On Tuesday, June 30, NBA teams were allowed to start negotiating and reaching contract agreements with new free agents. Of course, some of these conversations start earlier than they’re supposed to, even with the NBA trying to cut down on tampering. However, with the amount of deals that have been reported already, it’s pretty clear it’s still happening. Either way, this is an exciting time of the summer. Not only are we a few weeks away from the start of Vegas Summer League, we’re starting to see what teams are doing to do chase down the New York Knicks in the 2026-27 season. With that in mind, it makes sense to have a place where we react to some of the bigger moves of the NBA offseason. Keep reading for some quick analysis on some of the bigger trades and signing.
Massive Free Agency Updates
Clippers trade Kawhi Leonard to Raptors for Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, two first-round picks, one pick swap, and two second-round picks
With Los Angeles taking a few steps back last season, the team decided it was time to get off Leonard. That opened up the potential for a reunion between Leonard and Toronto, and it didn’t long for the Raptors to strike. On Tuesday, they decided to move some significant draft capital for the two-time Finals MVP, who won a title with the organization in 2019 and decided he wants to end his career in Canada.
We’re going to find out the fallout of a bad Leonard story shortly, but this is at least a good one. Leonard is a hero in Toronto after having delivered the city a championship. And while it would have been nice to see him continue competing alongside his championship teammates years ago, it’s cool to see he wants to retire in a Raptors uniform. This isn’t a sentimental move though. In acquiring Leonard for the price of one rotation player, Toronto is now a legitimate contender in the Eastern Conference. Leonard isn’t the overall two-way assassin he was in 2019 anymore, but he was fifth in the NBA in Estimated Plus-Minus (+6.6) last season and performed at an MVP level when he was on the floor.
The Raptors now have the best defensive frontcourt in the NBA in Leonard, Scottie Barnes, and Collin Murray-Boyles, and Darko Rajakovic is one of the best defensive coaches in the league. On top of that, Leonard gives this team an S-tier isolation scorer to rely on late in games. They also have some good pieces surrounding those three, and they have the assets required to go out and make some more moves. Kyrie Irving is a name to keep an eye on.
Of course, Toronto gave up a lot to go out and do this. But getting a top-five player in the league without giving up Murray-Boyles, Ja’Kobe Walter, and 2026 first-round pick Allen Graves is a major win. There could also be an element of addition-by-subtraction with Ingram, who has always been a bit of a black hole offensively and a minus defensively.
As far as Eastern Conference odds go, the Raptors are my favorite value play at +800. I don’t see much of a difference between Toronto and favorites like Boston and New York.
LeBron James and Lakers will be parting ways
We don’t know where LeBron will be taking his talents in 2026-27, but we do know he won’t be on the Lakers. Rich Paul spoke with the Los Angeles front office on Tuesday, letting the Lakers know that they’re free to start mapping out a post-LeBron future. And honestly, this is exciting for both sides. LeBron can now handpick his next spot, while Rob Pelinka can begin to truly build around Luka Doncic.
For LeBron, the teams to keep an eye on are the Warriors, Cavaliers, and Heat. LeBron is said to have interest in all three, but it’s Golden State that is really acting like a team that will have him on the roster. Draymond Green opted out of his contract to give the Warriors time and flexibility when it comes to convincing his buddy LeBron to play in the Bay Area. Golden State is now favored to land LeBron whether you’re looking at prediction markets or DraftKings’ Next Team Odds.
Lakers trade two unprotected first-round picks and two pick swaps to Jazz for Walker Kessler, who signs for four years, $130 million with Los Angeles
This is a massive one. Luka Doncic told the Lakers front office that he wants a big-time center, so they went out and got one. Kessler is a walking double-double that has flashed the ability to anchor a defense. He should be a perfect lob threat for Doncic and Austin Reaves, and he should also take some pressure off them on the other end of the floor. However, Kessler will need to stay healthy if this deal is going to age well. Los Angeles gave him a massive bag, plus the team dealt the rest of its remaining long-term assets to get him out of Utah. Kessler is the type of two-way center that you dream of pairing with Doncic, so it’s an understandable move. But whether he was worth this type of mortgaging of a future will be determined by the team’s results in the Doncic era.
Los Angeles followed it up by signing Sandro Mamukelashvili (four years, $52 million), Quentin Grimes (four years, $60 million), and Collin Sexton (two years, $19 million). The Lakers will likely need to dump a salary on someone else, so they’re not completely done. But this is the team they’re heading into the season with.
Mamukelashvili is super interesting for LA. He’s a knockdown shooter on the outside, and he’s a very good passer for a big. We’ll see how he holds up defensively as a power forward, but he has been pegged as a breakout candidate based on his per-36 numbers and analytics. That said, this was a clever signing for the Lakers, who no longer have avenues to improve for the future. They need to take risks with high-upside value signings, and this is one of them. Meanwhile, we know what Grimes and Sexton are. Grimes is a three-and-D type at the two-guard spot, and he can scale up and be a creator when Los Angeles inevitably loses Doncic and Reaves to injuries. Meanwhile, Sexton is a game-changing guard off the bench. He’ll knock down some triples and apply some rim pressure on offense, and he’ll be a point-of-attack pest on defense.
The Lakers look much better on paper than they did last year, and Doncic has done much more with much worse. They’re back in the mix in the West.
Celtics trade Jaylen Brown to 76ers for Paul George, two first-round picks, and two second-round picks
In one of the most stunning moves of the offseason, Boston is moving on from Jaylen Brown and it’s not Giannis Antetokounmpo coming back in the deal. After striking out on the Greek Freak, the Celtics seemingly felt there was no going back with the former Finals MVP. So, Boston looked around to see what was out there, and Brad Stevens ended up accepting a deal that doesn’t look great — at least on paper.
George still has a lot to offer. In the final 10 regular-season games of last year, he averaged 21.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 2.2 steals per game. He also shot 47.2% from the floor and 41.5% from three in that stretch. George will now slot in next to Jayson Tatum, meaning Boston still has a very good wing duo. However, there’s no denying the Celtics downgraded.
There is a slight chance this is also an all-in bet on Payton Pritchard. In 861 minutes without Jaylen Brown on the floor, Pritchard averaged 26.7 points, 7.6 assists, and 5.3 rebounds per 75 possessions, according to databallr. The Celtics might feel like they have a high-level on-ball guard that can now be fully unleashed, and it wouldn’t have happened with Brown in the mix. Similar numbers were out there with Ty Jerome and Donovan Mitchell in the former’s last year with Cleveland, and you should go look up what he did in his first year in Memphis. That’s all something to keep in your back pocket when Most Improved Player odds populate. Still, none of this explains the poor return Boston got for the All-NBA wing. It just might explain the thinking behind the team moving on.
The more commonly accepted notion is that Stevens felt this team was going to fall short of championship contention, so he took on a shorter contract and added some picks to the war chest. Maybe the Celtics are now in position to make a win-now deal for Trey Murphy III and Herb Jones, or they can go for the next star that becomes available. Another option would be blowing it up completely, but I don’t see that happening. Boston is actually a more intriguing title bet to me now that they’re 14-1.
Boston’s interesting decision is Philadelphia’s gain. The Sixers went from 22-1 to 8-1 to win the Eastern Conference at DraftKings, as they’re getting an All-NBA performer that just averaged 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 1.0 steals per game. Brown is smack in the middle of his prime too.
A starting five of Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, Brown, Dean Wade, and Joel Embiid is very good on both ends of the floor. Philly also has rookie Labaron Philon Jr. as a spark-plug scorer off the bench. But depth is a major concern for the 76ers. It was a problem for them in a sweep at the hands of the Knicks in the playoffs, and it hasn’t gotten much better. Let’s see what they can do now that they likely feel they’re on the brink of breaking into the title picture.
Medium-Sized Offseason News
Norman Powell signs with Bulls for two years, $45 million
Let’s not waste too much time with this one. Powell is a good perimeter scorer, but he opted for a payday with Chicago over the opportunity to play meaningful basketball elsewhere. It’s a blow to the Heat, but they made some smaller moves I talked about below — plus Bradley Beal could be coming in the near future. For the Bulls, Powell definitely makes them a better regular season team, as they desperately needed a three-point shooter. He’s also someone that can attack the rim. However, even with a lineup of Josh Giddey, Powell, Matas Buzelis, Caleb Wilson, and Nic Claxton, there’s a huge deficiency in spacing.
John Collins signs with Pistons for three years, $51 million
Is this the big signing for Detroit? Collins is coming off a nice season for the Clippers, averaging 13.6 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. He also knocked down 40.6% of his triples. However, Collins hasn’t always been a reliable player defensively. I’m not sure moving on from Tobias Harris to pay Collins more money makes a lot of sense. We’ll see what comes of the Jalen Duren situation, but the Pistons feel like a team that went into the offseason without a real plan. Signing Isaiah Joe was a good move, but they gave a strange amount of money to Kevin Huerter. It also seems like they’re prepared to waive Duncan Robinson. Even if Duren comes back, the Pistons might be in for a 10-win drop — and another early exit in the postseason.
Mitchell Robinson signs with Celtics for three years, $47.4 million
The Celtics have been searching for a center upgrade, so they went out and grabbed the energy man from the NBA champs. Robinson averaged 5.7 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per game in only 19.6 minutes per game last season. It remains to be seen if he can stay healthy over the course of an entire NBA season, but the Celtics have one of the best medical staffs in the league. They’ll see if they can get him up to 25ish minutes per game and keep him on the floor for three-quarters of the regular season. Robinson does have his on-court issues, with the free throw shooting (40.8%) being absolutely abysmal. Teams will look to hack him. He also doesn’t offer anything offensively outside of play-finishing and offensive rebounding. However, he’s elite when it comes to the latter, plus he’s very good defensively. When he’s on the court, he’ll help Boston in a big way.
Tobias Harris signs with Spurs for two years, $31 million
This signing is going to get lost in the sea of moves we saw on Wednesday, but the Spurs, who are coming off a strong draft, continue to get better. One of San Antonio’s biggest weaknesses in the postseason was an inability to execute in a half-court setting. Well, while San Antonio probably doesn’t want to be playing tons of iso-ball with Harris, he’s a player that can really score as a face-up player in the mid-post. He actually just had a fantastic postseason for the Pistons, averaging 18.1 points and 7.2 rebounds per game as the No. 2 option on the top-seeded team in the East. Now, as more of a No. 4 option, he should give San Antonio something the team didn’t have before.
Perhaps this might have been a good spot for Rui Hachimura, who has been linked to the Spurs throughout the offseason. But Harris makes this team much tougher to cover, and his below-average defense shouldn’t be an issue with several All-Defense talents around him.
Kelly Oubre Jr. signs with Pacers for two years, $17 million
Oubre is coming off a season in which he averaged 14.1 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.4 steals per game for the Sixers. The southpaw is a good energy wing on both ends of the floor, even though his lack of a reliable three-ball has always been disappointing. He should fit in really well with the Pacers, as he’ll be spoon fed buckets by all of the tremendous guards Indiana will have on the floor with him. The Pacers will once again be looking to beat teams with variety, depth, and unselfishness. Oubre can help with all of it.
Grizzlies trade Santi Aldama and the rights to Tarik Biberovic to Mavericks for AJ Johnson, a protected 2023 Warriors first-round pick, and two future second-round picks
Add the Mavericks to the list of intriguing Western Conference teams. Kyrie Irving’s future is a little cloudy, as every contender on the planet will be inquiring about his services. But for now, Irving, Max Christie, Cooper Flagg, Aldama, and Dereck Lively II make up a nice-looking starting five, and the bench currently features Naji Marshall, Klay Thompson, PJ Washington, Daniel Gafford, and first-round pick Morez Johnson Jr. We’ll likely see the Mavericks move on from Washington — and maybe Gafford — at some point, but are we sure this isn’t a Play-In contender? They have awesome balance, a pair of top-25 players, and an exciting new coach in Dusty May. By the way, Biberovic is a 6-foot-7 sniper that has a real chance of being a rotation player if he ever comes over.
Small Moves, Large Impacts
Sixers sign Dean Wade for four years, $39 million
Wade isn’t a franchise-changing signing, but he’s a very good role player. Defensively, Wade’s fantastic. He’s capable of guarding across multiple spots, and he can really handle some of the tougher assignments Philadelphia has to deal with. That’ll take some pressure off Paul George as he gets a little older. Offensively, Wade can knock down stand-still jumpers. He’ll also quickly keep the ball moving, he’ll crash the glass, and he’ll be active as a cutter. In signing Wade and drafting Labaron Philon Jr., the Sixers are off to a good start in their quest to be deeper than they were last year.
Heat re-sign Simone Fontecchio and sign Tim Hardaway Jr.
Fontecchio was with Miami last season. He shot 37.5% from three on the year, and that shooting made him valuable to the Heat this offseason. This team is looking to add some reliable spot-up shooting around Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo, so grabbing Fontecchio on a veteran’s minimum deal made a lot of sense. The same also goes for Hardaway, who averaged 13.5 points per game and shot 40.7% from deep for the Nuggets last year. Miami probably needs some more on-ball creation from the perimeter this offseason. But the Heat have very little cap flexibility. Bringing in specialists at cheap prices is good business.
Marcus Smart signs with Rockets for two years, $13 million
This feels like one of the most underrated moves of free agency. While many are quick to rip the Rockets for last season, people forget that Fred VanVleet and Steven Adams will be back. That’s a tough two-way contributor — and high-level shotmaker — at guard, then an elite offensive rebounder and solid defender at center. They’re also great voices and examples for the younger players on the team, and that was clearly missed last year. Well, here comes another winning locker-room guy, and someone that can make threes, run some offense, and dig in defensively. There are likelier championship contenders in the league, but you should love Houston this season if you liked Houston before last season. At 60-1, the Rockets might be the best value on the board when looking at title odds.
Anfernee Simons signs with 76ers for two years, $12.3 million
The Sixers are going to need to fill out their roster with cheap contributors after having traded for Jaylen Brown. Well, they got a very cheap one in Simons, who should be a highly impactful sixth man for this team. Simons can really knock down jumpers, whether he’s standing still or creating off the bounce. With Simons in the mix, Philadelphia now has six surefire rotation players in VJ Edgecombe, Tyrese Maxey, Brown, Dean Wade, and Joel Embiid. However, I do wonder if this signing will block rookie Labron Philon Jr. from being an instant-impact player. The Sixers also need to work their magic in finding two other rotation-caliber players.
Pre-Free Agency Trades
Bucks trade Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis to Heat for Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakucionis, three first-round picks, one pick swap, and one second-round pick
If you have been listening to (or watching) Hardwood Handicappers, it’s likely you have heard my thoughts on this trade. However, to quickly reiterate: I love what the Heat have done here. Miami’s roster was going nowhere, meaning a big change was necessary. Well, the Heat now have the best power forward-center combination in the NBA in Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo. Defensively, this should be a top-five team in the league. Miami is now trying to add some perimeter firepower, as bringing in the right collection of off-ball players will be crucial in building out a top-10 offense. But I’ll take my chances with Erik Spoelstra and Co. That said, the Heat are right where they belong on the oddsboard when looking at Eastern Conference odds. They’re at +900 and have a puncher’s chance, which they didn’t have last year.
Hornets trade LaMelo Ball and Josh Green to Timberwolves for Naz Reid, a 2033 unprotected first-round pick, three first-round pick swaps, and three second round picks
I wrote a whole article on this trade, so make sure you check it out. But I’ll hit you with the SparkNotes here. Charlotte sacrificed major short-term success to get out of the Ball business and increase flexibility for the future. The Hornets now have one of the league’s best collections of picks, plus a nice group of young players. When the next superstar becomes available for trade, Charlotte will be in a position to pounce. Meanwhile, Minnesota now has a legitimate on-ball creator to take pressure off Anthony Edwards. In making this deal, the Timberwolves are leaning into being a high-octane offensive team, and doing that raises their ceiling. However, it also lowers their floor.
Hornets trade Miles Bridges, a 2029 first-round pick, and a 2027 second-round pick to Suns for Grayson Allen, Royce O’Neale, and a 2033 first-round pick
Many people hated Phoenix giving up a 2033 pick in this trade, but there was a purpose with that move. The Suns now have a little more flexibility when it comes to trading picks, which gives them some more assets to work with as they try to maximize this window with Devin Booker — which very well could be shut already. And outside of the pick swap, Phoenix made a good basketball trade. Miles Bridges might not be a good person, but he’s a capable starting forward that gives the Suns some athleticism and downhill attacking ability at the four. Phoenix was missing that last year. The Suns also saved some money, unlocking an exception that allowed them to sign Luke Kennard. They’re undoubtedly a better team on paper. Meanwhile, the Hornets didn’t necessarily need Bridges, so they picked up a very valuable draft pick. Also, Allen is a top-tier three-point shooter that will allow Charlotte to run the same stuff when Kon Knueppel is off the floor.
Grizzlies trade Ja Morant to Trail Blazers for Jerami Grant and Kris Murray
This trade involves a big name, but I’m not sure it’ll make a big impact. Memphis has been dying to get off Morant, so the return was never going to be great. Portland ultimately bit on taking the flier, despite having Damian Lillard, Jrue Holiday, and Scoot Henderson all playing Morant’s position. Morant still has plenty left in the tank, but does he make the Blazers better? Portland’s perimeter defense could be disastrous. Also, it’s only a matter of time before some of these guards get upset. If anything, I’m more intrigued by Memphis picking up a good scoring wing in Grant. The Grizzlies could end up being an Over team when looking at win totals next year. They’re much better than people think.
