NBA Power Rankings: Top 10 Available Free Agents

Thunder Dan Palyo ranks the top 10 remaining unrestricted free agents who can be signed by NBA teams in free agency.

The NBA never sleeps and it has been an interesting summer in the league already. The NBA Draft ushered in a whole new crop of young talent into the league and there are some lofty expectations for guys like Victor Wembanyama, Scoot Henderson, and Brandon Miller.

Summer League in Vegas is winding down and some of the second-year players who already have roster spots locked up have already shut it down along with Wembanyama and Henderson, as their teams would rather not risk injuries to their young franchise cornerstones.

The free agency market opened up two weeks ago and the vast majority of the big-time players have already signed their deals. We've had a few trades, with Bradley Beal being sent to Phoenix as the biggest one so far as we wait to see what happens with superstars James Harden and Damian Lillard next. In the meantime, there are still a handful of good NBA players who remain unsigned for the upcoming season. For the sake of this article, I am just ranking the unrestricted free agents who are able to sign with any team. Each of these guys could be a difference-maker for someone this season and is good enough to crack a rotation.

Top Ten Available NBA Unrestricted Free Agents

Honorable Mentions: Bismack Biyombo, Terence Davis, JaMychal Green, Blake Griffin, Kendrick Nunn, Terrence Ross

Every one of these guys should end up on a team by the time the season rolls around, but you'll notice a theme here with most of the players above being past their prime veterans who are on the wrong side of 30 years old. I definitely took youth into account here, so you will only find one guy in my top ten over 30 years old.

#10. Duane Washington Jr. - PG/SG

You probably won't find Washington on many other lists, but I am pretty intrigued by the 23-year-old undrafted guard out of Ohio State. He got a lot of run in his rookie year in Indiana for a tanking Pacers team that ran out of guards halfway through the year and ended up averaging nearly 10 points per game in 20 minutes per contest.

Last year, he played in 31 games for the Phoenix Suns and again stepped up when Phoenix had Chris Paul and Devin Booker both on the shelf at the same time. He's not a very efficient shooter, but he raised his FG% from 36% to 40.5% last year while also improving his FT% and 3P%.

He's a nice end-of-the-bench guy who can come in a give you a spark on offense in short spurts. He's still really young and could end up making himself into a rotational player at some point.

#9. Jaylen Nowell, PG/SG

Speaking of combo guards who just get buckets, Nowell is coming off a productive year as a sixth-man for Minnesota in which he averaged nearly 11 points a game. He can attack the rim aggressively even with only moderate size for a guard and finish in the paint.

JAYLEN. NOWELL. POSTER.

😱😱😱😱😱 pic.twitter.com/zTkaaoMWBh

— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) October 27, 2022

He's not a great outside shooter, but he's just 24 years old and is a better bench scorer than a lot of teams have on their benches right now. He's not much of a fantasy player, being limited to just points and solid FG%, but he could be a nice fit for a number of teams who need some scoring pop off the bench.

#8. Hamidou Diallo, SG/SF

It's hard to believe that Diallo has five years of NBA experience already as the 6'5" wing is just about to turn 25 years old. He couldn't catch on in Oklahoma City or Detroit, which is a little concerning since those are two bad, rebuilding franchises. But he's clearly got NBA-level talent and incredible athleticism. And Fantasy Basketball players have been drooling over his potential for a while now, as his per-36 averages consist of 16.6 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 1.6 steals per game.

He really can't shoot threes, which has been one of his biggest offensive weaknesses, but he rebounds incredibly well for his size and gets after it on defense. He's far too talented and young to be unemployed for long, but it's also hard to see him become an impactful NBA player until he can evolve his game and be more consistent on offense.

#7. T.J. Warren, SF/PF

The days of "T.J. Buckets" seem long ago. In the bubble, Warren was incredible for the Pacers and finished averaging nearly 20 points a game. But he played just four games in 2020-2021 before suffering a season-ending injury and missed the entire 2021-2022 season.

wait a minute TJ Warren. pic.twitter.com/KcAxyX27sG

— Steve Jones Jr. (@stevejones20) December 10, 2022

He resurfaced with Brooklyn last season and was a shot-heavy player off the bench for them, averaging 9.5 points in just 19 minutes before heading to Phoenix in the Kevin Durant deal. However, he barely cracked the rotation in Phoenix, where he started his career and played for five seasons.

He's still just 29 years old and is a crafty player who can make midrange shots and get to the foul line. There's a role for him out there somewhere and maybe he will be a little healthier this season another year removed from injury. But it's hard to see him contributing much more than 15-20 minutes off the bench as a volume shooter.

#6. Will Barton, SG/SF

"Will the Thrill" was one of my favorite players to watch during his peak years in Denver. He never averaged more than 15 points per game, but he often acted as Denver's sixth man and provided some strong leadership to their bench units with his ability to score and pass.

He's entering his age 33 season and last year was the first time we saw his numbers really fall off. He split the season between Washington and Toronto but finished with just 6.8 points per game in 17.7 minutes.

Will Barton with the nice turnaround fadeaway bucket 💦

Watch the @MiamiProLeague_ in the NBA App!

➡️: https://t.co/yWR1xXARw3 pic.twitter.com/myucBmSYVi

— NBA (@NBA) July 13, 2023

I have a hard time believing he just totally lost his game this early in his career. I think Barton was not all that healthy for one and that he really wasn't given a chance on either team to have a meaningful role. He's not going to shoot a great percentage from the field, but I think he can still get buckets if someone is willing to give him another shot. It looks like he's openly auditioning for teams by playing in the Miami Pro League, too.

#5. Justise Winslow, SF/PF

A former top-10 pick back in 2015 out of Duke, Winslow has had a fairly successful career as a role player. But since leaving Miami in 2020, he's now bounced around to three other teams and battled some injuries. In fact, he hasn't played more than 48 games in the last five years.

Winslow is an unconventional NBA player. His sturdy frame and athleticism allow him at only 6'6" to play everywhere from point guard to power forward. He just has never developed an offensive game as his career FG% is just 41.2% and he's averaged just 8.2 points per game.

What he can do is rebound, pass, and defend - three things that are often undervalued at times in today's NBA. He's 26 years old is already a seasoned veteran with plenty of experience. If he can stay healthy, perhaps he can provide some leadership and quality bench minutes as a "glue guy" to a team with playoff hopes.

#4. Anthony Lamb, SF/PF

Lamb has played with three different teams in three NBA seasons. Last year he carved out a pretty consistent bench role with the Warriors and finished the season averaging 6.7 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 1.2 threes. He shot 47% from the floor and played some solid defense on the wing, too. He's probably best suited to play the three or a small-ball four at 6'6" and 227 pounds.

The Warriors didn't offer him a contract and so he's now out there for the taking. I really like his skill set and versatility. He might be one of the sneakiest adds available for a team that needs some depth on the wing.

#3. Willy Hernangomez - C

The older brother of "Bo Cruz" is a 7-year veteran who has been productive as a backup mainly in Charlotte and New Orleans. He's never topped more than 18 minutes a game in any season, but he has some of the best career per-36 numbers you'll see from a backup (17.6 points, 13.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.9 steals + blocks).

Perhaps the days of conventional big men who don't shoot from outside are over, but Hernangomez has shown he can produce at such an incredibly efficient rate that he still belongs on an NBA roster. Even if he's just an insurance policy as a third-team center, you could do a lot worse than having Willy as one of your backup bigs.

#2. Kelly Oubre Jr. - SG/SF

Now it's time to talk about our cover athlete, Mr. Kelly Oubre Jr. While he's often been regarded as one of the most physically attractive NBA players in the league by the ladies, it feels like he's been largely underwhelming in his career for the amount of talent that he brings to the table.

Don't get me wrong, the guy averaged 20 points per game last year, a career-high, but he needed 17 shots per game to get there and shot the ball at just a 43% clip. After three and half years in Washington, he's now bounced around to three other teams in four years trying to find a good fit.

He did some of his best work off the bench for Charlotte but was forced into starting and playing big minutes for them for much of this season with injuries to LaMelo Ball and Terry Rozier. I think he's best suited as a gunner off the bench as his game is anything but efficient. But when he's hot, he can pile up points in a hurry and is the most natural scorer on this list.

#1. Christian Wood - PF/C

At the top of our list is the incredibly gifted scoring big man, Christian Wood. He's entering his age 28 season and already looking for a new home after just one year in Dallas.

When Christian Wood hit the MJ shrug in his debut I thought the league was cooked https://t.co/NzlXJL3qpS pic.twitter.com/cIqBIVMcqM

— MavsMuse (@MavsMuse) June 10, 2023

Many of us in the fantasy basketball community were clamoring for Wood to get a chance to start somewhere back in 2019 as he had flashed some really impressive per-36 numbers as a reserve in Philadelphia, Charlotte, Detroit, and New Orleans. When he finally got his chance to be an everyday starter in Houston, however, he put up some good numbers on some really bad teams. Last year he started out on fire and came off the bench for Dallas, but he eventually slowed down and now it looks like Dallas wants to go in a different direction.

The knock on Wood is his lack of defense and that he's put up a lot of counting stats for bad teams (or against backups) for many years. I don't think many teams want to start him at center as he's a bit too thin to bang with the big boys at only 214 pounds. He's best suited as a true power forward and can stretch the court from the 4-spot. He's been rumored to a number of different contenders, but there have been no firm reports of any teams closing in on a deal yet. I am sure he will get one, though, and that he's going to have a chance to play meaningful minutes for whoever signs him.