James Harden and Tyrese Maxey were 2 of the NBA’s best facilitators in the 2023-24 NBA season.
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Every offense begins with somebody handling the ball and making plays for others. A few special big men handle that role for their teams, but the league’s best playmakers are mostly guards.
Some of them can also put points on the board themselves. And there are some big names among the playmakers in the 2024 free-agent class.
Here are six free-agent playmakers (in alphabetical order) who could help teams next season.
James Harden, LA Clippers
Number to know: Harden shot 38.5% on pull-up 3-pointers, the best mark among 17 players who attempted at least 250 such shots.
Harden, who turns 35 this summer, has evolved from the league’s best heliocentric superstar to one of the league’s best facilitators for other stars. He was terrific as the Clippers went 26-5 over an extended stretch in the middle of the season. But the team couldn’t sustain that success, Kawhi Leonard was injured (again) in the first round of playoffs, and Harden (again) struggled (7-for-27 shooting over the last two games) as his team was eliminated. We may have already seen the end of this version of this superteam.
If the Clippers bring both Harden and Paul George back, they’re likely over the second tax apron for the second straight season. Harden is the unrestricted free agent (George has a player option), but he seems to be the more likely to return (if only because there’s less of a market for his services).
Tyus Jones, Washington Wizards
Number to know: Jones had an assist/turnover ratio of 7.35, the highest mark for a player (minimum 50 games played) who averaged at least five assists per game (he averaged 7.3) in the 47 seasons for which turnovers have been counted. He also has the third-highest mark (5.63 the season prior).
The trade that sent Jones to Washington a year ago allowed him to be a full-time starter for the first time. With that, he registered career-high marks in points per game, assists per game, assist/turnover ratio, effective field goal percentage and true shooting percentage.
Of course, the Wizards — having traded Bradley Beal and Kristaps Porzingis in separate deals last summer — won just 15 games and ranked 25th offensively. A return to relevance isn’t imminent, but they don’t have a point guard to replace Jones should he leave.
Tyrese Maxey, Philadelphia 76ers (restricted)
Number to know: Maxey had 109 regular-season assists to Joel Embiid, a rate of 4.1 per 36 minutes on the floor together. That rate ranked fourth among the 31 combinations where one player had at least 100 assists to the other.
To preserve cap space, the Sixers didn’t sign Maxey to an extension last summer, and he’s since evolved into an All-Star. He’s a guard with lightning quickness, but who’s also shot 41% from 3-point range over the last three seasons. He shined on the bright stage of the playoffs this year and he’s still just 23 years old.
Given his restricted status, Maxey certainly isn’t going anywhere, though the Sixers won’t be able to put pen to paper on his new contract until they’ve used their cap space to sign other free agents.
Immanuel Quickley, Toronto Raptors (restricted)
Number to know: Quickley started all 38 games he’s played with the Raptors after starting just 27 of his 266 career games with the Knicks.
The Raptors didn’t get much in the way of Draft assets when they traded OG Anunoby, so they’ll want to keep the 25-year-old guard they got along with RJ Barrett. Quickley’s minutes alongside franchise cornerstone Scottie Barnes weren’t good (minus-0.4 points per 100 possessions), but this was a long-term play.
Still, it will be interesting to see how much (regarding both money and the length of his contract) that the Raptors are willing to invest in Quickley. They could certainly move him back to a reserve role, too.
D’Angelo Russell, Los Angeles Lakers (player option)
Number to know: Russell’s 41.5% from 3-point range was the best mark of his career and ranked second among 26 players with at least 500 attempts.
Russell had a terrific offensive stretch in the middle of last season, averaging 22.8 ppg on an effective field-goal percentage of 59.6% over 25 games. He remains a terrific passer when he’s looking to make plays.
But decision-making, defense and consistency will always be issues. Russell struggled in the playoffs, shooting just 38% as the Lakers lost in five games to the Denver Nuggets. His player option is for pretty good money ($18.3 million), but he may be looking for more long-term security.
Russell Westbrook, LA Clippers (player option)
Number to know: Westbrook was one of five players — Luka Doncic, LeBron James, Nikola Jokic and Domantas Sabonis were the others — to average at least 17 points, seven rebounds and seven assists per 36 minutes this past season.
The 35-year-old Westbrook has accepted and been effective in a smaller role with the Clippers, still pushing the pace and collapsing defenses. Defensive consistency and perimeter shooting remain glaring issues, with his 27.3% from 3-point range being the fifth-worst mark among 270 players with at least 100 attempts. Westbrook took only 33% of his shots, the lowest of his career by a healthy margin, from outside the paint.
His player option is $4.03 million, so even if no other team is willing to pay more than the projected veteran’s minimum ($3.31 million), Westbrook wouldn’t be taking much of a pay cut should he opt out to find another home.
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John Schuhmann is a senior stats analyst for NBA.com. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.
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