If your team needs a starting small forward entering free agency, well … you’ll probably still need one afterward.
In an NBA free-agent market with generally slim pickings, the small forward market is the driest of them all. Not a single unrestricted free agent at the position rates as being worth more than the projected non-taxpayer midlevel exception (about $15 million) according to my BORD$ valuations. (More on the methodology here.)
As always, I’ve included all free agents and potential free agents due to player options, team options and non-guaranteed contracts, except for absurd cases where there is no chance of a player being waived and — importantly — also no chance for other cap shenanigans by declining options and signing new contracts.
Free-agent market: Top 25 | shooting guards
(PO = player option; TO = team option; NG = non-guaranteed; PG = partial guarantee; R = restricted)
Tier 1: Max guys
None
Tier 2: More than MLE, less than max
1. Tari Eason, Houston (R): $24,110,720
Eason and the Rockets were close to an extension for roughly this dollar amount a year ago but couldn’t dot all the I’s by the deadline for rookie contact extensions. The most important stat for Eason is the games played column — he suited up for 60, plus all six playoff games, his most since he played 82 as a rookie. Eason also showed more bona fides as a 3-and-D guy by shooting 35.8 percent from distance on respectable volume. The “D” part of the equation for him is much more established, of course, as Eason is a chaos agent with plus-size for a wing and ballhawking instincts.
All of that should leave him with a market right in the neighborhood of three years and $75 million. The question is more about how many contractual bells and whistles will be attached to guard against physical issues. Houston will surely tender him his $8 million qualifying offer, and one presumes the Rockets would match reasonable offer sheets given their mostly manageable cap sheet.
Tier 3: MLE guys
2. Lu Dort, Oklahoma City (TO): $17,705,328
It seems unlikely that the Thunder can continue with Dort next season. They have multiple players at his position who are both better and younger, the team is set to be $40 million over the projected luxury tax line and Dort is coming off an off-year in which he was ineffective in the Western Conference finals.
The Thunder’s most likely pathway out would be to trade him for a second-round pick or two and generate a $17 million trade exception. Given that Dort has a contract for $17.7 million with one year left (note that it also has an extra $1 million in unlikely incentives that count toward the apron) — nearly the same figure as his BORD$ valuation — that seems a fair proposition for the acquiring team. He could also be extended as part of the same trade. If the Thunder can’t make a deal, another endgame is to decline the option on Dort, which would likely see him get offers for the full non-taxpayer midlevel exception (MLE).
3. Duncan Robinson, Detroit (PG): $16,785,284
It seems highly unlikely the Pistons would waive Robinson from his partially guaranteed deal ($2 million) just to get some extra cap space, and this BORD$ exercise shows why. The Pistons owe him nearly $16 million for the coming season, not far off from his valuation. Eating $2 million just to go into a very uncertain cap environment is an unlikely play. Alas, if Robinson were somehow waived (and presumably stretched), he likely has a market at the full MLE.
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4. Kevin Huerter, Detroit: $14,886,871
Find somebody who loves you as much as my numbers love Huerter. Despite a dropoff in his level of play since his Atlanta days and his inability to make an impact after his midseason trade to Detroit, BORD$ still sees Huerter as a plus rotation player worth MLE money.
He’s not getting that type of scratch this summer, but he’d be a good candidate on a one-plus-one deal for the projected room exception ($9.4 million) that would give him a chance to make some bank next summer if he has a good year.
5. Andrew Wiggins, Miami (PO): $13,735,931
It seems very, very unlikely Wiggins will hit free agency. He has a player option worth $30 million, and at long last, there is nobody left who can talk themselves into the idea that he’s a max- or near-max-caliber player.
6. Peyton Watson, Denver (R): $12,953,096
Watson will likely be the subject of heavy bidding from teams with MLE money or better, given the perception that the Nuggets are too cheap to match a strong offer sheet. BORD$ is perhaps a bit conservative since his 2025-26 season was so much stronger than his first three. His 41.1 percent from 3 might be a fluke, but Watson is only 23 and heavily increased his usage. He also has wing-stopper defensive upside, so there’s a floor regardless of what happens offensively.
Tier 4: Less than MLE, more than minimum
7. Ziaire Williams, Brooklyn (TO): 10,338,494
The Nets have a team option on Williams for a mere $6.1 million, but the scenario in which the Nets decline his option to re-sign him to a longer deal seems likely. The Nets using the rest of their cap space and then inking Williams for three years and $28 million using the room exception would seem a potential outcome.
8. Javonte Green, Detroit: $10,114,318
Detroit’s bench energizer played more at power forward last season, but at 6 foot 5, his natural position is small forward. Green turns 33 this summer, which should limit him to a one- or two-year deal. But his late-in-life shooting transformation (38.1 percent last year from 3 on real volume) has made him a valuable player. Coming off a one-year deal with no Bird rights, he’s among the more gettable free agents, as the Pistons need to use exception money to keep him.
With his shooting, Vít Krejčí’s contract is one of the league’s best. (Jaime Valdez / Imagn Images)
9. Vít Krejčí, Portland (NG): $8,640,704
Listed here for posterity, as the Trail Blazers traded two second-round picks for the sharpshooting Krejci (39.3 percent career from 3) in February, and his $2.7 million deal for the coming season is one of the league’s best contracts.
The other angle with Krejčí, however, is that the Blazers could decline his inexpensive $3 million team option for 2027-28 and ink the 26-year-old to an extension for a longer term, locking in a value deal before he becomes an unrestricted free agent in 2028. However, the Blazers could basically do the same thing next summer, so they might not be in any rush.
10. Jordan Walsh, Boston (TO): $8,549,851
Boston has a $2.4 million team option for Walsh. He’s obviously worth it after establishing himself as an energy wing in 2025-26. The wrinkle here is that Boston could “decline and re-sign,” spurning the option to ink him to a longer deal. That would be straightforward, except it has to work with the rest of the salary-cap gymnastics the Celtics need to undertake to dodge the repeater tax again and reset their financial clock … including, potentially, the same maneuver with starting center Neemias Queta.
11. Josh Okogie, Houston: $7,629,699
A valuable player whom nobody seems to regard as being all that valuable, Okogie worked on a minimum deal this season, starting two playoff games. I question whether his best fit is on a Houston roster that already overindexes on high-energy, iffy-shooting guys, but many teams could use his skill set as an athletic energizer, and he might only cost another minimum deal.
12. Gary Payton II, Golden State: $6,779,213
Somehow, some way, Payton played 73 games last season. To the extent Payton has any position at all, he probably belongs here with the small forwards, but consider it more of a placeholder given his role and usage with the Warriors. Even with his limited shooting ability and advancing age (33), Payton is a useful player as long as he can stay on the court.
13. Simone Fontecchio, Miami: $6,319,646
“Tek” hoisted 3s at a massive rate last season (13.0 per 100 possessions), but his 37.5 percent conversion rate leaves him a few notches lower on the shooting target list than the true knockdown guys. That said, he’s not just a shooter. Even if he’s putting up middling percentages from the perimeter, he’s a clear rotation player — not to mention a gettable rotation player, given Miami’s surfeit of wings.
14. Haywood Highsmith, Phoenix (NG): $4,788,984
Highsmith played only seven games last season due to knee injuries, but he fits the 3-and-D archetype as a good athlete with a 37.9 percent career 3-point mark. I doubt he becomes a free agent: He has a $1 million guarantee on his $3 million deal for 2026-27 and no guarantee date for the rest of it, plus the Suns need inexpensive back-end roster talent for their tax situation. Thus, it seems highly unlikely that the Suns would cut him before the season starts, if ever.
15. Dalen Terry, Philadelphia (TO/NG): $4,333,680
The Sixers are under new management and have no real investment in Terry, a late-season roster filler. It seems likely they either decline his $2.6 million option or pick it up only to waive him later if he can’t be used in a trade. If so, Terry would be a good minimum-contract flier for a rebuilding team. His stats to date have been halfway decent, he’s entering his age-24 season and his biggest weakness (shooting) is also historically the most correctable for a young player.
16. Taurean Prince, Milwaukee (PO): $4,091,019
I think it’s highly likely Prince ends up back in Milwaukee after missing most of the season with a neck injury. He could opt in to his $3.8 million deal, or he could opt out and re-sign a one-year veteran minimum deal that would pay him the same amount but save the Bucks about $1.5 million on their cap sheet. The real question for in-season tournament fans is where he might end up if Milwaukee, as suspected, makes a series of deals this offseason; Prince has still never lost an NBA Cup game.
17. Svi Mykhailiuk, Utah (NG): $4,030,166
Mykhailiuk has shown himself to be a rotation-ish player on a tanking Jazz team and would be a good minimum pickup for his shooting and size on the wing if the Jazz decide to waive him, something that ironically might be accelerated if Utah selects a shooting guard from Kansas in the draft. Utah must decide by June 30; that’s when Mykhailiuk’s $3.85 million deal for 2026-27 becomes fully guaranteed.
Julian Phillips’ high rates of blocks and steals are intriguing. (Jesse Johnson / Imagn Images)
18. Julian Phillips, Minnesota (TO): $3,780,222
Phillips may be just too poor a shooter and too limited offensively to stick in the league, but I’m intrigued by his high rates of blocks and steals, the fact that he’s finally left a muddle of similar players in Chicago and his age (22). Minnesota has a $2.4 million team option on him for 2026-27. If the Timberwolves decline it, note that Phillips is also two-way eligible.
Tier 5: Good minimums
19. Bruce Brown, Denver
Brown played all 82 games and saw 1,998 minutes, a massive total for a reserve who wasn’t exactly tearing up the nets on a (quasi-)contending team. He scored only 15.9 points per 100 possessions, resulting in a more muted offensive impact than in his previous tour with the Nuggets. While he shot 38.5 percent from 3, he took them so infrequently that he was a negligible spacing threat. Denver can likely bring Brown back on a one-year minimum, which would lock in early Bird rights next summer to pay him if he has a good year.
20. Spencer Jones, Denver (R)
Jones’ funky shot certainly doesn’t look like a 39.6 percent 3-point shooter, but he’s had a solid track record of accuracy dating back to college (39.7 percent on 794 career tries), so we should take his percentages at face value. He’s not a shot creator or a movement shooter, but his selling point as a 3-and-D forward with true size at 6-7 is compelling enough that he’ll likely blow past this BORD$ estimate. The Nuggets have early Bird rights on him, and Jones will be a restricted free agent provided Denver makes a qualifying offer of just $2.65 million. Given the Nuggets need to secure some low-salary rotation talent next to its expensive starting five, this should be a no-brainer for the Nuggets.
21. Jamal Cain, Orlando
Cain’s epic dunk in Game 4 of the Magic’s first-round series against Detroit certainly helped his name recognition, but he had already played his way up from a two-way deal. Orlando has no Bird rights on him and thus could be outbid; the Magic can go up to 120 percent of the minimum ($3.15 million) on Cain for 2026-27 salary without using exception money. However, Cain is a limited creator and his thin frame can get pushed around, so the minimum might be the right salary here. He did shoot 38.4 percent from 3 and, as he showed against Jalen Duren, he can get off the floor.
Jamal Cain dunks on Jalen Duren
22. Amir Coffey, Phoenix
Coffee’s for closers, but closing isn’t for Coffey. He was pushed to the fringes of the rotation in both Milwaukee and Phoenix. He’s strictly a minimum guy given his limited shot creation and meh shooting profile, but as a bigger wing in his 20s with a track record of usefulness, he should have suitors in need of a fifth wing.
23. Ousmane Dieng, Milwaukee (R)
Theoretically a restricted free agent, Dieng would need a qualifying offer of $8.8 million to get that in practice. Nobody is paying him that much, but he’s exactly the type of player — still relatively young, at least somewhat skilled and a rare big-forward archetype — that the rebuilding Bucks should be looking to keep on a team-friendly multi-year deal. Milwaukee has full Bird rights, too.
24. Ron Harper Jr., Boston (TO/NG)
Hey, he’s a Game 7 starter! I suspect the Celtics will decline his team option and re-sign him to a multi-year minimum deal. Harper is no longer two-way eligible, but his size and shooting can make him a plus value as an inexpensive fifth wing.
25. Jamison Battle, Toronto (NG)
Battle’s shooting was impactful enough to earn some playoff minutes, so it seems highly unlikely the Raptors would cut him and make him a free agent. One other piece of cap minutiae to track: Battle is also extension-eligible in February if he plays well.
Tier 6: Fringe guys, two-ways
26. Keshad Johnson, Miami (R)
If the league changes the rules so that dunk contest results impact the standings, Johnson will be in tremendous demand. Otherwise, he is two-way eligible, and that might be his best route to a return to the Heat. He’s a good athlete who shot 63 percent on 2s and rebounds well, even if he doesn’t provide much shooting or playmaking. If the Heat are worried about a micro-bidding war, Miami could also give him a qualifying offer that guarantees him for just over the minimum.
Would Jalen Wilson show a little more if he were on another team? (Alonzo Adams / Imagn Images)
27. Jalen Wilson, Brooklyn
I have to list Wilson down here because he was a bit player on a terrible team and shot 39.6 percent from the field, but … I still kind of think he can play? He can handle the ball and has some toughness around the basket and might look better on a real team. He’s also still two-way eligible, which is his likely endgame.
28. Cody Martin, last with Indiana
Martin turns 31 before training camp and played just four NBA games last season thanks to repeated injuries, so his career is definitely on life support. But he wasn’t overtly terrible for Charlotte and Phoenix in 2024-25. If healthy, he should be able to make a roster.
29. Caleb Houstan, last with Atlanta
He dunked!
If Houstan doesn’t end up back in the league, at least he finally threw one down last March, after the 6-8 forward played his first 2,400 career minutes without a dunk. Houstan can shoot, but his athletic limitations make him a fringe guy, and he’s no longer two-way eligible.
30. Jett Howard, Orlando
Howard is a two-way eligible former lottery pick, which is not a phrase you hear often. Howard, like Houstan, was a 6-8 wing from Michigan who can shoot and was drafted by the Magic and has a two-syllable last name that begins with “H-O.” But like his basketball doppelganger above, he was too limited athletically to make an impact. On the other hand, his Ruthian total of nine career dunks has left Houstan in the dust.
31. Dalano Banton, Boston (TO/NG)
I presume Boston either declines his option or waives him later in the summer. Banton played only six NBA games last year and isn’t two-way eligible. At this point, he might be more valuable overseas. He’s big and can handle the ball, but as an off-ball player, he doesn’t offer much.
32. Andre Jackson Jr., Milwaukee (TO/NG)
Jackson has played three NBA seasons and averaged just 11.6 points per 100 possessions for his career. He’s a poor shooter who also doesn’t have great instincts around the rim. Thus, despite his athletic ability and knack for making sharp passes, he may not have a role at this level. Jackson has one more season left of two-way eligibility if the Bucks, as I suspect, either decline his option or waive him later this summer, so he should stick around that way if nothing else.
33. Joe Ingles, Minnesota
Ingles had multiple games last season in which he played but never technically set foot on the 94-by-50 of the court, as the Wolves liked to use him as a late-game inbounder. He’s already agreed to a deal to return to the Australian league; the next time you see him play on this side of the Pacific might be with his mates at the 2028 Olympics.
