NBA free agency is underway, and after more than 10 days, some notable names remain available. Restricted free agency has been slow to develop this summer. The Brooklyn Nets were the only team to enter the offseason with significant cap space, and there has not been much buzz about players like Jonathan Kuminga, Josh Giddey and Quentin Grimes. As restricted free agents, those players would have to sign an offer sheet with another team and their incumbent club would have the chance to match the offer.
While those younger players remain, there are also some well-known veterans still out there. Al Horford appears likely to leave the Celtics, but it's not clear where he'll end up. Russell Westbrook and Chris Paul remain available, and Damian Lillard was a late addition to the free agency class. Lillard will likely miss most or all of next season after tearing his Achilles in the playoffs, but he is free to pick a new team after the Bucks stretched his contract and waived the nine-time All-Star.
Bradley Beal could end up in a similar boat. The Suns are reportedly considering waiving Beal, who, unlike Lillard, is not coming off an injury. Beal's tenure in Phoenix has not gone well, but the veteran scorer's potential availability is said to be drawing interest from the Clippers, Lakers and Bucks, among others.
1. Jonathan Kuminga (restricted free agent)
2. Josh Giddey (restricted free agent)
3. Al Horford
4. Quentin Grimes (restricted free agent)
5. Cam Thomas (restricted free agent)
6. Gary Payton II
7. Russell Westbrook
8. Chris Paul
9. Amir Coffey
10. De'Anthony Melton
While most big names in this free agency class stayed put (LeBron James opted into his player option with the Lakers; James Harden, Kyrie Irving and Julius Randle signed new deals with the Clippers, Mavericks and Timberwolves, respectively), there were still some major moves after things got started on June 30. Myles Turner shockingly left the Pacers to join the rival Bucks, a move made possible by Milwaukee stretching and waiving Lillard's contract. The Nuggets have been one of the most active teams this summer, adding multiple veterans in free agency while also trading Michael Porter Jr. for Cam Johnson in a deal with the Nets.
The moratorium period ended on July 6, so transactions have started to become official. That includes the Kevin Durant-to-the-Rockets trade, which turned into a record-setting seven-team deal.
CBS Sports was keeping track of rumors and notable moves for the first 10 days of free agency. Catch up below.
The New Orleans Pelicans have agreed to a three-year, $68 million extension with Herb Jones that will keep him with the franchise through the 2029-30 season, ESPN reported on Thursday. The final year of Jones' deal is a player option. Jones is one of the best defensive wings in the league, so landing him for average annual value of just over $22.6 million is a great deal.
One of the biggest storylines during free agency is what the Golden State Warriors will do with RFA Jonathan Kuminga. The 22-year-old forward has been floated around in trade rumors, but there hasn't been a resolution on his complicated situation. On 95.7 The Game, Warriors insider Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area & California said that Kuminga could ultimately return to the Warriors.
"With every passing day, it looks more and more like he could stay," Poole said.
If Bradley Beal secures a contract buyout with the Phoenix Suns, the Los Angeles Clippers are the "likely" leaders to land his services, the Athletic reported on Tuesday. Beal, 32, has two years remaining on his massive five-year, $251 million contract. After being traded to the Suns from the Washington Wizards in 2023, it appears that Beal will be playing next season in a different uniform.
Beal has also considered the Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors and the Milwaukee Bucks, per the same report.
Free agent guard De'Anthony Melton could be heading toward a reunion with a team he had a short stint with last season. The Warriors have "emerged as a strong contender" to sign Melton, per Marc Stein. Melton signed as a free agent last offseason with the Warriors. He was traded in a deal that sent Melton to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Dennis Schröder and a second-round pick. Melton suffered a season-ending surgery on a partially torn ACL less than a month into the 2024-25 season.
The Indiana Pacers are re-signing center James Wiseman to a two-year, $5.6 million deal, which includes a $1 million partial guarantee for this season and a team option in Year 2, Michael Scotto reported on Tuesday. The former No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft suffered a season-ending torn Achilles last season.
It appears that Al Horford will not be back in Boston. The veteran big man, who has spent seven of the last nine seasons with the Celtics, is currently a free agent. With the Celtics trading away veterans and shedding salary to avoid tax penalties, Horford seemed like he would be on the move as well. He's been linked to the Warriors and Lakers and is reportedly considering retirement. But Celtics president Brad Stevens confirmed Tuesday that Horford signing with the Celtics this summer was "unlikely."
Kyle Lowry is returning for his 20th NBA season in 2025-26, and doing so for his hometown 76ers. Lowry and the Sixers agreed to a one-year deal, per ESPN. It's his third season in a row with the Sixers. Lowry, 39, played in 35 games last season. He averaged 3.9 points and 2.7 assists on just 35% shooting.
Deals have started to be announced in the last two days as free agency's moratorium period ended on Sunday. Among the recently announced deals? That would be the most surprising twist in free agency so far... Myles Turner is officially a Buck. Imagine seeing this graphic three weeks ago.
Bradley Beal is likely about to become a free agent. The Suns are set to cut Beal loose, even though the decision comes with long-term issues for Phoenix. Sam Quinn has more:
After a quiet holiday weekend, Monday kicked off with a notable NBA trade. Norman Powell is heading from the Clippers to the Heat, and John Collins is on his way to L.A. in a three-team deal with the Jazz. Details below:
With Damian Lillard no longer on the roster, the Bucks are going to need as much guard depth as they can muster, and they took a step in that direction by agreeing to a three-year, $12 million deal with 23-year-old Ryan Rollins, according to ESPN's Shams Charania.
After beginning his career with the Golden State Warriors and Washington Wizards, Rollins started 19 games for the Bucks last season, mostly filling in for Lillard during injury absences. As a starter, Rollins averaged 10.2 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.3 steals in just under 25 minutes per game.
He was also a valuable bench weapon, putting up 49/41/80 splits over his 56 appearances while playing stout perimeter defense, so Milwaukee coach Doc Rivers will have a versatile guard ready to plug into the starting five or deploy as a reserve.
Shortly after the Grizzlies traded Jay Huff to the Indiana Pacers, Memphis agreed to a deal with center Jock Landale, ESPN reported. Landale played last season with the Houston Rockets.
After not much action during the last 48 hours, we have had two trades within the last 60 minutes. The Memphis Grizzlies are trading center Jay Huff for one second-round pick and one second-round pick swap, ESPN reported on Saturday. Huff should provide frontcourt depth to Indiana after the franchise lost center Myles Turner to the Bucks in free agency.
The Houston Rockets are trading wing Cam Whitmore to the Houston Rockets in exchange for two second-round picks, ESPN reported on Saturday. Whitmore, the former No. 20 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, was likely going to be buried on the bench in Houston this season because of the Rockets' immense depth. With Whitmore heading to Washington, he gets a new opportunity to thrive. This trade is notable because the Wizards (per the Athletic) were linked to restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga. With this move, it's fair to wonder if Washington will still entertain pursuing the Warriors' young forward.
Well, technically it's the same amount of Wagners. The Magic are bringing back forward Moe Wagner on a one-year, $5 million deal, per ESPN. Wagner, older brother of Magic star Franz Wagner, is coming off a torn ACL. He hurt his knee in December and it halted a promising season. Wagner was averaging 12.9 points per game before the injury. It's unclear when Wagner will return to the court next season, but it's not a surprise to see him stay in Orlando. He's been with the Magic since the 2020-21 season.
Jonas Valanciunas was set to be one of the Nuggets' key offseason additions. Denver has reportedly agreed to a trade with the Kings to acquire Valanciunas and send Dario Saric to Sacramento. But Valanciunas might have different plans.
According to multiple reports, Valanciunas is mulling an offer from Greek team Panathinaikos. To make a move to Europe, the veteran big man would request a buyout of his NBA contract (he has two seasons and more than $20 million remaining in a deal he signed last summer).
It's unclear where Valanciunas will end up, but this is a hiccup in an otherwise smooth week for the Nuggets.
The Warriors remain a team to watch as free agency rolls on. They've been linked to veterans like Al Horford and the newly available Damian Lillard. But they seemingly need to figure out their Jonathan Kuminga situation first. Kuminga is a restricted free agent and the Warriors would want to execute a sign-and-trade if he ends heading to another team so they don't lose him for nothing. Kuminga could delay more Warriors' deals. Here's more on that front from Tim Kawakami of the San Francisco Standard:
"The Warriors' biggest available salary slot is the $5.7 million taxpayer midlevel exception (TMPLE), but if they use it, they'll hard cap their payroll at the second apron. They're still a chunk away from the $207.8 million line, but if Kuminga receives a big offer sheet from another team, matching it likely would be illegal, because it would put the Warriors over the line. Which would mean the Warriors would lose Kuminga for nothing."
NBA free agency rolls along Thursday with plenty of unanswered questions. Where will Jonathan Kuminga end up? Which contender is Al Horford joining? Is Chris Paul going back to the Suns... or the Clippers? Are the Lakers really going to trade LeBron James?
Perhaps we'll get some answers on those topics today. But here's a brief recap of last night's news and rumors:
Multiple reports out of Sacramento have linked the Kings to Warriors wing Jonathan Kuminga, a restricted free agent. According to NBC Sports Bay Area, there have been conversations about a potential three-team sign-and-trade between the Kings, Warriors and Pistons that would send Kuminga to the Kings and also involve guards Malik Monk and Dennis Schröder. Schröder, who played for three teams last season and finished up in Detroit, reportedly agreed to a three-year, $45 million deal with the Kings earlier this week.
Sam Amick of The Athletic, however, is reporting that there has been "zero progress" toward Kuminga ending up in Sacramento. The Warriors reportedly aren't close to a long-term deal, either.
Kuminga was the No. 7 pick by the Warriors in the 2021 NBA Draft but has been in and out of coach Steve Kerr's rotation despite flashes of high-level play. In four seasons with Golden State, Kuminga holds averages of 12.5 points and 4.6 rebounds while shooting 50.7% from the field and 33.2% from deep.
The Los Angeles Lakers are expected to sign free-agent center Deandre Ayton, according to NBA insider Chris Haynes. Though Ayton was an appealing Lakers center target on paper all offseason, the possibility of actually acquiring him at a reasonable price only recently presented itself. Ayton was originally due to earn $35.5 million this season. Matching such a cap figure in a trade would have cost the Lakers virtually all of their extraneous salary. However, Ayton managed to secure a buyout from the Trail Blazers on Sunday (the night before free agency began), opening the door for him to sign with the Lakers at a more palatable price and leaving them the bulk of their tradable salary to potentially use elsewhere.
The Deandre Ayton sweepstakes could be coming to a resolution shortly. Multiple interested teams expect Ayton to "commit to the Lakers" after he clears waivers at 5 p.m. ET, per Marc Stein. The Lakers have a clear need for a center, so this would be an ideal partnership. Ayton and the Portland Trail Blazers finalized a buyout last weekend, clearing the path for the former No. 1 overall pick to pick his next destination.
The Dallas Mavericks are re-signing point guard Danté Exum to a one-year deal, ESPN reported on Wednesday. Exum has spent the last two seasons with Dallas and is expected to share point guard duties with new FA signing D'Angelo Russell until star Kyrie Irving returns from his knee injury suffered earlier this calendar year.
One name to consider for the New York Knicks is free agent guard/ Ben Simmons. The New York Post reported on Wednesday that the Knicks have "expressed interest" in Simmons, who played for the Los Angeles Clippers and the Brooklyn Nets last season. Simmons appeared in 18 games for the Clippers and averaged 2.9 points, 3.1 assists and 3.8 rebounds.
A reunion between free agent point guard Chris Paul and the Phoenix Suns appears to be on the table. ESPN's Ramona Shelburne said on Wednesday that Paul is "most likely" going to end up signing with Phoenix. Paul played for the Suns from 2020-23 and helped Phoenix reach the NBA Finals in 2021. The 40-year-old guard played in all 82 games last season for the San Antonio Spurs.
Despite signing free agent point guard Dennis Schröder yesterday and having a log jam of guards on their roster, the Sacramento Kings still appear to be interested in Russell Westbrook. NBA insider Marc J. Spears said on Wednesday that the Kings are "certainly interested" in Westbrook and that the 36-year-old free agent wants to be closer to home. Westbrook grew up in Los Angeles and played at UCLA.
What's going on with the Lakers and LeBron James? LeBron opted into his $52.6 million contract option for the 2025-26 season on Sunday. But trade speculation quickly popped up thanks to comments made by his agent, Rich Paul, who said LeBron and the Lakers might have different priorities when it comes to roster-building. James, 40, wants to compete for the 2026 title. The Lakers, with the newly acquired Luka Dončić, are likely taking a longer view.
It's hard to gauge exactly how likely a LeBron James trade could be this summer. But ESPN insider Brian Windhorst gave some insight on Wednesday. Windhorst acknowledged there being a nonzero chance that LeBron is traded and said there were no substantial conversations between the Lakers and their superstar about a contract extension ahead of Sunday's opt-in deadline.
"The Lakers are essentially viewing LeBron as an expiring contract," Windhorst said. "...That's not insignificant, LeBron has never been an expiring contract."
CBS Sports' Sam Quinn laid out all of the different landing spots for James earlier this week.
