Predicting Landing Spots for the Top 10 NBA Free Agents Still Available

It’s been anything but a dull month of August in the never-ending NBA news cycle. For some players, however, it has been rather slow.

While the chaos continues in corner offices at team headquarters in Los Angeles, a handful of notable players are still waiting to officially find out which laundry they’ll be wearing this season. A few free agents recently have found a home—Bradley Beal signed a two-year deal with the Clippers and Russell Westbrook surprised everybody by opting to retire.

But for everyone else yet to put pen to paper this offseason, we outlined our predictions for how we think it’ll all play out:

Peyton Watson, RFA, Nuggets

2025–26 stats: 14.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, 41.1% from three

Watson is one of the most intriguing names still available with a wide range of outcomes still in play. With Watson coming off a breakout season in which he averaged a career-high 14.6 points per game and started 40 contests for Denver, the Nuggets face a tough decision. They are strapped financially as the only team in the second apron. Denver needs to decide if it is bringing Watson back—on perhaps a qualifying offer (one year, $6.5 million)—or working out a sign-and-trade with a team in need of a defensive-minded wing who has taken great strides offensively over the last year.

The Nuggets’ reported offer of four years and $70 million is clearly not enough to keep Watson in the Mile High City for the long-term. He wants more. Denver doesn’t have more to give.

Prediction: Lands in Cleveland via a sign-and-trade for four years, $92 million

Jalen Duren, RFA, Pistons

2025–26 stats: 19.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, 0.8 blocks

Duren is locked in protracted contract negotiations with the Pistons after a breakout season in which he earned third-team All-NBA honors and suffered a complete collapse in the playoffs, which played a big role in Detroit’s second-round exit. The push-pull is obvious: Duren wants a fat new contract to reflect his status as a 23-year-old All-NBA center, while the Pistons are (understandably) reluctant to give him such a deal after the postseason exposed fundamental flaws in his game that will take time to address—if they can be addressed at all.

At one point there were rumors of Duren’s desire for a sign-and-trade, but by this stage in the offseason that’s a supremely unlikely possibility. He’ll either have to take a cheaper deal than he’s been aiming for this summer or play out the coming season on a qualifying offer to hit unrestricted free agency in 2027. Either way, Duren should be Cade Cunningham’s favorite pick-and-roll partner next year; the question is only the price point at which he’ll be suiting up.

Prediction: Re-sign with Pistons on four-year, $140 million deal

Bennedict Mathurin, RFA, Clippers

2025–26 stats: 17.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, 43% from the floor

The Clippers landed Mathurin from the Pacers as part of the Ivica Zubac trade, and his 26 games in Los Angeles were somewhat underwhelming. In theory Mathurin is a sparkplug wing scorer off the bench with enough athleticism to create his own shot and guard at a reasonable level. In reality he has yet to show the ability to score efficiently (he averaged a career-high in points per game last year on a career-low shooting percentage) and the defensive impact remains just that: theoretical.

Mathurin did prove capable of holding his own during Indiana’s NBA Finals run in 2025, and it’s not unreasonable to believe in his potential as a 24-year-old who at least looks the part of a modern perimeter scorer. But Mathurin remains unsigned after nearly two months of being a restricted free agent. There’s a chance the uncertainty surrounding the Kawhi Leonard trade is playing a role, but clearly there’s some trouble nailing down how much his combination of production and potential is worth. As such Mathurin is a strong candidate to take a qualifying offer, play a full season in L.A. and prove exactly what teams will be bidding for in unrestricted free agency next summer.

Prediction: Re-signs with Clippers for $8.8 million qualifying offer

Jonathan Kuminga, unrestricted free agent

2025–26 stats: 12.2 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists

Kuminga finally got away from the Warriors last season, landing in Atlanta where he came off the bench for a Hawks team that wound up taking two games from the Knicks in the first round before getting sent home. That playoff series showed off much of what makes Kuminga so tantalizing for NBA front offices—he used his elite athleticism and frame to play quality defense on the wing while bullying smaller defenders in the paint on the offensive end. The former lottery pick was clearly hoping it was enough of an audition to create a payday in free agency after years of straining against the role Steve Kerr wanted him in with Golden State.

So far, not so good there. While there have been rumors of interest among several big-name teams like the Lakers and Cavaliers, Kuminga’s reported salary demands of roughly $20 million annually are too rich for anybody’s liking. Further complicating matters is that the teams linked to Kuminga have no cap space, forcing them to engage in sign-and-trade talks with Atlanta, which will need assets in exchange for facilitating such a deal even if Kuminga isn’t an organizational priority.

Something has to give here. Either an interested team will agree to offer a few minor assets to the Hawks to get a sign-and-trade done. Or Kuminga will have to move off his staked price point to sign a cheap deal with anybody who will have him in hopes of cashing in down the line. No matter what he does, it should be for a new team after Atlanta added several wing players in free agency.

Prediction: Lakers sign-and-trade for Kuminga for one year, $10 million

James Harden, unrestricted free agent

2025–26 stats: 20.5 points, 7.7 assists, 4.8 rebounds

As has been the case for weeks, all signs point to Harden signing a new contract with Cleveland. He declined a $42.3 million player option for 2026-27 back in June to give the Cavs more flexibility this offseason, a wish list that included luring LeBron James back home.

While that didn’t happen, a reunion with Harden is a matter of when, not if. The Stein Line reported earlier this week that a new deal with the Cavs should be across the finish line “soon-ish.”

Prediction: Re-signs with Cavaliers for three years, $108 million

Kevin Love, unrestricted free agent

2025–26 stats: 6.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, 37.3% from three

Love spent his 18th NBA season as everybody’s favorite veteran bench presence for the young Jazz. His playing time was limited and his production even more so—not at all a surprise for a 38-year-old forward with this many miles on his legs. Love seems like a great hang (especially on the golf course) but his days of being an effective NBA player are well in the rearview mirror.

Of course, his complete willingness to embrace being an end-of-bench locker room voice in Utah means he can still offer something of value to interested teams. Chemistry is a key component of professional sports. The 76ers seem like an obvious fit in that regard but despite Love’s interest, Philadelphia would have to clear a roster spot to bring him aboard. Nevertheless, Love should wind up on a roster for next season if he wants. Every team can use a good locker room guy.

Prediction: Signs with Heat for veteran minimum

DeMar DeRozan, unrestricted free agent

2025–26 season stats: 18.4 points, 2.9 rebounds, 4.1 assists

DeRozan quietly got buckets for a very bad Kings team last season, starting 77 games while shooting 53% from inside the arc. Not bad for a veteran forward who just turned 37. He remains a midrange artist, the likes of which are few and far between in the NBA nowadays; let him walk down a defender for a turnaround J at the free throw line and it’s nothing but net, every time. DeRozan was also something of a late entry to the free agency pool; he was waived by Sacramento on July 6 after the franchise couldn’t find a trade partner for his talents.

DeRozan is clearly good enough to still play NBA minutes, even if he doesn’t offer much beyond self-created scoring opportunities at this stage in his career. Where he lands is more about him than interested teams. Does he want to jump on board of one of the newly formed superteams in the East? Does he want to make a bit more than the veteran minimum and dominate the ball for 20 minutes per game off the bench for a bad team? Does he want to ride out the last year of his career where it all began in Toronto? All three seem like realistic opportunities at this juncture. It’s just about what he wants.

Prediction: Signs with Raptors for veteran minimum deal

Cam Thomas, unrestricted free agent

2025–26 season stats: 13.5 points, 2.6 assists, 31% from three

Just a couple of years ago, Thomas looked like a key building block in Brooklyn. He averaged a career-high 24 points per game to start the 2024-25 season before going down with hamstring injuries that just wouldn’t go away. Those hamstring issues lingered into last year, and he was waived by Brooklyn after the trade deadline and wound up in Milwaukee, only to be cut in March after falling out of favor with the Bucks’ coaching staff in 18 games.

Thomas can score, sure. He’s a bucket. But he’s failed to prove he can do much else at a high level to help a team win games, which is why he’s been without a home in the NBA for five months … and counting.

Prediction: Goes unsigned and eventually plays overseas

Bruce Brown, unrestricted free agent

2025–26 season stats: 7.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists

Brown rejoining the Nuggets last offseason after several years away was celebrated as one of the better fits from the 2025 free agency period (including by this very writer). But he didn’t prove particularly impactful. The veteran shot well from three on limited attempts but lacked the first step required to play the point forward role that helped win Denver a title back in 2023. Brown’s durability can be commended—he played in all 82 games with a nightly average of 24.4 minutes per contest. But he didn’t play a huge role in winning games, nor was he particularly good when the Nuggets were upset in the first round of the playoffs by a banged-up Timberwolves roster.

Brown just turned 30 so there’s a chance last year was just a down campaign and he can still provide a bit of pop off the bench for the right team. He rarely turns the ball over and can hit open shots; that kind of player has use, especially for top-heavy teams without much money to fill out the bench. Just not for the dollars that were getting thrown around earlier this summer. Brown should end up landing somewhere by training camp. Perhaps even back in Denver once the above Watson situation is resolved.

Prediction: Signs with Nuggets for veteran minimum

Brandon Williams, unrestricted free agent

2025–26 stats: 13.0 points, 2.9 rebounds, 3.9 assists per game

Williams unexpectedly burst onto the NBA scene last year for a Mavericks team in desperate need of ballhandling. The former Arizona Wildcat bounced around the G League for a few years after going undrafted in 2021 before hanging on in Dallas as a rotational backcourt player. Last season he got his biggest opportunity yet and took full advantage, playing 66 games for the Mavs as a pretty solid off-the-bench bucket-getter who averaged fewer than two turnovers per game.

Two factors worked against Williams this free agency period, though: he’s a total non-threat from three and he’s a late bloomer at 26 years old. That combination is why he remains unsigned despite scoring points at a decent clip in what we’d call a “suboptimal” environment for the lottery-bound Mavs last year. But Williams was linked to the Warriors’ final open roster spot recently, so there’s hope yet his talent is recognized by an NBA team.

Prediction: Signs with Warriors for two years, $6 million

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