Even though it may feel like NBA free agency barely exists anymore, the start of it is still a key day on the league’s calendar. 

Despite trades being the main way players switch teams in today’s era, you still never know who may hit the open market and who could change the future of a franchise. Star players may or may not be available, but a team could find a sneaky pick-up that ends up being exactly who they’ve been missing.

Here’s a list of the top 15 free agents in the 2026 class who can officially begin negotiating with new teams on Tuesday at 6 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. PT.

1. LeBron James, F, 41 years old, Unrestricted free agent

The arguably greatest of all time has a massive decision to make this summer. Will James retire, return for a record 24th season and remain a Laker, or will he finish out his career on a new team or somewhere he’s been before? Despite being 41, James is still playing at a very high level, and he may have an interest in getting one last title before he heads off into the sunset. 

2. Jalen Duren, C, 22 years old, Restricted free agent

Duren broke through in 2025-26 and proved himself as one of the elite big men in the NBA. He averaged 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds to make his first all-star team and the all-NBA third team. Duren’s now eligible for a five-year, $287.1 million extension that the Pistons may not be willing to pay, per The Athletic. If they can’t afford Duren, another team could swoop in to grab themselves a centre for the future.

3. James Harden, G, 36 years old, $42.3 million player option

After finding himself on his fifth team since 2020, with a deadline move to the Cavaliers last season, you never know where Harden may go next. Now at 36, Harden has adjusted his game to become a great point guard and playmaker. It appears likely he will remain alongside Donovan Mitchell in Cleveland, but it’s unclear what that deal will look like or if he’ll accept his option. 

4. Norman Powell, G/F, 33 years old, Unrestricted free agent

The Heat kick-started their off-season with a blockbuster deal to bring in Giannis Antetokounmpo. That move changed the landscape of Miami basketball, but it also may have pushed Powell out of the equation. Powell averaged 21.7 points on 47 per cent shooting in 2025-26 to make the first all-star team of his career. Any team looking to add a scoring threat could make a huge offer for the 2019 NBA champion. 

5. Zach LaVine, G, 31 years old, $49 million player option

It would most likely be in LaVine’s best interest to get himself out of Sacramento. The Kings won just 22 games last season, and LaVine can’t waste time at age 31 sitting through a rebuild. After one of the worst statistical seasons of his NBA tenure, he will most likely opt out to explore a new opportunity in a better situation. He’s previously been a two-time all-star and could showcase those skills on a contender.

6. Jonathan Kuminga, F, 23 years old, $24.3 million team option

A mid-season trade to the Hawks was a great move to rejuvenate Kuminga’s career. In Atlanta, he averaged 12.3 points and 5.3 rebounds, but he showed flashes of greatness with a few 20-plus point performances. It feels likely that the Hawks will accept his cap-friendly team option to give him the chance to spend a full season in Atlanta and show just what he can do alongside its young core. 

7. Bennedict Mathurin, G, 24 years old, Restricted free agent

The Canadian Mathurin was shipped to the Clippers at the 2026 trade deadline and appeared to be a seamless fit into their system. He averaged 17.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and a steal in L.A. while playing 28 minutes a night. The Clippers appear headed toward a rebuild, and holding onto Montreal’s Mathurin feels near guaranteed. Locking up the young scoring threat to be the future of their backcourt appears essential. 

8. Walker Kessler, C, 24 years old, Restricted free agent

The Utah Jazz may finally be ready to compete, and if that’s the case, they need to hold onto Kessler. The big man played in just five games in 2025-26 due to a torn labrum, but in those limited appearances, he averaged a double-double. If the Jazz give Kessler his big contract, they can pair him up with Darryn Peterson and Ace Bailey as a big three that can take this franchise into the next decade behind veterans Jaren Jackson Jr. and Lauri Markkanen. 

9. Mitchell Robinson, C, 28 years old, Unrestricted free agent

With the Knicks seemingly not being interested in going over the second apron, Robinson will likely find a new home this off-season. The big man raised his value as a defensive-minded centre as the Knicks won their first NBA Championship in 53 years. Talented centres seem hard to come by in the modern NBA, and several teams will throw money at Robinson to have his seven-foot frame hold down their front-court. 

10. Luguentz Dort, F/G, 27 years old, $18.2 million team option

The Canadian 3-and-D specialist may be the odd man out on the Thunder. Dort has been in OKC his entire seven-year career, but he’s now due for a payday, and the Thunder have plenty of younger players they could replace him with. The Thunder already gave Isaiah Hartenstein a big extension this off-season, which made it seem likelier that Dort will bring his physicality to a new team come 2026-27. 

11. Tari Eason, F, 25 years old, Restricted free agent

Eason has been a defensive juggernaut for the Rockets since entering the NBA in 2022-23. He can stall opponents’ offence, which has been a big plus for Houston. However, the Rockets have a lot of youngsters to pay, which may allow a team to swoop up Eason’s talents at a price tag Houston cannot afford.

12. Draymond Green, F, 36 years old, $27.7 million player option

It’s hard to imagine a world where Green doesn’t play for the Golden State Warriors, and it feels highly unlikely that will ever happen. The Warriors appear ready to make one final push for a title with Green, Stephen Curry and Steve Kerr. It’s unclear if Green will accept his option or take a more team-friendly deal so the Warriors can build up their roster. 

13. Kristaps Porzingis, F/C, 30 years old, Unrestricted free agent

Injuries over the past three seasons have largely limited Porzinigis, and in 2025-26, he appeared in just 32 games between the Hawks and Warriors. However, when healthy, the seven-foot-two Porzingis is a dominant two-way player. He is a solid shooter for his size and a tremendous rim protector. Porzingis very well may be one of the most sought-after big men on the open market. 

14. Peyton Watson, F, 23 years old, Restricted free agent

The 23-year-old Watson broke out in 2025-26, he averaged 14.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists on 49.1 per cent shooting from the field and 41.1 per cent from three. He proved himself to be a key part of the Nuggets’ rotation and someone they cannot afford to lose. Watson was particularly impressive in his 40 starts when he put up 17.3 points on 60.3 per cent true shooting. 

15. Rui Hachimura, F, 28 years old, Unrestricted free agent

Hachimura has developed into one of the league’s best floor-spacing three-point specialists. He is a career 39.4 per cent shooter from deep and has consistently been a double-digit scorer. Last season, he specifically broke through in the playoffs, where he started in all 10 of the Lakers’ games. In those contests, he averaged 17.5 points with a 56.5 per cent clip from three on 5.8 attempts per game. 

The Sharks signed Kesselring to a three-year contract with an annual-average value of $4.5 million on Sunday, sources confirmed to Sportsnet.

San Jose traded the 20th-overall pick in Friday’s NHL Draft to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for Kesselring and the 27th pick.

Buffalo selected forward Ilia Morozov with the 20th pick while the Sharks used No. 27 as part of a package to trade up again and take defenceman Ryan Lin at No. 21.

Kesselring was limited to just 34 regular-season games in 2025-26, recording just two assists. Prior to that, he had a career-best season in 2024-25, playing all 82 games for the Utah Mammoth, potting seven goals and 29 points.

He was acquired by Buffalo alongside Josh Doan in the 2025 off-season in the deal that sent JJ Peterka to Utah.

“Michael has a big frame with solid two-way ability,” said Sharks general manager Mike Grier in a statement on Wednesday. “He is a responsible player in the defensive zone with a well-rounded offensive game, and will be a good upgrade for us patrolling the blue line. We’re happy to have him a part of the organization.”

Davis Alexander didn’t seem like a quarterback who’d just led his team to another victory — and a 3-1 record.

The Montreal Alouettes’ star pivot offered a brutally honest assessment of what had just transpired at Percival Molson Memorial Stadium on Sunday night.

“I’m gonna say it. It was awful,” a visibly frustrated Alexander said on the side of the field post-game. “Way too close of a game, awful for our standard.”

Despite big performances from Alexander and wideout Tyson Philpot, the Alouettes only barely held on to beat the struggling Ottawa Redblacks 37-35, a score line that looked unlikely when favoured Montreal cruised to a 21-6 halftime lead.

The Redblacks posted just 76 yards of net offence in the first half before responding with a pair of quick touchdowns to outscore the Alouettes 12-0 in the third quarter, continuing a woeful early-season trend for Montreal (3-1) after halftime.

“There’s something about that third quarter that we need to clean up,” Philpot said. “It pisses us off when we let teams back in, and we know when we play championship-winning football teams, we’re not going to find a way to win (playing) football like that.”

So, what’s the solution?

“I don’t know. I want to say laser focus through four quarters,” Alexander said. “But I don’t know, can you measure that? Is that actually the problem? That’s just the way I see it. I mean, I’m obviously pretty frustrated and pissed, but we just have to be better.”

Veteran defensive back Wesley Sutton offered a more philosophical explanation after another tough second half for the Alouettes’ defence.

“It’s not just football, it’s life. You get a promotion, you have success, and you just tend to fall back, but you have to continue to fight that,” said Sutton, who had one interception. “We have to fight that temptation to take our foot off the gas and relax.

“It’s just an innate feeling, you have success and you want to relax. You’ve got to fight, we have to be on each other to continue to keep pushing and finish.”

Head coach Jason Maas, meanwhile, wasn’t buying into the negative slant.

“Was it awful? I would never say that. I’m sorry, I don’t believe in that,” he said. “The CFL is hard to win games. Bottom line.

“Can you get upset about not playing to a standard on every play? Sure, you can do that. But a totality of a game and you win a game? You’ve got to be happy about that and proud of that.”

To Maas’ point, it wasn’t all bad.

Alexander completed 22-of-30 passes for 345 yards and two touchdowns for Montreal, improving his record as a CFL starter to 15-1 in the regular season.

His favourite target was Philpot, who hauled in 12 receptions for 198 yards — including 125 in the first half — before 17,138 fans.

In perhaps the play of the night, Alexander went deep up the middle to Snead on a 46-yard heave, helping the Alouettes take a nine-point lead with 56.4 left on a José Maltos Diaz field goal. The clutch play came moments after Alexander limped off a tackle, saying post-game he felt fine.

“It’s the way I’m built, the way I’m wired,” he said. “I’m in the Grey Cup, I’m playing on a torn hamstring, I throw a ball 65 yards to Snead. I mean, it doesn’t matter.”

The Redblacks immediately answered in stunning fashion as Kalil Pimpleton returned the ensuing kickoff 94 yards to make it 37-35 with 42 seconds remaining. But Philpot retrieved Ottawa’s onside kick to run out the clock and secure an Alouettes victory.

Ottawa, meanwhile, is still searching for its first win under head coach and general manager Ryan Dinwiddie (0-3), but had an encouraging second half.

Jake Maier was 27-of-38 passing for 336 yards with three touchdowns and one interception for Ottawa (0-3), while Keelan White caught two touchdowns as the offence and special teams found a rhythm against an Alouettes team that has surrendered 124 points through four games.

“I thought Jake battled, I thought the offence battled, where we kind of found an identity in the second (half) and we got to build off of that,” Dinwiddie said. “But no moral victories. We’re 0-3. That’s where we’re at.

“You can’t point fingers and blame. I told the guys, everybody’s got to have a lens and look in the mirror, including myself and the rest of the coaches.”

Redblacks: Host the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Friday.

Alouettes: Have a bye week, then host the Calgary Stampeders on Saturday, July 11.