National Basketball Association (NBA) free agency kicks in when summer rolls around, although there is already a lot of buzz surrounding this year's free agents. While there are many speculations on which teams these free agents will eventually join, there are also speculations on how much these teams should and should not spend on these free agents.
Here is a list of players bound for restricted and unrestricted free agency in the summer. A lot of players are set to become free agents, but not all of them will be able to land max contracts. Even some of the biggest names in basketball may seem worth every penny spent on signing them, but there is always a chance that such may not be the case.
Perhaps the future free agent who has been attracting the most speculation is LeBron James. There is already a lot of buzz surrounding James, with the Los Angeles Lakers rumored to be freeing up cap space for him, and fans buying billboards to recruit him. It seems that there is no question that James is worth a max contract even just for his marketing appeal alone. However, the same may not be said for other top players.
Paul George, however, is another player who seems unquestionably deserving of a max contract. At 27 years old, George is still young and healthy, with a relatively short list of injuries (including his gruesome broken leg incident). He is also rumored to be targeted for recruitment by the Lakers, with the LA team scrambling to be able to offer max contracts to both George and James.
However, not everyone in the league is fortunate enough to avoid too much injury. DeMarcus Cousins, in particular, while rumored to be getting a max contract this year, tore his Achilles tendon during a game in late January. If Cousins had avoided injury, he might have been guaranteed a max contract. Now, though, that prospect does not seem quite as certain as it was before the injury occurred.
Another player whose health is in question is Chris Paul. Not only does Paul have a history of injuries, he will also be 33 years old this year. Thus, there are two things working against Paul's chances of getting a max deal, although not all hope is lost. Paul can still get a max deal, but it will likely be a short-term one. Then again, Paul decided to forego a max contract for the 2017–18 season, so he may not be after getting as much money as he can anyway.
However, fans may not know which players do indeed get max contracts until the summer, when the ink on their contracts are dry. By then, there may even be a few unexpected surprises.
