2018 NBA free agency: 5 best remaining free agents

2018 NBA free agency is all but over at this point, but even halfway through August, there are a few unsigned players that could help a team in the upcoming 2018-19 season.

At this point in the NBA offseason, most people are already looking ahead to the upcoming regular season. The tantalizing 2018-19 schedule has already been released, almost all of the notable players have been signed to deals and 2018 NBA free agency is all but dead.

However, before our attention turns to the start of training camp, media day, preseason and eventually the season opener a few months down the road, there are still the last vestiges of free agency to examine. Namely, the most recognizable names who haven’t been picked up yet.

It happens almost every year. Josh Smith was one of the more shocking instances, but it’s incredible how quickly a prominent or established player can fall out of favor with the league and wind up playing overseas, never to be heard from in the association again. Just as an example from this summer, one potential inclusion on this list, Trevor Booker, has already agreed to play in China.

In an uncharacteristically tight market, 2018 free agents had to settle for a lot less money as a result of all the irresponsible spending in the summer of 2016. At this point in August, the Sacramento Kings lead the way with $11 million in available cap space. The next closest team? The Phoenix Suns, with less than $130,000 in cap room.

Quite a few teams still have exceptions to offer, like the non-taxpayer mid-level exception ($8.6 million), taxpayer mid-level exception ($5.3 million) or the room exception ($4.4 million), but for the most part, cap space has dried up and the big names are off the board.

Even so, there are still a few distinguishable names worth examining, even if most of them would have to settle for a veteran minimum deal well short of one of those exceptions. In the interest of being thorough, here are the five best remaining players in 2018 NBA free agency.

Honorable mentions:  Joe Johnson, Jameer Nelson, Tyler Ulis, Tarik Black, Brandan Wright, Luke Babbitt, Arron Afflalo, Ramon Sessions, Lucas Nogueira