The NBA free agent class this summer is going to be a very good one and some unrestricted and restricted players hitting the market include Marc Gasol, Greg Monroe, Brook Lopez, DeAndre Jordan, Roy Hibbert, Jimmy Butler, Kawhi Leonard, Rajon Rondo, Enes Kanter and Omer Asik and teams like the Miami Heat, Houston Rockets, LA Lakers, Chicago Bulls, NY Knicks and Boston Celtics could be targets for those names.
Gasol, Rondo and Monroe are some of the top unrestricted free agents and they all will be targets for the Lakers and Knicks. Goran Dragic will be a main target after his trade from the Suns to the Miami Heat, with both the Lakers and Knicks expected to chase. Those teams will have the most cap space of anyone in the NBA and while they have been bad, it could enable them to woo some free agents. If Gasol stays, Monroe could be plan B for those teams along with someone like Lopez.
According to Pro Basketball Talk, the Lakers are still going to target Dragic in the offseason and will offer him a max contract of four years and $80 million. Marc Stein at ESPN reported that the Heat will look at keeping Dragic this summer after trading for him, as they can offer an extra year and more money than anyone else on the market. Pro Basketball Talk also reported that sources said that Dragic sees the Lakers as a "perfect fit" and could sign there on the market over Miami.
Gasol said that he has "not ruled" anything out yet for the summer and that his main concern is the playoffs and he will think about free agency once the season ends. According to Pro Basketball Talk, Sean Deveney of Sporting News writes that the San Antonio Spurs could be a wild card in the Gasol chase this summer.
If Dragic remains in Miami, Rondo will be one of the top targets on the market and both the Knicks and Lakers are likely to go after him. Rondo was traded to the Mavericks this season from the Celtics, but it's unlikely he ends up staying in Dallas with how things have gone so far for him. The Mavs likely will not pay up and with the Lakers and Knicks both having a ton of cap space, they each could compete to get Rondo.
According to Pro Basketball Talk, Ian Begley at ESPN writes that the team would consider trading their first round pick this year depending on where they end up in the lottery. The Knicks likely would only do that if they got an All-Star in return.
