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10 NBA Players Most Likely To Remain Unsigned
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- 10 NBA Players Most Likely To Remain Unsigned
Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images
We're already in the middle of September, training camp is getting really close, and somehow there are still some pretty recognizable NBA players sitting at home without a contract. Some of them will probably get an Exhibit 10, a two-way spot, or a random deal once injuries start happening, but at this point there's also a pretty real chance several of these guys enter Opening Night without an NBA team.
And I'm not talking about every unsigned name here, because there are still players like Jalen Duren , Cam Whitmore , Bruce Brown , and others who I'd be pretty shocked to see actually stay available for long. Duren's situation is just a tough negotiation in restricted free agency , while other younger players still have enough obvious market value where somebody should eventually give them a deal.
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This list is more about the guys where I can actually understand why teams are waiting, whether it's age, injuries, one terrible season, a skill set that isn't super valuable anymore, or, in Cam Thomas ' case, a pretty crazy situation where a recent 24-point scorer apparently just can't convince anyone that his game actually helps winning .
10. Julian Reese
Averaging a double-double in actual NBA minutes usually gets a 23-year-old another contract pretty quickly, which is why Julian Reese even being here is interesting. He put up 11.8 points, 10.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.4 steals in 13 games with the Wizards , starting 10 of them and even dropping 26 points and 20 rebounds in one game.
Still, the modern NBA can be pretty brutal with this type of big man. Reese is 6-foot-9, didn't attempt a single three, shot only 63.6% from the line, and averaged just 0.6 blocks despite playing more than 30 minutes. Basically, he rebounds like crazy but doesn't really stretch the floor or give you the rim protection teams usually want from a non-shooting center.
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Denver acquiring him and then waiving him almost immediately didn't help either, and I think that's why a two-way contract or G League spot makes more sense right now than a guaranteed deal. I'd still expect Reese to get another NBA chance at some point because producing 11.8 and 10.5 at 23 years old isn't nothing, but he could easily be waiting until injuries open a roster spot.
9. Ochai Agbaji
Two years ago, this would've sounded pretty ridiculous. Ochai Agbaji was shooting 39.9% from three, defending wings, running in transition, and starting to look like exactly the type of low-maintenance 3-and-D player everybody wants around stars.
Then his jumper completely disappeared, as Agbaji finished last season averaging only 5.1 points and 2.3 rebounds while shooting 26.6% from three across 62 games, and the Nets eventually decided against even extending him a qualifying offer. Now a former No. 14 pick is unrestricted at 26 years old and still doesn't have a team this close to camp .
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That's probably because there isn't much of a backup skill if the shooting isn't there. He averaged only 0.8 assists, isn't creating offense for himself, and while he's a solid defender, he isn't some All-Defensive monster who can survive regardless of what happens on the other end.
If that jumper gets back anywhere near 38-40%, he can absolutely play in the NBA again. Until somebody is convinced that last year was just a shooting slump, though, giving that roster spot to a younger wing probably feels more attractive.
8. Dalano Banton
There might not be anybody on this list more stuck between levels than Dalano Banton , because he's basically shown that the G League isn't difficult enough for him anymore.
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The 6-foot-8 guard absolutely destroyed it last season, averaging 25.0 points, 6.8 assists, and 3.7 rebounds while repeatedly putting together 30-point games. The Celtics eventually gave him another NBA opportunity, exercised his team option, and then waived him just days later before the salary became guaranteed.
So what exactly is missing? Unfortunately, it's the same thing that has followed Banton through most of his career. He's still only around a 30% career three-point shooter in the NBA, and if teams don't respect the jumper, being a huge ball handler becomes much less dangerous. He also hasn't become such a dominant defender that you're willing to ignore the spacing problem.
At 26, he's probably not being evaluated as some super raw project anymore either. I'd absolutely sign him to a 10-day if I suddenly needed somebody who can handle the ball and create second-unit offense, but I can understand why teams aren't rushing to guarantee a standard roster spot before the season even starts.
7. Dwight Powell
This one feels much less dramatic because I'd be pretty surprised if Dwight Powell went the entire season without eventually getting a phone call. The question is whether anybody really needs to make that call at this stage of the summer when his role will likely just stay at veteran mentor.
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Powell played 63 games last year and averaged 3.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in just over 14 minutes, shooting 64.4% from the field and basically doing the same boring-but-needed center stuff he has done forever. He screens hard, rolls, rebounds, knows where to be, and isn't going to complain because he took three shots.
The problem is he's 35 now, doesn't stretch the floor, isn't much of a rim protector anymore, and the athletic advantage he once had obviously isn't the same after recurrent knee injuries. That makes him more of an emergency third center than somebody a team needs to lock down before camp.
Once December comes and somebody loses a big man for six weeks like the Mark Williams case , Powell suddenly makes a lot more sense because you know exactly what you're getting. Right now, though, teams can use that spot on someone younger and simply keep his number saved.
6. Mason Plumlee
We might be getting pretty close to the end here for Mason Plumlee , who appeared in only 20 games last season and averaged 1.6 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.0 assists in 8.6 minutes, a huge drop from the version that was still giving teams real backup-center production just a couple of years ago.
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There are definitely things Plumlee can still do. He's always been a good passer for a big man, can set screens, understands defensive positioning, and has played more than enough basketball where you're not worried about him getting lost in some random Tuesday game.
But he's 36, attempted zero threes last season, blocked zero shots in those 20 games, and barely saw the floor after joining San Antonio . If you aren't spacing the court or protecting the rim at this point, being an experienced center can only carry you so far.
Maybe a contender eventually wants somebody who can sit as its third center without creating problems, but I'm not sure Plumlee wants some non-guaranteed camp battle either after 13 NBA seasons. There's a pretty realistic scenario where he simply waits for the right call, and that call never really comes.
5. Dario Saric
Being only 32 should theoretically make Dario Saric one of the safer veterans on this list, but last season was honestly brutal. He played five games. Yes, just five with the Kings until the Jaden Ivey trade that sent him to Detroit , got him waived in February, and he never stepped on an NBA floor again.
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Saric scored five total points in 41 minutes for Sacramento , shot 16.7% from the field, and basically vanished from the rotation before the season really got going. That's pretty crazy considering he used to be such an interesting offensive big man because he could shoot, pass, put the ball down a little, and play either frontcourt spot depending on the matchup.
The issue is that those offensive skills need to be really useful now because defensively there just isn't much left to hide behind. Saric isn't switching onto guards, he isn't protecting the rim, and he was never some great athlete even during his best years, so if the jumper isn't going in, finding an NBA role becomes really difficult.
Europe honestly feels like a pretty logical option if he wants to actually play meaningful basketball again, since he spent the last part of the season with Anadolu Efes. His passing and skill level could translate really well there, and that sounds better than sitting around as the 14th man hoping injuries create a few minutes.
Maybe an NBA team calls, but out of all the veterans here, Saric is one of the easiest for me to imagine going the entire year without another NBA contract.
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4. Kelly Olynyk
There are still parts of Kelly Olynyk's game I really like, but being a 35-year-old stretch big man becomes a problem when the "stretch" part suddenly disappears.
Olynyk averaged only 3.2 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in 8.6 minutes with San Antonio last season, and the number that really hurts is 25.5% from three. He isn't far removed from averaging 10.7 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 3.6 assists after joining New Orleans in 2024-25, so it's not like he was useless for five straight years, but last season was a huge drop.
His passing can still change the look of an offense, and he's smart enough to play without needing touches, but teams already know they're giving something up defensively when Olynyk is at center. If he's shooting 39% from three and pulling opposing big men away from the basket, maybe you accept that. At 25.5%, the tradeoff becomes much harder.
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I could absolutely see some contender calling around January because it wants another experienced frontcourt option, especially somebody who can pass and potentially regain his shooting touch. For Opening Night, though, there just isn't much reason for teams to rush.
3. James Wiseman
There's something pretty wild about the former No. 2 overall pick being 25 years old and already reaching the point where people are wondering whether he'll even get another NBA contract.
James Wiseman appeared in only four games last season, averaging 3.3 points and 2.0 rebounds, and injuries have basically destroyed any chance he had of building consistent momentum. Six years after Golden State drafted him, he has played only 152 regular-season games.
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The physical talent is still why somebody might eventually convince itself to try again. Wiseman is 6-foot-11, athletic, has career averages of 9.0 points and 5.5 rebounds, and can obviously finish around the basket when somebody creates something for him.
The issue is that teams probably know what they're evaluating by now. He hasn't become a dependable rim protector, doesn't switch comfortably, hasn't developed a real three-point shot, and still needs more help with positioning than you'd want from somebody entering Year 7.
At some point, where you were drafted doesn't matter anymore. A team can sign some 22-year-old unknown big man on a two-way contract and hope he develops instead of using a guaranteed roster spot on Wiseman because Golden State loved him in 2020.
I still think somebody probably gives him another shot eventually, but seeing him still available in mid-September definitely says a lot.
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2. Victor Oladipo
This is easily the one I'm rooting hardest against, because Victor Oladipo has basically done everything possible to tell NBA teams he wants another chance.
He hasn't played an NBA game since April 2023, when he tore the patellar tendon in his left knee, and that came years after the ruptured quad tendon that completely changed his career in the first place. He hasn't played more than 42 NBA games in a season since 2017-18, which feels insane when you remember what that version of him looked like.
Oladipo averaged 23.1 points that year, made the All-NBA Third Team and All-Defensive First Team, won Most Improved Player, and looked like he was becoming one of the best two-way guards in basketball. Instead, basically his entire prime got swallowed by injuries.
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He spent last season trying to prove there's still something there, averaging 13.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 2.1 steals in the G League, then held a workout in front of NBA executives and recently wrote an open letter to general managers saying his body finally feels right.
That's also what makes this a little concerning, because teams already know he wants back in, they've had opportunities to watch him, and he still doesn't have a contract.
At 34, after three years away from the NBA and multiple devastating leg injuries, I understand why teams are cautious. Still, if somebody wants to give him a non-guaranteed chance in camp, I'd love to see it because even a reduced version of Oladipo could theoretically defend, handle the ball, and give a second unit some energy.
1. Cam Thomas
This situation is honestly kind of insane: Cam Thomas is 25 years old, averaged 24.0 points per game only two seasons ago, has already put together multiple huge scoring stretches in the NBA, and somehow we're sitting here in September wondering if he might need to leave the league just to find a job.
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Thomas bet on himself last summer after Brooklyn reportedly offered him different multiyear options, choosing the $6.0 million qualifying offer instead because he wanted unrestricted free agency and a bigger opportunity afterward. Then basically everything went wrong: Brooklyn eventually waived him, Milwaukee gave him another chance and later did the same, and he finished the year at 13.5 points across 42 games.
Now the latest noise around him suggests there's little to no interest around the NBA, with even EuroLeague becoming a possible option to rebuild his value. That's where this gets much more interesting than just saying teams don't like inefficient scorers, because Thomas can obviously score at an NBA level. You don't accidentally average 24 points, and there are nights where his shotmaking becomes completely ridiculous.
The issue is everything that happens when the ball isn't going in. He isn't a good defender, doesn't offer much on the glass, has never been a natural playmaker, and his offensive value is heavily tied to taking a lot of shots. If you put him on a contender and only give him eight attempts per game, are you actually getting enough from him to justify everything else? Apparently teams aren't convinced.
I still think there's a very obvious microwave role for him somewhere. Give Thomas 20 minutes with a second unit, let him attack weaker defenders, and there will absolutely be nights where he wins you a game because he randomly scores 18 points in a quarter.
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The bigger issue might be whether Thomas views himself that way, because after already averaging 24.0 points at 22 years old, I can understand why he probably sees himself as something much bigger than a bench scorer.
NBA teams clearly seem to disagree, and that disconnect is how one of the most talented scorers in this entire free-agent class somehow becomes the player I think is most likely to still be sitting there when the season begins.
