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Ranking the 10 best available NBA free agents

Who are the best free agents still on the market? Casey Sapio/USA TODAY Sports

Nearly 90 free agents have already agreed to contracts.

So who's left in free agency?

Let's take a look at the 10 best players available, including at least a couple who probably won't be changing teams.


1. LeBron James

Cleveland Cavaliers
Forward
Age: 31
Unrestricted

After leading the Cavaliers to a championship, LeBron isn't going anywhere. But he technically remains a free agent after opting out of his contract to get a raise with the cap going up -- albeit not to anywhere near his true value -- so he leads this list.


2. J.R. Smith

Cleveland Cavaliers
Guard
Age: 30
Unrestricted

Strangely, there has been little buzz about Smith so far in free agency. Is he still celebrating the championship? Does he need a shirt on to take meetings? Is he running for president?

With most of the teams that could have bid handsomely for his services out of cap space, Smith is likely going back to the Cavaliers for far more money than last year's bargain $5 million salary.


3. Maurice Harkless

Portland Trail Blazers
Forward
Age: 23
Restricted

Of the Blazers' three restricted free agents heading into the summer, there was the most buzz around Allen Crabbe. I'd prefer Harkless over the next three years because I think he has more room to grow as a player -- if he can become a consistent 3-point threat.

Because of his defense and activity, Harkless was already a capable starter at age 22 despite shooting 28 percent from 3-point range. If he can hit even 35 percent from beyond the arc on a regular basis, Harkless could become a league-average starting combo forward.


4. Donatas Motiejunas

Houston Rockets
Center
Age: 25
Restricted

Aside from teammate Terrence Jones, Motiejunas had about the worst contract year imaginable. Back surgery in April 2015 kept him off the court at the start of the season, and a setback sidelined Motiejunas through the trade deadline. The injury caused the Detroit Pistons to void a deal for Motiejunas at the deadline, sending him back to Houston, where he shot just 22.5 percent on 3s the rest of the season.

When healthy, Motiejunas is a capable post scorer who can also stretch the floor, so there's a place for him in a rotation somewhere.

The Rockets still have the ability to match any offer to Motiejunas, but they've added Nene at center to go with Clint Capela, and they might not view Motiejunas as a power forward in coach Mike D'Antoni's system.


5. Terrence Jones

Houston Rockets
Forward
Age: 24
Unrestricted

When it comes to bad contract years, nobody can beat Jones. A starter when healthy much of the previous two seasons, Jones suffered a series of injuries and fell entirely out of the Houston rotation by the postseason, when he saw no action whatsoever.

Jones has always been a bit of a space cadet on the floor, but he did average 16 points and nine rebounds per 36 minutes with good shooting percentages in 2013-14 and 2014-15 and has shown occasional 3-point range, so he's a good buy-low option.


6. Dion Waiters

Oklahoma City Thunder
Guard
Age: 24
Restricted

Waiters made progress toward being a useful NBA role player last season. Let's not overstate the case, though. Waiters still posted a sub-.500 true shooting percentage during the regular season, and even in the playoffs his true shooting (.520) was still worse than league average.

As a 3-and-D role player, Waiters is only OK in both categories. He's a career 33.4 percent 3-point shooter and, though he's become more diligent as an individual defender, Waiters' focus tends to wander off the ball. Still, he's capable of improving at 24, and there's a place for Waiters in the league somewhere.


7. Tyler Zeller

Boston Celtics
Center
Age: 26
Restricted

Zeller started 59 games for the Celtics in 2014-15, but the addition of Amir Johnson pushed him out of the rotation last season. Zeller played just 710 minutes and has gotten lost in a deep center market.

At 26, Zeller is what he is, and that's a reasonable backup center. He's a good finisher and rim runner in transition who shot 55 percent in 2014-15 before slipping to 48 percent last year. Zeller is more limited defensively, where he's not a shot blocking threat. He rejected just 22 shots all last season.


8. Alan Anderson

Washington Wizards
Guard
Age: 33
Unrestricted

Preseason ankle surgery kept Anderson out of the lineup until after the All-Star break and ultimately limited him to 13 games in his one season in Washington. The Wizards were counting on Anderson to play a key role coming off a good 2014-15 season, when he posted an above-average true shooting percentage for the first time in his career.

Anderson doesn't create much of his own offense, but teams like his ability to defend either wing position.


9. Brandon Bass

Los Angeles Lakers
Forward
Age: 31
Unrestricted

Playing alongside Larry Nance Jr. forced Bass to play out of position at center with the Lakers. In his natural power forward role, Bass remains a useful role player in his early 30s. He's an excellent midrange shooter (45.5 percent career on 2-point attempts beyond 16 feet, per Basketball-Reference.com) who also finishes well around the basket.

Defensively, Bass has great feet for his size, which allowed him to defend LeBron James at times in his Boston Celtics days. He could make sense for the Toronto Raptors, who need a power forward and struggled against LeBron in the Eastern Conference finals.


10. Miles Plumlee

Milwaukee Bucks
Center
Age: 27
Restricted

At this point, the expectation is Plumlee will return to the Bucks, who retain matching rights on any offer he gets.

Plumlee started 14 games in Milwaukee last season and was something of a better fit alongside the Bucks' other starters than Greg Monroe because he offered a modicum of rim protection and didn't need the ball in his hands.

Though he just finished his rookie contract, Plumlee is already 27, so there's little upside for him to explore, but he should remain a solid rotation option through his next deal.