2026 NBA Free Agency Live Tracker: Jaylen Brown reportedly traded to 76ers, Lakers land Walker Kessler

One of the most discussed trade targets this summer is Trey Murphy III of the Pelicans. The only reason he wasn’t traded around the NBA Draft, or even last February’s trade deadline, was that New Orleans GM Joe Dumars was keeping the price too high (reportedly four first-round picks plus players).

However, amid reports that Dumars has lowered his asking price slightly (three first-round picks) a new round of rumors are out there, and Michael Scotto of Hoophype reports six teams are in some level of talks with the Pelicans.

Teams that are in the mix for Murphy to varying degrees now are the Celtics, Pistons, Warriors, Clippers, and Hawks, league sources told HoopsHype. The Celtics have monitored Murphy’s trade market, and following the Brown trade for Paul George, two first-round picks, and two second-round picks, they have gained extra draft capital that New Orleans has desired in any trade talks. The Pistons have consistently circled the wagons on Murphy in trade talks, but felt the price was too high. With the asking price dropping from the equivalent of four to three first-round picks in any Murphy trade talks recently, will Detroit have more of an appetite to make a trade following the loss of Tobias Harris in free agency?

Detroit needs a secondary shot creator and shooting, and Murphy fills that need for them.

Keep an eye on this as rumors around Murphy are heating up around the league.

Peyton Watson is one of the top available free agents, but he is restricted and the Denver Nuggets don’t want to lose him. At least for nothing.

The Nuggets have let it be known they will match any offer for the winger — but they will listen to sign-and-trade proposals, reports Sam Amick at The Athletic. While seeing a restricted free agent a team can use leave in a sign-and-trade is rare, we did just see it with Walker Kessler being traded from Utah to the Lakers.

Denver is one of the teams in the running to land LeBron James in free agency. Combine that with the fact that the Lakers have had their eye on Watson, a sign-and-trade there is not out of the question (although it would be complex for the Lakers, who likely would have to shed some salary to make it work).

That said, a lot of teams could use a quality wing defender who averaged 14.6 points a game last season and shot 41.1% from 3-point range. Denver’s front office is going to get calls, starting with the Clippers, who are interested (reports Amick). That said, Watson played well off Jokic, and if he leaves, this win-now team has to replace him with someone who is ready to be a key player this season.

The Jaylen Brown trade to Philadelphia still has the NBA talking... and confused. Here is what NBA insider (and NBC’s own) Chris Mannix said on the Ryen Russillo podcast.

“I talked to one team that absolutely made an offer to Boston for Jaylen Brown. A good team. They made an offer to Boston. And I got to I talked to this to a person in that front office after the deal with Philadelphia was consummated, and they were stunned. Mostly because they knew their offer wasn’t very good, but they told me, this person told me, that the offer would have gotten better.. They were probing to see how low can they go. Look, nobody’s going to come at you with their best offer right away, especially when the perception is that you’re trying to make a deal and you’re desperate to get out of there.”

There had been reports that Boston was underwhelmed by the offers for Brown, but then why pull the trigger so quickly? Why not be patient and try to create a bidding war? It’s all so confusing.

Washington has young players to develop — No. 1 pick AJ Dybantsa, promising young big man Alex Sarr are at the head of the class — and so the Wizards are bringing in a legend to help with that.

Hall of Fame Knicks player and long-time NBA assistant coach Patrick Ewing is joining Brian Keefe’s staff in Washington, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Knicks insider Ian Begley had said this was coming).

Ewing’s legendary playing career is well known, but he has been an experienced NBA assistant for years. He actually started as an assistant with the Wizards for the 2002-03 season, then went on to be an assistant in Houston, Orlando, and Charlotte before taking the head coaching job at his alma mater, Georgetown.

He now comes to a Washington team that should make a leap this season with Trae Young and Anthony Davis on the roster, plus Dybantsa and a promising young core.

Denver went into this offseason looking to trade Christian Braun — to free up money to keep restricted free agent Peyton Watson and stay below the second apron — but teams are more interested in Cam Johnson. And those teams are getting shot down, report Marc Stein and Jake Fischer at The Stein Line.

The challenge with trading Braun is that he is coming off a rough season in which he played just 44 games — due to an ankle sprain and a calf injury — scoring 12 points per game and shooting 30.1% from 3, while his five-year, $125 million contract kicks in next season. Watson is more valuable, but Braun has the signed contract, and it’s an issue.

Denver also remains in the mix for LeBron James — he is friends with the Nuggets owners, the Kroenke family, don’t discount that — but as LeBron’s agent Rich Paul said you can’t do much until the Watson restricted free agency is dealt with.

Through all that, the Nuggets want to keep Johnson and so far are sticking to that.

It’s no secret that the Lakers are in the market for a backup center after trading Deandre Ayton to our nation’s capital, plus they want a little more depth on the wing.

With that, they have their eyes on three-time NBA champion Kevon Looney at the five, and maybe Jonathan Kuminga on the wing, reports Marc Stein and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line.

Looney is likely the best veteran big remaining on the market, especially since Andre Drummond signed in New York. Jonas Valanciunas might be available if the Nuggets waive him before July 8 (he has a $10 million contract, but it’s only $2 million guaranteed up until that date). However, the Lakers may not wait to see how things play out with Valanciunas.

The wing position is much more in flux.

Rui Hachimura is a free agent and could re-sign with the Lakers, although the question is at what price (he made $18.3 million last season but is facing a pay cut to stay). He has multiple suitors, as does Kuminga. The former Warriors forward had his $24.3 million team option declined by the Hawks and is a free agent, a few teams are interested in him besides the Lakers, including the Cavaliers (who are on hold, waiting for LeBron James to make his decision).

This has been reported by other people plenty of times — including here at NBC Sports — but consider this report the latest reminder that the Wizards have no intention of trading Anthony Davis.

There was some odd speculation that after the Wizards traded for Deandre Ayton, that might be a precursor to a Davis move, but that is not the case, report Marc Stein and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line. They even say the Wizards might play a big lineup at times with Davis, Ayton, and promising young big man Alex Sarr, according to the report.

The Wizards are not going to trade Davis this offseason. Whether that vibe changes by the trade deadline is another question.

It makes a tidy narrative, with LeBron James ending his career where it began, and where he brought his hometown team a title. Plus, if he wants to compete for a title, the Cavaliers did make the Eastern Conference Finals last season.

There is a “growing belief” around the league that LeBron James is headed to Cleveland for his 23rd NBA season, report Marc Stein and Jake Fischer at The Stein Line. This is a bit of an educated guess; nobody is sure what LeBron is truly thinking, but Stein and Fischer report the conspiracy idea that Cleveland has not made many moves at the start of free agency to keep an extra open roster spot so they could trade for Bronny James if LeBron signs.

Cleveland is one of the teams named by LeBron’s agent Rich Paul, when discussing potential landing spots on his podcast. He also mentioned Golden State, Miami, Denver, Minnesota and Philadelphia. Paul also said LeBron planned to take his time making a decision, it’s not going to come in the next couple of days.

Probably. Nobody knows exactly what LeBron is thinking.

Garrett Temple is retiring, but he is not leaving the NBA.

After 16 seasons, Temple is retiring as a player and is now joining Dusty May’s coaching staff in Dallas, as reported by Marc Stein of The Stein Line. Temple has a lot of ties to the new Dallas regime: He played for Masai Ujiri in Toronto and for Mavericks assistant coach Willie Green in New Orleans for a couple of years.

Temple played for a dozen teams in his 16 years, averaging 5.8 points a game, shooting 34.2% from 3-point range. The past few years of his career he was seen as a locker room leader and second coach in Toronto.

Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum won an NBA title together. The Boston front office was convinced that it was never going to happen again and did what was expected in 2021, but not now and broke the duo up, trading Jaylen Brown to Philadelphia for pennies on the dollar.

Tatum wanted Brown to know how much he loves and respects him in an Instagram story posted after the trade.

“9 years! Forever grateful for all that we accomplished together, for pushing me to be a better player. From first round exits to winning a chip together I’m thankful for it all. Nothing but love and respect for you as a player and as a person! Looking forward to see how you attack this next chapter of your career and wish nothing but the best for you! Continue to be special.”

Boston traded Brown within the division to Philly, meaning Tatum and Brown will go head-to-head four times this season. The respect and love may be there, but don’t expect to see it on the court in those games.

LeBron James warned us early on that he was not going to be rushed into a decision about his free agency. He wasn’t kidding. While most teams are now filling out the back half of their roster and signing minimum players — although a few big names still hang out there — LeBron is taking his time.

LeBron’s agent (and friend) Rich Paul told Mark Medina from Forbes not to expect a decision in the coming days.

“I don’t think it’ll be the next few days... This is the first time he’s making a decision that is truly for him. When he left Cleveland [in 2010 for Miami], he had to win a ring. When he came back [in 2014], he had to deliver on the promise. This is at this stage where he can decide what he wants to do and how he wants to do it.”

On his podcast released Friday, Paul pointed to six teams as LeBron’s potential landing spots: Golden State, Cleveland, Minnesota, Denver, Miami and Philadelphia. Each of those has plusses and minuses, and it falls to LeBron to decide which factors are most important to him. Being close to home and his family in Los Angeles? Chasing a ring? Comfort with teammates and ownership? Money may be on that list, but no team left can really offer enough to make a material difference in LeBron’s life (he will make far more off the court this season than on).

Will LeBron make his call before the NBA world descends upon Las Vegas for NBA Summer League? There are a lot of teams and fans feeling on hold while he takes his time.

There are a lot of fans — and plenty of people around the NBA — who have their frustrations with the latest NBA CBA and its luxury tax aprons. It makes it nearly impossible for a team that does everything “right” — drafts well, develops stars, doesn’t just try to buy a title — to keep its team together. In practice, the second apron of the luxury tax has become a hard cap (only one team, Cleveland, ventured above it last season).

Kyle Kuzma is not a fan, and the 30-year-old Milwaukee forward ripped it on social media.

“The new CBA was sold as parity, but the first and second apron are starting to function like a hard cap on player value, team continuity, and player movement.

“Teams are no longer making purely basketball decisions. They’re making fear-based apron decisions. That means good players get squeezed, homegrown cores get broken up, fan-favorite teams lose their identity, and the overall product loses some of the nostalgia and continuity that made people fall in love with the NBA in the first place...

“The next CBA is a do or die moment for us as players. It’s only going to get worse for us. We need transparency, accountability, and a serious re evaluation of who is representing us and how they are representing us.

“This is not anti parity. This is pro player, fan, and product. The league is strongest when players are valued properly, great teams can stay together, and the people representing us are operating at the same level as the people sitting across the table.”

To be clear, NBA players as a whole are not losing money because of the CBA — the teams and players still split the league’s Basketball Related Income (BRI) down the middle (players get between 49% and 51% of that money, depending on a series of factors). Last season, the NBA had $11.676 billion in BRI of which the players will get a little more than $5.8 billion in salaries and benefits (stat via Mike Vorkunov at The Athletic). In the latest CBA, the NBA players’ union agreed to the tax apron system because the owners agreed to put pools of money previously excluded from BRI into the pool — the union agreed to the aprons to get more money overall to split up. That was the trade-off.

Owners do fear the second tax apron — see Knicks owner James Dolan refusing to cross that line to keep his championship team together, which has cost them keeping Mitchell Robinson, a key role player off the bench. It’s not just the financial penalties, the second apron comes with a series of team-building restrictions — on trades, signing players bought out by other teams and more — that hamstring GMS. Also, the repeater tax — on teams that stay above the tax line for multiple years — got harsher in the latest CBA.

To be clear, owners put those in because they feared the spending of owners such as the Clippers’ Steve Ballmer or the income the Warriors’ owners have from the Chase Center — teams that could just absorb financial penalties without blinking.

That doesn’t make the tax aprons popular.

It will be interesting to see in the next CBA if there is a push to discount the tax impacts of a player that a team drafts, develops and keeps, as compared to players traded for or signed as free agents.

Kuzma speaks for a lot of people with his rant. It will be interesting to see how that plays out with the next CBA.

When LeBron James’ friend and agent Rich Paul broke out the whiteboard on his podcast on July 3, he had the Minnesota Timberwolves as one of the teams LeBron was seriously considering.

Minnesota has “ramped up” its efforts to recruit LeBron, reports Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.

“The Minnesota Timberwolves have ramped up their push for LeBron James, with full belief that they are very much in the hunt to land one of the greatest players in NBA history, league sources told The Athletic. The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe ongoing deliberations, said the Timberwolves have been in contact with James’ representatives with a bold pitch: team up with Anthony Edwards, LaMelo Ball, Jaden McDaniels and Rudy Gobert to go after the kind of championship that could end any discussion about who is the greatest player of all time.”

Minnesota may make the most basketball sense among the inner circle of LeBron suitors. This is a team that traded away Julius Randle and Naz Reid during the offseason, LeBron could slot right into the four and provide value on both ends of the court. He has a strong relationship with Edwards, bonding during their time with Team USA during the Paris Olympics.

Does LeBron want to trust his championship chase to a team with LaMelo Ball at the point? Does he want to live in Minnesota? What are the things LeBron is factoring most into his decision? There are a lot of questions, but the Timberwolves are contenders for his services.

In a league where defense on the wing is in demand, Josh Okogie has value.

He is taking his skill to Utah, where he will join the Jazz on a two-year, $12 million contract, a story broken by Shams Charania of ESPN. The second year of this is a team option.

Okogie, who has bounced around in his eight NBA seasons, played last year for the Rockets and averaged 4.5 points per game, getting in 75 games for the team. What might be most important is his career-best 38.5% shooting from three-point range, a promising sign going forward.

Okogie will come off the bench for the Jazz but could provide valuable minutes and defense for a team eyeing a return to the playoffs next season.

With Mitchell Robinson gone to Boston, the New York Knicks have been in the market for a backup center on an affordable deal.

Enter Andre Drummond. The Knicks have agreed to a one-year deal with Drummond for the veteran minimum of $3.9 million, reports Shams Charania of ESPN.

Drummond, a 14-year NBA veteran and two-time All-Star, played in 63 games for the 76ers last season, mostly as Joel Embiid’s backup but starting 25 games because of Embiid’s knees. He averaged 6.3 points and 8.4 rebounds a game, plus he showed off a little bit of a 3-point shot (1.4 attempts a game and hitting 35%).

Drummond, who turns 33 before next season, remains a solid player on both ends and a high-level rebounder. He will come off the bench behind Karl-Anthony Towns and be asked to play about 20 minutes a night, which is the role Mitchell played well last season for the NBA champions.

After this signing, the Knicks are about $5 million below the second apron of the luxury tax. It is not crossing that line — on the direction from owner James Dolan, although, to be fair, it’s the order from basically every owner, the second apron is almost a de facto hard cap — that kept the Knicks from re-signing Mitchell, who got $15 million a year from Boston. New York could still bring in another player on a minimum contract.

There have been no reports that Houston has plans to trade Kevin Durant. That hasn’t stopped teams from at least calling to check in, reports Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints. Those teams have also asked about Alperen Sengun, according to the report.

Specifically, the report says the Pistons and Celtics were exploring a three-team trade that, at its core, would have sent Durant to Detroit to be the second-scorer next to Cade Cunningham, Sengun to Boston, and Brown to Houston. The problem? The Rockets had no interest.

Detroit does still have interest in Durant, according to the report, but Houston has shown no signs of wanting to engage in trade talks (the Rockets want to run it back with a healthy Fred VanVleet and see what things look like). Last season, Durant averaged 26 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game, shot 41.3% from 3-point range, and was an All-Star and All-NBA player.

As Celtics fans — and the entire NBA world — try to wrap their heads around the team sending Jaylen Brown to Philadelphia for Paul George and picks, one rumor floating around was that this was just the first move, and there were more to come, with Boston sending Paul George out in that next deal.

That’s not happening, report Jay King and Sam Amick of The Athletic.

“Though some NBA observers were left wondering if the Celtics had a subsequent move lined up, don’t expect another shoe to drop. George only has two more years left on his contract, one fewer than Brown, but a league source also said the trade was not driven by finances.”

Part of that is that George may only have two years left on his deal, but for $110.7 million total — Boston would have to attach a young player or a pick to make another trade happen.

Trey Lyles spent last season eating Bocadillo de Calamares and playing basketball for Real Madrid in Spain, but he is returning to the NBA.

The veteran floor-spacing big man has agreed to a one-year deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves, reports Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.

Minnesota traded away Julius Randle and Naz Reid this summer, they had a need for a floor-spacing big man, and Lyles fits the bill. Lyles played 10 seasons in the NBA for Utah, Denver, San Antonio, Detroit, and Sacramento, and shot 34.7% from 3-point range for his career.

This signing does not rule out LeBron James coming to Minnesota, Krawczynski reports. Minnesota is interested in LeBron — it may be the best basketball fit for him; he could slide right in as a shot-creating four next to Anthony Edwards — and it is one of the teams LeBron’s agent, Rich Paul, mentioned on his podcast.

After a couple of years that were focused more on development, Jordan Miller emerged last season as a part of the Clippers rotation, averaging 10 points a game in 22 minutes a night.

That was enough for the Clippers to bring the restricted free agent back on a three-year, $15.3 million contract, reports Shams Charania of ESPN. This locks up the 26-year-old. The Clippers held a $2.5 million option and could have brought him back at that price, but Miller would have been a free agent after the season. This way, the Clippers keep their man.

The Clippers still have one restricted free agent who has yet to reach a new deal with the team, Bennedict Mathurin.

Last season, Lakers Nation was the latest fan base to talk itself into Deandre Ayton before the season, only to watch reality unfold. He was fine, but clearly not the guy they needed next to Luka Doncic.

The Lakers are now trading Ayton to the Washington Wizards for guard Jaden Hardy and two Wizards second-round picks in 2031 and 2032, reports Shams Charania of ESPN.

Last season, Ayton was up and down — as he has been throughout his career — and averaged 12.5 points and eight rebounds per game. Ayton, the 27-year-old former No. 1 pick, picked up his player option for $8.1 million next season.

The Lakers traded for Walker Kessler and are paying him big money to be the center of the future next to Doncic. With Jaxson Hayes now in Utah, the Lakers will look at the market to find a backup for Kessler (something the Lakers need to get right, as Kessler played just five games last season due to shoulder surgery and 58 the season before that).

The Lakers also get Hardy, 24, who played a limited role in Dallas to start last season but was sent to Washington as part of the Anthony Davis trade. With the Wizards, he played about 20 minutes a night off the bench in 23 games and averaged 12.6 points a game, shooting 42% from 3-point range. He will get a chance for backcourt minutes off the bench for the Lakers.

He’s also making just $6 million this season, saving the Lakers a little money. Hardy has a team option for $6 million for the 2027-28 season.

In what is essentially a salary dump for Houston, the Rockets are sending Dorian Finney-Smith and three second-round picks to the Charlotte Hornets, reports Shams Charania of ESPN.

The second-round picks are Memphis’ 2027 pick and Houston’s 2028 and 2033 picks, according to Bobby Marks of ESPN.

Smith, 33 and a 10-year NBA veteran, is owed $13.3 million for each of the next three seasons (the last is a player option). Last season in Houston, he only played in 37 games and averaged 3.3 points a game when he did get in.

For Houston, this is about opening up a roster spot after agreeing to deals with Marcus Smart and Bogdan Bogdanovic (who will largely play Finney-Smith’s role for the Rockets).

Charlotte now has 20 second-rounders over the next seven years, a lot of trade value there going forward.

In the wake of being traded to Boston — in a deal that was seen as lopsided in favor of the team he left — Paul George thanked the fans in Philadelphia in a social media message.

It should be added that reports out of Boston say the Celtics are not flipping George in another deal, they are keeping him.

Javonte Green, who played in all 82 regular-season games for the Pistons last campaign, will be playing in more games next season.

The Pistons are bringing Green back, agreeing to a one-year deal for $3.9 million (the league minimum), reports Shams Charania of ESPN.

Green averaged 6.9 points in nearly 18 minutes a night coming off the bench for Detroit, shooting 38.1% from 3-point range and giving them solid rotation minutes.

Neemias Queta was a solid center for Boston last season. Thrust into a much larger role after the Celtics saved money by trading away the entire frontcourt the previous summer, Queta averaged 10.2 points and 8.4 rebounds a game, shot 65.3% from the floor and was a plus defender.

The Celtics rewarded him by bringing him back on a four-year, $56 million contract extension, a story broken by Shams Charania of ESPN. All four years are fully guaranteed.

Queta earned this payday. A second-round pick of the Kings, he played for two years with them on two-way contracts, then played one season for Boston on a two-way before they gave him a non-guaranteed contract two years ago.

Queta has developed into a solid rotation — and last year starting — center for the Celtics. He will split time at the five this year with Mitchell Robinson, whom the Celtics poached away from the championship Knicks.

On the latest episode of his “Game Over” podcast, LeBron James’ agent and friend Rich Paul lists six potential destinations for LeBron’s next team:

• Golden State Warriors

• Miami Heat

• Philadelphia 76ers

• Cleveland Cavaliers

• Minnesota Timberwolves

• Denver Nuggets

However, look at the whiteboard he used in the video, and it feels like the Warriors may be the long shot of that group.

Paul has previously said that for LeBron, this decision is about happiness, not money — which is good because a few of these teams, like Philly, could only offer the veteran minimum of $3.5 million.

It’s worth noting that Philadelphia might not have been on this list before the shocking Jaylen Brown trade, which vaulted them into contention.

It is only fitting that the greatest Toronto Raptor of all time should retire in a red Raptors uniform.

Kyle Lowry is going to sign a one-day contract with Toronto next Tuesday, be celebrated in the city, and retire as a Raptor, reports Michael Grange of Sportsnet.

In nine seasons in Toronto, Lowry was a six-time All-Star and a key part of the Raptors’ 2019 title. He averaged 17.5 points and 7.1 assists in 601 games with the Raptors.

Tari Eason is the archetype of a player very much in demand around the league: a 6'8" high-level defensive wing who shot 35.8% from 3-point range last season.

Houston and Eason, a restricted free agent, have agreed to a five-year, $81.5 million contract, reports Shams Charania of ESPN. All five years of this are reportedly fully guaranteed.

What has held Eason back is an ongoing leg issue that has limited him for the past three seasons, including last season, when he played 60 games and averaged 10.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game, shooting 35.8% from 3-point range.

Eason and the Rockets could not reach a deal before the season, Eason thought the Rockets came in low, and decided to play out the season. The offer he got now was worth more than what was offered then, Charania reports. The bet paid off.

The biggest question about LeBron James’ free agency was how big a pay cut he was willing to take. If he truly is willing to play for the minimum, as has been reported, then nearly every contender would be willing to talk and open up a roster spot for him.

The Knicks are one of those teams and “have shown some interest in LeBron James” NBA insider Jake Fischer said on his Bleacher Report livestream. Let’s be clear, that’s some vague phrasing that doesn’t mean there is any movement, but LeBron’s agent, Rich Paul, has talked about a dozen or more teams being interested, and the Knicks might be one of them.

The question the Knicks need to ask is not whether he can help on the court — even at age 41, LeBron is still an All-Star-level player who averaged 20.9 points, 7.2 assists and 6.1 rebounds a game last season — but rather how he would impact the locker room chemistry of a cohesive team. LeBron is a big presence in the locker room and around the team, but if the Knicks — or any other team — can handle that, he’s a plus on the court.

Chicago wanted Billy Donovan to stay on as head coach, but he wanted out to pursue a different situation and coach some meaningful games.

San Antonio is going to play some high-profile, meaningful games next season, and Donovan will be there as the lead assistant on Mitch Johnson’s staff.

Good hire in San Antonio.

Point guard Tyus Jones spent time in Orlando and Dallas last season before ending the season in Denver, but now he’s staying in the Mile High City to at least start next season.

Jones has agreed to a one-year deal to return to Denver, reports Shams Charania of ESPN. Jones, 30, was once considered one of the best backup point guards in the league, but he has struggled the past couple of seasons. He got in 11 games for Denver last season and averaged 2.2 points per game.

There’s going to be some slo-mo in Toronto next season.

Veteran point guard Kyle Anderson has agreed to head to Toronto on a one-year, $3.9 million veteran minimum deal, reports Shams Charania of ESPN.

Anderson is a 12-year NBA veteran — and former teammate of Kawhi Leonard, now also back in Toronto — who spent last season with Utah, Memphis and Minnesota, averaging 6.2 points per game across 56 games. He plays an unconventional game, hence the slo-mo nickname, but he’s a solid floor general who gives the Raptors some depth.

Oklahoma City needs all the size it can get to deal with you-know-who, so this signing makes a lot of sense.

Oklahoma City has agreed to terms to bring back big man Kenrich Williams on a one-year, $5 million deal, a story broken by NBA insider Chris Haynes.

Williams has become a mainstay of the team, having been with them since 2020 (part of the Steven Adams trade), and last season got into 56 games, averaging 6.5 points and 3.3 rebounds per game when he did.

Jaylen Brown released a statement on social media following his stunning trade to Philadelphia, which includes thanking the fans in Boston.

Here is the full text:

First and foremost, thank you to the Most High, even in the midst of adversity. I’m here with gratitude.

I’m still processing how this all went down. I’m excited and disappointed at the same time. I earned my respect from this city. I never asked for shortcuts or special treatment. I simply showed up every day, put my head down, and accepted every challenge.

The relationships I built here, the battles we fought together, the championship we brought to this city, and the connection I shared with the fans, I’ll carry on with me.

Saying goodbye isn’t easy when you’ve invested your heart into something.

I’m big on respect and actions speak louder than words. To the people of Boston, thank you. To the community I built here I love you, and to the shiftaz we are locked in for life⚡️

As one chapter closes, another begins.

I’m excited for what’s ahead and grateful for the opportunity to join Philadelphia. Every city has its own identity, its own passion, and its own expectation. I respect that, and I’m looking forward to earning that respect the only way I know how.. through the work.

Give new Philadelphia 76ers President of Basketball Operations Mike Gansey his due, he is having an offseason.

On top of that little Jaylen Brown trade (and landing the coveted Dean Wade in free agency), the 76ers have added some scoring off the bench in Anfernee Simons, who agreed to a two-year, $12.3 million deal, a story broken by Shams Charania of ESPN. The second year of that is a player option.

Simons started last season in Boston, then was traded to Chicago in the Nikola Vucevic deal. With Boston, in a bench role not unlike what he’ll do in Philadelphia, he averaged 14.2 points a game and shot 39.5% from 3-point range.

Simons had other offers but thought the fit was best with Philadelphia, Charania adds. It’s going to be a showcase for him. Simons is a bucket, and the 76ers’ bench just got a lot better.

On the money side, Simons takes up the rest of the team’s non-taxpayer mid-level exception (Dean Wade has the remainder). The 76ers are hard-capped at the first apron and are about $3.4 million below that with 14 players on the roster (enough room to add a minimum player if they want, but likely they leave that final roster spot open for now).

The Knicks realize there is a hole in their championship roster with Mitchell Robinson having left in free agency for Boston.

They tried to fill it by trading for underrated Pelicans center Yves Missi, but New Orleans would have nothing to do with it, reports NBA insider Chris Haynes.

Joe Dumar’s belief in a roster — and standing pat on — a roster that won 26 games last season is... a choice. Is bringing in Jamahl Mosley from Orlando really going to change that much?

I’d like to say it’s rare for the NBA to be left stunned by an unexpected trade, but we did it in February 2025 (Luka Doncic to the Lakers), and it happened again yesterday, with Jaylen Brown sent from Boston to division rival Philadelphia. The league is still reeling from this move, and here are some of the discussion points the next day.

• Even though Boston had won a championship pairing Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, they decided that it was not going to happen again and they needed to split them up, reports ESPN’s Shams Charania. He added on the network’s “Get Up” that Boston got calls about Tatum but didn’t trade him.

“Whether it was personal situations between the two players or whether it was just the on-court basketball fit, the Celtics had just made the determination that moving forward, they can no longer win a championship with Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. The Celtics received calls on Jayson Tatum over the last couple weeks. They shut those down completely, from my understanding. But when it came to Jaylen Brown, they were open to listening.”

• Multiple reports say that Brown did not ask to be traded, but he had felt disrespected by the process in which his name became public in an offer for Giannis Antetokounmpo. Understandable. You don’t want to be the person in a relationship where your partner is always looking to upgrade.

• Boston had high expectations for a return from trading Brown when the process started — remember the reports they were asking for four first-rounders — and that was true of when Boston first talked to Philadelphia, ESPN’s Shams Charania said on SportsCenter.

“They were thinking if you’re gonna trade us Paul George we need four firsts, five firsts. We need a player like a VJ Edgecombe. That was the bar that was set early.”

Two quick thoughts on that. First, good on the 76ers’ new President of Basketball Operations, Mike Gansey, for sticking with the process after that. Second, why did Boston cave and think it needed to make this trade?

• Then there is this, from Tom Haberstroh.

Free agency may be moving fast, but LeBron James is not going to be rushed.

LeBron is not returning to the Lakers — and they have fully moved on — but with teams interested in him from San Francisco to Miami, LeBron is in no hurry to decide where he will play his final season (or seasons?), as ESPN’s Shams Charania said on Get Up.

“LeBron James is not in a rush right now to make a decision. He’s evaluating everything. But his biggest priority in all this is finding a team where he feels he’s going to have a chance to play meaningful basketball, compete for a championship. My understanding is this will not be a financially driven, money decision.”

If this is really about winning a ring and he’s willing to play for the minimum (as has been reported, though we may need to see it with our own eyes to believe), then the interest from Philadelphia and Minnesota should be seriously interesting to him. Those are teams where he could step in, fill a need and help lift a team closer to the top.

But those are also further away from his Los Angeles home (his family will stay there), and LeBron is going to have to decide what he most wants to prioritize.

DeMar DeRozan isn’t the first player to want to get out of Sacramento ASAP.

The divorce is coming between the veteran guard and the Kings, but as roster spots fill up around the league, he wants Sacramento to get on with it, reports Kelly Iko at Yahoo Sports.

Kings wing DeMar DeRozan, who is owed $25 million for the upcoming season — with only $10 million guaranteed — is hoping to accelerate his exit, either by being waived and testing the open market or being traded sooner rather than later, sources say. The 37-year-old is expecting to be waived and stretched by the franchise, a similar sentiment shared by rival executives, sources say.

DeRozan, 36, remains a midrange assassin who can create his own shot and averaged 18.4 points per game last season in Sacramento.

With the trade for Kawhi Leonard, the Toronto Raptors announced themselves as a major threat in the East. They had locked down a roster capable of winning the conference.

Now, they have locked down their coach, too. Toronto announced a multi-year extension with coach Darko Rajakovic, who was about to head into the final year of his contract.

“I’m proud of the progress we’ve made, but our team knows there is still a lot of work to do, and I am looking forward to continuing to build and win with the Raptors. We will keep growing, keep working together and stay committed to getting better every day as we reach for our goal of an NBA Championship,” Rajaković said in a statement announcing the extension.

Toronto had previously locked down the head of basketball operations, Brian Webster, who was also headed into the final year of his contract.

In the span of about 35 minutes on Wednesday, the Lakers used all of their cap space, exceptions, and draft assets to radically remake their roster, trading for Walker Kessler and landing Sandro Mamukelashvili, Quentin Grimes and Collin Sexton as free agents. Throw in the re-signed Austin Reaves from a few days before, and the Lakers are nearly done for the summer.

Nearly. The Lakers have 13 roster spots filled and can bring in one or two more players, and one more big swing would be to bring in Jonathan Kuminga, reports Dan Woike at The Athletic.

The team, according to league sources who were granted anonymity to freely discuss the Lakers’ offseason moves, is still seeking a young wing to help its perimeter defense. A high-upside swing receiving significant consideration, per league sources, is former Golden State Warrior and Atlanta Hawk Jonathan Kuminga, whose $24.3 million team option was recently declined by Atlanta.

The problem is that all the Lakers can offer is the veteran minimum ($2.9 million for Kuminga with five years of service). There likely is a better offer from a team out there willing to take a flyer on him, but if nothing else emerges, he could do worse than a high-profile spot with the Lakers. So long as he is willing to accept a role.

Tim Hardaway Jr. is heading to Miami after signing a one-year deal to be a 3-point sniper, spacing the floor around Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo.

Hardaway Jr. wore No. 10 in Denver, a tribute to his Hall of Fame father Tim Hardaway. In Miami, that No. 10 of Hardaway is retired, but he’s going to give permission for his son to wear it, right? Not so fast. Here is what Hardaway senior said in an appearance on WQAM radio in Miami, via Tobias Bass at The Athletic:

“My legacy is my legacy. Even though he likes to wear No. 10, that is not coming down from the rafters.”

Okay, then. Pretty good chance this comes up at the Hardaway family Fourth of July BBQ.

Folarin Balogun has been the breakout USA star of the World Cup — and when he scored the Americans’ first goal against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday, he broke out the LeBron James “silencer” celebration. LeBron loved it.

For the record, Balogun’s second-half red card should have been a yellow, that was a harsh interpretation (aided by watching it frame-by-frame in slo-mo). His being out against an older but talented Belgian team is an issue.

Marvin Bagley III, who in recent years has carved out a role as a respectable backup big man, will be taking his skills to Denver to back up Nikola Jokic. The Nuggets and Bagley have agreed to a one-year deal, reports Shams Charania of ESPN.

Bagley started last season with Washington and was sent to Dallas in the Anthony Davis trade, and he was solid in both places. For the season, he averaged 10.5 points and 6.1 rebounds per game, shooting 61.8%.

For a lot of fans, he’s the guy who never lived up to being the No. 2 pick (taken one spot in front of Luka Doncic), but he has grown into a player who can help a team off the bench. This is likely for the veteran minimum.

Miami is looking for talent to round out the roster around Giannis Antetokounmpo. So, how about... Bradley Beal?

Miami’s front office has been in contact with the representatives for Beal, reports Barry Jackson and Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald.

This is all very preliminary. Miami is moving slowly right now to fill out the final couple of roster spots around Antetokounmpo, in part because they are waiting on LeBron James to make his decision. Beal just turned down a $5.6 million player option to be a free agent, and Miami has a $6.5 million taxpayer midlevel exception to hand out, but it remains to be seen if that goes to Beal or someone else.

If LeBron James’ priority is to contend for a title, how about Philadephia.

After trading for Jaylen Brown, the 76ers have to be considered contenders in the East.

Also, after acquiring Tobias Harris, the Spurs are out on LeBron, according to reports (not sure how in they ever were, really).

The Memphis Grizzlies are trading Santi Aldama to the Dallas Mavericks for AJ Johnson, a protected 2030 Warriors first-round pick and two future second-round picks, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports.

Aldama appeared in 43 games for Memphis last season, turning in 14.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game.

The Mavericks acquire a versatile forward, while Memphis continues to stack picks. This also allows the Grizzlies to preserve its full $29M trade exception from the Jaren Jackson Jr. trade.

After the Celtics publicly dangled Jaylen Brown in a trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo (a deal that never materialized), there was no putting the toothpaste back in the tube. Brown was on his way out.

But to a division rival is not a deal anyone expected.

Boston is trading Jaylen Brown to Philadelphia for Paul George, two first-round picks and two second-round picks, a blockbuster trade broken by Shams Charania of ESPN.

This is a huge win for new head of basketball operations Mike Gansey and Philadelphia, who wanted to get out from under the Paul George contract, who at age 36 is owed $54.1 million this coming season and has a player option for $56.6 million for next season, which he likely picks up. George only played in 37 games last season and has injury issues. George was considered to be on one of the worst contracts in the NBA.

Now Philadelphia replaces him with Brown, who finished sixth in MVP voting last season, averaging a career-best 28.7 points per game. The 76ers now can start Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe and Brown, and if they get anything from Joel Embiid, they are a threat to win the East.

Brad Stevens mismanaged this entire situation in Boston and now has gotten less of a return for Brown at his peak than the Clippers just got for 35-year-old Kawhi Leonard. If George is healthy, he and Jayson Tatum form a good forward combination, and they have talent around them, including the just picked up Mitchell Robinson at the five. But is that team able to beat New York or Detroit in a playoff series?

After trading away Walker Kessler, the Jazz needed to add some depth at center. Enter Jaxson Hayes.

The veteran center who was most recently with the Lakers agreed to come to Salt Lake City on a two-year deal, reports ESPN’s Tim MacMahon.

Hayes averaged 7.5 points and 4.1 rebounds per game last season, shooting a career-best 75.6% from the floor, and he was an athletic finisher who had some chemistry with Luka Doncic — and could find that with Keyonte George and Darryn Peterson.

This is a solid bench addition at the price for Utah.

San Antonio was looking for improvement at the four, a solid two-way player who can do a little bit of everything, and fit their system around Victor Wembanyama and their young stars.

Enter Tobias Harris, who agreed to a two-year, $31 million contract to come to San Antonio, a story broken by Shams Charania of ESPN. This is a contract for the full mid-level exception.

Harris was a veteran presence at the four on a young Pistons team that made a huge leap last season, and he was the team’s second leading scorer during the postseason averaging 18.1 points per game.

Now he brings that to the Spurs, where his ability to space the floor and attack off the bounce will fit in well. They needed a good sized four with some skill and found it. Harris averaged 13.3 points and 5.1 rebounds a game last season while shooting 36.8% from 3-point range.

Indiana has added depth on the wing by agreeing to a deal with Kelly Oubre Jr. at two years, $16.5 million, a story first reported by Shams Charania of ESPN. This is a fully guaranteed deal.

Oubre has the athleticism to get out and run with Tyrese Haliburton and the Pacers and could see a lot of minutes on the wing for the Pacers, as both he and Pascal Siakam fit beautifully into their system. Last season, Oubre averaged 14.1 points per game for the 76ers, playing in 50 games.

Oubre was one of the 76ers’ better two-way players last season, and while the team talked about retaining him, the Pacers stepped up with the best offer.

How hard is Boston working to trade Jaylen Brown?

After Giannis Antetokounmpo was traded to Miami, Boston started to see what the market was for Brown and reportedly were underwhemled by the offers. Brad Stevens and the Celtics office are still trying, ESPN’s Shams Charania said on “Get Up” that the Celtics were reaching out to teams soliciting offers.

“Sources tell me the Celtics have actually started strongly shopping Jaylen Brown, soliciting offers from a market of about eight to 10 teams in the last several days. It’s unclear whether a deal is close or where they necessarily stand, but there’s been a high price threshold that the Celtics have set from the outset of any type of a Jaylen Brown trade.”

Boston is asking for a lot back for Brown — this is not a team that is rebuilding, they want to win now. Two things are giving teams pause, according to league sources speaking to NBC Sports: 1) Boston’s steep asking price in a trade; 2) More concerning for a lot of teams is Brown’s salary, $57.1 million next season and a fully guaranteed $126 million over the two years after that. Brown is an All-NBA player, but in a luxury tax apron world, that price tag is too much for some.

The Brown rumors continue to fly, but don’t be shocked if he is back in Boston next season.

There was a lot of speculation about the Orlando Magic waiving defensive-minded but often injured center Jonathan Isaac to free up cap space. Instead, they went the opposite direction.

Orlando is re-signing Isaac to a one-year deal for $8 million, reports Jason Beede at The Orlando Sentinel.

Isaac played in 52 games last season and has played in 65+ games just once in the past six seasons. He is a defensive force in the paint but a liability on the other end of the court, where he averaged 2.6 points per game last season while playing 10 minutes per night.

The Magic also re-signed Nikola Vucevic for depth at the center spot.

LeBron James’ camp has said it’s not about the money, it’s about “happiness.” Or, more specifically, playing in meaningful games and competing for another ring.

To that end, LeBron is willing to play for the veteran minimum of $3.9 million to be on a contender, reports Shams Charania of ESPN.

I’ll believe it when I see it. That said, LeBron may have no choice but to take a lot less than he may have expected.

The number of teams that can offer LeBron even the non-taxpayer mid-level exception of $15 million is dwindling, with the Warriors and Cavaliers able to do it but only if they dump some salaries. (Golden State likely has to trade Moses Moody, Cleveland Max Strus.) Miami can only offer about $10.5 million, what they have left of their mid-level exception.

It should be noted that LeBron has had a documentary film team following him for a couple of years, and is now reportedly also in discussions about filming this next (final?) season to be made into a documentary or possibly a rolling episodic series.

If LeBron will play for the minimum, he can essentially pick his team (all they need is an open roster spot). The other question is how far is he willing to move away from his family, which will remain based in Los Angeles?

The Warriors, Cavaliers and Heat are considered the frontrunners for LeBron’s services, but dark horse teams — Minnesota is interested, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst mentioned Denver — are lurking.

The Golden State Warriors are retaining guard De’Anthony Melton, per ESPN’s Shams Charania.

It’s a two-year, $11M deal. Melton has struggled with injuries over the last few seasons but appeared in 49 games in 2025-26, averaging 12.3 points in 23 minutes per game.

The Los Angeles Lakers wasted no time bringing in more reinforcements after trading for big man Walker Kessler, inking a trio of players to new deals.

ESPN’s Shams Charania reports that Los Angeles has inked Sandro Mamukelashvili to a four-year, $52M deal with a player option for the fourth season. Mamukelashvili is coming off of a season averaging 11.2 points and 4.9 rebounds per game for Toronto.

Free agent Quentin Grimes also is heading to Los Angeles on a reported four-year, $60M deal. Joining him is fellow guard Collin Sexton, who reportedly gets a two-year, $19M deal.

The Brooklyn Nets and Moe Wagner have agreed to a two-year, $19M deal, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports.

The deal features a mutual option guaranteeing the $19M while allowing either side to opt-in along with having a conversation about a new contract next summer.

Wagner splits from his brother, Franz, in Orlando and provides center depth for Brooklyn after dealing Nic Claxton to Chicago.

Wagner returned from a torn ACL last season, averaging 6.9 points and 3.2 rebounds per game in 30 appearances. He averaged at least 10 points per game the previous three seasons before his injury and will look to return to form with Brooklyn.

The Boston Celtics have added guard depth with Mike Conley Jr., inking the veteran to a one-year deal, per ESPN’s Shams Charania.

Conley becomes the 14th player in NBA history to reach 20 seasons after spending the last three and a half with Minnesota. He was most recently named an all-star in 2021 and is widely regarded as one of the most respected voices in the locker room.

Free agent center Nikola Vucevic has agreed on a one-year deal to return to the Orlando Magic worth $3.9M, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports.

Vucevic spent nearly nine years with the Magic and turned down more lucrative offers to reunite with the franchise, per Charania. He began the 2025-26 season with Chicago before being traded to Boston at the deadline.

The Orlando Magic also are bringing back guard Jevon Carter on a one-year, $3.5M deal, earning a rotation role at the end of last season.

Losing Mitchell Robinson stings in New York. Losing him to Boston is salt in the wound.

Robinson, a free agent, agreed to a three-year, $47.4 million deal to join the Boston Celtics, reports Shams Charania of ESPN. Boston is bringing the veteran center in using the mid-level exception, which will start at $15 million next season.

New York could not afford to match that offer and stay under the second apron of the luxury tax, a line owner James Dolan has publicly drawn in the sand (to be fair, it’s a line pretty much every owner has drawn).

Robinson was a key part of New York’s run to its first NBA title in five decades last season, providing rebounding (especially on the offensive glass) and shot-blocking and defense off the bench. In the playoffs, his defense off the bench against big men such as Evan Mobley and Victor Wembanyama was critical to New York’s title run, as was his presence on the offensive boards.

Robinson was a fan favorite in New York and will be in Boston, but he only can give the Celtics limited minutes. Last season, Robinson was largely (and relatively) healthy, playing in 60 games but averaging just under 20 minutes a night. He had played in just 48 games total across the previous two seasons, as chronic ankle issues and other injuries kept him sidelined.

In one of the first moves Wednesday, the Detroit Pistons have added John Collins, per ESPN’s Shams Charania.

It’s a three-year, $51M deal for the 28 year old, who returns to the Eastern Conference after stints with the Jazz and Clippers. He averaged 13.6 points and 5.3 rebounds per game while shooting 40.6 percent from deep last season.

With reports that Tobias Harris has been meeting with other teams, Collins would slide in as a fine replacement at power forward.

The Los Angeles Lakers got their man.

In a blockbuster move, the Utah Jazz are trading center Walker Kessler to the Lakers for two unprotected first-round picks (2031, 2033) and two first-round pick swaps (2028 and 2030), a story first reported by Shams Charania of ESPN. The Lakers are signing the restricted free agent to a four-year, $130 million contract.

This is a huge win for the Lakers, whose top offseason priority was to get a rim-running center who was a strong defensive force in the paint to pair with Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. Kessler was at the top of the list, but he was a restricted free agent, and the expectation was that Utah would pay up to keep him.

The Lakers’ gamble here is health — Kessler played in just five games last season due to shoulder surgery and played just 58 games the season before that. When healthy, he has shown his potential on both ends and last season averaged 14.4 points and 10.8 rebounds a game, and for his career he averaged 2.4 blocked shots per game.

Utah still has Jaren Jackson Jr., who can play center, which slides Lauri Markkanen over to the four, with Keyonte George, No. 2 pick Darryn Peterson and Ace Bailey likely rounding out the starting five. That’s still a good group, but Utah may need to go get a physical center to body up some of the big men in the West.

The Jazz reportedly offered four years, $140 million — $28 million a year on average — on the table for Kessler, but he went looking for a larger deal and got it from the Lakers (their offer is $32.5 million a season on average).

The Los Angeles Lakers lost another contributor, a guy who revitalized his career next to Luka Doncic and has now cashed in.

Marcus Smart has agreed to a two-year, $13 million contract to join the Houston Rockets, a move first reported by Shams Charania of ESPN. The second year of this is a player option.

Smart’s stock had dropped after a couple of injury-plagued seasons in Memphis and Washington, and after that the Lakers swooped in and got him cheap. He averaged 12.9 points and 5.1 assists a game while being the Lakers’ best on-ball defender.

Houston gets him for the taxpayer mid-level exception, so they are not hard-capped and are now in a position to match any offer for restricted free agent Tari Eason.

This is a blow to the Miami Heat, who knew they might not be able to afford to keep him but also can’t really afford to lose talent around Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Norman Powell has agreed to a two-year, $45 million deal to join the Chicago Bulls, a story broken by Shams Charania of ESPN. The second year of the contract is a team option.

Last season in Miami, Powell averaged 21.7 points per game, shooting 38% from 3-point range and he was named to his first All-Star team (deservedly so). In the past couple of years, he has developed into a high-level secondary shot creator on the wing, who also plays solid defense. The concern has simply been health, he has played in 60+ games just once in the past five years.

He would have been a perfect fit with Giannis Antetokounmpo in Miami, but the Heat could not match that salary. Instead, he joins an interesting Bulls team with Josh Giddey and just-drafted Caleb Wilson.

The Houston Rockets have picked up some shooting and a veteran presence at a great price.

Free agent Bogdan Bogdanovic has agreed to join the Rockets on a one-year deal, something first reported by Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Bogdanovic, a 6'5" wing, is a career 38.1% shooter from 3, only played in 23 games last season, largely due to a hamstring injury. After that, the Clippers did not pick up their team option on him, making Bogdanovic a free agent.

For the Rockets, at the veteran minimum, this is a good pickup for depth and shooting.

Dean Wade had a lot of fans around NBA front offices. He’s a 6'9" high-level perimeter defender, making him someone who can help out a lot of rosters.

He’s going to be helping out the Philadelphia 76ers. Wade has agreed to a four-year, $39 million deal to join the Philadelphia 76ers, a story broken by Shams Charania of ESPN.

His high-level defense took him from undrafted and a two-way contract to a standard contract and a player who started 38 games and played key minutes for the Cavaliers this season. While defense is his calling card, Wade shot 36.2% from 3 last season (right about his career average), something that will play nicely off Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid in Philly.

Reserve big man Zach Collins is returning to the Chicago Bulls on a two-year, $17 million extension of his current contract, something the Bulls have announced.

Collins, a 28-year-old big man out of Gonzaga, only played in 10 games last season but averaged 9.7 points and 5.6 rebounds a game when he did.

The Lakers haven’t made a big splash in free agency, other than opening up the checkbook to make sure Austin Reaves didn’t leave as a free agent. However, Luke Kennard is now headed to the Suns and Marcus Smart opted into free agency and has plenty of suitors around the league, it may be tough for the Lakers to bring him back as well.

The Lakers are targeting — and considered the frontrunners — for a couple of free agents: Toronto big man Sandro Mamukelashvili and Philadelphia guard Quentin Grimes. That according to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line.

Grimes played half-a-season with Luka Doncic in Dallas before they were both traded. Last season with the 76ers, the 6'4" guard averaged 13.4 points a game and has proven throughout his stops to be a solid reserve guard.

Mamukelashvili is not exactly a household name, but the 6'9" big man, who played his college ball at Seton Hall, averaged 11.2 points and 4.9 rebounds a game for Toronto last season, shooting 38.9% from 3-point range. He played well enough to earn some Sixth Man of the Year votes last season. Mamukelashvili is the kind of stretch big the Lakers need in their rotation around Doncic.

The Lakers had wanted to bring back sharpshooter Luke Kennard, but instead the sharpshooter is headed to a rival.

Luke Kennard has agreed to a two-year, $13 million deal with the Phoenix Suns, a story first reported by Shams Charania of ESPN. The second year of this is a player option.

Multiple teams were interested in Kennard, 30, who led the league last season shooting 47.8% from 3-point range. Once traded to the Lakers, he averaged nine points a night.

Kennard will come off the bench behind the just re-signed Collin Gillespie at the point and Devin Booker at the two. The Suns also just re-signed backup point guard Jordan Goodwin.

The Lakers need to find shooting and watching Kennard leave is a tough blow.

Keon Ellis, who had been in Sacramento for years but ended last season in Cleveland, is now headed to Brooklyn.

The backup two guard has agreed to a two-year, $18 million contract in which there is both a team and player option for the second year, a deal broken by Shams Charania of ESPN.

Ellis, 26, averaged 6.7 points per game last season, shooting 36.3% from 3-point range, splitting time between the Kings and Cavaliers.

How much is the promise of Walker Kessler worth?

Two years ago in Utah, he played in 64 games, averaging 8.1 points and 7.5 rebounds per game, and showed the potential to be a high-level traditional center. That’s a position in demand, but two years ago he played in just 58 games, averaging 11.1 points and 12.2 rebounds a game. Last season, he played in just five games due to shoulder surgery.

Utah decided that potential was worth about $28 million a year and reportedly offered five years, $140 million. Kessler thought that was low and has reportedly received better offers from teams.

Two thoughts here.

First, you leak that you have those offers to try to get Utah to up its offer. That’s clearly the plan.

Second, those offers become “real” if and when Kessler signs one, then the Jazz have 48 hours to match it or let him walk. The challenge for the other team is that for those 48 hours, their money is committed and they can’t go to Plan B if — and more likely, when — Utah matches the offer. A lot of things happen in the first 48 hours of free agency and a team could miss out on another player.

Free agent forward Kobe Sanders is returning to the Los Angeles Clippers on a four-year, $11.2M deal, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports.

Los Angeles converted Sanders’ two-way contract into a standard deal this past February, and the California native looks to carve a role in the Clippers’ rotation with versatility at the wing.

Three teams are at the top of the list to be LeBron James’ next (and final?) team: Golden State, Cleveland and Miami. Two teams with ties to him and a need for his skill set, one team that has Stephen Curry and would be close to home.

Now, add Minnesota to the list, reports Sam Amick of The Athletic.

":...the Minnesota Timberwolves are known to have interest if he felt like shocking the basketball world with that sort of move.”

The issue here is money. Golden State and Cleveland, if they make some moves, could offer LeBron the full $15 million non-taxpayer mid-level exception. Miami only has about $10.5 million of that left. However, the best the Timberwolves could do is the taxpayer mid-level of $6.1 million.

Is playing with Anthony Edwards enough of a draw for LeBron to take less and play in Minnesota? Probably not, but nothing is predictable around LeBron right now.

The Portland Trail Blazers continue their aggressive offseason, agreeing on a one-year deal with 7-footer Branden Carlson, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports.

Carlson spent the last two seasons as a reserve with Oklahoma City. The 27-year-old center looks to help solidify Portland’s frontcourt depth after the team extended big man Robert Williams III to a three-year deal.

With the start of free agency, the NBA has released the official salary cap numbers for next season. The new salary cap, $164.96 million, is up 6.7% from last year. That number is slightly slower growth than was expected.

Here is a breakdown of all the relevant official numbers:

Salary cap: $164,961,000
Luxury tax: $200,428,000
First tax apron: $209,015,000
Second tax apron: $221,686,000
Minimum salary floor: $148,465,000

Player salary exceptions:

Non-taxpayer mid-level exception: $15,044,000
Taxpayer mid-level exception: $6,064,000
Room exception: $9,366,000
Bi-annual exception: $5,477,000

Max contract numbers:

Six years or fewer (25% of cap): $41,240,250
7-9 years (30% of cap): $49,488,300
10+ years (35% of cap): $57,736,350

The Detroit Pistons have said they want to keep Tobias Harris. However, Harris is not waiting around for them to make an offer.

The veteran forward is meeting with five teams at the start of free agency, reports Sam Amick of The Athletic. He didn’t give details on which teams, but among the teams looking to add a floor-spacing four — and a team that has expressed interest in Harris in the past — are the San Antonio Spurs.

You can be sure the teams meeting with Harris are also meeting with Rui Hachimura, who plays a similar role and is expected to exit the Lakers.

Harris, 34, averaged 13.3 points and 5.1 rebounds per game for the Pistons last season.

The Minnesota Timberwolves have agreed to terms on a minimum contract with guard Bones Hyland, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic reports.

Hyland played a big role as a spark plug off of Minnesota’s bench in 2025-26 and provides real depth for the Timberwolves’ guards. He averaged 8.7 points and 2.6 assists across 71 regular-season games last season.

When LeBron James made “The Decision” — his televised announcement that he was going to Miami — it was July 10. And he was the first major domino to fall, a lot of deals happened after that.

That is not the way free agency works anymore, things happen in a flurry right around the official start of free agency. LeBron, though, is going to go at his own pace, according to reports.

First, he wants his agent, Rich Paul, to do some legwork, reports ESPN’s Shams Charania.

James has instructed agent Rich Paul to talk to everyone around the league who is interested and come back to him with what the options are so he can make his decision, the source said.

LeBron will not be rushed, and competing in “meaningful games” is the priority.

This all sets up for Cleveland. First, the Cavaliers need time to make a move (e.g., a salary dump of Max Strus) so they have the cap space to offer LeBron the full $15 million mid-level exception. And the Cavaliers, despite an earlier-than-anticipated playoff exit, will come back believing they can win the East. This team will still have Donovan Mitchell, James Harden and Evan Mobley.

Maybe LeBron chooses the Warriors or someone else, just don’t expect him to do it quickly.

The first reports of the Kawhi Leonard to Toronto trade said the sides had agreed to the framework of a deal, with details to come.

Now we have those details. The trade works out like this:

Toronto receives: Kawhi Leonard

The LA Clippers receive: Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, two unprotected first-round picks (2031 and 2033), a 2027 first-round pick swap, two second-rounder picks (2030 and 2033).

Ousmane Dieng was one of the few late-season bright spots for the tanking Bucks. He started 20 games for Milwaukee last season after being traded from Oklahoma City at the deadline. The Bucks got a good look at the 6'9" forward as he averaged 11 points and 4.6 rebounds a game — and they were impressed.

That was enough to get the Bucks to re-sign Dieng to a three-year, $17.5 million contract, reports Shams Charania of ESPN.

Dieng was a favorite of Doc Rivers through the end of the season and now Taylor Jenkins — a coach with a great player-development pedigree — will get a chance to grow him into a key part of whatever is next in Milwaukee.

NBA Insider Chris Haynes reports that DeAndre Jordan is returning to the New Orleans Pelicans for his 19th season.

Jordan, who turns 38 next month, appeared in 12 games for New Orleans last season.

Jalen Duren is frustrated as a restricted free agent. And it suck for players because the team with their rights — the Detroit Pistons — has all the power.

Coming off an All-NBA season, Duren wants a new contract averaging more than $40 million per year. The Pistons are reportedly offering less, in the mid-$30 million-a-year range.

To create leverage, Duren (through his agent and camp) has made a lot of noise about meeting with Sacramento and the Los Angeles Lakers, trying to work out a sign-and-trade. Boston also reportedly has interest in Duren.

As free agency started, Detroit asserted its power, leaking this to ESPN’s Marc Spears.

That is an unequivocal message to every other team — Detroit is not letting Duren go. Come up with a trade, make him an offer, it does not matter. He is coming back to Motor City.

The Pistons see Duren and Cade Cunningham as the core part of a contender, a team that was the No. 1 seed in the East last season. Detroit is not walking away from that. End of story.

Miami landed its superstar, trading for Giannis Antetokounmpo. Now comes the hard part of filling out a talented roster around him.

Tim Hardaway Jr. will be part of that, joining the Heat on a one-year, $6.5 million deal, reports Shams Charania of ESPN.

Hardaway averaged 13.5 points a game, shooting 40.7% from 3-point range last season for the Heat. He is exactly the kind of sharpshooter that the Heat need to surround Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo.

This is a blow to Denver’s depth, something already in question as they work to retain players like Peyton Watson and others.

It’s 6 p.m. Eastern on June 30 — NBA Free Agency has officially begun.

Technically, it means teams can start talking to players from other teams, and there will be formal meetings, but we also know the groundwork for those talks has been laid out already. The “tampering” is strong in the NBA.

Expect the deals to start coming fast for the next 48 hours.

While Stephen Curry and his West Coast friends may have dreamed of bringing Anthony Davis to the left coast, it’s not happening. Washington is not going to trade Davis, reports ESPN’s HOF reporter Marc Spears.

The Wizards want to see what this looks like: Trae Young at the point, No. 1 pick AJ Dybantsa and promising young star Alex Sarr as the forwards, and Davis as the center. That’s a team that can make some noise in the East.

Davis also wants a massive contract extension, which will factor into Davis’ future and whether Washington ultimately comes off its “we’re not going to trade him” stance. But they are not trading him for now.

The Sacramento Kings are bringing back big man Precious Achiuwa on a new two-year contract, reports Chris Haynes.

Kawhi Leonard was traded to Toronto in 2019 and won a title that year, but it was known before he went north that he would not sign an extension because he wanted to play in his native Southern California.

Now, Leonard is headed back to Toronto specifically because they want to offer him a massive extension.

The Clippers and Rockets are finalizing a trade that sends Leonard back to Toronto for a package centered around All-Star Brandon Ingram and picks, a story simultaneously broken by ESPN’s Shams Charania and basketball insider Chris Haynes.

The deal shakes out like this:

Toronto receives: Kawhi Leonard
The LA Clippers receive: Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, two first-round picks, a pick swap, two second-rounder picks
Note: The details of this trade are not finalized and things like the picks could change.

The Raptors and Leonard are reportedly talking about a two-year contract extension beyond this season. Leonard was available for a trade because he and the Clippers could not reach terms on an extension — Los Angeles would not give him the years or money he wanted. The Clippers were already pivoting to a new era and had traded away James Harden and Ivica Zubac.

The Raptors now have a dominating forward lineup with All-Stars Scottie Barnes and Leonard, an elite combination if Leonard can stay healthy. Toronto also has RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley, Collin Murray-Boyles and some depth. It’s a roster that could do damage adding Leonard, is coming off a season where he averaged a career-high 27.9 points per game to go along with 6.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.9 steals a night last season.

The Clippers get their books cleaned up and have some flexibility going forward to rebuild their roster around Darius Garland and the just-drafted Keaton Wagner.

Kris Dunn has been a quietly valuable rotation player for the Clippers. A quality perimeter defender who can score enough (shooting 37.4% from beyond the arc, but only takes an average of one 3-pointer a game), averaging 7.3 points per game.

The Clippers are keeping him and guaranteeing his $5.7 million contract for this season, reports Law Murray of The Athletic.

The Clippers are transitioning to whatever is next, but Dunn is rock solid and can be part of that.

Portland is out — and how “in” they ever were depends upon who you ask — and right now, no other team has moved to the front of the line to trade for Jaylen Brown. That’s because no team is willing to pay the price of four first-round picks plus players that Boston is demanding.

That doesn’t mean Boston is going to drop its price, they will just keep Brown and work it out, reports Sam Amick at The Athletic.

Barring a drastic and unforeseen change in the market, the Boston Celtics will have to significantly lower their asking price if they plan on trading him anytime soon.

The best bet may be that Brown is back in Boston next season — he and Tatum have won a ring before and can certainly get back to the finals if Boston just upgrades at center and fills out the team’s depth. Maybe Brown is frustrated enough to force his way out of town, but him staying in Boston appears to be the most likely outcome.

LeBron’s decision to leave the Lakers is a “happiness-led decision” and “not driven by money,” according to the spin out of his camp Shams Charania of ESPN. My read is that this is less about “happiness” and more about respect. LeBron felt he played well for the Lakers last season — because he did, averaging 20.9 points, 7.2 assists and 6.1 rebounds a game and lifting the team past Houston in the playoffs — and he was rewarded by being told the team was focused on rebuilding around Doncic and LeBron himself was more of an afterthought. Also, he had to take a steep pay cut. (We’ll see how much money matters to LeBron when we see where and when he signs.)

So where does LeBron land? Where does he get the respect he seeks? Here are the three choices on the table, according to league sources.

Golden State Warriors

This is the team that checks the most boxes:

Close to his family in Los Angeles? Check.
Will play meaningful games in a big spotlight? Check.
Wants him? Check. The Warriors have been trying to lure him in for more than a year.

After agreeing to a new deal with Kristaps Porzingis, the only way the Warriors can offer the full mid-level exception of $15.1 to LeBron is to salary dump Moses Moody. They also can ask LeBron and Draymond Green to take even less with their new deals.

The Warriors’ dream is to team up LeBron, Curry, Green and Anthony Davis (via a trade with Washington, likely for Jimmy Butler, which is going to be tough to get the Wizards to agree to). And that team would be a threat for the 20 games when the Big Four are all healthy.

That said, this is a team that might provide happiness for LeBron.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Cleveland has interest in bringing LeBron home, reports Chris Haynes.

LeBron finishing his career where it started has a great narrative ring, but the logistics of making it happen are messy. If Cleveland wants to do this, it could let Dean Wade walk (he may be leaving anyway), salary-dump Max Strus, and get its payroll low enough to offer LeBron the full $15.1 million mid-level exception. Or, he might take a little less to play with Donovan Mitchell and James Harden in the East.

As for a sign-and-trade with the Lakers, the problem is that any sign-and-trade would hard cap the Cavaliers at the first apron, meaning they would need to trim about another $14 million in salary from the books. That would start to gut the team. It’s just hard to envision it working.

Miami Heat

LeBron James with Giannis Antetokounmpo? That would be fun to watch.

LeBron won a title in Miami, but is everyone ready to let go of the past, bury any hatchets and move on to try and win now? The pairing of LeBron and Antetokounmpo with Bam Adebayo and role players is interesting, one that can make some noise in the East.

Miami is hard-capped at the first apron, meaning its best offer is the remainder of its mid-level exception, about $10.5 million (they are using part of it to bring back Simon Fontecchio). Is that enough for LeBron? This is seen as a long shot, but it’s on the table.

ESPN’s Shams Charania reports that LeBron James’ next move in free agency is “a happiness-led decision” and “not driven by money.”

The 41-year-old’s future takes center stage once the free agency period opens. LeBron’s interest in potential suitors remains unclear, says NBC Sports’ Grant Liffmann, but Golden State remains the frontrunner.

Don’t count out Cleveland, Miami, or other potential wildcards that may throw their name in the hat now that we know that LeBron will be playing an unprecedented 24th season.

The Atlanta Hawks have locked up center Jock Landale on a one-year, $14M contract, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports.

Atlanta acquired Landale from the Memphis Grizzlies midseason in the midst of a career year, averaging 10.6 points and 5.7 rebounds in his sixth campaign.

LeBron James will enter his 24th NBA season, but it will not be with the Los Angeles Lakers.

ESPN’s Shams Charania reports that LeBron James has informed the Lakers on Tuesday, via Rich Paul, that the franchise can move on without him with intentions to sign elsewhere.

It remains to be seen where James will land. The Golden State Warriors have emerged in recent days as potential suitors, with reports also pointing to luring Anthony Davis from Washington to pair with Steph Curry. NBA insider Chris Haynes also reports that the Cavaliers have interest in a second reunion.

After spending the last eight seasons with Los Angeles, including a 2020 championship, LeBron will hit the open market once free agency begins.

The Portland Trail Blazers are retaining their veteran center Robert Williams III on a three year, $44M extension, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports.

Williams appeared in 59 games for Portland last season, the most since the 2021-22 campaign, while averaging 6.7 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks. The Trail Blazers continue their aggressive offseason on the heels of trading for two-time All-Star, Ja Morant.

Simone Fontecchio — the analytics darling and quality floor-spacing wing — is returning to Miami on a one-year contract, reports Shams Charania of ESPN. This is a minimum deal, which will pay Fontecchio a little more than $3 million, but only count as $2.5 million against the Miami salary cap.

Fontecchio averaged 8.5 points a game and shot 37.5% for the Heat last season, playing almost 17 minutes a game off the bench. This is a quality pick up for the Heat, he’s the perfect guy to play of the driving of Giannis Antetokounmpo. It’s also good exposure for Fontecchio — Miami will be on national television much more often in the coming year. Next year, there may be more suitors lined up.

Taking a page out of Jalen Duren’s playbook, Utah Jazz restricted free agent Walker Kessler is going to meet with teams once free agency opens, looking for a bigger payday than the Jazz have on the table. The Athletic’s Tony Jones broke it down.

Kessler should find the best offer he can, but everyone knows that the Jazz will just match the offer, they are not letting Kessler walk. The fact that everyone knows the Jazz will just match limits what other teams will do, they don’t want to tie up their money just to help out Kessler.

The reported offer on the table from Utah is five years, $140 million ($28 million a year average). Not sure other teams would go much higher than that, while Kessler has shown a lot of potential he also played just five games last year following shoulder surgery.

There are a lot of NBA fans who will ask, “Who is Sandro Mamukelashvili and why would the Lakers want him?” That’s because Toronto Raptors games don’t get much national airtime in the USA, so fans didn’t see the big man average 11.2 points and 4.9 rebounds per game while shooting 38.9% from 3-point range last season.

The Lakers did and have been linked to him, reports Dan Woike at The Athletic. Mamukelashvili opted out of his $2.8 million contract with Toronto and is expected to get a deal, from the Lakers or someone else, at closer to $10 million a season. He would be a quality rotation big for the Lakers whose game fits better with Luka Doncic than the guys currently on the roster.

It looks more and more like Kawhi Leonard is headed back to Toronto — where he led the Raptors to a title in 2019 then bolted for home in Southern California — according to multiple reports.

NBA insider Jake Fischer said the sides are “nearing a framework” to get the deal done. We have to assume that part of that framework involves Toronto and Leonard’s camp discussing a contract extension — the reason the Clippers are trading him in the first place is that the sides are far apart on how big an extension the 35-year-old will get.

Leonard is striking while the iron is hot, coming off a season where he averaged a career-high 27.9 points per game to go along with 6.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.9 steals a night. He was named Second Team All-NBA. He also is 35 with a lengthy injury history.

The only question is the return package to the Clippers, with the Raptors preferring to make that Brandon Ingram and Gradey Dick, while the Clippers prefer RJ Barrett and others. There is room to find a deal in there.

One other note from Fischer and Marc Stein: If the Clippers do this deal, they are not going to turn around and chase Jaylen Brown, as had been rumored.

Floor-spacing veteran big man Brook Lopez is staying close to Disneyland — well, at least in Los Angeles — as the Clippers are picking up the $9.2 million team option on him, reports Chris Haynes.

Lopez averaged 8.5 points and 3.6 rebounds a game last season and shot 36% from 3-point range. This was expected by Clippers.

One day ago, Portland was mentioned as the frontrunner to land Jaylen Brown in a trade, then the Trail Blazers flipped around and traded for Ja Morant instead.

So who is next in line? Maybe nobody. Or at least nobody at near the price Boston is asking, something ESPN’s Shams Charania talked about on NBA Today. He added that Boston is keeping its asking price high.

“I’ve been told [Boston has] asked multiple teams for up to four first-round picks, in some cases even more than that...

“I can’t find a team right now that is willing, at this moment, to give up that amount of draft capital. So then it just becomes, are Brad Stevens and that front office fine trading away Jaylen Brown for potentially less than that. I had one GM say, ’40 cents on the dollar.’”

If the market is not there, the question becomes “is the franchise’s relationship with Brown salvageable, or has it crossed the Rubicon and there is no going back?” Brown, after being publicly dangled in a Giannis Antetokounmpo offer by the Celtics, may be done with Beantown.

Brad Stevens also isn’t going to trade Brown for pennies on the dollar.

ESPN’s Brian Windhorst noted earlier in the day that the Celtics have talked to a lot of teams, but they’re now asking for draft picks and swaps more than players, which is interesting for a team poised to enter next season as one of the top contenders in the East.

Kevin Huerter is returning to the Detroit Pistons on a three-year, $27 million contract, a story broken by Shams Charania of ESPN. The third year is a team option.

Huerter is a veteran sharpshooter that the Pistons picked up at the deadline as part of the Jaden Ivey trade. Huerter averaged 8.6 points per game last season with the Pistons, but he has had streaky moments with his shot over the years and it did not take the flight to Detroit with him (29.4%). That shot will return and this is a fair price for Huerter, although about a 40% pay cut from his last contract.

On a young Spurs team, Harrison Barnes was the veteran voice, a guy who had a ring and had played on the biggest of stages before.

Barnes enjoyed that role so much that he is returning to the Spurs on a one-year, $8 million contract, a story broken by Shams Charania of ESPN.

Barnes began the season as the Spurs’ starting four but ultimately lost that job to Julian Champagnie (who also re-signed with the Spurs this offseason at three years, $45 million). That Barnes wanted to come back to this team at this price shows how much he has enjoyed his San Antonio experience.

A year ago, the Jazz traded for Jusuf Nurkic, just to provide some frontcourt depth. That ended up mattering a lot more than expected when Walker Kessler only played five games due to shoulder surgery.

Now Nurkic will be back in Utah on a new two-year, $22 million contract, a story broken by Shams Charania of ESPN.

Nurkic averaged a double-double last season — 10.9 points and 10.4 rebounds per game — but his season was cut short by nasal surgery.

The Jazz and Kessler remain in a stalemate with his contract extension negotiations, but the sides are expected to work a deal out. Nurkic likely would come off the bench as Utah wants to start a front line of Kessler, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Lauri Markkanen — that’s some real size up front.

Kristaps Porzingis is heading back to the Bay Area to join Stephen Curry and a team that — if fully healthy — could make some noise in the West.

Porzingis and the Warriors have agreed to a two-year, $40 million contract, reports Shams Charania of ESPN.

Porzingis played in just 32 games last season, splitting time between Atlanta and Golden State. When he did play, he averaged 16.7 points and 5.2 rebounds a game. On paper, Porzingis is exactly the kind of stretch five who can protect the paint on defense that Golden State needs around Stephen Curry and Draymond Green. The problem has been availability, he has played in 65 games just once since 2018. Porzingis was diagnosed more than a year ago with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) and that has been an issue.

According to ESPN, the dream scenario in Golden State this offseason is trading for Anthony Davis from Washington and using that to lure LeBron James up the California coast. A roster of Davis, Curry, Green and Jimmy Butler (who will miss the first part of the season recovering from a torn ACL) would be entertaining, in the games they all played, but age and health histories make you wonder how many of those games there would be.

Adding Porzingis does not mean that the dream is dead, but it would mean potentially having to trade someone (Moses Moody?) or getting Green to take a massive discount on his new deal to create the cap space to use the full non-taxpayer mid-level exception on LeBron. Of course, the bigger questions about that dream is on the Anthony Davis side: What do the Warriors have to trade that Washington actually wants? And, do the Warriors really want to pay Davis the massive contract extension he seeks? Davis is the much harder end of that dream to make work, but they might not be able to get LeBron without AD in the fold.

Either way, Porzingis will be there.

Being a restricted free agent means to be without much leverage in contract negotiations, so Jalen Duren and his team are trying to create some with the Pistons.

Detroit and Durant remain well apart on negotiations for the big man coming off an All-NBA season. Durent and his camp want a deal worth more than $40 million per year on average, but after his disappointing playoff performance, the Pistons want a deal in the mid-$30 million per year range (maybe up to $37 million annually). There has been little reason for the Pistons to budge on their offer, so Duren is trying to create some movement by talking to the Kings about a sign-and-trade, reports NBA insider Chris Haynes.

Duren reportedly will meet with the Lakers after the Kings.

How is this playing in Detroit?

“The Pistons do not intend to trade the 22-year-old restricted free agent, based on conversations with multiple people who spoke with the Free Press on the condition of anonymity,” reports Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press.

Haynes said on NBA TV that with Sacramento in particular, Duren really wants to play there, that this is not a leverage play.

Um... this is a pure leverage play that is more sound and fury than anything serious. It’s a PR move for the Kings — “look how hard we’re trying, fans.” But what is Sacramento going to offer in a trade that would have Detroit saying “sure, we’ll give up our 22-year-old two-way, top-20 player in the league center for that?” There is no Domantas Sabonis deal that Detroit will take. Zach LaVine ain’t gonna cut it.

Plus, on purely logistical grounds (and this applies to the Lakers, too), trading Duren would involve the quagmire of base-year compensation rules, making it nearly impossible to put together any deal.

There are a couple of teams that have or could create the cap space to offer Duren a max (four years, $177 million), but the Pistons would just match it and keep him.

It may take a while and get ugly, but expect the Pistons and Duren to eventually come to a deal.

The Atlanta Hawks have declined to pick up the $24.3 million team option on Jonathan Kuminga, making the wing a free agent this summer.

Kuminga had a few good games for the Hawks, but was not consistent after coming over from Golden State at the trade deadline, averaging 12.3 points a game . Atlanta did explore possible trades for Kuminga (if they had picked up the option) but found the market lukewarm. That said, there does appear to be a potential home for him.

This does not necessarily mean Lu Dort is staying in Oklahoma City, but he is getting paid next season.

The Oklahoma City Thunder have picked up the $17.7 million team option on Lu Dort, the team has announced. Dort has played in 432 career games for OKC (423 starts) and is third in franchise history in 3-pointers made and sixth in steals. The 27-year-old, defense-first guard averaged 8.3 points a game last season for the Thunder.

It is possible the Thunder picked up Dort’s option to trade him, this is a team headed into the second apron and will be looking to trim costs around the edges.

To that point, the Thunder did not pick up thier option on reserve big man Kenrich Williams, but he could return to the team on a smaller deal.

Julian Champagnie is a testament not only to the Spurs’ eye for skill (Philadelphia had him on a two-way and waived him to clear a spot for Mac McClung) but also to their ability to develop that talent.

Champagnie was a key part of the Spurs’ 62-win season and run to the NBA Finals, the team recognized his value and signed him to a new three-year, $45 million contract, something first reported by Shams Charania of ESPN.

This is also how you keep players happy. The Spurs could have picked up Champagnie’s $3 million team option for next season, but instead, they rewarded a key two-way wing and 3-point shooter with a deal right around the league average.

Champagnie averaged 11.1 points and 1.5 assists a game last season for the Spurs, but that undersells his value. Champagnie nailed six 3-pointers in Game 7 on the road in Oklahoma City to help San Antonio to the NBA Finals.

The Knicks wanted Landry Shamet back, and he wanted to stay, it was only a question of money.

The sides worked it out and Shamet is returning to New York with a four-year, $24 million contract, reports Shams Charania of ESPN.

That’s a fair deal for the backup guard, who averaged 9.3 points per game and shot 39.2% from 3-point range. He also had some key moments during the Knicks’ run to an NBA title.

Since owner Tom Dundon took over, Portland has been looking to make a splash, take a big swing. Here it is.

The Memphis Grizzlies are trading Ja Morant to the Portland Trail Blazers for Jerami Grant and Kris Murray, a story broken by Shams Charania of ESPN.

This is a big win for Morant, who needed a fresh start and gets one in Portland.

Morant only played in 20 games last season due to injuries, but averaged 19.3 points and 8.1 assists per game when he did play. With the mature Lillard next to him, it’s not hard to see Portland’s logic. Morant will make $42.2 million this season and $44.9 million next season. After that first season, Portland can reassess and potentially extend Morant.

This also means Portland is likely out on a Jaylen Brown trade, they would have used Grant’s salary to match.

For Memphis, it gets them out of the Morant business to focus on building around Cameron Boozer, plus now the Grizzlies add another solid forward in Grant to a deep front line.

Bradley Beal has declined his $5.6 million player option with the Clippers and is now an unrestricted free agent, reports ESPN’s Shams Charania.

Beal, 33, played in just six games last season before hip surgery ended it for him. Even in the six games he played, Beal was more of a supporting player and averaged 8.2 points per game. Beal has not played in more than 53 games in any of the past five seasons.

By opting out, it suggests Beal and his agent think there is more money for him out there. We’ll see.

This feels more like a housekeeping note it was so expected.

James Harden has officially declined his $42.3 million player option for next season, something reported by Shams Charania of ESPN. This was always the plan, since before he was traded from the Clippers to the Cavaliers at the deadline — he will re-sign with Cleveland for multiple years, at a lower per-year number but more total money.

Harden averaged 20.5 points and 7.7 assists per game after coming over from the Clippers, then had another up-and-down playoffs. There was a handshake deal to get this extension done before he was even traded to the Cavaliers.

Devin Carter has shown flashes as a backup point guard in Sacramento, but after getting their man and drafting Darius Acuff Jr. last week, there were not going to be a lot of minutes for him.

So the Kings are trading Carter to the Atlanta Hawks for a future second-round pick, a story broken by Shams Charania of ESPN.

The Kings free up a roster spot while the Hawks get a needed backup point guard.

Carter averaged 8.9 points per game last season, is a good defender, is athletic, and is just 24. What has held him back is his shot (26.3% from 3-point range last season), but the Hawks can see if they can fix it.

Carter is making $5.2 million this season and there is a team option for $7.4 million next season.

The Clippers want to keep Bennedict Mathurin — he was brilliant for them after arriving as part of the Ivica Zubac trade, averaging 17.4 points per game and giving them someone who plays downhill and gets to the line.

The first step in keeping him was tendering him a qualifying offer, which made Mathurin a free agent, a move first reported by Michael Scotto of Hoopshype.

Mathurin was a good off-the-bench contrast to Darius Garland at the point. That said, there had been some questioning what Mathurin’s role would be after the team took Keaton Wagler fifth in the NBA Draft. Would Mathurin’s minutes get squeezed? There has been some speculation about the Nets being interested, but that’s what every agent leaks because they have cap space. He likely re-signs with the Clippers.

The Clippers also tendered qualifying offers to Jordan Miller and Kobe Sanders as well and are looking to re-sign both.

This was expected — this kind of money is not out there on the open market for him right now.

Sacramento’s Zach LaVine is picking up his $49 million player option for the coming season, a story first reported by Shams Charania of ESPN.

The Kings are still very open to trading LaVine, which was difficult for the past year because of that massive, looming option. As we move through the summer and up to the trade deadline, teams may be more open to bringing in the 31-year-old wing who averaged 19.2 points per game last season (but only played in 39 games due to injuries).

This is not a sign Draymond Green is leaving the Warriors — rather, it’s the opposite. If he were leaving via trade, he would have picked up this option.

Instead, Green has declined his $27.7 million player option and will become a free agent, something first reported by Shams Charania of ESPN. He will eventually re-sign with the team on a two- or three-year deal at a lower per-year number but more total money.

This frees up cap space for the Warriors to make other moves. The big swing the Warriors want to take is trading for Anthony Davis out of Dallas and luring LeBron James up the California coast on a $15.1 million deal. A Stephen Curry, LeBron, Davis, Jimmy Butler and Green team would be interesting if they can stay healthy.

As was expected, Marcus Smart has declined his $5.4 million player option, a story first reported by NBA insider Chris Haynes and since confirmed by others.

The Lakers have made it a priority to bring Smart back after his best season in years, but the question will be: Can they afford to do so while also doing the other things they want (find a center, upgrade on the wing)? Houston is known to be interested in signing Smart, reuniting him with Ime Udoka, who coached him in Boston, and multiple other teams are checking in as well.