NBA free agency is officially here. Players were legally allowed to begin negotiating with teams across the league as of Monday evening, which means there will be a flurry of activity this week. But many of the biggest names who could’ve been part of the free-agent pool stayed put without testing the waters. LeBron James, James Harden, Kyrie Irving, Julius Randle, Naz Reid and Fred VanVleet have all agreed to contracts for the 2025-26 season with their incumbent teams.
James opted into his $52.6 million player option for the 2025-26 season with the Lakers. However, the NBA superstar is still going to be the subject of trade speculation after his agent, Rich Paul, told ESPN that LeBron’s camp will “evaluate what’s best for LeBron at this stage in his life and career.” So LeBron could be on the move, just not as a free agent.
With a lot of star players out of the picture, who’s left in free agency? Pacers big man Myles Turner, Warriors wing Jonathan Kuminga and Bulls guard Josh Giddey were the best players remaining on the free agent market as of Monday morning (note: the rankings below are different because they include players who made contract decisions before Monday). Notable veterans like Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook are looking for new homes, while Deandre Ayton and Jordan Clarkson were late additions to free agency after reported contract buyouts.
Monday saw names like Nickeil Alexander-Walker (Hawks) and Dorian Finney-Smith (Rockets) fly off the shelf, and the talent pool is rapidly starting to thin. What does the rest of the offseason hold in store?
CBS Sports will be keeping tabs on the latest moves throughout NBA free agency and posting all the notable player movement below in our NBA free agency tracker.
