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And-Ones: Free Agents, 2026 Draft, Next Summer, 2024 Re-Draft

August 14th, 2025 at 12:26pm CST by Earnest Marshall

While most of the top free agents of the summer class of 2025 have either re-signed or joined new teams, there are still some potential impact role players on the market outside of the well-reported restricted free agent group.

Al Horford, Russell Westbrook and Amir Coffey sit atop Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report‘s list of best-available low-cost free agents. Horford has been heavily linked to the Warriors (as have Pincus’s fifth- and sixth-ranked free agents in Gary Payton II and De’Anthony Melton) and reporting has strongly suggested he’ll ultimately end up there once the Jonathan Kuminga situation is resolved.

Westbrook and the Kings have been frequently connected too, but reporting has suggested Sacramento might not have a spot for the former MVP if Malik Monk and/or Devin Carter aren’t traded, so it’s unclear where Westbrook would end up if the Kings decide they don’t have room in their backcourt.

As for Coffey and Pincus’s No. 4-ranked player Ben Simmons, there have been fewer definitive reports linking them to one team or another. Simmons has been connected to the Kings, Suns, Knicks and Celtics, but there hasn’t been much media traction involving Coffey.

We have more from around the basketball world:

  • Ahead of the 2025/26 collegiate season, the 2026 NBA draft class looks top-heavy, with three players in A.J. Dybantsa, Cameron Boozer and Darryn Peterson who are in contention to be selected No. 1 overall, Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report writes. Karim Lopez of the NBL’s New Zealand Breakers is Wasserman’s highest-ranked international prospect in the August update of his top-50 list, while Jayden Quaintance of Kentucky is the highest-ranked returning player (No. 4 overall) after he started 24 games for Arizona State in his age-17 season.
  • Looking ahead to next offseason, ESPN’s Bobby Marks details the headlines that should dominate the news cycle, including the futures of LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo. James will be an unrestricted free agent next year, and it’s unclear whether he will finish his career with the Lakers. Meanwhile, Curry, Jokic and Antetokounmpo could all be free agents in 2027 if they don’t sign extensions before then.
  • One year removed from the 2024 draft, Sam Vecenie of The Athletic re-drafted his top 20 from last year’s rookies. Zaccharie Risacher had a strong rookie season, but slipped from No. 1 to 2 in Vecenie’s re-draft, with 2024/25 Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle overtaking him for the top slot. Jared McCain (from No. 16 to No. 3) and Jaylen Wells (from No. 39 to No. 9) are the biggest risers in the top 10, while Ajay Mitchell jumped from No. 38 to No. 12.
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Details On Qualifying Offers For Remaining RFAs

August 14th, 2025 at 10:24am CST by Luke Adams

When we’ve talked about restricted free agency in recent weeks, we’ve focused primarily on the four 2021 first-round picks who remain unsigned: Josh Giddey, Jonathan Kuminga, Quentin Grimes, and Cam Thomas.

However, there are technically several more restricted free agents on the market. Those players are coming off two-way contracts though, so their free agencies typically play out without much fanfare. Two-way restricted free agents essentially never sign offer sheets or change teams, and many of them just end up accepting their qualifying offers and playing on another two-way deal.

Restricted free agents have until October 1 to decide whether or not to accept their qualifying offers, assuming their teams don’t agree to push back that deadline. Here are the qualifying offers on the table for this year’s RFAs:

Note: Qualifying offers marked with an asterisk (*) are partially guaranteed for $102,300; QOs marked with a caret (^) are partially guaranteed for $85,300.

For former first-round picks, qualifying offer amounts are generally based on their draft position, but they can fluctuate depending on whether or not a player met the starter criteria. That’s why Grimes, 2021’s No. 25 overall pick, has a higher qualifying offer than No. 7 pick Kuminga. All four of those players have fully guaranteed qualifying offers and would reach unrestricted free agency in 2026 if they were to accept their QOs.

Smith, meanwhile, is coming off a two-way contract, but is no longer eligible to sign another two-way deal with the Heat because he has spent parts of three separate seasons on two-way contracts with the team. So his qualifying offer is worth his minimum salary, with a small partial guarantee.

While it’s very common for two-way players to accept their qualifying offers, it happens far less frequently with former first-round picks.

As Bobby Marks of ESPN observed earlier this offseason (via Twitter), just five former first-round picks have signed their qualifying offers as restricted free agents since 2017. Here are how those five players fared in unrestricted free agency a year after signing their QOs:

  • Alex Len: Accepted $4.19MM qualifying offer in 2017; signed two-year, $8.51MM contract in 2018.
  • Nerlens Noel: Accepted $4.19MM qualifying offer in 2017; signed two-year, minimum-salary contract in 2018.
  • Rodney Hood: Accepted $3.47MM qualifying offer in 2018; signed two-year, $11.72MM contract in 2019.
  • Denzel Valentine: Accepted $4.64MM qualifying offer in 2020; signed two-year, minimum-salary contract in 2021 (partial guarantee in year one, non-guaranteed in year two).
  • Miles Bridges: Accepted $7.92MM qualifying offer in 2023 (after sitting out all of 2022/23); signed three-year, $75MM contract in 2024.

Bridges was a unique case, since he faced charges of domestic violence just as he was about to hit restricted free agency for the first time in 2022. If not for his off-court legal issues, he almost certainly wouldn’t have had to settle for his qualifying offer — his eventual three-year, $75MM deal was a more accurate reflection of his on-court value.

As for the other players on this list, Len, Noel, Hood, and Valentine weren’t exactly marquee free agents when they finished up their rookie contracts, so it’s not a huge surprise that they weren’t able to secure the sort of lucrative multiyear deals they hoped for, nor is it a shock that they didn’t end up getting big paydays in unrestricted free agency a year later.

Giddey, Kuminga, Grimes, and Thomas have shown enough in their first four seasons to warrant multiyear investments worth at least the full mid-level exception (or well above that, in at least one or two cases), and players of that caliber generally don’t accept qualifying offers. So I think we’re still headed toward these four guys eventually working out new deals.

But if one or more of them does accept a qualifying offer, it will be a fascinating storyline to track going forward. Recent history shows a handful of underwhelming follow-up deals for former first-rounders who signed their qualifying offers, so an RFA who accepts his QO this season would be looking to buck that trend.

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Killian Hayes Focused On Remaining In NBA

August 14th, 2025 at 9:09am CST by Luke Adams

Former lottery pick Killian Hayes has drawn interest from teams in Europe this offseason, but is focused on earning another NBA opportunity, according to a report from Gabriel Pantel-Jouve of BeBasket (hat tip to Eurohoops).

ASVEL Basket in France made Hayes a strong offer, per Pantel-Jouve, who says Real Madrid in Spain and Anadolu Efes in Turkey also registered some interest in the free agent point guard. All three clubs compete in the EuroLeague.

However, Hayes is hoping to stick in the NBA after appearing in 216 regular season games across the past five seasons. The seventh overall pick in the 2020 draft, he struggled to adjust to the NBA game in Detroit, where he made just 38.2% of his field goal attempts and 27.7% of his outside shots across four seasons from 2020-24.

Still, Hayes is just 24 years old and played well in a very small sample with Brooklyn last season, averaging 9.0 points, 5.2 assists, and 3.0 rebounds in 27.0 minutes per game and making 38.1% of his three-point tries in six appearances (five starts). The 6’5″ Frenchman spent most of 2024/25 playing for the Long Island Nets in the G League, where he put up 17.3 PPG, 7.4 APG, and 5.4 RPG on .463/.371/.689 shooting in 33 outings (32.9 MPG).

Hayes is no longer eligible for a two-way contract, so if he hopes to make an NBA roster this fall, he’d have to do it by earning a standard 15-man spot.

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Heat Sign Ethan Thompson To Exhibit 10 Contract

August 14th, 2025 at 7:46am CST by Luke Adams

The Heat have signed free agent guard Ethan Thompson to an Exhibit 10 contract, according to Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel (subscription required).

While Thompson has yet to appear in an NBA regular season game, he has now signed five NBA contracts since going undrafted out of Oregon State in 2021 and spent the last two-plus months of the 2024/25 season on a two-way deal with the Magic.

A G League veteran, the 6’5″ shooting guard has played in between 43 and 49 NBAGL games in each of the past four seasons, spending time with the Windy City Bulls, Mexico City Capitanes, and Osceola Magic. In 47 outings for Orlando’s G League team last season, he averaged 17.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.1 steals in 33.4 minutes per game, posting a shooting line of .415/.396/.805. He knocked down a career-high 3.3 three-pointers per contest.

An Exhibit 10 contract can be converted to a two-way deal before the regular season begins, and Miami does have an open two-way slot. However, it appears likely that the Heat are signing Thompson with an eye toward having him join their G League affiliate as a returning rights player — the Sioux Falls Skyforce made a trade with Osceola on Wednesday to acquire Thompson’s rights (Twitter link).

If Thompson is waived before the regular season begins and then spends at least 60 days with the Skyforce, he’d earn an Exhibit 10 bonus worth up to $85,300 on top of his standard NBAGL salary.

The Heat now have 17 players officially under contract, including 14 on fully or partially guaranteed standard deals, one on an Exhibit 10, and a pair on two-ways. They also still have a qualifying offer on the table for restricted free agent Dru Smith.

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Lakers Notes: LeBron, Hachimura, Thiero, Trade Prospects

August 13th, 2025 at 10:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

LeBron James may have been offering a hint about his future, or he could have been trolling fans, the media and Lakers management. Either way, it seems newsworthy that he and former teammate Anthony Davis both posted the same message to their Instagram accounts on Tuesday (hat tip to Ricky O’Donnell of Yahoo Sports).

It’s a quote from entrepreneur and life coach Jay Shetty that reads, “Becoming the best version of yourself comes with a lot of goodbyes.”

James’ future with the Lakers has been up in the air since he picked up his $52.6MM player option in late June. The online message could mean he’s contemplating saying goodbye to Los Angeles, either at some point this season or when he becomes an unrestricted free agent next summer.

The Mavericks have been mentioned as a possible next team for James, so Davis’ involvement could be significant. Going to Dallas would also reunite James with former Cleveland teammate Kyrie Irving and possibly turn the Mavs into legitimate title contenders again.

There’s more on the Lakers:

  • Rui Hachimura is also a year away from free agency and has the chance to earn a long-term deal with L.A. by putting together another strong season, Dan Woike of The Athletic writes in a mailbag column. Even though the Lakers are preserving cap space for the summer of 2027, they may decide Hachimura is worth the investment. He has shot better than 50% from the field and 40% from three-point range in both of his full seasons in L.A., and he showed improvement on defense last season. Woike also views him as a player who’ll benefit from spending a full season with Luka Doncic.
  • Second-round pick Adou Thiero, who missed all of Summer League while recovering from a knee injury he suffered in college, has been working out in the Lakers’ facility and is expected to be ready for training camp, Woike states in the same piece. The 21-year-old power forward was selected with the 36th pick in this year’s draft and was part of the seven-team deal that sent Kevin Durant from Phoenix to Houston. Woike notes that Thiero faces a crowded path to get playing time, but adds that he has the defensive skills to give himself a chance.
  • With 14 players holding standard contracts, Woike doesn’t expect the Lakers to make any more trades before the start of the season. They have an available first-rounder, a second-rounder and some swaps to offer, but Woike believes it’s more likely they’ll save those assets for a potential deal later on.
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Michael Porter Jr. Warns Of Risks Associated With Increased Gambling

August 13th, 2025 at 8:41pm CST by Arthur Hill

Appearing this week on the “One Night With Steiny” podcast (YouTube link), Nets forward Michael Porter Jr. warned that the growth of sports gambling is changing the experience of watching games for NBA fans, relays David Purdum of ESPN.

“The enjoyment of the game isn’t for the game anymore,” Porter told the hosts. “It’s so that people can make money. In reality, way more people are losing money than making money.”

Porter’s younger brother, Jontay Porter, made headlines last year for his participation in a gambling scheme. He was banned from the NBA in April 2024 after admitting in court testimony that he took himself out of two games during the 2023/24 season so associates who took the under on prop bets could cash in. He added that the arrangement was his way of paying off gambling debts.

Michael Porter Jr. alluded to his brother’s case on the podcast, saying he understands how players who “come from nothing” could be tempted by the opportunity to make big money for themselves and their friends by manipulating the gambling process.

“Think about it, if you could get all your homies rich by telling them, ‘Yo, bet $10,000 on my under this one game. I’m going to act like I’ve got an injury, and I’m going sit out. I’m going to come out after three minutes,'” Porter said. “And they all get a little bag because you did it one game. That is so not OK, but some people probably think like that. They come from nothing, and all their homies have nothing.”

Porter also stated that players are constantly the target of anger from bettors because they’re always “messing up” either the over or under on prop bets, which allow gamblers to predict whether they’ll have more or less than a certain number of points, rebounds, assists and other statistics.

“We really do get death threats,” Porter said, bringing up the topic of how the league would react if an irate bettor ever decided to physically attack a player.

Porter also decried the growth of online gambling, saying sports in general would be better off if bets could only be placed in person at Las Vegas casinos.

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Giannis Antetokounmpo Still Awaiting Bucks’ Approval For EuroBasket

August 13th, 2025 at 7:21pm CST by Arthur Hill

Giannis Antetokounmpo hasn’t taken part in any team activities as Greece prepares for EuroBasket because he’s still waiting for the Bucks to provide written permission for him to participate, according to Aris Barkas and Stavros Barbarousis of Eurohoops.

While most players don’t need permission from their NBA clubs to play in international tournaments, Antetokounmpo is an exception due to the size of his contract, sources tell the authors. They explain that the FIBA insurance policy, which is covered by the Greek federation, doesn’t pay enough to cover Antetokounmpo’s NBA contract in case he suffers a serious injury. Because there’s a cap on the insurance payout, he can’t proceed without authorization from the Bucks.

Barkas and Barbarousis note that Nuggets center Nikola Jokic and Lakers guard Luka Doncic are also affected by that stipulation, but they are both practicing and participating in exhibition games with their EuroBasket teams.

The FIBA-NBA agreement permits NBA players to join their national team’s training camp 28 days before the start of a major FIBA competition. Greece’s first EuroBasket game will take place on August 28, so Antetokounmpo would have been permitted to start training at the beginning of the month if not for the insurance snag.

Antetokounmpo has already missed three Greek exhibition contests, and he isn’t expected to play against Montenegro on Thursday. The authors state that Greece will participate in the Acropolis tournament before wrapping up exhibition play August 24 against France, but it’s still uncertain whether Antetokounmpo will be cleared to suit up for any of those contests.

The issue comes amid continuing uncertainty over Antetokounmpo’s future in Milwaukee. Trade speculation was rekindled earlier this month when Shams Charania of ESPN reported that the two-time MVP remains uncertain that he can achieve his goal of winning at least one more NBA title while playing for the Bucks.

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Jaren Jackson Jr. Changing Number As Part Of ‘Fresh Start’

August 13th, 2025 at 6:04pm CST by Arthur Hill

Looking for a “fresh start” as he enters his eighth NBA season, Grizzlies big man Jaren Jackson Jr. announced recently that he’s changing his uniform number, writes Rohan Nadkarni of NBC News. Jackson will give up his familiar number 13, which he has worn since his rookie season of 2018/19, in favor of number 8, which his father wore for part of his NBA career.

“It’s super personal to me. It’s super personal to my family,” Jackson said of the switch. “I’m connected with 8 in a real way. It reaches into the territory of new beginnings. It’s infinite. It’s just a good place to draw energy from.”

Jackson’s new number won’t be the only change as Memphis tries to rebound after being swept out of the playoffs by Oklahoma City. New head coach Tuomas Iisalo will lead the team into training camp after replacing Taylor Jenkins late last season, and the Grizzlies will have to adjust to the loss of Desmond Bane, Jackson’s teammate for the past five seasons, who was traded to Orlando in June.

“I wasn’t too much surprised,” Jackson said of the Bane deal. “I mean, when your brothers leave, you are still going to hurt, just because you’re a human being. But at the end of the day, it’s a business. And we’re grown.”

Some of the savings from unloading Bane were used to renegotiate and extend Jackson’s contract, giving him a five-year, $240MM deal that solidifies his status as one of the cornerstones of the franchise. With Bane gone, Jackson has taken on more of a leadership role to ensure the team’s younger players aren’t shaken by the personnel moves happening around them.

“You’re going to get closer to your prime, and things are going to change for you,” he said. “I feel like this is a good starting point for a whole new journey of stuff. I’m approaching this year with that spearheaded, disciplined mindset of trying to get us to the promised land.”

Jackson is coming off one of the best seasons of his career, averaging 22.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in 74 games while shooting 48.8% from the field and 37.5% from three-point range. He became an All-Star for the second time and was a second-team All-Defensive selection.

The Grizzlies may need even more production from him this season to contend in a tough Western Conference, and Jackson believes he’s ready to provide it while setting a strong example for his teammates.

“Whoever’s in the locker room is in your foxhole, and that’s where you’re going to war with,” he said. “What are your habits? What are your techniques? Are you willing to share? Are you willing to talk? Who are the leaders? It’s simple, but it’s not easy.”

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Board Of Governors Unanimously Approves Sale Of Celtics

August 13th, 2025 at 4:43pm CST by Arthur Hill

The sale of the Celtics to an investor group led by William Chisholm has received unanimous approval from the NBA’s Board of Governors, the league announced (via Twitter).

The results of the vote were never really in doubt, but it’s significant that there was no opposition to Chisholm’s purchase. The league states that the deal is expected to be finalized soon.

Chisholm, a Massachusetts native and lifelong Celtics fan, reached a tentative agreement in March to purchase the franchise for a $6.1 billion valuation, which set a record at the time as the largest amount ever paid for a North American sports team. That number has since been exceeded by the sale of the Lakers for a $10 billion valuation.

Chisholm submitted the highest offer among four groups that were bidding for the team. According to Brian Robb of MassLive, his other stakeholders include Aditya Mittal, Robert Hale and Bruce A. Beal Jr., along with Sixth Street, a private investment firm.

Chisholm’s group will obtain a 51% stake in the team from the Grousbeck family in the first phase of the sale and will purchase the remaining shares in 2028.

When the sale was first announced, Wyc Grousbeck intended to remain in his role as the team’s governor through the 2027/28 season. However, a report on Tuesday indicates that’s no longer possible because Grousbeck will control less than the 15% minimum stake that the NBA requires for the person who holds that position.

Instead, Chisholm will become lead governor as soon as the sale is official with Grousbeck serving as alternate governor and CEO through the 2027/28 season. Chisholm is buying majority control of the franchise now and will purchase control of the rest of the team in 2028 at a reported valuation of $7.3 billion.

Chisholm will take over the Celtics during a time of transition after years of being one of the NBA’s elite teams. Jayson Tatum‘s Achilles injury coupled with a second-round playoff exit have placed an emphasis on cost-cutting measures to lower the team’s tax bill and escape second apron restrictions. Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis and Luke Kornet are already gone from last year’s roster, and more money-saving moves may take place before the new season begins.

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