Most NBA players sign in the first frantic week of free agency. But there are still useful players who haven’t yet found a team. Here are the five best remaining free agents after two weeks of activity.
Jones was the backup point guard and sixth man for a very good Memphis Grizzlies team from 2021-23, before landing with the Wizards in the trade that sent Kristaps Porzingis to the Celtics and Marcus Smart to the Grizzlies. The move was made in part because Jones wanted a chance to start, something he did in all 66 games last year.
He set career highs with 12 points and 7.3 assists last season, shooting 41.4 percent from three-point range and turning the ball over just once per game. His assist-to-turnover ratio was easily the best of anyone who played at least 50 games. But the Wizards were one of the worst teams in the NBA, then brought in Malcolm Brogdon from Portland. Jones can help any team in the league, but his old team seems content to tank and use their salary cap space to add other teams’ bad contracts to get draft assets.
Okoro is a lockdown defender who regularly guarded the other team’s best player during the playoffs, players ranging from Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner to Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. Cleveland selected Okoro with the fifth pick in the 2020 draft because of that defense, but his offense was much less developed. While his three-point shooting surpassed 39 percent last season, he still mainly shoots threes or slashes to the hoop.
Cleveland added small forwards Max Strus and Georges Niang last summer. The pair makes a combined $23.7M, making the wing position rather expensive. This summer, Cleveland has a new coach and a new contract for All-Star Donovan Mitchell. While they can match any offer for Okoro, the most likely outcome is a sign-and-trade and a new home for this athletic, effective defensive ace.
Trent is reportedly not going to return to the Raptors after rejecting a deal worth $15M per year, a pay cut from last season’s $18.6M. Now his options are shrinking as teams are running short on salary cap space, including his own, who signed Immanuel Quickley to a big deal to play shooting guard.
