Regardless of when (or if) we restart and complete this season, everybody’s favorite NBA topic lurks around the corner: Free agency!



The majority of the season is in the books, and lottery teams in particular may only have a few games left, if that. As a result, most of the evaluation work is already done, and we can use the current hiatus to start looking ahead to the offseason.



But first things first. There’s something that has to happen before free agency, an oft-overlooked step: The free agents need to be freed.



For most players that is a straightforward process – their contracts expire, and in all but a few rare cases they fail to sign an extension before July 1. (Or whatever date the league and players agree to post-hiatus. Note that only players on three-year or longer deals are eligible to do this).



For others, however, it’s a bit more complicated. Forty-one players have options on their contracts that could result in...