NBA free agency 2025 – What we’re hearing about the Lakers, Knicks and 18 other NBA teams
It’s the most exciting time of the NBA year! With the 2025 draft in the rearview mirror, all 30 teams are feverishly working their whiteboards behind the scenes.
Who’s on the move? Who’s staying put? We’ve already seen two major trades from the 2024 Boston Celtics championship team, with All-Star Jrue Holiday heading west to the Portland Trail Blazers and Kristaps Porzingis going south to the Atlanta Hawks.
We’ve seen LeBron James’ plan to opt in to his player option with the Los Angeles Lakers for 2025-26, with James also saying he is closely monitoring the team’s moves this offseason. Kevin Durant is now on the Houston Rockets. The Wolves are finalizing deals with two of their free agents in Naz Reid and Julius Randle.
Rumors continue to swirl. Here’s what our insiders are hearing about 20 teams across the league.
MORE: Trade grades | Offseason news and buzz
Boston Celtics
After clearing more than $200 million in combined payroll and luxury taxes for next season with the trades of Jrue Holiday to Portland and Kristaps Porzingis to Atlanta, Boston has put itself in a more tenable position ahead of a season in which Jayson Tatum likely will be sidelined following surgery to repair a torn left Achilles tendon sustained in the playoffs.
While Jaylen Brown and Derrick White could theoretically follow Holiday and Porzingis out of town, it would take a very significant offer for the Celtics to even consider the possibility.
The main questions surrounding Boston entering free agency revolve around the futures of Al Horford and Luke Kornet, who are expected to have a lot of interest around the league. — Tim Bontemps
Brooklyn Nets
Evidenced by its record-breaking five first-round selections in last week’s draft, Brooklyn is embarking on a youth movement. The Nets — who started the past season far better than anticipated, as they were still nearing .500 by mid-December — missed out on landing one of the very top picks. And they seem set on making sure that doesn’t happen again.
With that in mind, no one would be surprised if forward Cameron Johnson, the Nets’ player who carries the most trade value, is dealt in the weeks to come.
The Nets possess more cap room than any NBA team, so expect them to engage with the more coveted restricted free agents on the market, such as 22-year-old Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga and 25-year-old Quentin Grimes from Philadelphia. (Brooklyn also will aim to bring back its own restricted free agent in 23-year-old Cam Thomas, who led the team in scoring at 24 points per game.)
But also watch for Brooklyn to express a willingness to take on salaries other teams might be seeking to shed. The Nets have the ability to absorb them for now while also picking up draft picks along the way. — Chris Herring
Chicago Bulls
Despite finishing with an identical 39-43 record over the past two seasons, the Bulls are expected to stay the course by retooling around their young players without tanking to the bottom of the standings.
First up on Chicago’s to-do list is to re-sign Josh Giddey, a restricted free agent who is expected to command a salary near $30 million annually, sources told ESPN. The move to acquire Giddey in a player-for-player trade, without any additional draft compensation, looked a lot like the deal the team made last week when it swapped Lonzo Ball (age 27) for Isaac Okoro (age 24) from Cleveland.
Here’s what general manager Marc Eversley said following the draft:
“We need to remain diligent and pragmatic about how we build this. We don’t want to skip steps. When you do skip steps, expectations build and you make mistakes. I don’t think we want to do that.”
That sounds good, in theory, but the question for Chicago, after years of meandering in the middle, is what exactly these moves are expected to add up to. — Jamal Collier
Cleveland Cavaliers
With massive extensions for Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley — All-NBA players the Cavaliers are very happy to pay — coming onto the books, Cleveland has soared into the second apron.
But it made the ability to retain key free unrestricted reserves Ty Jerome (who finished third in Sixth Man of the Year voting) and Sam Merrill (who re-signed to a four-year, $38 million deal) a challenge.
Enter the Cavs’ deal over the weekend to trade wing Issac Okoro for Lonzo Ball. Ball was limited to just 35 games last season because of a wrist injury, but when Ball played, he proved to be an effective third guard as a ball handler and a table setter. He has better size than Jerome and is a better defender with a desirable contract at $10 million this year plus a $10 million team option for 2026-27. Okoro is owed about $23 million guaranteed over the next two years.
Jerome is a potential target for a team with the bulk of its $14 million midlevel exception available, a number the Cavs were concerned they might not be able to match. Moving Okoro, whose playing time varied this past season, opens playing time for 2024 first-round pick Jaylon Tyson, who was an odd man out last year and dealt with some injuries.
Though it’s hard to count on anything in the immediate future from second-round picks, the Cavs’ choice of Duke’s Tyrese Proctor last week was an indication they might need to replace some guard depth after free agency. — Brian Windhorst
Dallas Mavericks
Kyrie Irving’s acceptance of a three-year, $119 million contract — taking a pay cut for this season after declining his $43 million player option — allowed the Mavericks to maintain access to the $5.7 million taxpayer midlevel exception.
The plan for that slot is to sign a lead guard who can start while Irving recovers from his torn left ACL and transition to a key reserve role upon the nine-time All-Star’s return.
Candidates include D’Angelo Russell, Malcolm Brogdon, Chris Paul and Tyus Jones, sources said. (The Mavs had interest in Dennis Schroder, but he is expected to command a significantly higher salary.)
“A lot of players want to come play in Dallas, so I think we’ll have our choice based upon the money and the opportunity we have,” Mavs GM Nico Harrison said after the first round of the draft on Thursday. “Obviously, there’s limitations to us having our choice, but I think all things equal in terms of money, we’ll have our choice of player that we want to get. Super confident in that.” — Tim MacMahon
Denver Nuggets
Will the Nuggets attempt to replace Russell Westbrook in the rotation after he opted out of the second year of his contract following a roller-coaster season in Denver?
That remains to be seen, as Denver has the $5.7 million taxpayer midlevel exception available but is facing the repeater tax.
The Nuggets, whose revamped front office has the unique structure of dual decision-makers in executive vice president of basketball operations Ben Tenzer and executive vice president of player personnel Jon Wallace, need to determine how much they’re willing to rely on unproven young talent. That includes guard Jalen Pickett, who played sporadically in his first two years but flashed some potential down the stretch this past season.
“The easiest way to develop is time,” Wallace said. “Over the past couple of years, they’ve gotten more experience and played in real games and real situations. We have the utmost confidence in them.” — MacMahon
Golden State Warriors
As expected, the Warriors tendered a one-year, $7.9 million qualifying offer on Saturday to Jonathan Kuminga to make the forward a restricted free agent.
With the Nets the only team that can offer a starting salary of $20 million or more, Golden State will wait to see what Kuminga’s market is. The Warriors have the right to match and could explore sign-and-trade options too. If no deal materializes, they can keep Kuminga — and see how he continues to develop alongside Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler III and Draymond Green — and opt to explore trade options if they want to next season.
The Warriors need help across the roster, with main priorities being at the center spot, more shooting and veteran 3-and-D wings. Veteran free agents such as Brook Lopez, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Bruce Brown and Malcolm Brogdon could help Curry and Butler.
GM Mike Dunleavy Jr. said the Warriors will be “in the mix” in what could be a very active trade market in July. But Dunleavy likely will have to wait to see what happens with Kuminga first. — Ohm Youngmisuk
Houston Rockets
The Rockets had hoped to find a homegrown player to serve as their offensive engine headed into next season. But the team’s first-round exit against Golden State provided sufficient evidence for the Rockets to look outside the organization for that player.
So, Houston traded for one of the NBA’s greatest scorers in Kevin Durant for a haul consisting mostly of second-round picks. But in the process, it sent two starters (Dillon Brooks and Jalen Green) to Phoenix along with this year’s No. 10 pick (Khaman Maluach).
Houston GM Rafael Stone still has the full midlevel exception at his disposal, so there’s a good chance the Rockets will replenish the depth surrendered in the Durant trade through free agency and lean on player development to push some of their young players, including Amen Thompson, Reed Sheppard and Alperen Sengun, to the next level.
The Rockets took care of their business early in bringing back Fred VanVleet, Jae’Sean Tate, Aaron Holiday and Jeff Green. After extending Jabari Smith Jr., their next tasks are doing the same with Tari Eason and potentially adding a 3-and-D wing in free agency. — Michael C. Wright
Indiana Pacers
The Pacers have been preparing for months to re-sign franchise center Myles Turner. Yes, it’s because he is a 10-year member of the team, is still in his prime and offers a valuable combination of rim defender and floor spacer. But it’s also because Indiana cannot replace him.
The question is how much it’ll cost, considering Naz Reid just reset the center market with a five-year, $125 million deal. The Pacers haven’t paid the luxury tax in 20 years and are facing that expense if they pay Turner in a season in which they likely will be without Tyrese Haliburton, who will be recovering from a torn right Achilles tendon sustained during the NBA Finals.
Turner is going to get re-signed. But retaining the rest of Indiana’s depth, including extension-eligible supersub Bennedict Mathurin, is a bigger question. Rival teams are eyeing whether there will be a cost-saving move coming, as well. — Windhorst
LA Clippers
The Clippers took care of their first order of business on Sunday, agreeing to a new deal with James Harden. Harden declined his $36.3 million option for next season in exchange for a new two-year, $81.5 million contract, sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania. The second year of Harden’s deal has a player option and is partially guaranteed, sources said.
The agreement gives Harden a raise after earning All-NBA third-team honors and helping the Clippers win 50 games despite Kawhi Leonard missing the first two-plus months of the season. It also allows the Clippers to maintain present and future financial flexibility and they’ll have access to the $14.1 million non-tax midlevel exception.
By signing Harden, they also keep their two stars on a similar timeline, with Leonard having two years left on his deal. They could still use another playmaker to help Harden, another backup big and add more two-way wings to fortify an already imposing defense. Norman Powell is also extension-eligible. — Youngmisuk
Los Angeles Lakers
LeBron James opted in to his $52.6 million contract with the Lakers on Sunday, and Dorian Finney-Smith opted out of his $15.4 million contract.
Neither decision guarantees that player will or won’t be on the team next season.
James’ agent, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul, told ESPN’s Shams Charania, “We want to evaluate what’s best for LeBron at this stage in his life and career … he wants to make every season he has left count,” and that James will be closely monitoring what L.A. does to improve the team in the offseason.
As for Finney-Smith, at 32 and coming off left ankle surgery, the priority is to find a multiyear deal, sources told ESPN — whether that’s in L.A. or elsewhere. If Finney-Smith leaves in free agency, the Lakers would have their full midlevel exception available to them and could use the $14.1 million toward signing a center or split it up to sign multiple players. — McMenamin
Minnesota Timberwolves
The Wolves had three big free agents but room under the second apron for only two. For months they knew this was a reality and hoped they could manage it, but they knew this would likely go this way.
Naz Reid is a franchise success story, going from an undrafted prospect to Sixth Man of the Year and a core member of back-to-back conference finals teams. That’s why the Wolves kept him off the free agent market by locking him into a new five-year, $125 million deal.
This left Julius Randle and Nickeil Alexander-Walker. After a strong postseason, Randle was a priority and the Wolves were able to get a deal done for three years and $100 million to keep him out of free agency. That left them short of what will be needed to keep Alexander-Walker, who is coming off two strong seasons. They could find a trade to offload some money, but more than likely, NAW will have a new team shortly into free agency. — Windhorst
Memphis Grizzlies
Credit general manager Zach Kleiman for making an honest assessment of where Memphis stands in the highly competitive West, before trading franchise stalwart Desmond Bane to Orlando for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Cole Anthony, four unprotected first-round picks and a first-round pick swap. The blockbuster trade represents a reset and commitment “to take different avenues” toward building a competitive roster, Kleiman said.
Doing so involves retooling around star guard Ja Morant and big man Jaren Jackson Jr., who is up for an extension. It’s expected Memphis will look to create cap space to renegotiate and ultimately extend Jackson, making reserves like John Konchar potential trade candidates. Santi Aldama is a restricted free agent coming off a career season, and Memphis hopes to bring him back.
The team’s 2025 draft class indicates a shift to a more physical, defensive-minded identity. So keep that in mind when monitoring any potential free agent additions for a team that will be hard-capped at the first apron. — Wright
Milwaukee Bucks
All eyes are on the Bucks to see how they can rebuild their team around Giannis Antetokounmpo.
For now, there has been no trade request from their franchise icon, but there is still significant pressure on the organization on how to survive a “gap year,” with Damian Lillard sidelined for most of, if not all, the 2025-26 season.
Milwaukee had some success down the stretch last season after Lillard’s injury, running the offense through Antetokounmpo and he has expressed interest in playing point forward, using his improved passing and playmaking ability to shoulder even more of the offensive burden.
The Bucks liked how guard Kevin Porter Jr., an unrestricted free agent, fit into that equation and aim to bring him back, as well as Bobby Portis, their perennial Sixth Man of the Year candidate.
But whether the Bucks do enough to position themselves for success — and how they do so — in a weakened Eastern Conference next season is one of the most fascinating questions in the league as free agency begins. — Collier
New York Knicks
It’s no secret the Knicks, with one of the most top-heavy rosters in the NBA, could use some depth. But they’re limited in the ways they can build it, having just the $5.7 million midlevel exception to offer while needing to fill the rest of their open spots with veteran-minimum deals.
Still, expect them to be aggressive in trying to land a free agent like Luke Kennard with the midlevel, though the sharpshooter may be able to find more lucrative offers. The same might be true of Dennis Schroder. Free agents Al Horford and Luke Kornet also figure to be of interest, though the Celtics may be able to maneuver to free up money to keep one or both of them.
The other route New York could take is dealing one of its starters. Both Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns, whom the Knicks traded for last summer, are eligible for extensions. Yes, the team is coming off its deepest playoff run in a quarter century.
But after watching the starting five get outscored during the second half of the season — and after seeing Tom Thibodeau lose his job as coach less than one year into his extension — it’s certainly not a foregone conclusion that the starting five will look the same come this October. — Herring
Oklahoma City Thunder
The Thunder took their big swing in free agency last summer, when they signed center Isaiah Hartenstein to a three-year, $87 million contract, a move that helped bring a championship parade to Bricktown. That was the most important free agency acquisition in franchise history and will likely be Oklahoma City’s last big splash in free agency for a while.
The Thunder’s priority this summer is anticipated to be making a long-term commitment to their core. MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is eligible to sign a four-year, $293 million supermax extension this summer or could wait until the 2026 offseason to get an even larger deal (five years, $380 million).
All-NBA forward Jalen Williams and likely future All-Star power forward/center Chet Holmgren are eligible to sign rookie contract extensions worth as much as $247 million over five years, with potential supermax escalators that could increase the value to $296 million. — MacMahon
Philadelphia 76ers
With Philadelphia’s selection of VJ Edgecombe third overall in Wednesday’s NBA draft now behind them, the 76ers head into the offseason with two main pieces of business.
The first is whether they can retain unrestricted free agent forward Guerschon Yabusele, the 2016 Celtics first-round pick who came back to the NBA last season. The 76ers are limited to the taxpayer’s midlevel exception, under $6 million, in what they can offer him, and it’s unclear that will be enough to do so.
The other is the restricted free agency of Quentin Grimes, who averaged nearly 22 points per game for Philadelphia after coming over in a deadline trade with Dallas. Though they have limited cap space, the 76ers are likely to get a deal done — or match an offer — to retain Grimes’ services into next season. — Bontemps
Phoenix Suns
Phoenix has already completely transformed its team in the last week, starting with the Kevin Durant trade to the Houston Rockets for Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks and continuing on draft night, when the team selected Duke center Khaman Maluach in the first round, added Rasheer Fleming and Koby Brea in the second round and traded for center Mark Williams from the Charlotte Hornets.
New general manager Brian Gregory will need to continue to fill out the roster with an immediate need at point guard. Tyus Jones and Collin Gillespie are both free agents.
Unless the team can convince Bradley Beal to waive his no-trade clause and find a taker for his $53.7 million salary, the majority of the Suns’ summer movement has already taken place. — McMenamin
San Antonio Spurs
San Antonio exercised restraint in its pursuit of Kevin Durant, and it’s expected the team will move similarly in free agency, despite the Spurs sitting in prime position to snag an All-Star-caliber player.
San Antonio is currently $27 million below the luxury tax with the flexibility to go in a variety of directions. But count on GM Brian Wright and the Spurs taking a measured approach because the brass wants to see how all the developing young talent fits around Victor Wembanyama before taking big swings to upgrade.
San Antonio could use depth in the backcourt, shooters and a backup big, given that reserve center Charles Bassey hasn’t finished the last two seasons due to injuries. The team’s main focus this summer will be extending De’Aaron Fox, who is eligible in August to sign a four-year, $229 million extension.
Aside from that, look for the Spurs to try to add around the edges, with a 3-point shooter such as Luke Kennard or Ty Jerome, and potential frontcourt contributors like Guerschon Yabusele, who played with Wembanyama on the French national team. — Wright
Utah Jazz
Don’t be confused by new president of basketball operations Austin Ainge’s declaration that the Jazz wouldn’t tank again this season. Winning instantly will not be the priority when it comes to roster construction in Utah this offseason.
The Jazz were already one of the youngest teams in the NBA and got younger with the addition of 18-year-old Ace Bailey and 22-year-old Walter Clayton Jr. as first-round picks. There were already nine players age 23 or younger on the roster, including a pair of lottery picks who are projects in forwards Cody Williams and Taylor Hendricks.
Player development will continue to be a priority, which makes it likely that the Jazz will have a high lottery pick again next year, when the selection they owe Oklahoma City is top-eight protected.
The Jazz are a team to watch for unloading players in the trade market. Veterans John Collins and Jordan Clarkson are (still) available, and each of them are on expiring contracts. It doesn’t make sense for the Jazz to be aggressive in free agency at this stage of the rebuilding process. — MacMahon
Source: espn.com