The NBA free-agent market in general isn’t good, but it’s stronger at shooting guard than at most other spots.Austin Reaves is an All-Star-caliber lead guard who will be a true unrestricted free agent, Norman Powell is also unrestricted while coming off an All-Star season, and players like Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu are valuable performers who are still in their 20s.According to my BORD$ formula, seven different shooting guards worth more than $10 million will hit unrestricted free agency this summer, while the LA Clippers’ interesting Bennedict Mathurin will hit the market via restricted free agency (more on the BORD$ methodology here). They’re all in their 20s except Powell, making it a strong environment to find a potential long-term starter.As always, I’ve included all free agents and potential free agents due to player options, team options and non-guaranteed contracts, except for absurd cases where there is no chance of a player being waived and — importantly — also no chance for other cap shenanigans by declining options and signing new contracts. For instance, you can rest assured the Oklahoma City Thunder won’t be waiving Ajay Mitchell from his non-guaranteed deal for 2026-27 that pays him just $3 million. Ditto for Sidy Cissoko in Portland and Kris Dunn with the Clippers.Free-agent market: Top 25(PO = player option; TO = team option; NG = non-guaranteed; PG = partial guarantee; R = restricted)Tier 1: Max guysNoneTier 2: More than MLE, less than max1. Austin Reaves, L.A. Lakers (PO): $34,429,743Reaves obviously will opt out of his current deal, which pays him a mere pittance at $14.9 million for 2026-27, and the Lakers can use his artificially low cap hold ($20.9 million) to fill in the roster with cap room before coming back to sign him at a more market-appropriate contract. That landing point would seem about four years and $140 million, based on BORD$, for a 28-year-old who has defense and durability questions but also showed last season he can be a high-usage, lead initiator on offense.However, the Lakers may be forced to go even higher. As one of the most prominent unrestricted free agents on the board, Reaves could command an over-the-top max offer from a talent-needy rival such as the Brooklyn Nets.What we know about LeBron James' retirement decisionDan WoikeTier 3: MLE guys2. Keon Ellis, Cleveland: $19,989,738My numbers have always been far, far more bullish on Ellis than the people who coach his teams, and this valuation is no exception. The Cavs barely used Ellis after acquiring him at midseason from Sacramento, whose more baffling unwillingness to put him on the court made him available in the first place.At his best, Ellis is a plus defender at guard who is money on open 3s (40.7 percent career!), but he’s undersized against apex wings and doesn’t offer a lot of shot creation. Because of that, I’d say his true market is probably for half this amount. Even at that price, the Cavs’ tax issues seem to make them an unlikely destination. At 26 years old, Ellis could be a nice fit on a rebuilding team, such as Brooklyn, or one emerging from hibernation, such as Utah or Washington.3. Norman Powell, Miami: $19,165,238Powell made the All-Star team ahead of his teammate who both had an 83-point game and made the All-Defensive team, an objectively hilarious overreaction to Powell’s torrid shooting in the first half of the season. At age 33, the market isn’t going to get too overheated for Powell, especially on a longer deal, and Miami’s other offseason uncertainties (cough Giannis cough) could limit how far the Heat are willing to go to retain him as free agency kicks off.That said, Miami has full Bird rights, and the tax and apron situations are very manageable. On a short deal, his contract will be tradeable. There’s a case for a short-term overpay — say, two years and $50 million — to give Miami enough ballast to salary match in trades later.4. Coby White, Charlotte: $18,121,736White is a valuable scorer who profiles more as an elite sixth man than a starter, but he can play on or off the ball and has enough size to check shooting guards. That should get his price point to the non-taxpayer MLE at the very least, and likely above it given his age (26) and the presence of multiple cap-room teams. Charlotte has some minor tax issues if it pays him full freight, but those could easily be resolved by dropping off an underperforming low-eight-figure contract, such as those of Grant Williams, Josh Green and/or Tre Mann, someplace else.5. Ayo Dosunmu, Minnesota: $14,485,494After a midseason trade from Chicago, Dosunmu proved his worth to Minnesota in the postseason with a 43-point game and several other notable performances. He’s an unrestricted free agent, so the Wolves will have to deliver a market-value deal, but it seems like they could come in at the nontaxpayer MLE or slightly above and ward off any reasonable competition on a three-year deal for the 26-year-old.The trick for Minnesota is that his Bird rights mean the Wolves don’t have to worry about tax aprons when re-signing him, making him much more valuable for their purposes than another player they signed for the same money with the MLE.6. Jordan Goodwin, Phoenix: $12,832,658Goodwin is a valuable player, but one whom teams may have trouble valuing, at least in a free-agency environment. BORD$ has always been a much bigger fan of Goodwin than the NBA market, which has never seen him make more than the minimum. Even after a breakout year in Phoenix, his odd profile — not really a shot creator or point guard, not really a shooter (although his 37.1 percent from 3 on real volume last season could change some minds on that front), but a ballhawking defender who is also an utterly insane offensive rebounder for 6 feet 3 — doesn’t neatly slide into most NBA rotation boxes.The Suns did a great job of getting the most from Goodwin’s skill set, but Phoenix also has some budget limitations this summer, and the Suns’ first priorities likely are Collin Gillespie and Mark Williams. He may have to settle once again for a smaller number than BORD$ suggests.Tier 4: Less than MLE, more than minimum7. Bennedict Mathurin, LA Clippers (R): $11,961,877 A divisive restricted free agent who might be described as “Jonathan Kuminga 2.0”, Mathurin is a natural scorer who draws heaps of free throws, but his deficiencies in other phases of the game made him expendable in Indiana and stopped him from claiming a starting role with the Clippers.At age 23, on a Clippers team that badly needs infusions of youth and athleticism, he’d be a solid bet for this particular franchise, and of course, the Clippers will have matching rights. (Mathurin’s qualifying offer is $8.8 million because he didn’t meet the starter criteria; surely the Clippers should tender that number.)Overall, the risk/reward on locking in multiple years at midlevel-ish money feels like a good gamble. The one wild card, however, is that the Clippers also have cap-room scenarios that could involve either letting him walk or trying to get him to ink a “one-plus-one” short-term deal for the estimated $9.4 million room exception.8. Quentin Grimes, Philadelphia: $11,640,346One wonders if the new regime in Philadelphia will feel similar to the old one, which seemingly chose Grimes over Jared McCain at the trade deadline. There’s also the matter of Grimes perhaps wanting to chase a starting role somewhere else rather than being permanently etched into a backup role in Philly behind two young star guards. The fact that new GM Mike Gansey spoke openly about using the Sixers’ non-taxpayer MLE is another sign Grimes might be a goner. That can really only happen if Grimes leaves. I could see his market going higher than this BORD$ value, all the way up to the full MLE, if he finds the right mix of desperation and cap flexibility.9. Pelle Larsson, Miami (TONG): $11,334,890Larsson is obviously worth way more than his minimum contract for this coming season, but he is listed here for the purposes of a “decline-and-resign” scenario where the Heat try to lock in a good long-term number in return for ripping up the last year of his deal. Something around three years and $25 million, for instance, might be a nice way to bridge his cheapo deal for 2026-27 with his impending free agency afterward. Between his age (25), his role and his being a core #HeatCulture guy, he’ll be back in Miami one way or another.The Kings’ Zach LaVine has a huge player option that he seems likely to pick up. (Ed Szczepanski / Imagn Images)10. Zach LaVine, Sacramento (PO): $9,332,241You have better odds of getting invited to the Taylor Swift-Travis Kelce wedding than you do of seeing LaVine in free agency, with a $49 million player option for this season that is a massive overpay relative to his recent production. I presume the Kings aren’t crazy enough to stretch him, but with their tax issues, that’s a possibility.