Hoops Rumors Originals

The 2024/25 league year began just 10 days ago, but our list of this year’s top 50 free agents has been picked pretty clean. Of those 50 players, 42 have either agreed to deals or officially signed new contracts, leaving just eight still on the board.

Here are those eight players:

15. Tyus Jones, G
18. Gary Trent Jr., G
20. Isaac Okoro, F (Cavaliers RFA)
29. Luke Kennard, G
37. Precious Achiuwa, F/C
43. Markelle Fultz, G
46. Cedi Osman, F
49. Gordon Hayward, F

Jones’ ongoing availability surprises me a little, given that he’s coming off a career year. Considered one of the league’s top backup point guards for several seasons, Jones got his first opportunity to be a full-time starter in 2023/24 and delivered — his .489 FG%, .414 3PT%, 12.0 PPG, and 7.3 APG were all career highs, and no one in the league is better at protecting the ball (his 1.0 turnover per game in ’23/24 was the worst mark of his career).

John Hollinger of The Athletic succinctly summed up Jones’ dilemma in free agency this week, writing, “(Jones) wants to be a starter and wants to do it for a team better than the Wizards, but he might have to settle for 50 percent of those goals.”

Of course, a lack of spending power and available roster spots around the NBA is also starting to become an issue for the top free agents left on the board. Only the Jazz and Pistons have significant cap room remaining, with Utah leading the way at about $35MM.

But the Jazz may end up needing about $24MM of that room in order to renegotiate Lauri Markkanen‘s salary up to his maximum next month in order to get an extension done with the star forward. If that’s the plan, they’re not in position to offer a free agent more than about $11-13MM (depending on what they do with a pair of partially guaranteed contracts).

The Pistons used up some of their cap room when they claimed Paul Reed‘s $7.7MM salary off waivers this week. If Detroit wants to free up more space, Reed could always be waived, since his salary is still non-guaranteed. As long as he’s the books, the team could get up to about $20MM by completing Malik Beasley‘s reported one-year, $6MM deal using the room exception instead of cap space.

There are plenty of teams around the NBA who still have the full $12.8MM non-taxpayer mid-level exception on hand, but most of those clubs won’t use it due to financial concerns. For instance, the Pacers haven’t touched their MLE and have an open roster spot, but they’re only about $2.5MM below the luxury tax line, so they’ll likely be inclined to stay out of tax territory. Virtually every other team that still has the full mid-level available is in a similar position and would become a taxpayer if they used their entire MLE.

Jones, Trent, and Okoro presumably all entered free agency hoping to easily exceed the non-taxpayer mid-level exception on their next contracts, but it’s getting harder to see how all of them will get there.

Okoro – a strong wing defender whose offensive game remains a work in progress – is perhaps the most interesting name left on the market. While there are still technically eight restricted free agents still on the board, Okoro is the only one who finished last season on a standard contract rather than a two-way deal, and he’s the only one who seems in line for a sizable payday this summer.

The Pistons were identified on June 30 as a potential suitor to watch for Okoro, who has spent his entire NBA career under new Detroit head coach J.B. Bickerstaff. If their interest is real, they’re in position to put some pressure on Cleveland with an aggressive offer sheet. The Cavaliers aren’t expected to balk at matching an offer in the $12-13MM range, but anything higher than that would put them well over the luxury tax line and potentially even over the first tax apron, so it wouldn’t be a no-brainer.

Trent and Kennard are reliable three-point threats, but don’t bring a whole lot else to the table, which has presumably limited their market. The Grizzlies still appear very interested in bringing back Kennard, whereas the door appears nearly closed for Trent’s return to the Raptors.

The Pistons looked like a potential fit for Trent at the start of free agency, but their deal with Beasley likely rules out the immediate need for another three-point gunner. Trent may have to find a team willing to bring him aboard using a portion of the mid-level exception or via sign-and-trade.

The most likely outcome for Achiuwa still seems to be a return to New York, given that the Knicks need help up front and hold his Bird rights. There hasn’t been much chatter about the remaining three free agents from our top 50 – Fultz, Osman, and Hayward – but I expect them to find NBA deals eventually.

Besides the players listed above, there are plenty of other veterans worth keeping an eye on in free agency, many of whom will likely end up on minimum-salary deals.

Teams in need of a point guard could look to Spencer Dinwiddie or Kyle Lowry, or perhaps to Patrick Beverley or Dennis Smith Jr. if they’re seeking a defense-first player. Sharpshooters like Seth Curry, Doug McDermott, Evan Fournier, and Davis Bertans are still available. So are solid backup wings like Justin Holiday, Lonnie Walker, Josh Okogie, Robert Covington, Jae Crowder, and Troy Brown. Both Morris brothers (Marcus Morris and Markieff Morris) remain unsigned as well, though Markieff appears likely to return to Dallas.

Our full list of available free agents can be found right here.

The NBA doesn’t technically have a “hard” salary cap in place that teams are prohibited from surpassing during a given league year. But under the league’s current Collective Bargaining Agreement, there are a ton of different ways that a team can impose a hard cap on itself.

We broke down these rules back in December when we updated our glossary entry on the hard cap, but the rules for last season were a little different than the ones that have taken effect this season. And it’s always helpful to have concrete examples to point to in order to illustrate how these rules work.

So we’re taking a deep dive today into how exactly a team can become hard-capped.

There are two levels at which a hard cap can apply: the first tax apron ($178,132,000 in 2024/25) and the second tax apron ($188,931,000). We’ll start with the first apron.

First apron

A team becomes hard-capped at the first tax apron ($178,132,000) by making any of the following moves:

1. Uses the bi-annual exception to sign a player to a contract or to acquire a player via trade or waiver claim.

This one’s not new, and it’s pretty straightforward. Use any portion of the bi-annual exception for any purpose between July 6 and the end of the subsequent regular season and you’re hard-capped at the first apron.

The Rockets (Aaron Holiday) are the only team to use the BAE so far in 2024/25. The Clippers are expected to become the second once they officially sign Nicolas Batum.

2. Uses more than the taxpayer portion of the mid-level exception to sign a player to a contract.

A team above the first tax apron is permitted to use up to $5,168,000 of the mid-level exception in 2024/25. Use a dollar more than that and the result is a hard cap at the first apron.

Crucially, this restriction applies not just to dollars but to years as well — a non-taxpayer mid-level signing can be for up to four years, but a taxpayer MLE signing can only cover one or two seasons. So signing a player to a three-year contract using the mid-level would hard-cap a team at the first apron, even if the player’s starting salary is only $3MM.

The Mavericks (Naji Marshall) are the only team to use more than the taxpayer portion of the MLE so far in 2024/25. The Clippers, Warriors, and Bulls figure to join that list once Derrick Jones‘, De’Anthony Melton‘s, and Jalen Smith‘s deals are official.

3. Uses any portion of the mid-level exception to acquire a player via trade or waiver claim.

Beginning in 2024/25, the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, the room exception, and the bi-annual exception can be used to acquire a player via trade or waiver claim. However, the taxpayer mid-level exception cannot.

That means if a team wants the flexibility to operate over the first apron, it can’t use its mid-level exception to trade for a player, even if that player is earning less than the taxpayer portion of the MLE ($5,168,000).

This is why, for instance, the Nuggets – who are operating in first apron territory – couldn’t realistically trade for Russell Westbrook ($4,027,525) using their taxpayer MLE (which would hard-cap them at the first apron), but they’re able to use it to sign a free agent (Dario Saric).

4. Acquires a player via sign-and-trade.

This is another pretty straightforward rule, and one that’s been around for a while. No team can operate above the first apron if they’ve received a player in a sign-and-trade deal.

The Mavericks (Klay Thompson), Warriors (Buddy Hield and Kyle Anderson), Nets (Shake Milton), Hawks (Cody Zeller), and Wizards (Jonas Valanciunas) all fit into this category so far, and the Kings will join them when their sign-and-trade for DeMar DeRozan becomes official.

5. Signs a player who was waived during the regular season and whose pre-waiver salary was higher than the non-taxpayer mid-level exception.

It’s important to note that this rule, designed to regulate the buyout market, only applies if the player is waived after the regular season begins. So after Chris Paul ($30MM salary) was cut on June 30, there were no teams prohibited from signing him. But if Paul had remained on that contract and then been waived during the regular season, only teams operating below the aprons would have been permitted to sign him.

The non-taxpayer mid-level exception this season is $12,822,000, so if a player earning even a single dollar more than that amount is waived during the season, this restriction will apply to whichever team signs him.

6. Uses an outgoing player (or multiple players) in a trade for matching purposes to take back more than 100% of the outgoing salary.

It would be simpler to say “take back more salary you send out in a trade and you’re hard-capped at the first apron,” but that’s not quite accurate.

For instance, when a team uses cap room to accommodate extra incoming salary in a trade, no hard cap is created. So the Pistons didn’t hard-cap themselves at the first apron when they traded Quentin Grimes ($4,296,682) and took back Tim Hardaway Jr. ($16,193,183) into their cap space. If the Pistons had been operating over the cap and took advantage of the NBA’s salary-matching rules to trade Grimes for a player earning $6MM, that would have hard-capped them at the first apron. But salary-matching wasn’t necessary to take on Hardaway.

Here’s another exception to the rule. Let’s say the Suns trade Nassir Little ($6,750,000) and in return receive one player earning $6.5MM and another player who is in the second year of a two-year, minimum-salary contract (with a cap hit of about $2.4MM). That’s permitted, even though the Suns are a second-apron team taking on more total money in the deal than they’re sending out. Little is earning more than the first player, and his salary isn’t required for matching purposes for the second player, who can be acquired “separately” using the minimum salary exception.

A team is always permitted to use the minimum salary exception to trade for a player whose contract fits into that exception, regardless of the team’s proximity to the aprons.

Essentially, this rule comes down to whether the team is using its outgoing player(s) for the purposes of matching the incoming salary. If so, the incoming salary can’t exceed the outgoing amount by even a single dollar.

The Wizards (Malcolm Brogdon), Thunder (Alex Caruso), Raptors (Sasha Vezenkov), Pelicans (Dejounte Murray), Mavericks (Thompson), and Warriors (Hield/Anderson) are among the teams who have become hard-capped at the first apron in 2024/25 as a result of this rule (if they weren’t already hard-capped for another reason).

This rule also applies to non-simultaneous trade exceptions. A non-apron team that holds a non-simultaneous trade exception is given a $250K allowance above that exception’s amount, but an apron team isn’t permitted to take advantage of that allowance. Doing so would create a hard cap at the first apron.

For example, when the Wizards acquired Valanciunas via sign-and-trade, they used a trade exception worth approximately $9.8MM to give him a starting salary of $9.9MM, taking advantage of that extra $250K in wiggle room. Exceeding the TPE amount hard-capped them at the first apron, though that hard cap would have existed anyway due to the fact that they were taking on Valanciunas via sign-and-trade.

7. Uses a traded player exception generated during the previous offseason or regular season.

A non-simultaneous trade exception can be used anytime for one year after it’s generated, but that time frame becomes significantly condensed for apron teams. Once a team’s season ends and its offseason begins, a team operating above the first apron is not permitted to use a TPE that was created during the preceding regular season or the previous offseason.

For example, the Heat are currently operating above the first tax apron, which means the two trade exceptions they created last July ($9.45MM for Victor Oladipo and $7.24MM for Max Strus) aren’t available to them, and neither is the $6.48MM exception they generated in January by trading Kyle Lowry. Those TPEs are essentially “frozen” and would become available again if Miami moves below the first apron before they expire.

However, an apron team can use a trade exception if it was created since the regular season ended. The Timberwolves, for instance, generated a TPE worth $2.54MM when they traded Wendell Moore to Detroit. That exception is available to them, but the $4MM TPE they created in February for trading Troy Brown isn’t.

As our tracker shows, the Hawks, Nets, Mavericks, Rockets, and Raptors have each used a trade exception this summer that was generated prior to the end of the regular season, so they’re hard-capped at the first apron for 2024/25 (all five teams also made other moves that resulted in that hard cap).

Second apron

A team becomes hard-capped at the second tax apron ($188,931,000) by making any of the following moves:

1. Uses any portion of the mid-level exception to sign a player to a contract.

The mid-level exception is not available at all to teams operating above the second apron, so a team that uses any portion of it – even an amount well below the taxpayer limit – to sign a player becomes ineligible to surpass the second apron for the rest of the season.

While no team has officially made a taxpayer mid-level signing yet, the Nuggets are on track to do so with Saric (as noted above), which will hard-cap them at the second apron.

2. Aggregates two or more players in a trade for salary-matching purposes.

“Aggregating” players doesn’t mean simply including them in the same trade — it means combining their salaries for matching  purposes in that trade. A team operating above the second apron could make a deal sending out multiple players for one, as long as only one of them is required for salary-matching (and the incoming player is earning less than that outgoing player).

For instance, the Suns could send out Little ($6.75MM) and David Roddy ($2.85MM) for one player earning $6.5MM, since Little’s salary matches for the incoming player, so he and Roddy don’t need to be aggregated together.

When the Kings traded Davion Mitchell ($5.06MM) and Vezenkov ($6.34MM) to Toronto in a deal for Jalen McDaniels ($4.52MM), it didn’t hard-cap Sacramento at the second apron because Mitchell and Vezenkov weren’t aggregated — Mitchell matched McDaniels’ lesser incoming salary on his own.

Let’s say Mitchell’s and McDaniels’ salary figures had been flipped, so McDaniels was the one earning a little more. In that scenario, Sacramento likely would’ve opted to aggregate Mitchell and Vezenkov, even though Mitchell’s salary on his own would have been legally enough to match McDaniels’ incoming figure — not aggregating them and using Mitchell as the sole matching piece would have meant the Kings were taking back more than 100% of his salary, hard-capping them at the first apron.

This is the issue the Knicks ran into in their Mikal Bridges trade with the Nets. Bojan Bogdanovic‘s $19MM+ salary was technically enough to legally match Bridges’ incoming $23.3MM figure, but taking back more than 100% of Bogdanovic’s outgoing money would’ve hard-capped New York at the first apron. The Knicks instead chose to aggregate Milton ($2,875,000) and Mamadi Diakite‘s partial guarantee ($1,392,150) with Bogdanovic’s salary to get to $23.3MM and hard-cap themselves at the second apron instead.

It’s important to note that the team’s position relative to the apron upon the conclusion of the trade (not before the trade) dictates this rule.

Let’s say a team is operating $2MM above the second tax apron and wants to aggregate a $15MM player with a $20MM player for a single player earning $30MM. That would be permitted, since the move would reduce the team’s salary by $5MM, bringing it $3MM below the second apron once the trade is completed. The club would then be prohibited from surpassing the second apron again for the rest of the league year.

The Knicks (for Bridges) and the Pelicans (for Murray) are the only teams so far this season who have aggregated salaries in a trade. But New Orleans is already hard-capped at the first apron, so New York is the lone club hard-capped at the second apron as the result of aggregation.

3. Sends out cash in a trade.

This rule is new, but it’s pretty simple. Send out any amount of cash in a trade and you’re hard-capped for the rest of that league year.

This rule goes into effect as soon as the regular season ends, so a team that sent out cash this June became hard-capped for the rest of 2024/25, even though the league year change didn’t technically occur until July 1. The Hawks, Mavericks, and Thunder each sent out cash in June, which would’ve hard-capped them at the second apron for ’24/25 (all three teams made other moves that ultimately hard-capped them at the first apron instead).

The Pacers and Hornets are the only two teams to this point who are hard-capped at the second apron as a result of sending out cash. Several other teams have traded cash but are hard-capped at the first apron for other reasons.

4. Sends out a player via sign-and-trade and uses that player’s outgoing salary to take back a contract.

Under the new CBA, there are restrictions facing not just a team that acquires a player via sign-and-trade but to a team that sends out a player via sign-and-trade. That team isn’t allowed to take back salary using the outgoing signed-and-traded player for matching purposes.

For example, the Timberwolves are currently operating over the second apron, so when they signed-and-traded Anderson to Golden State, they would’ve been prohibited from taking back a player in that transaction using Anderson’s $8.78MM salary as a matching piece.

If the Wolves were to acquire an incoming player in that deal using another legal exception (such as the minimum salary exception or the aforementioned Moore TPE), that would have been permitted. But Anderson’s outgoing salary couldn’t be used to match.

The Knicks (Milton) and the Pelicans (Zeller) are the two teams so far this season that used an outgoing signed-and-traded player for matching purposes in a deal. The Bulls will join them as a result of the DeRozan sign-and-trade.

5. Sends out a player via sign-and-trade and uses the resulting traded player exception to acquire a player via trade or waiver claim.

This is basically the other half of the previous rule. Not only could the Timberwolves not take back salary for Anderson in the same deal in which they signed-and-traded him, but they also can’t use the non-simultaneous trade exception generated by his outgoing $8.78MM salary, even though it was newly created this offseason. Using that exception would hard-cap Minnesota at the second apron for the rest of 2024/25.

Besides Minnesota, only the Pelicans (Valanciunas) have created a non-simultaneous trade exception for a signed-and-traded player this offseason. The Bulls will also have one once the DeRozan deal is official.

Two-way contracts allow NBA teams to carry three extra players in addition to the 15 on their regular season roster. These players generally bounce back and forth between the NBA and G League, but remain under team control and can’t be poached by rival franchises.

First introduced in 2017, two-way deals have undergone some rule changes in recent years, and the NBA’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement has updated them further. Here are some key points to remember:

• Teams can now carry three players on two-way contracts, rather than two.
• Two-way players are eligible to be active for up to 50 of their team’s 82 regular season games. If a team isn’t carrying a full 15-man standard roster, its two-way players can only be active for a combined 90 games.
• Players on two-way contracts will earn $578,577 in 2024/25, half of the rookie minimum.
• Two-way contracts can’t be signed after March 4.

You can check out our glossary entry to learn more about two-way contracts.

NBA teams have begun to fill in their two-way slots for the 2024/25 league year, so we’ll track all those deals in the space below. Some two-way players from 2023/24 inked two-year contracts and remain under contract for this season, while others have been newly signed.

If a two-way signing has been reported by a trusted source but isn’t yet official, we’ll list it in italics and link to the report, updating the info as necessary. Players who are in the first year of two-way contracts that cover two years (the maximum length), will be noted with an asterisk (*) once that info is confirmed.

This tracker will continue to be updated throughout the 2024/25 league year, and can be found anytime in the “Hoops Rumors Features” menu on the right-hand sidebar of our desktop site, or in the “Features” menu on our mobile site.

Here are 2024/25’s two-way players:

Updated 8-29-24

Atlanta Hawks

1. Seth Lundy, F
2. Keaton Wallace, G
3. Dominick Barlow, F

Boston Celtics

1. Drew Peterson, F
2. JD Davison, G
3. Anton Watson, F

Brooklyn Nets

1. Jaylen Martin, G/F
2. Empty
3. Empty

Charlotte Hornets

1. KJ Simpson, G *
2. Moussa Diabate, C
3. Empty

Chicago Bulls

1. Adama Sanogo, F
2. DJ Steward, G
3. Empty

Cleveland Cavaliers

1. Emoni Bates, F
2. Luke Travers, G/F
3. JT Thor, F (reported)

Dallas Mavericks

1. Brandon Williams, G
2. Kessler Edwards, F
   
3. Empty

Denver Nuggets

1. Trey Alexander, G
2. PJ Hall, F/C
3. Spencer Jones, F

Detroit Pistons

1. Tosan Evbuomwan, F
2. Daniss Jenkins, G
3. Empty

Golden State Warriors

1. Pat Spencer, G
2. Reece Beekman, G
3. Daeqwon Plowden, G

Houston Rockets

1. Jeenathan Williams, G/F
2. N’Faly Dante, C
3. Jack McVeigh, F

Indiana Pacers

1. Quenton Jackson, G
2. Tristen Newton, G
3. Enrique Freeman, F
   

Los Angeles Clippers

1. Jordan Miller, F
2. Trentyn Flowers, G/F
3. Empty

Los Angeles Lakers

1. Armel Traore, F/C
2. Blake Hinson, F *
3. Colin Castleton, C

Memphis Grizzlies

1. Scotty Pippen Jr., G
2. Cam Spencer, G
3. Jay Huff, C

Miami Heat

1. Dru Smith, G
2. Keshad Johnson, F
3. Josh Christopher, G

Milwaukee Bucks

1. Ryan Rollins, G
2. Stanley Umude, G
3. Anzejs Pasecniks, C

Minnesota Timberwolves

1. Jaylen Clark, G
2. Jesse Edwards, C
3. Daishen Nix, G

New Orleans Pelicans

1. Malcolm Hill, G/F
2. Jamal Cain, F
3. Trey Jemison, C

New York Knicks

1. Ariel Hukporti, C
2. Kevin McCullar, G/F
3. Jacob Toppin, F

Oklahoma City Thunder

1. Adam Flagler, G
2. Ajay Mitchell, G
3. Alex Ducas, G

Orlando Magic

1. Trevelin Queen, G
2. Empty
3. Empty

Philadelphia 76ers

1. Justin Edwards, G/F
2. David Jones, F
3. Jeff Dowtin, G

Phoenix Suns

1. Collin Gillespie, G
2. Jalen Bridges, G/F
3. TyTy Washington Jr., G

Portland Trail Blazers

1. Justin Minaya, F
2. Bryce McGowens, G
3. Empty

Sacramento Kings

1. Mason Jones, G
2. Isaac Jones, F/C
3. Isaiah Crawford, G/F

San Antonio Spurs

1. Jamaree Bouyea, G
2. David Duke, G
3. Harrison Ingram, F

Toronto Raptors

1. D.J. Carton, G
2. Branden Carlson, C
3. Ulrich Chomche, C *

Utah Jazz

1. Jason Preston, G
2. Micah Potter, C
3. Oscar Tshiebwe, F/C

Washington Wizards

1. Justin Champagnie, G/F
2. Tristan Vukcevic, C
3. Empty

A handful of this year’s top free agents came off the board during the exclusive window for teams to negotiate with their own players between the end of the NBA Finals and the official start of free agency on June 30. Many more have reached deals with their own teams or new clubs since Sunday at 5:00 pm CT.

But there are still many starter- and rotation-caliber players left unsigned — only 33 of our top 50 free agents have reached contract agreements so far, leaving 17 up for grabs. Here are those players who don’t yet have new deals in place:

4. LeBron James, F
6. DeMar DeRozan, F
12. Miles Bridges, F
15. Tyus Jones, G
18. Gary Trent Jr., G
20. Isaac Okoro, F (Cavaliers RFA)
21. Caleb Martin, F
24. Buddy Hield, G
26. Simone Fontecchio, F (Pistons RFA)
29. Luke Kennard, G
34. Malik Beasley, G/F
36. Haywood Highsmith, G/F
37. Precious Achiuwa, F/C
43. Markelle Fultz, G
45. Saddiq Bey, F
46. Cedi Osman, F
49. Gordon Hayward, F

Now, this isn’t 2010, 2014, or 2018. No one expects James to leave Los Angeles. It’s presumably just a matter of time until he and the Lakers agree to terms on either a new maximum-salary contract or something below that, if it helps L.A. acquire an impact player.

But even if we take the four-time MVP off this list, there are some intriguing names here, starting with DeRozan, a player believed to be the only free agent still available whom LeBron would take a pay cut to accommodate. As we relayed on Tuesday, the Lakers have interest in DeRozan, as do the Heat, but Miami can’t offer more than the taxpayer mid-level exception ($5.2MM) and L.A. would almost certainly have to move at least one eight-figure contract to make a competitive offer for the star forward.

There’s reportedly some mutual interest between the Clippers and Bridges, though that interest may be stronger from the player’s side than the team’s. Jones, meanwhile, is said to be seeking starter-level money, with a sign-and-trade considered a possibility, but we haven’t really heard much about which teams are involved for the steady veteran point guard.

It’s interesting that Trent, Hield, Kennard, and Beasley are among the top free agents without a deal. All four provide valuable floor-spacing on offense, but aren’t elite defenders. Teams may be wary about investing big money in outside shooters who could be targeted (especially in the postseason) on the other end of the court. The Warriors are reportedly discussing a potential sign-and-trade deal for Hield, while Kennard is considered likely to return to the Grizzlies.

As long as there’s no team pursuing an offer sheet for Okoro or Fontecchio, the Cavaliers and Pistons can afford to be patient in those negotiations, since they have most of the leverage over their respective restricted free agents. The Knicks and Hawks don’t have the same leverage with Achiuwa and Bey after declining to issue them qualifying offers, but even as unrestricted free agents, both players appear open to re-signing with their previous teams.

I’m a little surprised that neither Martin nor Highsmith has come off the board yet. The longer the stay out there, the more the door cracks open for a possible return to the Heat, though that’s considered more plausible for Highsmith than Martin.

As for Fultz, Osman, and Hayward, the rumor mill has been pretty quiet on those players so far.

One factor that’ll make it more difficult for all of these players to get favorable contracts? Keith Smith of Spotrac tweeted on Tuesday morning that the Jazz, Pistons, Magic, and Sixers were the only teams with cap room remaining, and Orlando has since used most or all of that leftover space by agreeing to re-sign Moritz Wagner and agreeing to renegotiate Jonathan Isaac‘s contract to give him a pay raise for 2024/25.

Utah and Detroit could still add another free agent or two, but it may be prudent for them to keep much of their cap room open for now in order to be able to jump into trade talks as a third team willing to take on salary that comes with assets attached. Philadelphia is also a possible landing spot for some of these free agents, but the 76ers also seem to be exploring ways to use their remaining cap room on the trade market, with Dorian Finney-Smith mentioned on Tuesday as one potential target.

If they can’t land a deal from one of those cap-room teams, many of the best free agents left on the board will have to find a team willing to hard-cap itself at the first tax apron by acquiring them via sign-and-trade or by signing them using more than the taxpayer portion of the mid-level exception. That may not be easy, and could result in some of the players on the back end of our top 50 ultimately settling for the minimum or something close to it.

All of the free agent deals agreed upon so far can be found within our 2024 free agent tracker. The full list of free agents still available can be found right here (or here, if you prefer to sort by team rather than by position/type).

The first official day of NBA free agency on June 30 was certainly busy, but it wasn’t quite as hectic as usual. There are a few factors believed to be playing a part in the slower pace, including:

• The new exclusive negotiating window open to team between the end of the NBA Finals and June 30 allowed several free agents to reach deals with their own teams ahead of the official start of free agency. Pascal Siakam (Pacers), OG Anunoby (Knicks), Immanuel Quickley (Raptors), and Nic Claxton (Nets) were among the notable players to line up massive paydays prior to June 30.
• The NBA has made cracking down on tampering a priority, threatening significant penalties not just to teams but to agents who make free agent deals too early. That may be why it took an hour after free agency opened on Sunday evening to get our first report of a player switching teams (Andre Drummond to Philadelphia).
• Teams are navigating a challenging new Collective Bargaining Agreement that has more ways than ever for a club to become hard-capped, ranging from sending out cash in a trade (hard-capped at the second apron) to using a trade exception generated before the offseason began (hard-capped at the first apron).
• As teams grapple with those CBA changes, the salary cap increase for 2024/25 was just 3.36%, giving high-salary teams less wiggle room following increases of 10% in both 2022 and 2023.

While we didn’t get quite as much action on day one as expected, there were still a good deal of notable headlines, including Paul George‘s decision to leave the Clippers for the Sixers. George’s move prompted L.A. to put out a lengthy statement explaining why the star forward wouldn’t be back, which is – if not an entirely unprecedented move – a rarity.

Besides agreeing to terms with George, Philadelphia also reached deals with Andre Drummond, Kelly Oubre, and Eric Gordon during the early part of free agency, taking advantage of the fact that it’s one of the few contending teams with cap room this offseason.

The other Eastern Conference playoff team with cap room, the Magic, made one of the day’s biggest moves by agreeing to terms on a three-year deal with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, adding a talented three-and-D wing with championship experience to a young roster that struggled to make outside shots last season.

While they lost George, the Clippers did reach a new two-year deal with James Harden and are bringing in at least two outside free agents, striking agreements with swingman Derrick Jones and guard Kevin Porter.

Jones’ free agency was a curious one, since he agreed to terms with the Clippers just a couple hours after the Mavericks agreed to sign Naji Marshall to a pretty similar deal. Dallas head of basketball operations Nico Harrison referred last month to re-signing Jones as the team’s “priority 1A and 1B,” and while his 11th-hour agent change complicated his free agency to some extent, it was still surprising to see him leave Dallas for a contract they seemingly could’ve afforded. We’ll see if more details on those negotiations surface in the coming days.

Elsewhere in free agency, the Celtics made deals to bring back a pair of reserve centers in Luke Kornet and Neemias Queta; the Heat reached a two-year agreement with Kevin Love; the Wizards lined up a new starting center by agreeing to a three-year contract with Jonas Valanciunas; and the Suns replaced outgoing reserve center Drew Eubanks by making a deal with veteran big man Mason Plumlee.

One of the day’s most interesting developments occurred on the Chris Paul front, where the Warriors decided to waive the veteran point guard after not finding a suitable trade for his expiring $30MM non-guaranteed contract. Paul had only been on waivers for a few hours when word broke that he had reached an agreement to sign with the Spurs upon reaching free agency. Within the last few years, Paul has helped young teams in both Oklahoma City and Phoenix exceed expectations. His impact on Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs will be a fun storyline to follow in 2024/25.

Restricted free agents Max Christie (Lakers) and Obi Toppin (Pacers) each reached four-year deals with their own teams on Sunday afternoon before free agency officially began, while the Pistons appear on track to keep Cade Cunningham out of 2025 restricted free agency by signing him to a lucrative new five-year extension. That deal’s not done yet, but it sounds like it’ll cross the finish line soon.

As our list of free agents shows, there are still plenty of intriguing names out there. While LeBron James is considered highly likely to return to the Lakers and Tyrese Maxey is a lock to stick with the Sixers, the futures of other top-15 free agents like DeMar DeRozan, Miles Bridges, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Klay Thompson remain less certain.