The 50 players on our list of 2020’s top free agents came off the board relatively quickly last month, but there are still a number of intriguing veteran free agents who have yet to sign a new deal or who have reached the open market since we compiled that list.
There aren’t many roster spots available around the NBA — with just a week to go until opening night, most teams have a pretty good idea of what their 14- or 15-man squads will look like to open the season. That means there are far fewer viable landing spots for veteran free agents than there were earlier in the offseason.
Still, whether it happens before or after opening night, there are plenty of unsigned players who seem like realistic candidates to eventually join an NBA team. Injuries, positive coronavirus tests, and trades could all open up roster spots for those players to fill.
With that in mind, here’s a brief recap of some of the more notable players who are still available to be signed:
Point Guards
Shabazz Napier is among the most productive point guards still on the market. He was playing some of the best basketball of his career with the Wizards during a 20-game stint to finish the 2019/20 season, averaging 11.6 PPG and 3.8 APG on .428/.358/.831 shooting in 24.4 minutes per contest.
Another former Wizards point guard, Isaiah Thomas, recorded 12.2 PPG, 3.7 APG, and a .413 3PT% in 40 games (23.1 MPG) for the team last season, but lost his job due to his play on defense. He has repeatedly insisted that he’s feeling even better now following his most recent hip procedure, but no team has been willing to take a shot on him so far.
If the Mavericks weren’t willing to keep J.J. Barea around, it’s not clear how much he has left in the tank, but he could be an option for a team looking for a third point guard who would be an asset in the locker room.
A team seeking a player with some upside may prefer to turn to Emmanuel Mudiay, a former lottery pick who is still just 24 years old, or Jordan McLaughlin, though he’s still a restricted free agent and may be hard to pry away from the Timberwolves.
Yogi Ferrell, Jeremy Lin, Brandon Knight, Gary Payton II, Ky Bowman (once he clears waivers), and reigning G League MVP Frank Mason are among the other unsigned point guards.
Wings
A team in need of shooting off the bench should have a few options in free agency, including Kyle Korver (a career 42.9% three-point shooter), Troy Daniels (39.5%), Allen Crabbe (38.7%), and – once he clears waivers – Ryan Broekhoff (40.3%).
The market also features microwave scorers young and old, including Jamal Crawford (41 in March) and Allonzo Trier (25 in January). Two members of the Lakers’ 2020 championship squad remain unsigned too, in J.R. Smith and Dion Waiters.
The health histories of certain players – including Zhaire Smith, Andre Roberson, and Luc Mbah a Moute – may scare teams away. Age, meanwhile, may be a bit of a concern for clubs eyeing veterans like Thabo Sefolosha (36) and DeMarre Carroll (34).
Jordan McRae, Iman Shumpert, and Mario Hezonja are a few of the other options that could intrigue certain teams, depending on what sort of skill set they’re seeking.
Bigs
Ersan Ilyasova and Anthony Tolliver are the headliners among the veteran stretch fours on the open market. Ilyasova saw his role decline in Milwaukee over the last two seasons, but was still his usual self from beyond the arc — last season’s .365 3PT% was exactly in line with his career average. Tolliver, meanwhile, played on three teams in 2019/20, but was effective for Memphis down the stretch, making 41.5% of his threes in 13 games.
Teams seeking a tough veteran up front could turn to Taj Gibson, Kyle O’Quinn, Ian Mahinmi, or Lance Thomas. Tyson Chandler and Pau Gasol could also be options, though each of them could just as easily retire.
I’ll be interested to see if Dewayne Dedmon can bounce back after a down year in Sacramento and Atlanta. It’s hard to believe it now, but he was referred to by ESPN’s Zach Lowe as “sneakily the most coveted under-the-radar free agent in the league” during the 2019 offseason. A year-and-a-half later, he should be able to find a minimum-salary deal.
Skal Labissiere, Noah Vonleh, Jordan Bell, and John Henson are some of the other free agents available for teams seeking interested in another frontcourt piece.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
At some point, someone is going to want Dedmon, Korver, Napier and Ilyasova. Those guys are locks.
Those guys are not locks. The only maybe is Dewayne dedmon.
Demon is trash. Why do people think he is good. Taj Gibson should be on a roster before him.
I agree with you he’s really not much.
I didn’t say I “think he is good” I didn’t say I think any of these guys are good. They all can plug in and play if need be though.
how is dedmon trash, hes 7 feet and he’s a 3 and D center who could post double doubles if u get him more mins and have him on a championship contending team instead.
gibson is old all he could do is rebound and do a little defense im pretty sure cuz hes way past his prime.
The only “maybe”? So you’re sure Korver isn’t going to get a job? All year?
I said “at some point” Not within the next few weeks.
They will all find jobs over the course of the year with injuries and such.
This sight needs a way to make bets.
Yeah I think those guys are done.
ikr napier’s like one of the most talented point guards left on the market. hes an effecient shooter, playmaker, and defender. he had a decent average last year of 11 points/5assits/1.5 steals while playing just below 25 minutes in a backup role. korver is still a great catch and shoot player while illyasova is a decent stretch four who could shoot threes and is quite athletic. tolliver is another stretch four that teams can pickup as a mentor to young players.
And the Timberpuppies might just trade the rights to “Hardware” Henk Norel.
On the Point Guard list, you forgot Jhonny Flynn !!
payton is solid. he’s put together a strong resume at every spot he’s been. would like to see him find a team for regular rotation playing time to build on.
The Lakers are missing a true big man behind Gasol, I think Dedmon could be a nice fit at the vet min.
Gasol can no longer be counted on to play more than just a handful of minutes per game, about what the Lakers got from McGee last season. And they shouldn’t expect him to be able to play 72 games either. AD will be forced to play center more than he wants to.
uhhh trez is there? don’t act like he cant play C minutes. geez clowns
Obviously Harrell will be playing the majority of minutes there, no one said otherwise. The point made by the OP is that he is not a true center due to his lack of height, and even more importantly, defensive skills.
Illyasova has a more rounded game and has extensive playoff experience.
Mudiay and Trier makes sense if you need a guard and Dedmon makes the most sense for a big if you need a 3 & D big…
Are there any key dates left for qualifying offers / restricted free agents, that would apply to McLaughlin?
March 1 is usually the deadline for an RFA to accept a QO (assuming the team extends the deadline, which I imagine the Wolves probably did) or to sign an offer sheet. That would probably get pushed to April 9 this year, like the waiver deadline for playoff eligibility did. So no formal deadlines anytime soon, as far as I know.
This is quite a list of guys. It’s hard to believe they are all available. But I guess with the new kids coming in the old or ineffective get weeded out. There’s probably 5 guys total out of the 40 mentioned that’ll get a sniff. Most of these guys are done though LOL, and when a team has an opening they’ll go Young & G League before these scrubs.
But as I said, these weren’t scrubs a year ago LOL.. some of these guys were sixth or seventh men !! Crazy to think how quickly you can fall in this game.
Facts esp for wings and PG’s
(Hypothetically)
Of the 40 guys mentioned, if you made a 12-man team out of them:
*Who’s the starting 5?
*How many games would they win in this covid-shortened, 72 game season?
*What available coach would be your Head Coach?
**optional: Your 12-man roster
**optional, too… Team Name
Starting 5: Napier, Roberson, Carroll, Ilyasova, Dedmon
Bench: IT, Payton, Lin, Korver, Thabo, Tolliver, O’Quinn
Coach: Brett Brown
Wins: 7 (There is no star power and there’s a reason those guys are not signed yet)
Team Name: The Seattle Overlooked
Seattle Overlooked is a joke, but it is still a thousand times better than Seattle Kraken. Seriously, what were they thinking with that one? Just horrible.
Is Kraken even an english word? In Germany it means “octopuses”.
In English it’s a large mythical sea creature akin to an octopus. The word was obviously borrowed from German.
That being said, just because it is a word doesn’t mean it is a good nickname for a sports franchise. Spinach is a word too, but I don’t want to watch the Wichita Spinach play any sport.
IDK but somebody release it.
lin could be a star if it werent for his injuries. dedmon is prob starting to enter his prime but still he could develop into someone like embiid if given a chance.
7 wins?nah they could at least get somewhere between 25 and 30 wins. they got star power in lin, IT, and maybe napier.
lmao @dirkules doesnt know all his hoop facts. tbh dude thinks all da vets out there r all trash just cuz they haven’t been signed even tho its cuz of nba teams relying on their draftees to helpo them improve. dont expect alot from dis years bunch.imagine calling lin, korver, illyasova, and napier and o quinn bad players. bruh most of them are role players while lin might transform into a star if gets redemption.
Starting 5 – Knight, Waiters, Roberson, Gasol, Dedmon
Bench – Thomas, Mudiay, Korver, Hezonja, Crabbe, Shumpert, Labissiere, Ilyasova, Henson, Vonleh (15 man roster this year)
Coach – Rick Pitino
Wins – 15-20 (not a great team obviously, but maybe not the worst in the league)
Team Name – Kentucky Colonels (gotta go old school)
I think Pitino is the obvious choice for an expansion team in Kentucky. This team has a solid, once great, vet presence along with a nice combo of potential on the bench. Most of them are recent lottery picks and even if just one of them can rediscover their potential, you might have something. Might not even be the worst team in the league.
crabbe, bro didnt that guy get traded to da nets and then shipped to wolves and then cut for some reason. blazers made one of the dumbest moves in nba history trading crabbe for andrew nicolson. two years later crabbe is jobless while nicolson is busy enjoying the career of his life in fujian. lol da trade benefited nicolson but not crabbe
knight, waiters, dedmon, henson, thomas, mudiay, crabbe, labissiere, and illysaova may still ahve potential enough to get em to be prob sixth men idk. some of them are still young.
What about the Manimal, Kenneth Faried…he’s looking great in workouts. Illyasova is a great backup for Gasol with Lakers. Waiters is the hidden gem though, instant offense, clutch shooting, playoff experience and only 28yo.
Alot of talented guys unsigned..great insurance for alot of teams if a player goes down
Isaiah!!!! Why not take a shot if you’re celtics? With Kemba injured they seem to be short on guards???
IT is interesting bc apparently he’s “finally” healthy
But I feel like he’s said that the last 3 years
I’d be interested to see if any teams have actually seen him play or if they’re just staying away because of his performances the last few years
1. They don’t want him.
2. They aren’t short on guards.
they got teague. plus thomas is trash on defense thats whats making teams not take him also hes prone to injuries
luc mbah a moute, thabo sefelosha, and andre roberson are good additions for perimeter defense tbh, sure some of them have health issues but still they could be great 3 and D wings when given the chance. bruh they forgot cheick diallo da guy whos still 24 .
if spurs wanna improve their rim protecting issues or add more depth at the 5, they could take a look at skal or henson. and for another wing, they could get moute or sefelosha cuz im prety sure they lack defense. maybe da bucks can get napier if they tend to start augustin and play holiday at the 2 but i doubt that
Two observations
1) PG is a brutal position to play if you’re a role player looking for longevity
2) The league is moving further and further away from guys who can’t shoot but have other skillsets
Would love to see Isiah Thomas go to the Sixers as a back up point guard and settle in there helping lead the second unit along with Dwight Howard and him just torching the Celtics a couple times
I wish the Bucks would have kept Mason and also sign Thomas
Isiah Thomas looked healthy to me. He can help with scoring off the bench. Dedmond as a true center can help a few teams. Warriors should be looking at him. If I was Bucks I’d be looking at Isiah. Always liked Trier someone should give him a chance.
•Napier has an average PER of 14 and slight pluses in on/off, good for a backup PG. Good reports.
•Linn could be counted on for a PER14 but needs a PnR offense.
•Payton avg per 36′: 9-7-4, 3 steals; 438 minutes; but not good 3pt%. Energy from the bench.
•McLaughlin may require several million.
That’s about it for PGs. Meh wings, interesting bigs.
how the heck does haranstein get onto a roster but dedmon who has more skills and athleticism didn’t. its confusing. prob cuz they’re tryna add more shooters or soemthing
idk if all of y’all know that lin got pickupby da warriors g league team by signing an exhibit 10. might make da roster.
Yeah, this post was just a December 15 snapshot — we won’t be updating it to reflect new signings. Our actual FA list will stay up to date though: link to hoopsrumors.com
oop. looks like da deal with lin fell apart cuz no clearance from cba