Landing Spots for NBA's Best Available Free Agents

After LeBron James made his decision, a flurry of other free-agency business was expected to follow. So far, it has not. And a handful of impactful names remain unsigned as a result.

Rather than wait in suspense for another Shams Charania Twitter notification to hit, let's pull a Thanos and do it ourselves. 

By this, of course, we mean map out the best landing spots for the top remaining free agents.

Proposed destinations will take into account team fit, cap sheets and roster spots. Many of these names will stay put, but that's no reason to cut off our best-fit imaginations at the knees.

To that end, we'll build a top-three big board for each free agent. That allows us to juggle the likelihood of players rejoining incumbent squads while exploring other interesting fits.

DeMar DeRozan (Unrestricted)

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1. Boston Celtics
2. Miami Heat
3. Utah Jazz

DeMar DeRozan remains divisive as ever. It isn't only the lack of the three-point touch. It is the time he needs to spend on the ball overall.

Still, he just averaged over 18 points and four assists while banging in 52.7 percent of his twos on an incoherently built Sacramento Kings squad. Adding his low-turnover ball control and scoring at the minimum should interest teams light on either (or both).

The Celtics have the spacing to cover up for DeRozan's finite range and could use another secondary table-setter other than Jayson Tatum, Payton Pritchard and Derrick White. Something has gone wrong if Mike Conley is a factor, and Boston can't count on Paul George to play in every game.

Adding DeRozan would put the Celtics back in the tax. That's a no-go as they look to reset the repeater clock. But they can duck back beneath it with a smaller trade at the deadline or ahead of the 2027 draft.

DeRozan's fit in Miami is strained. A prospective lineup of him, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bam Adebayo, Andrew Wiggins and Davion Mitchell lacks high-volume three-point punch. But the Heat's lack of perimeter initiators takes priority, and head coach Erik Spoelstra is creative enough to make the half-court offense work.

With the Jazz exiting their tanking era, DeRozan can bring on-ball stability off the bench. Keyonte George is good enough to run the show, but a lot is on the shoulders of Isaiah Collier and Darryn Peterson after him.

Given how much spacing Utah has in the frontcourt with Lauri Markkanen, Jaren Jackson Jr., Ace Bailey and Kyle Filipowski, it can afford to field a shaky shooter on the wing. It must open a roster spot to accommodate DeRozan but has more than one player under contract who can be considered expendable.

Jalen Duren (Restricted)

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1. Detroit Pistons
2. New Orleans Pelicans
3. Los Angeles Clippers

Coming off a season in which he earned All-NBA Third Team honors, Jalen Duren is eligible to sign a five-year deal with the Pistons worth up to $287 million. After a regrettable postseason performance from its big man, Detroit doesn't even seem willing to pony up a 25 percent max that clocks in at $239.2 million over five years or $184.8 million over four years.

With cap space around the league having dried up, the standoff has left Duren to consider signing his qualifying offer and entering unrestricted free agency next summer, according to The Stein Line's Marc Stein. Regardless of how he returns to the Pistons, they remain his best fit.

Detroit has beefed up its spacing with the acquisitions of Isaiah Joe and John Collins. That will give Duren more room to operate alongside and independent of Cade Cunningham.

Compelling sign-and-trade cases could be made for the New Orleans Pelicans, Los Angeles Clippers and Chicago Bulls. But none of them is at the stage of their competitive life cycle in which they should be forking over monster packages for a non-superstar.

New Orleans is the most interesting of the trio. It could build packages around Trey Murphy III and some combination of Yves Missi, Herb Jones, Dejounte Murray and Saddiq Bey while potentially coaxing more than just Duren out of the Pistons.

The Clippers would be a nice landing spot no matter what happens with the Kawhi Leonard trade. They need a center of the future, and drafting Keaton Wagler could increase the plausibility of a Darius Garland-for-Duren framework.

Draymond Green (Unrestricted)

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1. Golden State Warriors
2. San Antonio Spurs
3. New York Knicks

Draymond Green is totally going back to the Golden State Warriors. He declined his player option to increase the team's flexibility as it recruited LeBron James, not so that he could leave.

Though seeing him in another jersey would feel icky, this isn't only an emotional pick. Injuries to Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody have left the Warriors terribly light on wing defenders. Everything Green does on the backline and as a communicator is more important to them than it was this time last year.

But!

In the event Green wants a more realistic chance at another ring, the Spurs could certainly use someone who augments an already-terrifying defense. His shooting warts aren't much of an issue with Victor Wembanyama spacing the floor. And unlike San Antonio's other 4s, Green can slide up to the 5 when Wemby sits if head coach Mitch Johnson wants to break away from Luke Kornet arrangements.

If Green is willing to take a minimum contract and come off the bench, the Knicks need a more compelling backup 5 than Andre Drummond. He could also play alongside Karl-Anthony Towns in certain lineups. And while no longer being a crunch-time staple may not sit well with him, head coach Mike Brown has the relationship with him to navigate any potential awkwardness.

James Harden (Unrestricted)

Jason Miller/Getty Images

1. Cleveland Cavaliers
2. Miami Heat
3. Detroit Pistons

James Harden's importance to the Cleveland Cavaliers has only skyrocketed after they missed out on LeBron James. Without him, their primary playmakers become Donovan Mitchell, Dennis Schröder, Max Strus and Craig Porter Jr. (And maybe Meleek Thomas.)

Spoiler alert: That's not good enough, especially after the Cavs offense just imploded during the solo Mitchell minutes in the playoffs.

If it's not going to be Cleveland, Miami immediately becomes the answer. The Heat need a primary playmaker after missing out on LeBron James more than the Cavs would without Harden.

Working out a sign-and-trade isn't that complicated. Miami still has a chunk of room beneath the first apron, and Andrew Wiggins, who remains tradeable after signing his extension, fills a need in Cleveland.

Although the Pistons have improved their spacing, none of their recent acquisitions promise additional creation. Harden isn't the cleanest fit, but he's a demonstrative upgrade over Daniss Jenkins and Ausar Thompson.

Detroit could build sign-and-trade offers around Duncan Robinson and Ron Holland II. Failing that, if Jalen Duren is on his way out, the Pistons could look to land Harden as part of a double sign-and-trade in which the big man is going somewhere other than Cleveland.

Peyton Watson (Restricted)

AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post

1. Los Angeles Clippers
2. Denver Nuggets
3. Charlotte Hornets

Like Jalen Duren, Peyton Watson is apparently "weighing the unappealing prospect" of signing his qualifying offer and becoming an unrestricted free agent next summer, according to Marc Stein of The Stein Line. He adds that Denver's offers for the combo wing have hovered around the four-year, $70 million range.

Returning to the Nuggets is hardly Watson's worst-case outcome. They need his athleticism and defensive playmaking, and his flashes of offensive growth last season could give way to a larger role.

Still, Watson might have more ball-handling chops than he'll ever get to showcase in Denver. Even with Brandon Ingram (presumably) in the fold, the Clippers have the personnel and undefined timeline to accommodate more experimental reps for the 23-year-old.

L.A. also happens to have nearly $40 million in room beneath the luxury tax, allowing it to effectively navigate base-year-compensation issues as part of any sign-and-trade.

Charlotte is traveling down a more gradual path following the LaMelo Ball trade. And it could run into positional overlap with Watson, Brandon Miller and Naz Reid.

Who cares? The Hornets need a higher-end defensive playmaker on the wings. They needn't get bogged down by positional constructs, either. Reid can play some 5, and with Miller and Kon Knueppel slated to take on more offensive responsibility anyway, Charlotte can run out no-guard looks.

Much like the Clippers, the Hornets have the runway beneath the tax to navigate any base-year-compensation obstacles. Unlike the Clippers, they also have a $40-plus million traded player exception from the LaMelo deal they can use to absorb Watson outright.

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Dan Favale is a National NBA Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Bluesky (@danfavale), and subscribe to the Hardwood Knocks podcast, co-hosted by Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes.