NBA free agency: Six underrated players teams should target
Which under-the-radar free agents can aid in changing the trajectory of an NBA franchise?
NBACollin GillespiePhoenix Suns
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The NBA's championship landscape could change when high-profile players such as Austin Reaves, Jalen Duren and LeBron James sign new contracts this summer. But stars with nine-figure deals aren't the only free agents who can improve a team's fortunes.
Free agency is also full of role players and specialists and identifying and signing the right ones are vital for contenders who wish to round out a winning rotation. These players can step up in the event of injury over a long season, and they can provide flexible lineup options across different postseason series.
I'll highlight six under-the-radar free agents worth targeting when the market opens at the end of this month. None of them are listed among Bobby Marks' top 20 free agents in this year's class -- thus the "under-the-radar" component -- but all could make a difference in the right circumstance.
Notably, in this exercise last year, I nailed Luke Kornet and De'Anthony Melton as valuable role players worth signing. Granted, I also tabbed Chris Paul and Malcolm Brogdon in the same piece; Paul ended up playing just 16 ineffective games for the Clippers before being unceremoniously sent home, while Brogdon announced a surprising retirement just before the start of the season. You can't win 'em all.
G Collin Gillespie
2025-26 team: Phoenix Suns
Gillespie didn't get enough attention for his breakout season. Entering the 2025-26 campaign, the undrafted guard had played 57 games overall and scored 281 career points. But this season, he played 80 more games and scored 1,012 points, nearly quadrupling his previous total.
Gillespie's game is characterized by efficiency. He doesn't waste possessions -- he averaged three assists to one turnover -- and he's an excellent 3-point shooter. He was one of six players who made at least 40% of his 3s on at least seven attempts per game this season. And he was all the way up at 46% on catch-and-shoot 3s, which ranked third among 121 players with at least 200 attempts.
While Gillespie is only 6-foot-1, he works hard on defense, and his effort means he's not quite as easy to target as other diminutive guards. Phoenix was better with him on the court on offense and defense this season.
Not every projection system is fully enamored with Gillespie -- in part due to a small sample size -- but some of the best public advanced stats are huge fans. xRAPM says Gillespie's per-possession impact ranks in the 91st percentile among all players in the league and estimated plus-minus places him in the 88th percentile.
Entering his age-27 season, that's a player who deserves an eight-figure annual salary and a supporting role on a contender.
F John Collins
2025-26 team: LA Clippers
In August 2021, on the heels of a strong two-way effort that helped his Hawks reach the conference finals, Collins -- then a restricted free agent -- signed a five-year, $125 million deal to stay in Atlanta. Ever since then, Collins has arguably been judged more for that contract than for his actual play.
But five years and two trades later, Collins' nine-figure deal has finally run out, and he's set to become an unrestricted free agent for the first time. He could be a great prize for the team that lands him.
Collins is an efficient scorer who made 40% of his 3s over the past two seasons. He's an excellent finisher at the rim, even if he's not dunking as often as when he first bounced into the league. And he's a solid defender with positional flexibility who should be able to stick in a playoff rotation.
The biggest concern about Collins is his availability, as he's reached 70 games only once since he was a rookie. But it seems like he's underrated more because he's wandered in the wilderness since leaving Atlanta and thus fallen a bit off the NBA map. Collins didn't play a meaningful game in two seasons in Utah, and he joined the Clippers just in time for their 2025-26 implosion -- though he did contribute 11 points, nine rebounds, two steals and a block in 21 minutes off the bench in their play-in loss to Golden State this spring.
G Matisse Thybulle
2025-26 team: Portland Trail Blazers
I can't quit Thybulle, an unrestricted free agent after a largely disappointing tenure in Portland, despite two clear flaws: his availability and his lack of offense.
I would argue the first concern is a tad overblown. Thybulle has a reputation as an injury-prone player, but he has played at least 1,200 minutes in each of his first five seasons before barely getting on the court in 2024-25 and 2025-26. Crucially, he ended this season healthy, appearing in 31 of the Trail Blazers' last 32 games (counting regular season, play-in and playoffs).
Thybulle's lack of offense is more of a problem. In 45 games over the past two seasons, he did make 41% of his 3-pointers on greater volume than before, but opposing defenses still don't fear him, and he's not a good enough passer or offensive rebounder to add value elsewhere when the opposition ignores him.
Yet whatever Thybulle gives up on offense, he more than makes up for it on the defensive end. Estimated plus-minus ranks him as the eighth-most impactful defender in the NBA, sandwiched between Dyson Daniels and Marcus Smart -- two players who have either won (in Smart's case) or finished as runner-up (Daniels) in recent Defensive Player of the Year votes.
Thybulle is so valuable because of his unique ability to force turnovers. He leads all players this century (minimum 3,000 minutes) in career steal rate, and it's not particularly close.
And Thybulle was more effective than ever in his rare playing time in Portland. His steal rate over the past two seasons was an outrageous 5.6%, and he boosted his usage rate and true shooting percentage simultaneously.
Granted, Thybulle struggled against San Antonio in the playoffs, averaging just 1.8 points on 14% shooting. But in a league that has grown increasingly invested in winning the possession battle, via offensive rebounds and turnovers, Thybulle could be incredibly valuable in the right situation. He's a specialist, sure, but his specialty is growing in demand.
F Sandro Mamukelashvili
2025-26 team: Toronto Raptors
Few centers can make 39% of their 3-pointers. Even fewer can do so while also passing well. But Mamukelashvili can, and that's why he's quietly one of the most intriguing free agents available this summer.
Before 2025-26, Mamukelashvili had never played more than 681 minutes in a season or averaged more than 6.3 points. But after signing a two-year deal worth $5.3 million last summer, he blew past all his previous norms. Mamukelashvili played 1,751 minutes across 80 games and averaged 11.2 points, even collecting a few down ballot Sixth Man of the Year votes.
His smooth lefty 3-point stroke had never been better, and his shot chart is exactly what analytically inclined teams want to see: all dunks and 3s, with scarcely any midrange attempts all year.
FGA for Sandro Mamukelashvili during the 2025-26 Regular Season
Mamukelashvili is certain to opt out of the second year of his contract with Toronto to reenter the market, and he'll collect a much bigger payday this time. Teams across the NBA are looking for more size, and Mamukelashvili offers a combination of size and skill that makes him one of the best backup bigs in the league.
G De'Anthony Melton
2025-26 team: Golden State Warriors
Melton is a repeat member of this list, and for good reason: After he returned from rehabbing a torn ACL, he averaged a career-high 12.3 points in 49 games for Golden State, while adding his usual disruptive defense (1.6 steals per game). He'll be a free agent again once he opts out of his $3.5 million player option for 2026-27.
As I wrote about Melton on last year's list, "He's just a winning player; in six of his seven seasons, Melton's team has been better with him on the court." Make that seven of eight seasons after Melton posted one of the best on/off differentials on the Warriors.
Never a terribly efficient scorer, Melton's efficiency dropped even more this season as his usage rate reached a career-high 25%. He was forced to assume a heavier offensive burden because he played 64% of his minutes without Stephen Curry or Jimmy Butler III.
But whichever team signs him this summer will be looking for him to slot in as a role player rather than as an underqualified go-to option. And Melton is a strong option in that capacity, capable of manning either guard position and defending on the perimeter.
Moreover, Melton's 29% 3-point accuracy this season was far below his career norm -- he had been at 38% over his previous five seasons -- so he'll likely bounce back in that specific area in the 2026-27 campaign.
F Dean Wade
2025-26 team: Cleveland Cavaliers
Nobody will sign Wade for his offense, despite his 37% 3-point stroke: The undrafted forward has never averaged more than 6.0 points in a season, and his career 10.8% usage rate is the third lowest among active players with at least 5,000 career minutes. (The two players below him are Thybulle and John Konchar.)
That dearth of offense is why Cleveland moved him in and out of the starting lineup this postseason, rather than installing him as an every-game starter. Wade probably profiles best as a backup on a contender, especially as he enters his age-30 season.
At 6-foot-9, 228 pounds, Wade is a big, versatile defender, which makes him a useful rotation player. In the playoffs, his most common matchups were Cade Cunningham, Brandon Ingram, Scottie Barnes and Jalen Brunson, who range in size and playing style, but all four players scored 25 points per 100 possessions or less when Wade defended them, per GeniusIQ.
Like Melton, Wade's on/off differential has been positive in all but one season of his career. He's the epitome of a player whose impact goes beyond the surface stats and is therefore an underrated free agent in the 2026 class.
