It can get mighty awkward for veteran NBA free agents this time of year. The regular season is about to start, and these dudes—who have done nothing but play basketball their entire lives—find themselves without a team to play on. They’ve essentially not been asked to the dance yet, and they’re just waiting for that cell phone to ring.
For some, that call never comes.
Former NBA MVP Russell Westbrook wasn’t about to play the waiting game again this fall, as he called it quits this past August.
“Sometimes you don’t even know when you’ve already watched the end,” Westbrook wrote on X on August 12. “You had to be there. And now it’s over.”
While Westbrook waved the white flag, there are still plenty of veteran players available in the NBA’s free agency pool, waiting for that phone call.
These are the 5 Best Unsigned Free Agents Available.
Seth Curry
Klay Thompson and Steph Curry were known as the “Splash Brothers” for years.
Steph’s real life “Splash Brother,” Seth, signed with the Warriors around this time last year. The hope was that Seth would be a key bench member of the Dubs.
On December 2, 2025 against OKC, all was right in Curry Land as lil’ bro had 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting in just 18 minutes.
Two nights later in Philly against the Sixers, things did not go as well. Seth went scoreless on 0-2 shooting in 14 minutes.
He then missed the next 40 games as he battled a sciatic nerve-related injury. The injury rendered Seth incapable of moving for a period of time.
“I don’t know exactly when [the injury] happened,” Curry said. “I couldn’t move at all. It was like a month’s time where I really couldn’t move. I was just lying at home.
“And then just once the pain went away, I was able to rehab and try to get all my movement back, but it’s been tough.”
Seth had some decent showings when he returned in the spring. On March 9, he scored 13 points against Utah, and he had a 12-point outing against the Spurs on April 1.
Possible landing spots: The Warriors remain the most logical landing spot for Seth, given that he’s Steph’s brother and the Golden State organization is still fully committed to making Steph happy. A team like the Rockets might be interested as well, as Houston struggled greatly from beyond the 3-point line last season.
Gabe Vincent
Several teams have been interested in Vincent’s services in recent weeks, including the defending NBA champion Knicks. The 30-year-old Vincent actually turned down the champs, however.
“The Stein Line has learned that former Heat, Lakers, and Hawks guard Gabe Vincent could have signed with the Knicks to join the wing battle, but elected to wait for a more sure-fire opportunity,” NBA reporter Marc Stein wrote in September.
That decision looks to have been a wise one as we just saw the Knicks cut another player on this list - Bruce Brown.
Vincent was part of a trade deadline deal this past February as the Lakers dealt the former UC Santa Barbara star to the Hawks. Atlanta also received a future second round pick in the deal, and the Lakers landed Luke Kennard in the swap.
Between the Lakers and Hawks in 2025-26, Vincent averaged 4.4 points and 1.4 assists per game.
Possible landing spots: Vincent is a classic glue guy for a championship contender. His best work came with the Heat in the early portion of this decade as Miami made multiple deep runs in the playoffs. He averaged 12.7 points and 3.5 assists in 22 games (all starts) during the Heat’s run to the 2023 NBA Finals.
A reunion with Miami could be in the cards as Pat Riley is in need of backcourt depth. The Mavericks also need some backcourt help.
Victor Oladipo
Oladipo’s NBA career was derailed by major injuries. He last played for the Miami Heat in the 2022-23 season, averaging 10.7 ppg and 3.5 apg, before he went down with a season-ending torn patellar tendon in his left knee.
The former No. 2 overall pick (2013) played last season with the Wisconsin Herd of the G League and was productive. He averaged 13.5 points, 3.9 assists, and 4.6 rebounds per game.
Oladipo has been quite vocal about wanting one more run in the Association.
“I don’t know how my journey is going to end,” Oladipo wrote in a “letter to NBA GMs” at The Players’ Tribune. “Maybe a team out there will give me a chance. Maybe no team will. That’s really up to you all. But if you’re in an NBA front office, and you took the time to read this: Thank you from the bottom of my heart. And I can promise you one thing, always, about my basketball story … from the first page to the last. It’s a love story.”
Possible landing spots: A return to the Heat makes a ton of sense as the roster is veteran-laden and they need backcourt depth. Oladipo played good basketball for the Heat for three seasons earlier this decade and he maintains a good relationship with the front office.
The Kings and Oladipo had “mutual interest” in a signing back in August, but no deal every materialized. Perhaps Sacramento will reconsider signing Oladipo following the unfortunate news that Ben Simmons tore his Achilles this past weekend.
Kevin Love
Love was a fantastic locker room presence for the Jazz last season, and when he actually stepped on the floor he did a solid job as well. In his 18th NBA season, Love averaged 6.7 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. He shot 37.3 percent from 3-point territory.
There were a few nights with the Jazz in 2025-26 where he turned back the clock and looked something like double-double machine he was with the Timberwolves and Cavs.
In a December 12, 2025 game against the Grizzlies, Love scored 20 points and pulled down 8 rebounds. Thirteen of those 20 points came in the third quarter.
On December 20, 2025 against the Magic, Love tallied 16 points and recorded a whopping 16 rebounds.
Possible landing spots: Love reportedly wants to close out his NBA career playing on a contending team. The two teams that most people identify him with, the Wolves and Cavs, are both in title contention these days. Both teams need frontcourt depth.
Minnesota, in particular, would be a great fit.
“From what I understand, Kevin Love is open to coming back to Minnesota,” The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski said in September. “I do think that the Wolves have some interest in bringing him back, as well.”
Bruce Brown
Just three seasons ago, teams were tripping over one another to sign Brown as he was fresh off being a key member of the Nuggets’ 2023 title team. Brown is a classic “team chemistry guy”, who prioritizes defense and can play multiple positions.
He played in all 82 games last season with the Nuggets and averaged 7.9 points, 2.1 assists, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.0 steal per game.
Brown, who was cut by the Knicks this past weekend after he had a lackluster pre-season showing, recently voiced his displeasure with the NBA’s second apron.
“I played every single game last year. I thought I played well enough to have a guaranteed spot on a team,” Brown told SNY last week before being waived by New York. “That wasn’t the case, so now it’s time to just fight and get a job.
“The new CBA is good for certain players, right? Max guys, top free agents and maybe rookie extension guys. But other than that, like the middle guys, it kind of sucks for us.”
NBA Communications took notice of Brown’s comments and publicly pushed back against that “narrative”.
“Recent reports asserted that the second apron is hurting ‘lower’ and ‘middle’ class players. That’s untrue,” NBA Communications posted on X last Friday. “Since the implementation of the second apron, the number of players on team rosters has remained the same and annual salaries have increased by nearly $1.3 billion resulting in pay increases of approximately 30% for all classes of players.”
Hopefully, for Brown’s sake, his comments don’t negatively impact his chances of signing with another NBA team.
Possible landing spots: It’s likely that Brown ends up with a contender instead of a young, inexperienced squad. The Cavaliers make some sense given that they could use a defensive-minded player behind James Harden. A return to the Knicks makes some sense as well. Teams will often waive a player just before the season, and then re-sign them shortly after depending on need.
The Nuggets are a potential landing spot for Brown, given that he’s already had two successful stints in Denver.
The Lakers are also a team to watch when it comes to Brown, as Rob Pelinka pushed hard to land Brown in free agency in 2023. LA has consistently been linked to him ever since.
