There wasn't much cap space to go around this past NBA offseason. That made player movement a bit trickier than it typically is.
In the summer of 2023, it doesn't look like that will be a problem, as Spotrac projects 15 teams to have at least $10 million in "practical cap space" (with nine of those over $30 million).
That means free agency could bring a lot more fireworks, especially with a class that includes Kyrie Irving and could potentially include James Harden and Draymond Green.
Those three and the rest of the top 10 free agents, as determined by Bleacher Report's latest top 30, are the subject of today's "Early Flight-Risk Meter."
Age, circumstance and way-too-early reactions to 2022-23 performance are among the inputs that generate the answers below.
10. Gary Trent Jr. (Player Option)
Gary Trent Jr.'s scoring average has climbed in each of his NBA campaigns, and he's started this season at over 20 points per game.
His three-point volume is up too, to nearly 10 attempts per contest. And he's maintained an above-average three-point percentage on those attempts.
Those two things alone should make the 23-year-old guard valuable for the foreseeable future. And last season, he posted an above-average defensive estimated plus-minus (one of the game's most trusted catch-all metrics).
Does all of that equate to Trent commanding a higher annual salary on the open market than his $18.8 million player option will pay him? Maybe in the post-cap spike world coming after 2025, but we're obviously not there yet.
That evaluation might change a bit if Trent can show a little more as a playmaker between now and the end of the season, but staying on a competitive up-and-comer for nearly $20 million feels like a relatively safe bet.
Flight Risk: Medium-Low
9. Harrison Barnes
At 30 years old, Harrison Barnes is nearing the post-prime portion of his career. And after this season, he'll have nearly $170 million in career earnings.
Unless the Sacramento Kings show some real strides toward ending a playoff drought that has lasted for nearly two decades, it wouldn't be hard to imagine the one-time champion looking at smaller roles to compete for a title
Of course, those aforementioned strides aren't out of the question for Sacramento.
De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis (24 and 26, respectively) are entering their primes. And promising rookie Keegan Murray looks like a near-ideal fit in a switch-happy forward duo with Barnes.
Flight Risk: Medium
8. Kyle Kuzma (Player Option)
After having something of a re-breakout in 2021-22 with 17.1 points and a career-high 8.5 rebounds, Kyle Kuzma is off to an even hotter start this season.
If he maintains averages around 20 points, seven rebounds and two threes for the duration of 2022-23, declining his $13 million player option for 2023-24 will be very much in play.
As mentioned in the intro, there's a lot more cap space available in 2023 than there was this past summer. And a 6'9" forward who can take over stretches of a game as a scorer, switch between small and power forwards on defense and hit threes could draw multiple offers promising a higher salary than his current deal pays.
For a former champion who spent the first four years of his career in perhaps the NBA's most glamorous market, the allure of competing for a title outside Washington could be strong.
Flight Risk: Medium-High