensive positional versatility, defensive playmaking, perimeter isolation defense and help defensive activity: Draymond Green, Scottie Barnes, Jonathan Isaac \u2026 and Simmons.<\/p>\n That doesn\u2019t mean he\u2019s likely to find a major role on a team of consequence; barring a sudden, 180-degree reversal in his willingness to take shots at the basket, to accept contact in the process, and to both take and make free throws, that ship has all but certainly sailed. (To wit: After catching on with the Clippers following his buyout in Brooklyn, Simmons played just 16 minutes per game, ostensibly as a backup center, and logged a total of 42 minutes in L.A.\u2019s seven-game playoff loss to the Nuggets.) But even a half-decade removed from his peak, Simmons\u2019 physical tools and pedigree are still enticing enough \u2014 the Suns, Celtics, Knicks and Kings have all registered at least some level of interest, according to Marc Stein<\/a> \u2014 that he\u2019ll likely wind up getting another shot to prove he can still make a positive impact.<\/p>\n Monte Morris<\/strong><\/p>\n Morris was once widely viewed as one of the best backup point guards in the NBA \u2014 a steady enough set of hands that, when Jamal Murray missed the entire 2021-22 season, the Nuggets just tossed him the keys to run with Nikola Joki\u0107. He\u2019d average 12.6 points and 4.4 assists per game on 48\/40\/87 shooting splits, helping Denver to 48 wins and a playoff berth (though, obviously, the giant Serbian guy deserved most of the credit for that).<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n The following season, though, Morris found himself on the move in a trade to Washington for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope \u2014 a deal that solidified the Nuggets\u2019 championship roster and gave Morris another chance as a starting point guard, but that started what\u2019s been a rocky road for the Iowa State product. Since: four teams in three seasons, swapped for second-round picks twice and returned to reserve duty, with declining shooting efficiency (often a troubling development for a smaller guard) contributing to reduced opportunities.<\/p>\n Morris still has one of the steadiest sets of hands in the game: a 3.5-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio last season, a top-20 mark<\/a> among players to appear in at least 40 games. If the shooting can tick back up toward his prior career numbers, the just-turned-30-year-old could be a strong pickup for a roster in need of a high-floor, low-mistake table-setter.<\/p>\n Cameron Payne<\/strong><\/p>\n The well-traveled Payne has cemented himself as a backup point guard for a number of playoff teams in recent years, bouncing from Phoenix to Milwaukee to Philadelphia and, last season, to New York, where he shot 36.3% from deep with a 3.9-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio as one of the relatively few reserve options that Tom Thibodeau felt he could trust.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Payne repaid that trust early in the postseason, helping spark a fourth-quarter run as the Knicks climbed out of a fourth-quarter deficit in Game 1 against the Pistons at Madison Square Garden \u2026<\/p>\n \u2026 but struggled mightily thereafter, shooting just 23.3% from the field over New York\u2019s next 13 playoff games<\/a> before getting removed from the rotation midway through the Eastern Conference finals in favor of the more defensively capable Delon Wright and Landry Shamet. Even after putting him on the bench, though, Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau continued to praise Payne as a consummate professional who\u2019s all about doing what\u2019s best for the team \u2014 traits that, when combined with low turnovers and high-volume 3-point shooting, tend to keep you employed for a long while in this league.<\/p>\n Also on the market:<\/strong> Delon Wright, Cory Joseph, Patty Mills, Jared Butler, Markelle Fultz, Elfrid Payton<\/p>\n WINGS<\/strong>Malik Beasley<\/strong><\/p>\n After becoming just the fifth player in NBA history to make 300 3-pointers<\/a> in a single season, helping the Pistons to return to the playoffs for the first time in six years, and finishing second in Sixth Man of the Year voting, Beasley seemed poised to cash in with a lucrative multi-year deal to return to Detroit as soon as free agency opened. And then we learned Beasley was the subject of a federal gambling investigation<\/a> related to instances of \u201cunusually heavy betting interest on [his] statistics\u201d during his tenure with the Milwaukee Bucks \u2014 a revelation that put the kibosh on the 28-year-old\u2019s contract talks.<\/p>\n Before long, the Pistons pivoted, bringing in reserves Caris LeVert and Duncan Robinson \u2014 a high-usage reserve guard and a high-volume movement shooter, effectively filling both of the roles Beasley had played in Detroit last season.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Obviously, Beasley\u2019s legal status would seem to be the primary factor in determining his NBA future; you\u2019d imagine that, unless he\u2019s unequivocally cleared of any wrongdoing in the federal gambling probe, no team in the league will be willing to even tiptoe toward bringing him in. If such an exoneration does come, though \u2026 well, the only other guys who\u2019ve ever shot 41% from 3 while taking them as often as Beasley just did are Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson<\/a>, and they\u2019re not available. If Beasley is, and if the feds give the all-clear, some team will absolutely kick the tires on a buy-low reclamation project.<\/p>\n Gary Payton II<\/strong><\/p>\n Payton\u2019s value is probably always going to be both highly situation-dependent and heavily in the eye of the beholder.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n On one hand, he\u2019s played 1,000 minutes once in nine NBA seasons, and has never come close to averaging even 20 minutes per game. He\u2019s a 6-2 guard who\u2019s barely made a third of his 3-point tries for his career, who has never consistently or effectively created his own shots at the NBA level, and who turns 33 in December. He doesn\u2019t seem like a guy you necessarily want to pay if you have the option of giving a younger guard with more potentially unrealized upside an opportunity to see if he can develop into something more.<\/p>\n On the other, Payton was a legitimate rotation piece on a championship team three seasons ago. He is consistently one of the best and most disruptive point-of-attack defenders in the NBA on a possession-by-possession basis, routinely sitting at or near the top of the leaderboard in steals and deflections per 36 minutes and ranking in the 93rd percentile or higher in defensive estimated plus-minus in three of the last four seasons<\/a>. He doesn\u2019t shoot all that much, but he makes \u2019em from the corners, shooting 37% or better on those looks in each of the last four years<\/a>. He moves well off the ball, times his cuts well, punches above his weight class as a screener in guard-guard pick-and-rolls, generates extra possessions on the offensive glass, and generally delivers a lot of value without needing the ball in his hands a lot \u2026 which makes him seem like a guy you do want to pay if you\u2019re trying to fill in the gaps around a high-volume, attention-demanding shot creator.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Like, say, Steph. But will the Warriors, who\u2019ve yet to make any moves while they sort out the Kuminga situation, have room to bring GPII back? If not, it\u2019ll be interesting to see which teams might consider themselves the right kind of fit for a productive but particular player.<\/p>\n Amir Coffey<\/strong><\/p>\n The myriad injuries that have beset the Clippers seemingly every season have afforded Coffey, undrafted out of Minnesota in 2019, to work his way from the G League into consistent rotation run, averaging 20.7 minutes per game over the last four seasons<\/a>. He shot 40.9% from 3-point range on 3.4 attempts per game while spending time at the 2, 3 and 4 spots for Tyronn Lue; he\u2019s also consistently ranked as a net-negative producer<\/a> in his minutes, with the Clippers routinely performing much better when he\u2019s off the court than on it<\/a>.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Coffey will likely find himself squeezed out<\/a> of a spot on a Clippers roster that has added veterans Chris Paul, Bradley Beal, John Collins and Brook Lopez to holdovers Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, Ivica Zubac, Derrick Jones Jr., Kris Dunn and Nicolas Batum. You\u2019d expect a 6-7 wing who just shot 40% from deep to get a chance to catch on elsewhere, though; whether he sticks might depend on whether he can show more, especially on the defensive end, in a different context.<\/p>\n Alec Burks<\/strong><\/p>\n Entering his 15th NBA season, Burks\u2019 value at this stage largely depends on whether his jumper is falling. (Who among us, right?) But if you need a professional guard with size and experience who can handle the ball, attack an already bent defense and offer a spot-up threat, Burks showed last season that he can still be equal to the task.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n After stepping into a larger-than-perhaps-anticipated role in Miami after The Jimmy Unpleasantness turned into The Post-Jimmy Era, Burks averaged<\/a> just under eight points and three rebounds in 18.5 minutes per game, shooting 41.7% from 3-point range in the second half of the season. Asking him to shoulder too much of the shot-creation workload or assume bigger defensive responsibilities probably won\u2019t end too well, but the 34-year-old still has enough gas left in the tank to be worth a look for a team in need of an experienced complementary catch-and-shoot threat and second-side slasher.<\/p>\n Seth Curry<\/strong><\/p>\n Look, I\u2019m not going to blame you if you weren\u2019t, like, super locked in to the exploits of the 2024-25 Charlotte Hornets \u2014 a basketball team that only intermittently resembled a basketball team, and that faced existential questions about what it was even trying to accomplish most nights (and especially the ones where LaMelo Ball wasn\u2019t present<\/a>).<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n What I will say to you, though, is that under cover of national-media darkness, Seth Curry shot 45.6% from 3-point range on 182 attempts \u2014 the fifth time he\u2019s made 45% of his triples while taking at least 100, tying Kyle Korver for the second-most such seasons in NBA history<\/a>, behind only Hubert Davis \u2014 which led the NBA. He also ranked in the 85th percentile or higher in points per possession finished as a spot-up shooter, pick-and-roll ball-handler, attacking in transition or working in isolation, according to Synergy.<\/p>\n He\u2019s also a 6-2 combo guard who\u2019s a glaring defensive minus, who has battled injuries and played limited minutes the past few seasons, and who will turn 35 before training camps open in September. (To some extent, Seth\u2019s sort of like the yin to GPII\u2019s yang.) Even so: teams will always be looking for elite, capital-S Shooters, especially when they\u2019re also low-turnover ball-handlers with experience, pedigree and professionalism. Whether it\u2019s a playoff hopeful in need of another floor spacer or an up-and-coming team looking for a good vet to show its youngsters the ropes, it\u2019s likely that somebody\u2019s going to give Curry the opportunity to get back on the court for a 12th NBA season this fall.<\/p>\n