2013 NBA Free Agency

Tyreke and Brandon are some the best RFA's of 2013

With the big move made last night by the Oklahoma City Thunder, sending James Harden to the Rockets for players and picks, the 2013 free agency class may have just gotten a little bit thinner. Harden is now expected to sign a max offer sheet with the Rockets and cash in for around $80 million dollars over five years. Harden was supposed to be one of the highlights of this upcoming free agency class but now this summers scramble for new players will be headlined by other young players around the league.

Obviously some players are expected to sign extensions with their current teams, such as Chris Paul and Dwight Howard, but this is a pretty good free agent class even without Harden. The unrestricted free agents are a sort of veteran crop of still useful talent, and the restricted group being the young guns. 

Now most people see the restricted tag and think off-limits, that theres no way a team will be able to pry them away. However, this year will definitely be different for a few of these guys. It is all but certain that the Bucks, and Kings, are not likely to extend their young guards' contract, in Brandon Jennings and Tyreke Evans. The two will most likely look for monster deals, and those two teams aren't in the business of spending large, especially on a non-proven superstar. DeMar DeRozan will also probably hit the open market for the same type of reasons. 

One free agent that rumors continue to swirl around is Jrue Holiday. Once considered a shoe-in to get extended and remain in Philly for a while, has now become a major question mark for the future of the franchise. Holiday is reportedly going to ask for a max deal, which the Sixers would find hard to match. However, if it were me, I think I would have no choice but to pay him. I lost two of my brightest young guards in Andre Iguodala and Louis Williams in the offseason, so letting Holiday go isn't really an option. 

It should end up being a very interesting summer in the NBA, and I predict a lot of these players will be taking their talents to S̶o̶u̶t̶h̶ ̶B̶e̶a̶c̶h̶ a new team. Which of these players would you like to see your favorite team make a run at?