The once-impressive 2021 NBA free agent class has lost its luster

The 2021 NBA free agent class was supposed to be the one we’ve been waiting for, but recent events have dulled its luster as superstars had other plans.

The 2021 NBA free agent class was supposed to be the big one. Names like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Anthony Davis, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George were all possibilities to be on the market, at least as leverage for their own teams to toe the line and acquiesce to further roster demands.

Head-hunting teams kept their books clear in order to throw gobs of cap space at interested candidates, and teams without that recruiting possibility tried to keep some space free in order to make trades to benefit their own asset list.

In essence, it was the class we’ve all been waiting for, but the superstars had other things in mind.

All of Antetokounmpo, Davis, James and George signed extensions, wiping out most of the top of the board. With George back in the fold for the LA Clippers, Kawhi Leonard may be the next to re-up with his team, taking another name off the list.

Now the top of the class consists of names like Mike Conley and Kyle Lowry, both of whom are in their mid-30s. To find players outside their 30s, you’ll have to scroll down the page to names like Otto Porter Jr., Rudy Gobert, Andre Drummond, Evan Fournier, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Cody Zeller.

As for player option candidates, the field of players looking to hit the market is minimal indeed. Chris Paul has an option worth $39.9 million, and you can bet he’s going to opt in. Similarly, his former teammate Blake Griffin is a virtual certainty to opt into his $34.2 million 2021-22 salary.

Jrue Holiday was recently traded by the New Orleans Pelicans to the Milwaukee Bucks for a king’s ransom of draft picks and players including Eric Bledsoe and George Hill, and it’s hard to imagine the Bucks would have sent such a monstrous package out for him without assurances that he would return next season.

Instead of big value at the top of the class, teams will be finding more value in restricted free agents, although it’s going to be hard imagining players like Lonzo Ball and Markelle Fultz will be prie away by inquisitive teams. After all, teams holding their restricted rights can keep their free agents by simply matching offer sheets, and it’s unlikely either the Pelicans or the Orlando Magic are going to let their young point guards get away easy.

In the end, thanks to the flurry of league-wide activity this offseason, next summer’s free agency period will likely be just another offseason. There’s always the potential for absolute chaos any time NBA teams get together to discuss roster moves, but the star-power simply isn’t there for next summer at this point.

Instead, the star-hunters will have to aim their sights towards the summer of 2022, when players like James Harden, John Wall, Russell Westbrook and James Harden all have player options, and Stephen Curry and Chris Paul hit the market.

In the NBA, there’s always a Next Big One, and that’s going to end up being the next offseason rather than the upcoming one.