NBA's Best 2024 Free Agent Signings

With free agency opening at midnight on June 30th, we have seen over a month’s worth of signings. At this point, the most sought-after players have either resigned or found new homes. Keeping both those things in mind, now seems as good a time as any to look at the top-five free agent signings.

Much like my first and previous article on Draft Nation, I want to keep the team’s roster and their 2024-2025 outlook in mind, as well as potential future ramifications. After all, in a vacuum getting a quality role player for the league minimum can look more attractive than a 5-year deal that carries risk given the uncertainty of the future. I am only going to rank signings that impact the upcoming season’s salary cap. Jalen Brunson taking a massive discount to stay with the New York Knicks does not kick in until next year. Same goes for the 3-year deal that Aaron Nembhard just signed. That does not hit the Indiana Pacers books until the 2025-2026 season. Lastly, LeBron James going back to the Los Angeles Lakers is a great signing but also boring to rank in my opinion.

1.)   Tyrese Maxey, Resigned with Philadelphia 76ers:  5-Years, $204 Million

Waiting until this summer before signing a max extension worked out for both Maxey and Philadelphia. He played well enough this past year to cross the $200 million mark while the Sixers were able to save more than $20 million by waiting, ultimately allowing them to sign Paul George.

Last season, Maxey landed just outside the top-10 in scoring at 25.9 points per game, and his career-best 6.2 assists per game ranked inside the top-20. An impressive feat considering he is still 23 years old with a few years left before entering his physical prime.

Perhaps Maxey is a tier below Anthony Edwards and Tyrese Haliburton – both signed 5-year, $260 max extensions last fall. But I think the 76ers are content paying him $54 million less over the life of his deal compared to the $260 million LaMela Ball is getting from the Charlotte Hornets for the next five seasons. In my opinion, max money should be reserved for players that can be the number one or 1A option on a championship team. Maxey fits that description, and Philadelphia is pushing to win an NBA championship.

2.)   Nic Claxton, Resigned with Brooklyn Nets:  4-Years, $97 Million

Brooklyn does not look like they will contend for anything meaningful for the foreseeable future, but they signed Claxton to a very good deal as they try to figure it out. He was arguably the top center in free agency, one that is just outside his prime at 25-years-old, and has the potential be a DPOY candidate. Although, Claxton is unlikely to win it if Victor Wembanyama remains healthy. But those types of players should and usually cost more than $24 million per year these days.

Of course, there are reasons for that. He may never average 15 points per game as a player that relies heavily on lobs and putbacks via offensive rebounds. Despite averaging a career-best 9.9 rebounds per game last season, Claxton may never consistently be a 10 to 11+ rebound guy, as evidenced by recording just 58 double doubles in 147 starts (39.4% of the time) over the last two years.

But on the other side of the floor, he ranks second in the league with 335 blocks over that same span. The Nets can and will build their defense around Claxton and that is certainly worth something. Especially, if you view him along the same lines as Jarrett Allen and Rody Gobert. To put that into a financial perspective, Claxton is making almost $8 million more this season than the former and almost $17 million less than the latter. His deal also declines every year, allowing Brooklyn to add more pieces with his gradually diminishing cap hold.

3.)   Andre Drummond, Signed with Philadelphia 76ers:  2-Years, $10 Million

Drummond inhales rebounds. Last season, he had the second-highest rebound chance percentage (67%) among all centers that played at least 15 minutes per game and played in at least 10 games; Deandre Ayton narrowly edged him out at 67.1%. While the 76ers will play much differently with Drummond in the game and Joel Embiid on the bench, it does give them a consistent source of rebounding and an upgrade over the recently departed Paul Reed in that regard.

This is a win for both sides in my opinion. He is getting a slight raise over what he was making as a Chicago Bull – $5 million compared to just over $3 – and is a low-cost role player for a team looking to contend immediately. At the age of 30 with a primary skill unlikely to diminish over the next two years, this is exactly the kind of move a team like Philadelphia should be making.

4.)   Isaiah Hartenstein, Signed with Oklahoma City Thunder:  3-Years, $87 Million

Not quite the deal that the Nets got with Claxton, but Oklahoma City needed to go high enough to lure the big man away from New York. The Thunder ranked 27th in rebounds per game (42rpg) and were 28th in rebound percentage (48.4%) during the regular season. Those numbers declined slightly in the playoffs. Clearly, they needed to upgrade their frontcourt depth beyond the slender Chet Holmgren and undersized Jalen Williams.

Hartenstein should help Oklahoma City improve in both metrics, but perhaps not by an overwhelming large amount. I cannot see him playing more than 28-30 minutes per game and there will be some matchups in which he does not play even that much. Although, Hartenstein is an underrated passer, and his rim protection is a plus in every matchup. That should help him stay on the floor.

I like this signing because it signals that the Thunder are going all in. Also, Hartenstein’s deal comes off the books at the same time as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lu Dort (team option in 2026-2027), and with team options on a lot of their current players on rookie contracts. So, if Oklahoma City needs to part ways with him the year after large extensions kick in for Holmgren and Williams, they have that flexibility.

5.)   OG Anunoby, Resigned with New York Knicks:  5-Years, $212.5 Million

The Knicks are another team going all in. There were some concerns that Anunoby would not resign, making the trade of RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley, and a second-round pick in this past draft a hard pill to swallow. But both sides were able to work out a deal in advance of the start of free agency. At 27-years-old, the deal runs throughout his physical prime, and he is arguably the best and most versatile defender in the league sans a fully healthy Kawhi Leonard.

With New York acquiring Mikal Bridges from the Nets, it forms one of the best wing defender tandems in the NBA. Anunoby and Bridges will be called upon to help slow down all-star wings Jayson Tatum and Jaylem Brown of the Boston Celtics. This also gives them two excellent defenders along the perimeter against the likes of George and Maxey when they matchup against the 76ers.

I debated ranking Pascal Siakam’s 4-year, $189 million dollar deal here in the 5th spot, but I just do not feel he moves the needle as far. Additionally, Siakam will be 34 years old when his contract ends with that last season potentially being a rather overpaid one if his production starts to slip.

To be fair, Anunoby has battled injuries the last four years and given the way head coach Tom Thibodeau likes to play his starters big minutes, that will certainly be something to monitor going forward. If he continues to miss a large portion of games for the next five seasons, I think New York fans will look back and bemoan this deal. But given the current landscape of the NBA and the makeup of some of the most competitive teams, it appears to be one of the best so far this summer.

Bonus – My Least Favorite Signing:

James Harden, Resigned with LA Clippers:  2-Year, $70 Million

Look, this is a not a long deal and it is not max money. But it has all the makings of what appears to be a panic move made just hours before Los Angeles announced that George was not returning. Yes, the Clippers retain some relevancy, provided Leonard does not miss a lot of time, as Harden showed he still has some juice left in the tank evidenced by him ranking second in the league in isolation points last year.

Despite playing a respectable 72 games last season he averaged just 16.6 points per game which would be his lowest mark since coming off the bench for the Thunder back in 2011-2012. Harden’s 8.5 assists per game last year were his lowest since 2020-2021, his last with the Houston Rockets.

There is a player option that he could use to opt out next summer, however, it is hard to imagine someone that would be nearly 36 years old leaving nearly $37 million on the table. This is not a horrible signing, just my least favorite. There is a difference. Perhaps when you do not fully own your own draft picks until 2030, there are not a lot of options.