The free agency options have dried up somewhat for the Phoenix Suns’ Deandre Ayton after the NBA draft.

The NBA race has been run and won. All of the surprise and intruige fo the NBA draft is in the past. Now, it’s just about time for NBA free agency season.

With free agency opening on July 1st, let’s take a look at the main players in this season’s free agency class.

We’re going to examine the situations governing a mix of players that are both restricted and unrestricted, as well as a few folks that have yet to pick up their player options, thus leaving them in limbo.

Bradley Beal
Washington Wizards
Beal has apparently made his free agency decision, though is yet to make any announcements either privately to the Wizards or to the public. It is expected, however, that Beal will opt out of his $36.4 million player option this offseason and sign a supermax deal with the Wizards, starting at $42.7 million in 2023 and worth a whopping $248 million over five years.

Beal is a gifted scorer who averaged back-to-back 30+ point per game campaigns before struggling this past year. Expect him to bounce back and lead a team full of young prospects, the underrated Kyle Kuzma (a turnaround from his vastly overrated days as a Laker) and the enigmatic Kristaps Porzingis back to the playoffs.

Deandre Ayton
Phoenix Suns
The options have dried up somewhat for Ayton after the NBA draft.

The restricted free agent was expected to draw huge interest from the Pistons and Hornets who both drafted their future starting centres in the mid 1st round. That said, the Suns are surely regretting not inking Ayton to a max deal last offseason.

The 23 year old has improved year on year to the point where he’s a near 20/10 player who still has lots of room to grow at both ends of the court.

Ayton has proven himself one of the rare 7-footers that doesn’t get played off the court despite not having a devastating low post game or deep range, thanks to his ability to defend on the perimeter and mash smaller players down low.

Despite the Pistons and Hornets (as well as Dallas, who traded for Christian Wood prior to the draft) no longer being on the board, expect Ayton to still be at least something close to a max player next season, though his destination will now more than likely come through a sign and trade rather than an offer sheet.

Expect Atlanta, Indiana, Utah and San Antonio’s names to be mentioned, though don’t count out the Raptors. Masai Ujiri has a way of worming his way into discussions like these.

Zach LaVine
Chicago Bulls
The Bulls made all of their recent moves with the intention of competing and, in turn, convincing Zach LaVine that his best future laid as a Bull. A less than satisfactory campaign – admittedly ruined by injury – where he lost his status as the offensive fulcrum wasn’t the best advertisement to their star guard.

LaVine has already tried to bail from the Windy City once before – his current contract is a matched offer sheet from Sacramento – and there have been numerous reports of a mutual interest from the Blazers. Their drafting of Shaeden Sharpe, however, may indicate that interest has cooled.

It’s a small sample size, but the Bulls were genuinely exciting when healthy last season. As DeMar De Rozan ages, LaVine should regain his top dog status. He’d be wise to stick around. Either way, he’s getting a max deal.

James Harden
Philadelphia 76ers
Harden may take himself off the free agency market in a couple of days by opting into his $47.4 million player option.

After a season marred by niggling injuries and a drop in performance that may or may not be related to said niggling injuries, Harden would be wise to take the money and play a ‘prove it’ season before signing one more long term, big money deal.

If Harden does opt out, he’s likely to take a long-term extension at a significantly lower per-season value that he would be used to. That might tell us something about the state of those hamstrings, too.

Kyrie Irving
Brookyn Nets
The other candidate to take himself out of free agency is Irving. It was reported in the last 24 hours that Kyrie will opt in to his $36.5 million deal after failing to find a team willing to engage in a sign and trade for the gifted, though enigmatic scorer.

That should, technically speaking, exclude Irving from this article, but there’s always something to discuss when it comes to Kyrie.

He told Shams Charania of The Athletic that ‘Normal people keep the world going, but those who dare to be different lead us into tomorrow. I’ve made my decision to opt in. See you in the fall.’

Sooo….is Kyrie saying that by opting into a $36 million deal that he’s different? Or, given that every single one of us would have done the same thing, is he implying that he’s an ‘everyman’? A regular Joe?

As it always is, Kyrie Irving is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside a far too clever for his own good pretentious blowhard.

Miles Bridges
Charlotte Hornets
Despite seeing his 3-point percentage drop to just 33.1% last season, Miles Bridges enjoyed a breakout campaign. He posted 20.2 points, and even seven boards, 3.8 assists and close to a block and steal a night.

Long known for his highlight reel dunks, Bridges off the bounce and in the mid-range games showed greatly increased maturity

The 24 year old is a versatile defender (if not as lockdown as namesake Mikal) who is showing offensive chops that many didn’t think he had. Assuming his outside shot bounces back we could be looking at a borderline All Star next season.

He’ll get something close to $30 million a season, at least. This writer hopes that (barring an unlikely move to Utah) Bridges stays in Charlotte. The Hornets fans deserve to have nice things.

Jalen Brunson
Dallas Mavericks
Let’s get this out of the way: Jalen Brunson deserves to get paid this off season.

The 26 year old will get his bag, more than likely from his current employers in Dallas or the New York Knicks, who recently employed Jalen’s dad Rick as an assistant coach (to be clear, this isn’t the naked nepotism play it seems – Brunson the elder was a Thibs assistant in Minnesota and Chicago in days past).

Brunson will get something in the vicinity of $25 million a season with the years dependant on where he signs. It must be asked, though: is Brunson worth that money?

Brunson’s value skyrocketed in Dallas’s 1st round series against Utah’s deplorable perimeter defense. He came back to earth somewhat against Phoenix and struggled against Golden State. The league has a long history of overpaying based on a single strong playoff run. Brunson’s run wasn’t even a full playoffs!

He may well prove worth the money invested in him, but this writer suspects that there will be a tinge of buyers remorse around Brunson in a season or two.
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Jusuf Nurkic
Portland Trailblazers
When healthy, Nurkic is still a beast. Before being shut down for the year with a foot complaint (if the Blazers hadn’t have fired up the ol’ tank then Nurk would likely have played through the injury) the Bosnian was putting up 15 points and 11.1 boards, though a little worryingly, a career low 0.6 blocks per game.

Nurkic is likely worth more than the $12 million a season his last contract paid him, though his injury history may restrict his value somewhat. Unless the Blazers make a derisory offer, he’ll likely stay in Oregon. Expect a deal in the $12-$15 million per season range.

Anfernee Simons
Portland Trailblazers
Simons belatedly proved himself a starting calibre NBA baller with both Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum sidelined. In 30 starts last season he gave Portland 22 points (on an eye raising 60% true shooting) and 5.5 assists in 30 starts, averaging 17.3 points per game overall.

With McCollum now a Pelican, the Blazers will clearly want to keep Simons on as their long-term starting two-guard. He’ll get north of $20 million a season to stay in the Pacific north-west.
The only possible holdup will be the left knee injury that ended Simons season. Assuming that his medicals come up clean, he’ll be a Blazer for a long time to come.

Russell Westbrook
Los Angeles Lakers
Let’s be totally honest, here. Is there a snowflakes chance in hell that Westbrook turns down his $47 million player option for the 2023 season? No, Westbrook will surely opt in.

The real intrigue with around Westbrook is whether he plays the season – or even starts the season – as a Laker. Given his presence at the press conference for new coach Darvin Ham, it looks likely that the guard will start the season in Lakers colours.

A trade, however difficult to construct, is always lurking in the shadows, though.

Malik Monk
Los Angeles Lakers
Monk’s agent must be tearing his hair out after the 24 year old guard, coming off a career year as a Laker, openly torpedoed his value by admitting he’d take less money to remain in Tinseltown.

The one-year, $1.8 million contract he signed for last season was designed as a ‘prove it’ deal designed to earn him a longer, more lucrative future deal. Whilst Monk will undoubtedly get a long-term deal, he’s surely cost himself a rather large chunk of money with his comments this week.

PJ Tucker
Miami Heat
He’s as old as the hills, but PJ Tucker is still a valuable defender for a championship contender.

Despite the Miami Heat allowing Tucker to flex his offensive wings a little more that the Bucks and Rockets did, Tucker has declined his $7.4 million player option. Practically every championship contender will be knocking at the 37 year old’s door.

Expect another one-plus-one offer in the $6-$8 million range.

Mitchell Robinson
New York Knicks
Robinson is surely a lock to return to the Knicks, though his re-signing is likely to be one of the later deals inked. This is primarily because the former 2nd round pick has a tiny $1.8 million cap hold. That means that the Knicks can focus on signing any external free agents – Hello Mr. Brunson! – knowing that they can use Robinson’s Bird rights to extend him later in the off season.

Deliberately leaving a free agent unsigned isn’t without it’s obvious risks, though.

Robinson is still only 24 years old and the epitome of a modern, low usage centre. On a team with high usage players in Julius Randle, RJ Barrett and potentially Jalen Brunson, having a shot blocking menace that subsists on a diet of dunks is a needed luxury.

Kevon Looney
Golden State Warriors
Looney was quietly a major piece of the Warriors title march. He’s not exactly going to decimate you with his repertoire of offensive moves, but he’s a strong rebounder – especially on the offensive glass – and his ability to hang on when isolated on the perimeter allows coach Steve Kerr to mix-and-match defensively.

Given Golden State’s perilous cap situation, he’s borderline irreplaceable despite the theoretical presence of James Wiseman in his rear view mirror.

Looney will come close to doubling the $5.2 million he made this past season.

Otto Porter Jr
Golden State Warriors
Porter was a key depth piece of Golden State’s championship run. The Warriors won’t be fortunate enough to get him on a minimum contract again this time around. It’s likely that the Warriors will have to pay Porter something along the lines of their $6 million tax payer exception.

With his length, defensive acumen and deadeye shooting, he’s just about irreplaceable on this Warriors list, barring a massive step up from Jonathan Kuminga in year two.

Collin Sexton
Cleveland Cavaliers
The variance on what could happen with Sexton this offseason is vast.

Two seasons ago, Sexton’s 24.3 points per game – on 48/37/82 shooting – put him just inside the NBA’s top 20 scorers. He followed that up with an inefficient 16 points a game in just 11 appearances before a knee injury prematurely finished his latest campaign.

Maybe, if injury didn’t interfere, Sexton would have recovered from an early slump to something approaching his 2021 numbers. But what if he didn’t? That’s what NBA decision makers need to weigh up. As the late Bob Ross would say: we’ve got some big decisions to make in our little world.

At 6’1” and slight of build, Sexton is a defensive liability. That makes his offensive projections imperative to his value.

If his 2021 form is reliable, Sexton is a gifted bucket getter but a poor table setter. At his best, he’s a new age Lou Williams – a genuine game changer as an all offense 6th man. That type of player is worth a packet in a trade or on the open market.

If Sexton’s poor start to 2022 is a truer reflection of his future – or even if his knee injury limits his speed and agility – then Sexton is nothing more than an inefficient gunner who doesn’t bring nearly enough to the table to offset that inefficiency.

There is a very big chance that a team is going to look very clever, or indeed very foolish in bringing Sexton aboard on a long term deal.

Marvin Bagley III
Detroit Pistons
The much (and fairly) maligned Bagley might be the latest case of the Sacramento Kings killing a career before it even starts. It’s no coincidence that Bagley, after finally getting out of his Kangz purgatory, averaged 14.6 points and 6.8 rebounds on 56% shooting as a Piston.

Bagley’s issues remain: he’s not enough of a shooter to stretch the floor and isn’t an adequate rim protector. That makes him a tough player to fit into a line-up. The talent as a scorer is enough for the Pistons to look to bring him back long term, though.

Tyus Jones
Memphis Grizzlies
Jones certainly won’t generate the same interest as Brunson, though he is perhaps a safer pick for a team looking for a solid point guard.

He’s a different player to Brunson. Whereas the Mavericks guard is a scorer first, Jones is a throwback: he’s safe with the ball, runs a precise offense, can score a little when needed and plays solid defense. He’s not going to start for a playoff team, but he’s the sort of key reserve that every top team needs to run it’s second unit. He’s also going to come in at about 60% of what Brunson will cost.

Jones has a solid thing going in Memphis but must understand that his opportunities will be limited whilst Ja Morant runs the show. How Jones weighs up personal ambition against team success will prove fascinating.