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NBA free agency is rolling along.
Wednesday's big move featured Deandre Ayton and the Lakers agreeing to a two-year deal. And a major shocker came the day before, as the Milwaukee Bucks plan to waive the injured Damian Lillard and stretch his salary over five seasons to help clear cap space to sign Myles Turner away from the Eastern Conference champion Indiana Pacers. (More details on how and why that went down.)
Other key moves and news:
Who's left? Here's a list as of Wednesday morning.
Scroll down for news, analysis, reactions and more from our NBA staff.
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Winners (Hawks), losers (July) and more from NBA free agency’s first days
To add more detail to Kelly Iko’s report below about an "expansive sign-and-trade" involving Houston:
League sources tell The Athletic that the Rockets and Suns are working on expanding the Kevin Durant trade into a deal that would involve a league-record seven teams. Other teams involved in negotiations at the moment include the Atlanta Hawks, Brooklyn Nets, Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves, league sources say.
No trade is imminent, and details are being ironed out as of Wednesday night.
In a would-be seven-team trade, there is an unprecedented amount of detail. Unfortunately, while a seven-team trade would make for a thrilling topic at a cocktail party, there haven’t been many unexpected developments in these negotiations. At least in the iterations of the deal discussed so far, most of the recognizable names are from trades that have already been agreed to and reported but not yet finalized.
The Hawks would be sending Clint Capela to the Rockets in what would become a sign-and-trade, league sources say. Durant would go to Houston. The previously reported return for him, including Dillon Brooks and Jalen Green, would go to Phoenix. Only five players who were in the NBA last season are being discussed in the current iteration of the trade, as of now: Durant, Brooks, Green, Clint Capela and Daeqwon Plowden, league sources say. The rest of the players being discussed are all from already-agreed-upon draft-night trades that are yet to be finalized and can't be until July 6.
For now, the largest trade in NBA history is the six-teamer that sent Klay Thompson to the Dallas Mavericks last summer. Before that, it was the five-teamer in 2021, when the Lakers sent Russell Westbrook to the Washington Wizards.
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Dennis Schröder will be joining the Kings as part of a sign-and-trade with the Pistons, a team source tells our Sam Amick, and that improves the flexibility for both teams.
The Kings willl take Schröder into their existing $16.8 million trade exception for Kevin Huerter and thus maintain their entire $14.1 million nontaxpayer midlevel exception for other moves; Sacramento is currently $14.7 million below the first apron, where the Kings would be hard-capped as a result of the sign-and-trade.
The Pistons, meanwhile, will either generate a $14.1 million trade exception for Schröder or can take back up to $23 million in a simultaneous trade that would almost certainly involve a third team (or more). As a result of this trade, the Pistons would operate as an over-the-cap team, with Paul Reed taking the team's biannual exception and Caris LeVert taking Detroit's nontaxpayer midlevel exception.
Detroit still has $25 million in room below the tax line with three open roster spots, although one may be designated for rookie second-round pick Chaz Lanier. The Pistons are already taking on a bunch of salary in another trade, sending Simone Fontecchio out in a sign-and-trade for Duncan Robinson; it appears that Detroit will start Robinson's salary at the maximum allowable $16,865,384 (twice Fontecchio's salary plus $250,000), and then decline his salary by 5 percent each of the following two years on his three-year, $48 million deal.
It also remains possible that Detroit unites these two sign-and-trades into one big, ugly sign-and-trade, although right now it doesn't seem to generate any additional advantages versus keeping the two separate.
To further what Eric Nehm and I discussed in our story earlier today: The Bucks, after waiving Chris Livingston, can accommodate a four-year, $107 million contract for Myles Turner, provided Vasilije Micić gives back at least $5.4 million of his $8.1 million salary in a buyout with Milwaukee. If Turner's deal ends up being a sign-and-trade, however, Micić would only need to give back $5.15 million.
After an active offseason, the Atlanta Hawks' championship odds have jumped from +25000 to +2500 on BetMGM.
Trae Young remains the cornerstone, but the supporting cast looks deeper and much more talented with those three additions. Atlanta’s regular starting five figures to be Trae Young, Kristaps Porziņģis, Most Improved Player Dyson Daniels, last year’s No. 1 pick Zaccharie Risacher and Jalen Johnson, who was averaging 18.9 points, 10 rebounds and five assists before missing the second half of last season due to injury.
Add Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Luke Kennard to a bench unit in a depleted Eastern Conference, and it’s easy to see why Atlanta surged up the odds.
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The Milwaukee Bucks have waived Chris Livingston. The Bucks selected Livingston, 21, with the final pick of the 2023 NBA Draft, but he never found his footing in the NBA.
Livingston appeared in 42 games across the last two seasons with the Bucks and played just 196 minutes. He was on a non-guaranteed contract for the 2025-26 season with a guarantee date of July 15.
I'm hearing that the Rockets, who are acquiring Dorian Finney-Smith and Clint Capela in free agency, will be expanding one of those into an expansive sign-and-trade that involves multiple teams. Houston can officially finalize those moves beginning July 6.
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Purely from a standpoint of matching salaries, the Knicks could construct various types of potential trade offers for LeBron James. The most chaotic deal would be flipping All-NBA big man Karl-Anthony Towns for James, straight up — two teams betting on the other’s star. Of course, this could leave the Knicks center-less, given Mitchell Robinson’s injury struggles.
They could pair a couple of wings, OG Anunoby and either Josh Hart or Mikal Bridges, in a trade for James. They could piece together a trio to offer for James: Anunoby, Robinson and point guard Miles “Deuce” McBride.
But Anunoby will make $45 million in 2027-28 and has a player option for the following season, which would eat into the Lakers’ possible cap space two summers from now. Meanwhile, the Knicks — or any other team — may not want to part with three key rotation pieces (and three of their four best defenders) for a 40-year-old.
James could double as a basketball fit, as well as a giant expiring contract to avoid the second apron in 2026-27 and maybe beyond. In Los Angeles, Towns and Luka Dončić could destroy any defense they face.
But the Knicks are also made up of prime-aged contributors. This would make them older. Like in the other hypotheticals, a James trade to the Knicks, even in a world where both he and the Lakers agree it’s best for the two to part ways after seven years, isn’t likely. The Knicks didn’t get in on the hunt for Kevin Durant. Like so many others, they could be saving up salary and assets for a guy in Milwaukee. They may not handle this hypothetical much differently.
Read on for more LeBron James trade hypotheticals.
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LeBron James trade fits: Cavs, Warriors, Mavericks and more possibilities
The Mavericks are hiring Frank Vogel to be Jason Kidd's top assistant coach, a league source confirmed to The Athletic.
Vogel spent time around the Mavericks last season as a coaching adviser. He'll replace Sean Sweeney, who left Dallas this offseason for San Antonio, as Kidd's primary lieutenant.
Vogel was the Lakers' head coach in 2020 when they won the championship in the NBA bubble. Kidd was an assistant on that staff. Their roles are reversed now.
Dallas bringing back Dante Exum does not augur well for the future of guard Brandon Williams. His non-guaranteed contract is Dallas' 16th, and his continued presence on the roster would push Dallas into the second apron, where they are hard-capped by virtue of using the taxpayer midlevel exception on D'Angelo Russell.
If Jake LaRavia gets a flat $6 million over two years from the Lakers, as it seems he might, there is $8,104,000 left over for Ayton with their nontaxpayer midlevel exception. If that is the case, Ayton's 2026-27 salary would be $8,509,200 if he doesn't choose to hit free agency.
Portland is likely to end up with a $25.55 million cap charge on its books after buying out Ayton. If so, the Blazers are $17 million below the tax line, and Ayton would make a total of $33.7 million in 2025-26 between the two contracts.
The Lakers have their center, reaching an agreement with 2018 No. 1 overall pick Deandre Ayton, team and league sources confirm to The Athletic. He'll get a two-year deal with a player option for next season.
Ayton joins Luka Dončić, the player picked three spots after him in the draft, in Los Angeles. Luka gets his lob threat.
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LeBron James’ contract decision shows the Lakers are Luka Doncic’s team now
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On Tuesday, the Milwaukee Bucks made one of the more shocking moves in recent NBA history by planning to waive nine-time NBA All-Star Damian Lillard and then agreeing to sign free agent Myles Turner to a four-year, $107 million contract. The Bucks, who entered the offseason as a team that could use some smart cap maneuvers to create enough space for the non-taxpayer midlevel exception, managed to create enough cap space to sign one of the most expensive free-agent centers on the market.
How?
Read on as we explain how the Bucks went from being constrained by the cap to pulling off a shocking roster transformation.
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Lakers second-round draft pick Adou Thiero won’t play this summer for the Lakers as he continues with the recovery process from the left knee injury he suffered this past season at Arkansas.
He’s expected to be fully cleared for training camp.
Jalen Bridges has been added to the Celtics summer league roster, I've been told, and will be going to camp with the team in the fall with a chance to make the roster.
The 24-year-old wing played for Phoenix on a two-way contract as a rookie.
The Mavericks are bringing back Dante Exum on a one-year minimum contract, a source with knowledge of the negotiations confirmed to The Athletic.
The 29-year-old Exum gives the Mavericks another trusted ballhandler. He only played 20 games last season due to right wrist and left hand injuries.
When Exum was healthy, it was clear Mavericks coach Jason Kidd could on him. Exum averaged 8.7 points and 2.8 assists in 18.6 minutes per game.
In the opening hours of free agency, Dallas agreed to sign D'Angelo Russell using the taxpayer midlevel exception. With Kyrie Irving on the mend from left knee surgery, Russell slides into the starting lineup, while Exum is a leading candidate to get the backup point guard minutes.
Signing Exum means the Mavericks will have 16 players on standard contracts. That's fine for now, but they'll need to shed a player before the regular season starts.
Mike Brown was the only candidate the Knicks ended up bringing back for a second interview, per league sources.
It was a patient search that featured multiple twists and turns. New York’s front office led by Leon Rose reached out to employed head coaches (like Houstons’ Ime Udoka and Dallas’ Jason Kidd), assistant coaches (like Minnesota’s Micah Nori, Dallas’ Sean Sweeney and New Orleans’ James Borrego), recently fired head coaches (like Brown and Taylor Jenkins) and even held a conversation with South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley. Rose and Co., per league sources, didn’t feel rushed to make a hire since the Knicks were the only team in the NBA with a vacancy.
New York went into the initial stages of the hiring process with Brown’s name circled. Per league sources, the Knicks liked Brown’s extensive résumé and the fact that he’s worn many hats in the NBA. Brown’s willingness to collaborate and the leadership qualities the franchise examined were also big selling points, league sources said.
New York, led by stars Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, liked that Brown has worked with LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Steph Curry. The Knicks liked that Brown came up under Gregg Popovich, worked alongside Steve Kerr and won championships with both. New York was impressed at how Brown turned the Sacramento Kings around and helped them win 45-plus games in back-to-back seasons for the first time in the lowly franchise’s history since 2006. Before he was fired by Sacramento after 31 games last season, Brown helped turn De’Aaron Fox into an All-Star. In 2022-23, Brown and the Kings had the best offensive efficiency since tracking began in 1996.
Now, Brown is tasked with pushing the Knicks to the next level, into a tier of champions.
Read my column on the impending hire here.
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Mike Brown has faced pressure before, but this time might be different. Welcome to the Knicks
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In case Dallas fans were worried for any reason, the Mavericks announced today that they've officially signed No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed. The team also confirmed that Flagg would be participating in Las Vegas Summer League beginning next week.
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The Hornets are adding Spencer Dinwiddie on a one-year deal, a league source tells our Christian Clark. That tells you a couple things about Charlotte: First, that the Hornets don't really view Collin Sexton as a point guard off the bench, and second, that a few guys on the fringes a year ago are probably not long for this roster.
Josh Okogie has a non-guaranteed deal for $7.5 million; with the Hornets already having 15 guaranteed contracts plus the non-guaranteed deal of energizer Moussa Diabate and a likely roster deal for second-rounder Ryan Kalkbrenner, he would seem to be an easy choice to move on from. Additionally, Pat Connaughton, whom the Hornets are acquiring from Milwaukee, is on the books for $9.4 million but could be headed for a buyout if his contract can't be used in another trade, and 2023 first-rounder Nick Smith Jr. seems to be in a tenuous position; the team acquired three other guards in the offseason (Dinwiddie, Sexton and lottery pick Kon Knueppel) and is bringing back Tre Mann.
Charlotte is also in a position to make more additions; the Hornets will be roughly $17 million from the tax line if they move on from Okogie and the non-guaranteed DaQuan Jeffries, and they still have access to their entire $14.1 million nontaxpayer midlevel exception. Given that the NTMLE can also operate as a trade exception, Charlotte may utilize this to take on a Connaughton-esque salary dump in return for more draft capital.
Mike Brown has some Tom Thibodeauian tendencies — and I mean that in the positive sense.
His teams play disciplined. He cares about stops and doesn’t like defensive gamblers. He was hard on the group in Sacramento after a slow start last season. But he’s also got some differences from the former Knicks coach schematically. With the Kings, Brown’s teams played at a super pace. He’ll play smalls together. He’ll play around with lineups.
The Knicks have made sure the pressure is on, clearly stating their goal is to win a title. And they believe Brown, to whom they've offered their head coaching job, is the guy to take them there.
