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NBA trades and free agency: Key dates, salaries, intel and rankings

With the 2020 NBA draft in the books, NBA free agency is rapidly approaching. Teams can technically start negotiating with free agents at 6 p.m. ET on Friday, though expect plenty of news before then. Anthony Davis, Brandon Ingram and Fred VanVleet are some of the headliners in this class, and trade talk -- potentially involving James Harden and Russell Westbrook -- should dominate the next week.

To get you ready for all the action, here is an ultimate guide to the next week from ESPN analysts Bobby Marks and Kevin Pelton. It features Pelton's free-agent rankings, the key dates to know, team-by-team breakdowns, salary tiers, projections and inside intel.


NBA free-agent rankings: The 25 best players

Which 2020 NBA free agents will provide the most value over the next three seasons? Here is Pelton's list of the top free agents, from No. 1 to No. 25, according to statistical projections.

  1. Anthony Davis | Los Angeles Lakers

  2. Fred VanVleet | Toronto Raptors

  3. Christian Wood | Detroit Pistons

  4. Brandon Ingram | New Orleans Pelicans

  5. Davis Bertans | Washington Wizards

Get the full rankings here


NBA free-agency tiers: Teams with the most and least spending power

To illustrate what to expect in the shortened offseason, we've broken out all 30 teams into six tiers -- ranging from teams that have salary-cap space to those in the luxury tax -- while highlighting which players teams can sign in each tier.

  • Tier 1: Cap-space teams

  • Tier 2: Cap space at a cost

  • Tier 3: The midlevel exception club

  • Tier 4: Watching their own free agents

  • Tier 5: The hard-cap teams

  • Tier 6: Tax teams

Get the full tiers here


Biggest 2020 NBA free-agency and trade decisions for all 30 teams

Bobby Marks runs through all 30 teams with breakdowns featuring:

  • Big-picture priorities

  • Cap space

  • Team needs

  • Extension-eligible players

  • Free agents

  • Depth charts

Get the full team-by-team breakdown here


NBA trade lists: Movable contracts, draft capital and restrictions

To help identify which teams will become buyers, sellers or just observers, we have broken down all 30 franchises with:

  • Players off the table

  • Free agents

  • First-round assets and trade exceptions

  • Tradable contracts

Get the full trade lists here


Projecting starting salaries for the best available NBA free agents

We have complete lists, broken down by position, of the salary ranges for all free agents along with their likely roles. Get the PG projections here:

Get the full position-by-position breakdown here


2020-21 NBA key dates: Free agency, extensions and season schedule

Now that the league has settled on Dec. 22 as the official start date of the 2020-21 regular season, other key dates and events are settling into place.

Starting with free agency set to begin Friday, here's a look at the league's new upcoming calendar and important deadlines.

More intel and analysis