What follows is my list of this summer\u2019s top 25 free agents (we\u2019ll also have values for every realistic potential free agent at every position). I say \u201crealistic\u201d because there is a class of players I did not include: players with non-guaranteed contracts whose teams would be foolish to cut them (such as Detroit\u2019s Duncan Robinson), or minimum team options that seem unlikely to be declined due to a team\u2019s cap situation (such as Toronto\u2019s Jamal Shead).<\/p>\n
Following that revision, I was left with 24 players whom BORD$ values as being worth at least more than the non-taxpayer MLE, projected to be $15 million next season. It doesn\u2019t mean that\u2019s what they\u2019ll get, but it\u2019s a nice starting point for figuring out what might be \u201cfair\u201d in a more even market.<\/p>\n
With that, here\u2019s how BORD$ values the top 25. (Ages listed are as of June 30, the official start of free agency.)<\/p>\n
![\"Detroit](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2606016-Jalen-Duren-scaled-e1781555654120.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n Will Jalen Duren\u2019s rough postseason affect his market? (Ken Blaze \/ Imagn Images)<\/p>\n
Tier 1: Max guys1. Jalen Duren, C, Detroit (restricted): $44,200,295<\/p>\n
BORD$ is based on regular-season production, so it does not include Duren\u2019s playoff performance. I think we can all agree his spring was just a wee bit underwhelming, as both Wendell Carter Jr. and Jarrett Allen outplayed him, and the Pistons often played better with him off the court.<\/p>\n
Duren\u2019s playoff PER of 13.8 was barely half his regular-season mark (26.0, sixth in the league). Lowlights included a minus-1.7 BPM, a modest 55.3 true shooting percentage after leading the league at 68.8 in the regular season and ending up on the business end of a Jamal Cain murder dunk in the first round against the Orlando Magic.<\/p>\n
Because of that, I\u2019d say we can lower that $44 million estimate. Duren is supermax-eligible after making the All-NBA Third Team, but even getting the lower max (five years, $239 million) coming off his rookie deal will be a challenge after the postseason he had. On the other hand, Duren is only 22 and coming off an All-Star regular season, and cap-room teams like Brooklyn and Chicago will be circling with offer sheets if the Pistons get cold feet. A five-year, $200 million deal would value him at $40 million a year and keep him in Detroit through much of his prime; that feels like a potential endpoint.<\/p>\n
Tier 2: More than MLE, less than max2. James Harden, PG, Cleveland (player option, partial guarantee): $36,396,260<\/p>\n
Harden has a complicated contract structure that contains both a player option for $42 million and a partial guarantee that lets the Cavs sever him for just $13.3 million if he picks up the option.<\/p>\n
You probably needn\u2019t worry about either, as it is in both Harden\u2019s and the Cavs\u2019 interests to decline the option and ink a new deal, likely in the range of two years and $65 million to $70 million. That arrangement would slightly lessen the Cavs\u2019 imposing salary obligations for the coming season while giving Harden a bit more long-term insurance (at least to the extent that\u2019s possible entering an age-37 season). Either way, it would be stunning if he\u2019s anywhere but Cleveland on opening night.<\/p>\n
3. Austin Reaves, SG, Lakers (player option): $34,429,743<\/p>\n
Reaves obviously will opt out of his current deal, which pays him a mere pittance at $14.9 million for 2026-27, and the Lakers can use his artificially low cap hold ($20.9 million) to fill the roster with cap room before coming back to sign him on a more market-appropriate contract. That landing point would seem about four years and $140 million, based on BORD$, for a 28-year-old who has defense and durability questions but also showed last season he can be a high-usage, lead initiator on offense.<\/p>\n
The Lakers, however, may be forced to go higher. As one of the most prominent unrestricted free agents on the board, Reaves could command an over-the-top max offer from a talent-needy rival such as the Brooklyn Nets.<\/p>\n
4. Isaiah Hartenstein, C, Oklahoma City (team option): $32,092,088<\/p>\n
Hartenstein\u2019s team option is for $28.5 million, which means in a normal situation, the Thunder might just pick up the option, or maybe pick it up and extend his contract off that number.<\/p>\n
The reality of Oklahoma City\u2019s financial situation may require a more delicate touch. One realistic approach would be for the Thunder to decline the option and re-sign Hartenstein to a long deal that spreads out the money over four or five years, even if the back end becomes an overpay. For example, declining the option and inking either a four-year, $110 million deal or a five-year, $140 million pact would shave about $4 million off his cap hit for 2026-27 and give the Thunder more wiggle room against the looming tax aprons.<\/p>\n
5. LeBron James, PF, Lakers: $31,960,618<\/p>\n
James is still an extremely valuable player, and my aging algorithm may underrate his potential contributions in 2026-27; we really have no data to work with as far as \u201chigh-usage forward entering his age-42 season\u201d is concerned. At this point, he\u2019s likely looking at a one-year deal (he can\u2019t sign for more than three because of the over-38 rule<\/a>), so the questions are about money (somewhat) and fit (quite a bit).<\/p>\n Resolving the latter part could require a major haircut on the former, as the type of teams that could both use James and have a reasonable chance of contending for something important are also not the type to have extra cap space lying around. Even a return to the Lakers is complicated, as paying him would take L.A. out of some cap-room scenarios that won\u2019t be available to the Lakers in future summers when Reaves is (presumably) making roughly triple what he is now.<\/p>\n 6. Trae Young, PG, Washington (player option): $29,495,966<\/p>\n I\u2019ve probably seen more of Young over the last half-decade than anybody who doesn\u2019t either work for the Hawks or cover them full-time. He\u2019s definitely a one-man offensive engine for a team that badly needs one, definitely an elite passer, definitely lost a step two years ago and has more trouble beating switches than he used to and definitely highly flammable on defense, although he at least tries now. (More on that here.<\/a>)<\/p>\n As a small guard entering his age-28 season, the danger is less the money and more the years. You don\u2019t want to get caught with a big number in Young\u2019s decline years, especially for a team that\u2019s still rebuilding like Washington. He has a player option for $49 million, and while opting out and re-signing a new deal is an option, it probably works better for the Wizards\u2019 cap management to just tack on new years to this existing number.<\/p>\n For instance, getting to a total of three years, $110 million would put two new seasons at $30 million on the Wizards\u2019 books, which can not only accommodate additions and re-signings vis-\u00e0-vis the luxury tax but also cracks the door open for a cap-room play in summer 2027. As with Harden above, there seems to be little to no chance that Young changes teams.<\/p>\n 7. Julian Champagnie, SF, San Antonio, (team option, non-guaranteed): $25,726,203<\/p>\n The Spurs will not be an expensive team in 2026-27 but will be extremely expensive within two years once Victor Wembanyama, Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper and Carter Bryant all become extension eligible.<\/p>\n Thus, they have an obvious incentive to wipe out Champagnie\u2019s cheapo team option for the coming season and sign him to a new contract for descending dollars, instead of waiting until he\u2019s an unrestricted free agent in 2027 and then paying full freight.<\/p>\n That likely entails committing to something like five years and $100 million or so, i.e. paying him just south of nine figures in new money in addition to the team option and spreading that money over five seasons. To further smooth the cap hit, San Antonio could start the contract at its maximal value and decline his salary by 8 percent each season.<\/p>\n 8. Neemias Queta, C, Boston, (team option, partial guarantee): $25,638,207<\/p>\n The Celtics are in a similar situation to the one with Hartenstein above. Queta proved himself as a viable starting center and is worth several multiples of his $2.67 million salary, but the Celtics have an incentive to decline the option if they can get him to re-sign to a longer deal on good terms.<\/p>\n The only complication is that Boston likely wants to stay under the luxury tax in 2026-27 to take the repeater tax out of play for the next three years; if the Celtics also want to use their midlevel exception on frontcourt depth, that could get tricky. However, there may be a sweet spot around four years and $65 million to $70 million that lets Boston have its cake and eat it too.<\/p>\n 9. Tari Eason, SF, Houston (restricted): $24,110,720<\/p>\n Eason and the Rockets were close to an extension for roughly this dollar amount a year ago but couldn\u2019t dot all the I\u2019s by the deadline for rookie contact extensions. The most important stat for Eason is the games played column \u2014 he suited up for 60, plus all six playoff games, his most since he played 82 as a rookie. Eason also showed more bona fides as a 3-and-D guy by shooting 35.8 percent from distance on respectable volume. The \u201cD\u201d part of the equation for him is much more established, of course, as Eason is a chaos agent with plus size for a wing and ballhawking instincts.<\/p>\n All of that should leave him with a market right in the neighborhood of three years and $75 million; the question is more about how many contractual bells and whistles will be attached to guard against physical issues. Houston will surely tender him his $8 million qualifying offer, and one presumes the Rockets would match reasonable offer sheets given their mostly manageable cap sheet.<\/p>\n \n Suns guard Collin Gillespie had a fantastic season in Phoenix. (Mark J. Rebilas \/ Imagn Images)<\/p>\n Tier 3: MLE guys10. Collin Gillespie, PG, Phoenix: $21,472,942<\/p>\n This valuation may sound pretty extreme because Gillespie\u2019s career had little traction until he blew up in his age-26 season, but he was fantastic last year. He\u2019s also a career 40.5 percent 3-point shooter on serious volume, holds his own on defense and can run an offense. Paying him fifth-starter money isn\u2019t crazy.<\/p>\n The market, however, may work slightly against him, as the Suns only have early Bird rights on Gillespie, capping what they can pay him at an estimated $15.6 million in 2026-27 salary. That still gets Phoenix above rivals offering the non-taxpayer midlevel exception, so it may end up as Gillespie\u2019s best option. A three-year deal for an estimated $51 million would be a nice resolution, especially if the Suns can manage keeping both him and Mark Williams while staying under the second-apron payroll threshold.<\/p>\n 11. Keon Ellis, SG, Cleveland: $19,989,738 <\/p>\n My numbers have always been far, far more bullish on Ellis than the people who coach his teams, and this valuation is no exception. The Cavs barely used Ellis after acquiring him at midseason from Sacramento, whose more baffling unwillingness to put him on the court made him available in the first place.<\/p>\n At his best, Ellis is a plus defender at guard who is money on open 3s (40.7 percent career!), but he\u2019s undersized against apex wings and doesn\u2019t offer a lot of shot creation. Because of that, I\u2019d say his true market is probably for half this amount. Even at that price, the Cavs\u2019 tax issues seem to make them an unlikely destination. At 26 years old, Ellis could be a nice fit on a rebuilding team, such as Brooklyn, or one emerging from hibernation, such as Utah or Washington.<\/p>\n 12. Kevin Porter Jr., PG, Milwaukee (player option): $19,960,319<\/p>\n Porter was the Bucks\u2019 second-best player in 2025-26 and might be the best one when camp opens, even while going cold from 3 (just 32.2 percent) in his 38 games.<\/p>\n Porter\u2019s issues<\/a> at other stops<\/a> and iffy commitment to defense are likely going to cap his salary south of this BORD$ valuation, as the Bucks may not have much competition for his services at eight-figure prices. He surely will opt out of his $5.4 million deal for 2026-27, however, and as an early Bird rights player, the Bucks can pay an estimated $15.6 million in 2026-27 salary to retain him if need be \u2014 just beating the non-taxpayer MLE amount ($15 million) that would let other teams in the door. \u00a0A deal for a bit less than that, in the neighborhood of three years and $40 million, seems like a reasonable sweet spot.<\/p>\n 13. Tobias Harris, PF, Detroit: $19,715,982<\/p>\n Reminder: BORD$ doesn\u2019t include the playoffs. Harris had a solid regular season but really proved his worth in Detroit\u2019s playoff run, operating as the Pistons\u2019 second option while Jalen Duren fizzled. In doing so, he exhibited that, whatever the Pistons plan to do with their future cap, just letting Harris walk isn\u2019t a viable option unless they\u2019re getting a star-caliber upgrade at the same position.<\/p>\n All of this is a long-winded way of saying that, even pushing age 34, Harris seems a good bet to get something relatively close to the two-year, $50 million deal he originally inked in Detroit in 2024 \u2014 maybe closer to 40 than 50 this time, but still in excess of the MLE. Detroit\u2019s cap sheet can comfortably handle him on a number in that range.<\/p>\n 14. Sandro Mamukelashvili, C, Toronto (player option): $19,419,741<\/p>\n Mamu is assuredly opting out of his deal for $2.8 million after he tore up the nets last season as a scoring, floor-spacing big man off the bench. He\u2019s a tricky valuation because his defense likely prevents him from adding value as a starting center, so the question is how much teams want to pay for a prominent bench player.<\/p>\n While he\u2019s valued at more than the $15 million non-taxpayer MLE, I think that price will effectively become his cap this summer. Note that a return to Toronto is still possible, but it would require the Raptors to use their exception money, as they have no Bird rights on Mamukelashvili.<\/p>\n 15. Deandre Ayton, C, Lakers (player option): $19,305,583<\/p>\n OK, maybe not Dominayton, but how about Decently Productivayton?<\/p>\n Ayton signed a value deal in L.A. so he could get back out on the market for a better payday this summer. He did his part by spending less time front-rimming 15-footers and more time crashing the rim, giving the Lakers a solid starting center.<\/p>\n He\u2019ll surely opt out of his $8.1 million deal, and the Lakers may not bring him back given their potential cap space maneuvers and the fact that they have no Bird rights on Ayton. That immediately makes him among the most gettable starting center candidates, and the presence of center-needy cap-room teams like the Bulls or Nets could push his price above the non-taxpayer MLE.<\/p>\n 16. Norman Powell, SG, Miami: $19,165,238<\/p>\n Powell made the All-Star team ahead of his teammate who both had an 83-point game and made the All-Defensive team, an objectively hilarious overreaction to Powell\u2019s torrid shooting in the first half of the season. At age 33, the market isn\u2019t going to get too overheated for Powell, especially on a longer deal, and Miami\u2019s other offseason uncertainties (cough Giannis cough) could limit how far the Heat are willing to go to retain him as free agency kicks off.<\/p>\n That said, Miami has full Bird rights, and the tax and apron situations are very manageable. On a short deal, his contract will be tradeable. There\u2019s a case for a short-term overpay \u2014 say, two years and $50 million \u2014 to give Miami enough ballast to salary match in trades later.<\/p>\n 17. John Collins, PF, Clippers: $18,890,305<\/p>\n Collins won\u2019t turn 29 until late September and has put together three straight solid, starting-caliber seasons after leaving Atlanta. The key is his development as a 3-point shooter, hitting 39.9 percent in 2024-25 and 40.6 percent in 2025-26. That spacing component has allowed him to play power forward and made him less dependent on rim-running as an undersized center.<\/p>\n The Clippers have Bird rights on Collins but could choose cap-room scenarios instead of bringing the band back after a disappointing 2025-26. If he leaves LA, he\u2019d be a likely target for teams with their full non-taxpayer MLE, especially those needing a starting power forward or a top frontcourt sub. At his age, teams would probably want to keep at it three years and maybe angle for two.<\/p>\n 18. Coby White, SG, Charlotte: $18,121,736<\/p>\n White is a valuable scorer who profiles more as an elite sixth man than a starter, but he can play on or off the ball and has enough size to check shooting guards. That should get his price point to the non-taxpayer MLE at the very least, and likely above it given his age (26) and the presence of multiple cap-room teams. Charlotte has some minor tax issues if it pays him full freight, but those could easily be resolved by dropping off an underperforming low-eight-figure contract, such as those of Grant Williams, Josh Green and\/or Tre Mann, someplace else.<\/p>\n 19. Lu Dort, SF, Oklahoma City (team option): $17,705,328<\/p>\n It seems unlikely that the Thunder can continue with Dort next season. They have multiple players at his position who are both better and younger, the team is set to be $40 million over the projected luxury tax line and Dort is coming off an off-year in which he was notably ineffective in the Western Conference finals.<\/p>\n The Thunder\u2019s most likely pathway out would be to trade him for a second-round pick or two and generate a $17 million trade exception; given that Dort has a contract for $17.7 million with one year left (note that it also has an extra $1 million in unlikely incentives that count toward the apron) \u2014 nearly the same figure as his BORD$ valuation \u2014 that seems a fair proposition for the acquiring team. He could also be extended as part of the same trade. If the Thunder can\u2019t make a deal, another endgame is to decline the option on Dort, which would likely see him get offers for the full non-taxpayer midlevel exception.<\/p>\n 20. Fred VanVleet, PG, Houston, (player option): $17,526,557<\/p>\n VanVleet missed the season with a torn ACL, so BORD$ is triangulating here based on his age and previous track record. He also has a player option for $25 million; he could just opt into it and try his luck as an unrestricted free agent next year.<\/p>\n What might work better for all parties, however, would be if he declines the option and immediately re-signs with Houston on a deal that pays him less money for 2026-27 (so the Rockets can manage the tax aprons) but gives the 32-year-old more security for the years that follow. Maybe something in the neighborhood of three years and $70 million.<\/p>\n \n Kristaps Porzingis is productive \u2026 when he plays. (Mark J. Rebilas \/ Imagn Images)<\/p>\n 21. Kristaps Porzi\u0146\u0123is, C, Golden State: $16,860,043<\/p>\n Porzi\u0146\u0123is was quite good when he got on the floor in Atlanta; unfortunately, that only happened about once every lunar eclipse, and the situation didn\u2019t improve much in Golden State. At this point, teams need to value him as a ceiling-raiser who adds another dimension when healthy, but one who will be frustratingly unavailable for a big chunk of the schedule.<\/p>\n He\u2019s likely looking at a one- or two-year deal at this point because of the health questions, and valuations around the non-taxpayer MLE. The Warriors have Bird rights on Porzi\u0146\u0123is, and he seems to fit as well there as he would anywhere else; something in the area of two years and $25 million to $30 million seems fair and would put him on a similar timeline to the rest of the Warriors\u2019 vets.<\/p>\n 22. CJ McCollum, PG, Atlanta: $16,536,607<\/p>\n McCollum was the perfect spark plug for Atlanta\u2019s offense once he came over from Washington; he also, alas, turns 35 in September and doesn\u2019t really fit the timeline of this Hawks roster full of 20-somethings. Conveniently, BORD$ values him just a whisker above the non-taxpayer MLE, because that seems like a logical landing spot for his next contract. A two-year deal would be about the maximum tolerable risk given McCollum\u2019s age, but something around $30 million to $35 million for that time span won\u2019t mess with Atlanta\u2019s cap in the absence of a larger blockbuster.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a scenario where re-signing McCollum to a bloated, one-year balloon deal for $30 million or so, with a non-guaranteed second year, makes some sense for the Hawks. Atlanta is miles from the projected tax line, and such a contract could be used in a midseason swap for elite talent; of course, the Hawks also have a similar potential situation with Jonathan Kuminga, so they may not need McCollum\u2019s contract to do this.<\/p>\n 23. Mark Williams, C, Phoenix (restricted): $16,190,218 <\/p>\n Williams helped answer questions about his durability by playing a career-high 60 games for the Suns, and now he seems set for a raise. His qualifying offer of $9.6 million is inexpensive enough that Phoenix surely will tender it to make him a restricted free agent.<\/p>\n The trick for Phoenix is having enough room below the first apron to bring back both Williams and Collin Gillespie, which may require the Suns to trade one of their 19 shooting guards. Given his restricted status and the durability questions, Williams\u2019 price shouldn\u2019t get crazy; the non-taxpayer MLE seems a realistic ceiling.<\/p>\n 24. Walker Kessler, C, Utah (restricted): $15,795,301<\/p>\n BORD$ likely greatly undervalues Kessler because of Utah\u2019s tanking the last two years; the Jazz shut him down after five games in 2025-26, and he only played 58 contests the year before. However, Kessler is one of the league\u2019s best shot-blockers and rim finishers, with an 8.3 percent block rate for his career and the league\u2019s leading offensive rebound rate in 2024-25. That season, 131 of his 272 2-point baskets were dunks, which explains how he shot 70.6 percent on 2s.<\/p>\n In short, Kessler is a really valuable player, and this figure is an extreme floor. I won\u2019t be shocked at all if he\u2019s paid almost double this amount on an annual basis, especially if offer-sheet sharks come after him in a bid to use cap space.<\/p>\n 25. Ayo Dosunmu, SG, Minnesota: $14,485,494<\/p>\n After a midseason trade from Chicago, Dosunmu proved his worth to Minnesota in the postseason with a 43-point game and several other notable performances. He\u2019s an unrestricted free agent, so the Wolves will have to deliver a market-value deal, but it seems like they could come in at the nontaxpayer MLE or slightly above and ward off any reasonable competition on a three-year deal for the 26-year-old.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hello? Anyone here? NBA free agency starts at 6 p.m. Eastern on June 30, but in the last…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":740220,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[7218,64,63,1664,5997,5670,2066,17603,7235,1662,7214,5552,7220,7221,7236,7232,5851,7223,4620,5665,590,7210,1666,5548,12985,9688,7185,4621,5674,10549,85,17602,11898,7211],"class_list":["post-740219","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-atlanta-hawks","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-boston-celtics","tag-brooklyn-nets","tag-charlotte-hornets","tag-chicago-bulls","tag-cleveland-cavaliers","tag-dallas-mavericks","tag-denver-nuggets","tag-detroit-pistons","tag-golden-state-warriors","tag-houston-rockets","tag-indiana-pacers","tag-los-angeles-clippers","tag-los-angeles-lakers","tag-memphis-grizzlies","tag-miami-heat","tag-milwaukee-bucks","tag-minnesota-timberwolves","tag-nba","tag-new-orleans-pelicans","tag-new-york-knicks","tag-oklahoma-city-thunder","tag-orlando-magic","tag-philadelphia-76ers","tag-phoenix-suns","tag-portland-trail-blazers","tag-sacramento-kings","tag-san-antonio-spurs","tag-sports","tag-toronto-raptors","tag-utah-jazz","tag-washington-wizards"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/740219","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=740219"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/740219\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/740220"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=740219"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=740219"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=740219"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Suns](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/260616-Colling-Gillespie-scaled-e1781555871384.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Golden](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/260616-Kristaps-Porzingis-scaled-e1781556050447.jpg\")
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