While many NBA players don’t necessarily love the uncertainty that free agency brings, reaching the open market and signing a new contract doesn’t always mean that a player will avoid the experience for several more years. For a number of the free agents who signed contracts this summer, there’s a good chance that they’ll head right back to the open market in the 2017 offseason.
In some cases, a player may choose to return to free agency sooner rather than later. Kevin Durant, for instance, could have signed a four-year contract with the Warriors, locking himself in through the 2019/20 season. Instead, he inked a two-year deal with an opt-out after year one. Durant will surely decline that player option next year in order to sign a new contract that will feature a much higher starter salary.
In other cases though, a team will simply be unwilling to give a player the sort of longer-term security he might want. Teams value flexibility, and the ability to easily create room and jettison big salaries can be important. That’s why, even though clubs have the ability to sign players to four- or five-year contracts, they’ll often opt for one- or two-year deals instead, including perhaps a team option or a non-guaranteed salary on that second year.
Listed below are the players who have signed free agent contracts this offseason who are decent bets to return to the open market next July. In addition to players on one-year contracts, this list includes players who have options or non-guaranteed salaries in year two, following a guaranteed salary for 2016/17. However, it doesn’t include players whose ’16/17 salaries aren’t yet fully guaranteed — those players could be free agents next July, but they could also become available well before then.
Let’s dive in…
Players who signed one-year contracts:
- Chris Andersen (Cavaliers)
- Alan Anderson (Clippers)
- Brandon Bass (Clippers)
- Aaron Brooks (Pacers)
- Ian Clark (Warriors)
- Raymond Felton (Clippers)
- Alonzo Gee (Pelicans)
- Manu Ginobili (Spurs)
- Gerald Green (Celtics)
- Jeff Green (Magic)
- Udonis Haslem (Heat)
- Roy Hibbert (Hornets)
- Kris Humphries (Hawks)
- Jarrett Jack (Hawks)
- Brandon Jennings (Knicks)
- James Johnson (Heat)
- Terrence Jones (Pelicans)
- James McAdoo (Warriors)
- Nene (Rockets)
- Zaza Pachulia (Warriors)
- Brian Roberts (Hornets)
- Sergio Rodriguez (Sixers)
- Brandon Rush (Timberwolves)
- Luis Scola (Nets)
- Jared Sullinger (Raptors)
- Marcus Thornton (Wizards)
- Anderson Varejao (Warriors)
- Greivis Vasquez (Nets)
- Sasha Vujacic (Knicks)
- David West (Warriors)
- Deron Williams (Mavericks)
- Derrick Williams (Heat)
Players who signed two-year deals with second-year player options:
- Matt Barnes (Kings)
- Dewayne Dedmon (Spurs)
- Kevin Durant (Warriors)
- Langston Galloway (Pelicans)
- Pau Gasol (Spurs)
- David Lee (Spurs)
- Luc Mbah a Moute (Clippers)
- Willie Reed (Heat)
- Marreese Speights (Clippers)
- Dwyane Wade (Bulls)
- Dion Waiters (Heat)
Players who signed multiyear deals with team options or non-guaranteed salaries in year two:
- Quincy Acy (Mavericks)
- Arron Afflalo (Kings)
- Leandro Barbosa (Suns)
- Anthony Bennett (Nets)
- Isaiah Canaan (Bulls)
- Wayne Ellington (Heat)
- Festus Ezeli (Trail Blazers)
- Jonathan Gibson (Mavericks)
- Joe Harris (Nets)
- Gerald Henderson (Sixers)
- Jordan Hill (Timberwolves)
- Mike Miller (Nuggets)
- Maurice Ndour (Knicks)
- Dirk Nowitzki (Mavericks)
- Marshall Plumlee (Knicks)
- Rajon Rondo (Bulls)
- Ramon Sessions (Hornets)
- Anthony Tolliver (Kings)
- Christian Wood (Hornets)
- Tyler Zeller (Celtics)
Information from Basketball Insiders and the Hoops Rumors Free Agent Tracker was used in the creation of this post.