Ranking the 3 best non-LeBron free agents still on the board, and where they should sign

As the NBA summer trots on, LeBron James' decision still lingers. The league schedule will not be finalized until LeBron has a new home. LeBron is even holding up players like Trey Murphy III, who apparently will be the center of trade discussions when this saga ends.

LeBron is the premier name on the market, but there are other toys available that will make a kid's Christmas. Some are future Hall of Famers who are past it, while others are two-way gamebreakers looking to prove last season was not a fluke. These players are not LeBron, but they are worthy of the free agent spotlight as well.

1. James Harden (Unrestricted Free Agent)

It seems like James Harden's free agency availability is directly tied to LeBron's decision. Per The Athletic's Joe Vardon, Harden turned down his $42.3M player option to "give the Cavs the flexibility they need to make a move like adding LeBron for next season."

Whether LeBron signs with the Cavs or not is in the air, but it appears Harden will resign with Cleveland eventually. His and Donovan Mitchell's fit alongside LeBron has been questioned, and rightfully so.

All three are top-tier playmakers who thrive with the ball in their hands. LeBron is leaving a situation similar to that in Los Angeles. Would he willingly sign up for the "play off the ball and sometimes be a corner stander" role again? Time will tell, but Harden is the clear-cut best free agent available.

Harden is not one of the Hall of Famers who is past it. He is not 2018 iso king Harden, but he's a top-of-the-league connector and is still efficient due to his volume from 3 and accuracy at the line. Harden was borderline All-NBA last year. He's still eliteish.

2. Jalen Duren (Restricted Free Agent)

When both sides have a point, you just sit back and wait on the winning argument like a juror. Jalen Duren absolutely makes sense when he (or his representatives) say, "Hey, I made All-NBA last year at age 22 and want close to my maximum potential earnings."

The Detroit Pistons are absolutely correct to say, "Hey, for two straight years, your play has cratered in the postseason. Giving you 30 percent of the cap with your playoff history is not good business."

Both sides have validity. Marc Stein says modest progress has been made in negotiations, but this is an ugly restricted free agency situation. The Pistons will likely match whatever offer Duren gets, but teams who would've needed Duren's services already went in a different direction.

Detroit continues to shoot down all sign-and-trade offers, suggesting that Duren will be a Piston next year. Duren could take the $9M qualifying offer and become an unrestricted free agent in 2027. Some label that a risky move, but only a catastrophic event would stop teams around the league from offering the then-23-year-old money Detroit has not been willing to.

3. Peyton Watson (Restricted Free Agent)

The Denver Nuggets are making a "no duh" decision not to lose Peyton Watson for nothing. Last year was Watson's coming-out party. Although Watson was unable to suit of for the postseason (hamstring), he displayed what's inside him when Nikola Jokić was sidelined for a bit.

In 15 games with Joker out, Watson blitzed teams, putting up 22 points while shooting a mouth-watering 44 percent from deep on five attempts. A wing who can get to the basket, shoot off the catch, defend the other team's best player, and rack up meaningful stocks? Yeah, every coach in the league would sign up for that.

The Nuggets know this, but their cap situation hinders resigning Watson straight up. Watson's play and archetype suggest he could make $25-30M on the open market. The Nuggets would be in cap hell if they committed that money to him today. No one wants to live in the second apron.

If the Nuggets ultimately believe retaining their swing man is too costly, a young, fast-paced team should take a swing on Watson. The Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Clippers, and Atlanta Hawks have all shown interest in the UCLA product. Returning to his college roots and playing alongside a floor general like Darius Garland could help Watson pop even more. But if I were a betting man, the Nuggets will find a way to retain Watson and remain on Jokić's good side.  

Best of the rest

The Clippers have too much on their minds at the moment. Will Kawhi be on the roster opening nights? What about Brandon Ingram? Their interest in Watson. It's like a ping pong ball over there. Everything is all over the place. And LA still needs to figure out its Bennedict Mathurin business.

Mathurin may play on his $8.8 million qualifying offer. Teams who need a scoring wing like him do not have the money to offer him long-term stability. Mathurin is a proven sparkplug who is a fearless driver. One would think he'd be a better defender with his physical makeup. He'd have a chance to shake that narrative if he re-ups with the Clippers.

The Detroit Pistons are eyeing DeMar DeRozan. They could use his shot creation alongside Cade Cunningham. Neither guy is a big-time 3-point shooter, and DeRozan is an eh fit in Detroit's defensive ecosystem.

That said, DeRozan is no longer a leading scorer on a contending team, but he can still put the ball in the hole (18.4 points per game on a 59 true shooting percentage). Detroit may ultimately pass on the Compton Native due to his fit with their star, but the Miami Heat and Toronto Raptors (sentimental reasons) could have his services on their roster come September.

Russell Westbrook is certainly a future Hall of Famer. His probability should be 100 percent here. 2026 Westbrook is far different than the mean-mugging baby-rocking Westbrook who set the league on fire during his legendary 2017 MVP run. Westbrook has moved around a bit in the late stage of his career, but he can still bring a certain toughness to a locker room.

If he knows he will not play much moving forward, the idea of an Oklahoma City Thunder reunion is intriguing. One could argue Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs punked OKC in the Western Conference Finals. Having their franchise GOAT on the sideline could add some emotional juice to this roster.

I cannot imagine Westbrook lets a play like this against his teammate and go without an answer. This is not advocating for violent retaliation, but a simple "aye man, what are you doing?" would have sufficed. This proposed reunion only works if Westbrook is in a post-big-three Heat Udonis Haslem role. It would be a moving story if the Thunder had Westbrook's buy-in.

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