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Some people will tell you that the NBA free agency is over. I’ll tell you free agency is over if you are a casual.
If you really you care about the NBA, you might be too busy watching the summer league to keep track of players who still haven’t signed for a full week. Here are 10 names that are still on the board, starting with the guy who seems to have lost the big game of playmaker musical chairs.
Now that he’s in limbo, it looks like Schroder fired a Nerlens when he turned down an $ 84 million contract extension with the Los Angeles Lakers. If he’s ready to make a short-term deal and try his luck again next summer, it makes sense that he spoke to the Boston Celtics. The Celtics need more play now that Kemba Walker and Evan Fournier are in New York City, and Schroder needs a playoff-caliber team that has minutes to spare.
Prior to his eventful year with the Lakers, Schroder was the 2019-20 Sixth Man of the Year finalist as a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder. That season, he averaged 18.9 points on a career-high 57.5% real shots, regularly closing games alongside Chris Paul and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Wherever it lands, the onus is on it to prove that it can be this effective again.
Markkanen doesn’t want to be a Chicago Bull anymore. The problem is, he’s a restricted free agent, so the Bulls can match any offer he receives (or negotiate a signature and trade). The New Orleans Pelicans and Charlotte Hornets, two teams that currently do not employ 7-footers capable of stretching the ground, have expressed interest.
Normally, for a player who fits this description and is 24 years old, free will would not be complicated. Markkanen, however, hadn’t made 3s at an above-average rate until he shot 40 percent last season, and he’s never been a defender more. Any team that signs him is betting on the flashes he has shown during his four years in Chicago and is hoping a fresh start will get the best of him.
The Pelicans have had an extremely strange offseason, but it’s not over until Hart’s situation is sorted out. Like Markkanen, he’s a restricted free agent, but unlike Markkanen, there’s not much uncertainty about what Hart brings to the table. He doesn’t shoot well enough to fit the 3-and-D mold, but he’s an awesome rebounder for a 6-foot-5 guy and holds his own while keeping the bigger players.
Teams love versatile wings, and yet Hart is still there. Restricted free agency can be tricky; teams interested in him need ceiling space to sign him on an offer sheet or must meet the New Orleans asking price in a signature and trade.
MIllsap will be 37 next February, and that doesn’t mean we should just list him as a Laker. Any rival team looking for versatility in the frontcourt could use it.
I bet Denver would have been happy to find Millsap if he hadn’t been able to sign Jeff Green. Gone are the days of playing more than 30 minutes a night, but he’s a smart vet who can always defend better than most of the rescue big players out there.
Bradley, 31, became a free agent when the Rockets declined his $ 5.9 million player option. He is often mentioned as a contender for one of the last spots on the Lakers roster because A) he was on the squad in 2019-20, before the bubble, and B) their roster is dangerously thin when it comes to the defense at the point of attack. Everyone knows that’s Bradley’s specialty, and he’s also a smart cutter who shoots a decent percentage.
Bringing back Matthews, 34, is another possibility for Los Angeles, if he doesn’t fear the dead end. He didn’t shoot particularly well last season (34.7% on catch-and-shoot 3s), but remains a solid and switchable defender: I wonder if he would be interested in finding the Jazz, who the signed as an undrafted rookie 12 years ago.
Redick’s 2020-21 season was derailed with a heel injury, but if he’s healthy he could surely help a rival team offensively. There still aren’t that many guys in the league who can consistently hit a contested 3 on the move.
One would assume that he would still like to be close to his Brooklyn home.
There isn’t usually a huge market for players who are out of the playoff rotation. Galloway fell victim to the circumstances, however, a combo guard stuck behind Chris Paul, Devin Booker and emerging Cameron Payne. (The same was true of the extraordinary float E’Twaun Moore, who also didn’t sign.)
When Galloway played last season, he mostly played off the ball and shot 43.8% on catch-and-shoot 3s. He would be a nice signing under the radar for a team that needs help in the backcourt.
I can’t help but wonder what kind of contract Mykhailiuk would have signed had he been a free agent last offseason, after a year in which he managed 42% of his 3 catch-and-shoots. I don’t need to explain the allure of a 6-foot-7-inch wing that can turn off the lights, but that number fell to 33.2 percent last season.
The Thunder canceled their qualifying offer, so Mykhailiuk is now an unrestricted free agent.
Mykhailiuk’s teammate on the extremely cursed 2018-19 Lakers, Bonga is also unrestrained, as the suddenly deep Washington Wizards have refused to make him a qualifying offer. Bonga’s offensive play remains raw heading into his fourth season, but he’s not even 22 until November and he’s making ridiculous defensive plays right now. A reconstruction team should take a leaflet with him.
Five more questions: If LaMarcus Aldridge decides not to retire, is he definitely going back to Brooklyn? … Is anyone going to try Isaiah Thomas? … Did you know that Frank Ntilikina (written No. 8 in 2017 by New York, now an unrestricted free agent) is younger than Obi Toppin (written No. 8 in 2020 by New York)? Is the DJ Wilson hive still here? Does Detroit have minutes for Hamidou Diallo?
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