Ranking the available NBA free agent shooting guards in 2024

The point guard market is relatively thin in NBA Free Agency this offseason but there are plenty of interesting options at shooting guard. Whether your favorite team is looking for a floor-spacing specialist, a microwave scorer, a young player with untapped potential, a 3-and-D wing with championship experience or a legitimate star still near the height of the powers, they'll find someone to pursue.

Here are the top free agent shooting guard options for this offseason, organized into tiers but how much they have to offer a competitive team.

NBA free agent shooting guard rankings:

Fully washed

14. Evan Fournier, unrestricted free agent

Fairly or unfairly, Fournier has mostly been defined by his massive contract over the past few years and its potential to facilitate a star trade for the Knicks. But now that it's behind him he still might have a hard time finding a new home — he's a shooting specialist who has shot 34.9 percent from the field and 27.9 percent from beyond the arc over the past two seasons.

Specialists

13. Justin Holiday, unrestricted free agent

Holiday is the definition of a journeyman, a 35-year-old wing who has already played for nine different teams. But he's a career 36.5 percent 3-point shooter and hit 40.4 percent last season for the Nuggets. He's not a plus defender but can be passable and has good size at 6-foot-6.

12. Eric Gordon, player option

It's not clear that Gordon would get more than a minimum-ish deal on the open market so he may decide to pick up his player option and stay with the Suns. He's now 35 and most of his juice as a secondary-creator is gone but he can still hit 3s.

Backup options

11. Lonnie Walker, unrestricted free agent

Walker hasn't been able to find his forever home yet but was legitimately solid with the Nets on a one-year deal last season. His defense is nothing to write home about but he shot 38.4 percent from beyond the arc and averaged 20.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.1 steals per 36 minutes. With a chance to play regular minutes, he might be ready to break through.

10. Alec Burks, unrestricted free agent

Burks struggled mightily in his return to New York and couldn't carve out a meaningful role in the rotation. But he should still be counted on as a solid 3-point shooter who can offer some secondary creation against second-units.

9. Gary Harris, unrestricted free agent

Injuries have derailed Harris' career a bit and he probably won't get anywhere near the $10 million salary from the contract that just finished. But he's a solid 3-and-D option in the backcourt, whose defensive utility is limited more to guards because he's only 6-foot-4.

8. Luke Kennard

Kennard has also struggled to stay healthy but when he's on the court he could be a reasonable facsimile of Burks. He's an excellent 3-point shooter who provides some secondary creation chops, with the added benefit of being very comfortable working off-ball and shooting off movement.

7. Malik Beasley

Beasley is not in the specialist tier mostly because he started 77 games for the Bucks last season. But his value is almost completely tied to his 3-point shooting. He's not very efficient as a creator and not a notable defender. But he made 41.3 percent of over six 3-point attempts per game last season and that should be worthy of some reasonable minutes off someone's bench.

6. De'Anthony Melton

We've classified Melton as a shooting guard here but he's really a positionless backcourt player. He's a long, incredibly disruptive defender who can handle wings or guards. He can run a second-unit offense to some degree but he's also comfortable off the ball and he's improved his 3-point shooting to the point of being respectable. In an ideal world he's your first or second guard off the bench, transforming his role based on the skills of the guard he's playing with.

Starters

5. Gary Trent Jr., unrestricted free agent

At 25 and having been mostly a starter for the past three seasons, Trent Jr. may not have a ton of upside. But what you're getting is pretty darn solid — a 6-foot-5 guard who can drill open 3s, attack a bit off the dribble and at least not embarrass himself on defense. You don't want to give him too much responsibility but he's a nice complementary piece.

4. Klay Thompson, unrestricted free agent

The Klay Thompson conversation has jumped the shark a bit. He was a weak link in the Warriors' starting lineup but some of that was an unlikely cold streak at the beginning of the season, some of it was the lofty expectations from previous success, and some of it was that the other links in the chain were an oft-suspended Draymond Green, Andrew Wiggins bottoming out and either Jonathan Kuminga or a pair of rookies cycling through.

All that is to say, wherever he lands next year, Thompson is still a knockdown 3-point shooter with tremendous gravity and a smart player who knows how to help organize an offense, even if he's not the defender or complementary creator he used to be.

3. Buddy Hield, unrestricted free agent

Even in a free agent class with Klay Thompson, Hield is arguably the biggest prize for teams in need of shooting. He'll cost a lot less and even though he didn't really make his mark after being traded to the 76ers, even saw what he could do when he was free to let it fly in the Pacers offense.

2. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, player option

Caldwell-Pope has a player option and even if he exercises it, the Nuggets will likely work hard to keep him. For a contender looking for a backcourt upgrade, he's the best non-star option on the market — a strong 3-and-D wing with championship experience who knows exactly how to play his role.

Stars

1. Paul George, player option

George is looking for a max extension but it's possible he gets it through the trade market. It sounds like he isn't getting the deal he wants from the Clippers and Brian Windhorst has reported he could opt into his final year and then force a trade to a team like the 76ers or Knicks willing to offer him that money. Injuries are a concern but he's performed at an All-NBA level and is still one of the better two-way wings in the league, capable of taking a primary defensive matchup and single-handedly carrying an offense for large stretches. He's also comfortable playing in a complementary role as he's done the past few years with Kawhi Leonard which makes him even more appealing to teams with established stars.