7 NBA stars who could re-sign with their current team before free agency officially opens

What looked like it could be an explosive offseason has mellowed out as the playoffs rolled on. There are a slew of stars who could be available — either as free agents or by turning down extensions from their current teams and hitting the trade market.

Things officially kick off June 30 but a loophole in the rules allows teams to negotiate with their own free agents as soon as the offseason begins, which happened last night when the Boston Celtics finished off the Dallas Mavericks. That means, the Lakers can be talking with LeBron James today and hammering out the details on a theoretical contract that would be signed on July 6 when the moratorium period ends.

That all leaves the potential for a relatively quiet offseason as some of the big names could re-sign with the current teams over the next two weeks. Here are a few of those stars who could take themselves off the market early.

1. Donovan Mitchell

All indications are that Donovan Mitchell will sign an extension with the Cavaliers although there have been a few complicating factors. It was initially reported, right after the Cavs were eliminated from the playoffs, that re-signing Mitchell meant they would have to trade Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen for implied reasons of on-court chemistry. The Cavs have reportedly shut down trade offers on both players but the current rumors are that Mitchell wants both players to stay. It's not clear if that means Garland, not Mitchell, was the one who didn't love their fit together but it certainly seems like the Cavs are getting the band back together.

2. Paul George

The Clippers and Paul George are still reportedly in nowhere close to a contract extension. The 76ers are reportedly likely to pursue George and can offer him both the money and championship possibilities he's looking for. But the Clippers get this extra time to talk things through with George, look for a middle ground and convince him that Los Angeles is where he wants to be. In the end, re-signing George is a massive commitment and once the Clippers decided they were in quibbling over $8-10 million in annual salary is somewhat beside the point. It seems like there's a good chance they find common ground before anyone else can get involved.

3. OG Anunoby

All indications are that Anunoby will re-sign with the Knicks and that New York is willing to go big with his contract. Michael Scotto reported this week that there is some distance between the $35 million per year that may be his salary floor and what Anunoby would like to be paid. It's possible that Anunoby drags things out into free agency proper and maybe uses interest from the 76ers to leverage a higher salary from the Knicks. But both sides may just prefer to get it over and done with before then and get on with their summers.

4. LeBron James

LeBron James is still a free agent, in theory, but almost no one seriously thinks he's going to leave the Lakers. Los Angeles has a week before the draft to find their next head coach, momentum seems to be building for them to take Bronny James in the NBA Draft and once that's locked in they'll have three days to finalize things with LeBron before he hits the open market. For the Lakers, there's every incentive to get things done as quickly as possible so they can get to free agency proper with a clear picture of what's ahead.

5. James Harden

There's a chance Harden gets squeezed out by the extension Kawhi Leonard just signed and the potential extension looming for Paul George. He's also someone who could, in theory, try to stretch things out into actual free agency and see if he can leverage an offer from another team to get exactly what he wants from the Clippers. But he may find that there aren't really any big offers waiting for him on the open market and taking whatever he can get from the Clippers and hopping on their job security is the best play.

6. Pascal Siakam

Siakam is an unrestricted free agent but the almost total lack of rumors about him is a strong indicator that everyone thinks he's going back to Indiana. He's already talked about how much he appreciated the support he received from Indiana fans after a mid-season trade from the Raptors and the only team he'd ever played for. The Pacers are willing to pay him and he has a starring role on an Eastern Conference Finalist with one of the most fun young point guards in the league. The only question seems to be how quickly they'll get this one done.

7. Klay Thompson

Of all the players here, Klay Thompson seems like the least likely to sign a deal with his current team before free agency officially opens. He and the Warriors have seemingly been far apart in negotiations for a long time. He's coming off a big down year and they have precious few options for reassembling a contender around Steph Curry before he ages completely out of his prime. He will almost certainly get some decent offers from teams like the Magic and those offers could in theory give him leverage with the Warriors. He also recently unfollowed the team across social media and it's possible that none of this is a negotiating ploy and he really just wants to move on.

But even if the Warriors let him walk, they aren't going to have the cap space to do anything significant. Their financial incentives don't really change with the timeline and if they have decided they want him back, they might as well get it done sooner rather than later. This one may ultimately be less about money, leverage and timing and more about where Klay wants to play next year.