The first wave of NBA free agency has already done its damage. Money changed hands, rosters got reshaped, and a lot of the league’s biggest decisions are off the board. But a few notable names are still hanging out there, and that keeps the market interesting.
At the top of the list is LeBron James, which is a sentence that still carries real weight. Even with his 2025-26 line sitting at 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 7.2 assists, he remains an All-Star caliber point forward who can control the game with his passing, scoring and feel for the floor.
The big nights are less frequent now, and he’ll turn 42 in December, but he still looks like the kind of player who can matter on a championship team if his role is kept in check. The source here is clear: anything more than a strong third option may be too much at this stage of his 23-year career.
And wherever he lands, the ripple effect will be real.
Why hasn’t he signed? Because James doesn’t seem to be chasing the biggest payday this time.
He’s waiting for the market to settle after the summer’s major moves, trying to identify the best fit rather than jumping early. Rich Paul said over the weekend he doesn’t think a decision will come “anytime soon.”
Another big name still on the board is Jalen Duren, whose situation is a lot messier. His 2025-26 numbers - 19.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and 0.8 blocks - point to a center with serious talent, and he helped Detroit to 60 wins in the regular season.
But the postseason told a different story. The Pistons’ playoff run went sideways, and Duren’s impact vanished as the Magic and Cavaliers made him a nonfactor.
He averaged nine fewer points in the playoffs, which is not exactly the kind of timing that helps when contract talks are underway.
That’s part of why the Pistons and Duren started free agency far apart and still seem to be there. He was eligible for a deal worth nearly $300 million after making All-NBA, but Detroit was never going there, especially after what happened in the playoffs. As a restricted free agent, he doesn’t have much leverage, but he’s still holding out for the best possible offer - whether that comes from the Pistons, an outside team with an offer sheet, or a sign-and-trade that somehow works.
Bruce Watson is next, and his case is built on a different kind of value. His 2025-26 line reads 14.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.1 blocks, and last season he broke out as one of Denver’s best two-way wings.
Injuries limited him to 54 games and kept him out of the Nuggets’ playoff run, but the production was real. He was one of only three players in the NBA to shoot better than 40% from three and block at least one shot per game.
That’s a rare combination, even if he isn’t a high-volume shooter or a self-creator.
There’s still some uncertainty around Watson’s next step. Reports say Denver is still talking with him, but the team has become more open to a sign-and-trade.
That fits with the bigger picture after the Nuggets’ rough first-round exit. A new deal could push them into the second apron, something ownership has not historically been eager to embrace.
Letting Watson go would hurt the roster in almost any scenario, though, so the sides keep working through it.
James Harden remains unsigned too, and his situation is more straightforward. He posted 2025-26 averages of 20.5 points, 7.7 assists and 4.8 rebounds, and the strengths and weaknesses are exactly what you’d expect by now.
He’s still a high-level ballhandler and shooter, still one of the league’s better point guards entering his age-37 season, and still someone who makes life easier for teammates on offense. The other side of the ledger is just as familiar: the defense is poor and fading, and counting on him to deliver in the postseason clutch is a bad bet.
Even so, Harden still has good basketball left. He opted out of his player option with the expectation that he would re-sign on a longer deal in Cleveland, and that still appears to be the plan. The catch is that the Cavaliers seem to be waiting to see whether they can land LeBron for a third time.
Then there’s Jonathan Kuminga, whose name doesn’t carry the same certainty but still draws attention because of the upside. His 2025-26 line - 12.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists - doesn’t put him in the top tier of available free agents, but teams are still intrigued by what he could become.
The athleticism is obvious. The idea is obvious too: a wing defender who can attack the rim at any moment.
The Hawks saw flashes of that in the first round against the Knicks in this year’s playoffs.
The problem is that the flashes haven’t added up to enough. Kuminga, 23 and a former lottery pick, clashed with the coaching staff in Golden State, and that hurt both his play and the team’s.
He never fully proved he deserved a bigger role when given the chance. He’s now an unrestricted free agent, Atlanta has been content to let him sit there, and the Lakers have been linked to him.
Beyond that, the market has been quiet. Someone is likely to bet on the talent, but it may take some time now that most of the money around the league is already spoken for.
In Other News...
Cavs May Have Found The Bench Piece They Desperately Needed
The Cavaliers used a second-round pick on Meleek Thomas with a very specific need in mind: a reserve guard who can score efficiently, make plays and keep the offense moving when the second unit takes over. That is the kind of bench role Cleveland has valued before, and Thomas arrives with the kind of college profile that fits the job description, thanks to his shot-making and ability to take care of the ball.
Thomas is not being handed a major rotation spot right away, but the Cavaliers do see a path for him as a future shot-creating guard off the bench. For now, the focus is on development, with Summer League set to give him more chances to work at point guard and speed up the learning curve as Cleveland tries to turn a draft investment into a long-term answer. [Read more 🡒]
LeBrons Next Move Could Change Everything For The Cavaliers
LeBron James next chapter has become one of the biggest offseason questions hanging over the Cavaliers, and the buzz around it has only grown as the free-agent market keeps taking shape. After leaving the Lakers, he remains at the center of a wide-open chase, with Cleveland among the teams drawing real attention from analysts and insiders who are trying to read the tea leaves on where he might end up.
The Cavaliers are not alone in the mix, with the Warriors, Heat, 76ers, Nuggets and Timberwolves also mentioned as possible landing spots, but the chatter around Cleveland has been hard to ignore. Brian Windhorst even noted that people around Philadelphia are uneasy about how this could play out, with the fear that it might ultimately tilt toward Cleveland, which is exactly the kind of uncertainty that keeps this story alive. [Read more 🡒]
Cavs Suddenly Have A DeMar DeRozan Decision Hanging Over This Offseason
The Cavaliers offseason already looked fairly settled after Donovan Mitchell agreed to a four-year extension, but DeMar DeRozans sudden availability has added a new layer to the conversation. Sacramento waived the veteran scorer, and he is expected to become a free agent, which immediately put a proven half-court creator back on the market at a time when Cleveland is trying to keep its long-term core intact while still looking for ways to improve around Mitchell.
A recent podcast pushed Cleveland into the center of the DeRozan chatter, with the fit tied not just to basketball but to the wider sweep of the leagues summer movement. The Cavaliers have their own priorities to manage, yet any serious run at DeRozan would have to be weighed against bigger-picture plans and the possibility that other marquee names could shape the market in ways that affect what Cleveland can realistically do next. [Read more 🡒]