Old-school basketball was built around point guards and centers, but the wing position has arguably grown to be the most important in the modern NBA. It’s also the broadest, ranging from combo guards like Jordan Clarkson and Donte DiVincenzo to taller, rangy scorers/defenders (or both) like Kyle Kuzma and Jerami Grant.

The league has a new collective bargaining agreement, which may initially curtail spending. But some teams anticipate a rising salary cap over the coming years with a new broadcast deal on the horizon. It will be fascinating to see who gets paid and by whom.

In Part 2 of three, how will the market shake out for the best available free-agent wings, and who are their potential suitors?

Kyle Kuzma Is Staying, Probably

The Washington Wizards don’t have a lead basketball operations executive after parting ways with Tommy Sheppard, so it’s difficult to project the team’s direction. For an incoming general manager, the expectation will be competing for a playoff spot, not rebuilding—at least, that’s what several competing executives believe.

With that in mind, Kyle Kuzma was one of the Wizards’ best players last season. At almost 28, Kuzma will opt out of his $13 million player option to lock in a lucrative new deal. The buzz around the league suggests that it will be with Washington.

The question will be price, and Kuzma will need competing bids for leverage. Fortunately, he may be young enough to entice teams that project to have cap space to make a run, like the Indiana Pacers, Detroit Pistons, Houston Rockets, Orlando Magic, Utah Jazz, San Antonio Spurs or Oklahoma City Thunder. He just needs one offer near the $30 million range to push the price up for the Wizards.

Washington should be able to afford Bradley Beal, Kristaps Porzingis and Kuzma. Whether that’s enough to make a playoff run in the East is questionable, but that probably doesn’t get in the way of Kuzma getting paid by the (GM pending) Wizards this summer.

Blazers Recommit to Jerami Grant?

The Portland Trail Blazers are in a similar position as the Wizards. Both have a veteran star guard eager to make a playoff run after an early offseason and a critical wing free agent to pay. The Blazers will likely continue building around Damian Lillard, leading to a recommitment to Grant.

Once again, the question is price. Grant will reach 30 before the end of next season and is probably looking for a reasonable raise above his expiring $21 million. Portland can give him up to five years, one more than competing franchises. Perhaps he’s willing to take a little bit less annually for a longer deal in the $20-$25 million range.

Even paying $45.6 million for Lillard next season, the Blazers aren’t heavily leveraged. The team has some flexibility to upgrade the roster with its non-taxpayer mid-level exception (NTMLE) and trades.

If the franchise decides to go in a completely different direction, by offloading Lillard, Grant would likely need to seek a new home. That might be at a room team like the Jazz, Pacers, Thunder or Rockets.