With another historic NBA season in the books, teams are heading into the summer hoping to upgrade their roster for next year. One way to do it is through the trade market, which the world has already seen with superstars, including Kevin Durant and Desmond Bane, being dealt to new organizations. The other significant method for roster upgrades is via Free Agency.

Yes, starting June 30 at 6PM ET, teams are free to negotiate with all available free agents in the market. This marks the beginning of Free Agency Moratorium, which is a six-day window for negotiation. However, during this period, teams cannot officially ink a deal with most free agents apart from a few exceptions. Signings allowed during Moratorium include:

• Standard rookie-scale contracts for a team’s first-round draft picks.
• Required tender to keep the rights of a team’s second-round draft picks.
• Qualifying offers to the restricted free agents on your team, that includes a maximum qualifying offer after finishing the fourth year of a rookie-scale contract. RFAs may also sign offer sheets.
• Players on minimum salary contracts without bonuses.
• Signing or converting two-way deals, claiming waived players, or waiving a player.

Apart from these select scenarios, all free agent signings must wait for the moratorium period to end. On July 6, 12PM ET, teams may begin signing free agents to new contracts. So, July 6 marks the official start of Free Agency and the official opening of NBA’s 2025-26 campaign. Of course, there are two types of free agency.

Restricted Free Agency and Unrestricted Free Agency

In case of restricted free agency, the player is allowed to ink an offer sheet with any interested team. However, his current team can retain him by matching the terms of that offer, giving them the ‘right of first refusal.’ RFA usually exists in these scenarios:

• Veteran free agents with NBA experience of three seasons or less.
• First round draft picks finishing fourth year of rookie-scale contracts.
• Players coming off two-way deals and part of an NBA roster for at least 15 days in the season beforehand.

While RFA seems a bit complicated, Unrestricted Free Agency is simple. A UFA is free to sign with any interested team of his choice. Once that happens, their current teams have no say in that decision. Now that the types of free agency are clear, here are some of the top free agents for this summer.

Key players to watch in 2025 NBA Free Agency

Well, one of the biggest question marks heading into this year’s free agency was LeBron James. But by exercising his $52.6 million player option for the upcoming season, he has made things clear. Sure, there is still a chance of him moving out of LA, as his agent Rich Paul recently remarked that they will “evaluate what’s best for LeBron at this stage in his life and career.” But even if he does leave the Lakers, it will not be as a free agent.

Meanwhile, a few notable names still highlight this year’s free agency. First on the list is Indiana’s Myles Turner. Well, the big man just finished his two-year $40.9 million contract and is set to enter unrestricted free agency. Following his incredible run to the NBA Finals, Turner will be in high demand among teams. Of course, one of the most talked about players this summer is Jonathan Kuminga, whose future remains uncertain as a restricted free agent. The forward has been extended a qualifying offer by Mike Dunleavy, giving them the right to match any offer Kuminga receives going forward.

Meanwhile, on the older side, Chris Paul is also available in the market as a UFA after finishing last season in San Antonio. Reports suggest that the veteran guard is hoping to play with a team in Los Angeles, which is closer to home. That will allow him to spend more time with family while also pursuing a title. So, Lakers and Clippers could land CP in the coming weeks. Other notable names include Ty Jerome, Josh Giddey, and Al Horford. With several potential game changers available in the market, it will be interesting to see how free agency impacts teams’ title pursuit for next season. Who are some of the players that you are excited about?