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Here’s the best of what’s left on the NBA free agent market.
NBA offseason movement has ground to a halt, the Paris Olympics are about to kick off, and every team just got a first look at its rookies in Las Vegas Summer League. It feels like there will be a second wave of deals coming soon before training camps officially open around the league, but for now the league’s wheeling and dealing season is on pause.
Cap space around the league has all but dried up. At this point, the remaining free agents are likely looking at veteran minimum deals, and that’s where value lies for teams. A year ago, the Dallas Mavericks didn’t sign Derrick Jones Jr. to a minimum free agent contract until the middle of August. He wound up being a starter on an NBA Finals team, and signing a much more lucrative contract this summer with the Los Angeles Clippers.
With the dog days of the offseason officially here, let’s look at the best remaining names on the 2024 NBA free agency board.
10. Markelle Fultz, guard: Fultz looked like he was turning his NBA career around with the Orlando Magic before the wheels fell off last year. The former No. 1 overall pick has just never gotten over his shooting woes, and he looked more tepid from deep than ever last season, finishing only 4-of-18 from three-point range on the season. Fultz can still be a determined driver, crafty finisher, and capable playmaker when he gets into the paint. Still only 26 years old, it’s fair to wonder if there’s another chapter of Fultz’s NBA career, or if time really has run out.
9. Talen Horton-Tucker, guard: THT’s progress has stalled since moving to Utah. He struggles to get all the way to the rim on his drives, lacks a reliable mid-range game, and has never made progress as a three-point shooter. Still, Horton-Tucker is only 23 years old and has a ton of great reps under his belt with nearly 250 NBA games play and 55 starts. With a huge frame and long arms for a guard, there’s still some upside here for a team with a real development plan.
8. Spencer Dinwiddie, guard: Dinwiddie can still space the floor, but the rest of his game has started to fall off at age-31. The big guard hit 38 percent of his catch-and-shoot threes last year in stops with the Nets and Lakers, but his pull-up three-pointer dipped to 26 percent. Dinwiddie just also doesn’t have much juice attacking the paint at this point, converting only 48.8 percent from two-point range since 2022.
7. Javonte Green, forward: Green was unsigned for most of last season as he recovered from a knee injury, but he immediately looked like his old self upon joining the Chicago Bulls in March. The 6’4 forward is an explosive athlete who brings energy on every possession and plays much bigger than his size. He’s an improved three-point shooter (37 percent each of the last two seasons), an elite leaper, a solid defender, and a threat in transition to make a big play.
6. Davis Bertans, forward: Bertans is an elite three-point shooter with size. The 6’10 forward is a career 39.6 percent shooter from behind the arc in his career. He can’t do much else offensively, and is a big liability defensively, but there’s usually a roster spot out there for a knockdown shooter like him.
5. Luke Kennard, wing: Kennard is legitimately one of the best three-point shooters in the league. He’s shot better than 44 percent from three each of the last five seasons. He’ll likely come back to the Grizzlies, but the fact that he’s still out there gives an opportunity for another team to steal him.
4. Precious Achiuwa, center: Achiuwa is a bouncy 6’9 big man with just enough length to handle small ball five duties. He’s a ‘garbage man’ style big who can attack the glass, make hustle plays, and finish feeds inside. The Knicks still need a backup center behind Mitchell Robinson, so it seems likely Achiuwa will get a deal to return to New York eventually.
3. Lonnie Walker IV, guard: Walker is an athletic scoring guard who can fill it up all over the floor. The 25-year-old shot 38.4 percent from three last year, and also finished better than 66 percent of his rim attempts. If you need a microwave scorer off the bench, Walker is the best option left on the market.
2. Isaac Okoro, wing: Okoro hasn’t lived up to the hype as a former top-5 draft pick, but he’s made some subtle progress over the last year in Cleveland. Always a tenacious on-ball defender who can check speedier guards and stronger wings, Okoro finally looked hesitant as a three-point shooter last year, knocking down 39.1 percent from deep. He still needs to up the volume before teams take him seriously behind the arc, but at least his stroke is looking much better when he has enough time to get his shot off.
1. Tyus Jones, guard: Jones is a True Point Guard who does a great job protecting the ball, making the open pass, and hitting an open shot. He was the NBA’s leader in assist-to-turnover ratio last season, and he also hit 41.4 percent of his threes. He’ll always have limitations in terms of size and athleticism, but Jones is so smart and skilled that he’s a perfect buy-low candidate at this point in the offseason.
