2022 Free Agency Will Be Uneventful
The biggest takeaway from the 2021-22 NBA season so far is that free agency is going to be very uneventful compared to the last few offseasons simply because there are not too many big names that will be available.
John Wall, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Bradley Beal and Kyrie Irving could all hit the open market given that they have player options, but Wall, Harden and Westbrook are all expected to opt into said options, Beal is expected to receive a massive contract extension from the Wizards and Irving is a major question mark because of his vaccine status.
Zach LaVine is another big name that is set to become an unrestricted free agent, but he seems pretty motivated to remain in Chicago long-term, leading many to believe that he and the Bulls will hammer out the details of a max contract extension early in free agency before LaVine even hears from other teams.
So who does that leave as potential free agents across the league?
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Gary Harris, Ricky Rubio, Joe Ingles and T.J. Warren all have injury concerns tied to them, leaving their value low on the open market and even the market for some younger talents in Marvin Bagley III, Mo Bamba and others will be low.
Collin Sexton and Deandre Ayton are expected to be the big names available as restricted free agents in free agency and Bucks’ big man Bobby Portis could also draw significant interest should he opt out of his player option. Mavericks’ guard Jalen Brunson is also expected to be a key backcourt target for several teams.
It will be very surprising to see an All-Star be on the move in free agency this upcoming offseason, as the market will mainly be controlled by secondary scorers and role players to fill out the team’s benches.
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There could be a handful of trades made involving key talents in the league, especially with some teams looking to free up cap space moving forward, but many teams will begin planning for 2023 free agency, which could contain All-Star talents such as LeBron James, Khris Middleton, Andrew Wiggins, D’Angelo Russell and Nikola Vucevic.
