2026 NBA Offseason Preview: Orlando Magic
The Magic pushed their chips into the middle of the table when they surrendered four first-rounders and a pick swap in a trade for Desmond Bane during the 2025 offseason. The thinking was that Bane would provide exactly what was needed offensively for a Magic team that ranked near the bottom of the NBA in scoring - and dead last in three-point shooting - without compromising what made them so good defensively.
And after getting off to a bit of a slow start with his new team, Bane was everything what Orlando hoped he would be. The 27-year-old wing averaged just over 20 points per game with an excellent .484/.391/.908 shooting line and was the most durable player on the roster, appearing in all 91 regular season, play-in, and playoff games.
Unfortunately, the Magic learned the hard way that they weren't just one player away from becoming a legitimate title contender. Projected by oddsmakers to be the third-best team in the East behind Cleveland and New York, Orlando spent most of the season outside of the top six in the conference and ultimately needed to win a do-or-die play-in game to claim the No. 8 seed.
The Magic took a step forward on offense, but only a modest one, finishing with the NBA's 18th-best offensive rating. And that improvement was essentially cancelled out by regression on the other end of the court, where the team had the No. 13 defensive rating after placing in the top three in each of the previous two years.
This is already an expensive roster and it will only get pricier as Paolo Banchero's maximum-salary rookie scale extension takes effect this July. The Magic aren't the sort of free-spending organization that will be willing to go deep into tax and apron territory for a 45-win team, but that doesn't necessarily mean a roster overhaul is coming. Certainly, when he spoke to reporters after the season, president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman didn't sound like someone who is eager to make major changes, and there's reason to believe in that line of thinking.
First and foremost, Orlando's best all-around player, Franz Wagner, was limited to 34 regular season outings and four playoff appearances due to ankle and calf injuries. Of course, every team deals with injuries, and it's fair to argue that the Magic had the talent necessary to withstand Wagner's lengthy absences better than they did. Still, it was certainly easier to see Weltman's vision for the roster when Wagner was on the court.
The Magic's preferred starting lineup of Wagner, Banchero, Bane, Jalen Suggs, and Wendell Carter Jr. outscored opponents by 11.6 points per 100 possessions when it played together. And a fully healthy Orlando team took a 3-1 lead on the top-seeded Pistons in the first round of the playoffs before Wagner went down with a calf strain and the Magic lost control of the series, losing Games 5, 6, and 7.
There's still tantalizing upside here, but does it really make sense to keep running back this group when Wagner, Banchero, and Suggs have had so much trouble staying healthy at the same time? And even when the Magic are at full strength, does this roster have legitimate championship upside? Some difficult decisions will have to be made sooner rather than later in Orlando.
The Magic's Offseason Plans
The first order of business in Orlando this spring is finding a new head coach after Jamahl Mosley was let go following five years on the job. Can a new coach really help the Magic take the next step toward title contention, or is Mosley just a convenient fall guy for a front office that didn't optimize its roster construction and cap management?
2026 NBA Offseason Preview: New Orleans Pelicans
The Pelicans went 49-33 in 2023/24 and entered the playoffs as the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference after winning their second play-in game. However, they were swept by Oklahoma City in the first round, leading to questions about the direction of the roster.
A plethora of injuries derailed New Orleans' 2024/25 campaign, as the team went just 21-61, the second-worst win-loss percentage (.256) in franchise history. That led to the February 2025 trade of Brandon Ingram and the end-of-season dismissal of former head of basketball operations David Griffin, who had been with the team since 2019, when the Pelicans landed the No. 1 overall pick and selected Zion Williamson.
Instead of embarking on a full-fledged search for a new front office executive, owner Gayle Benson instead quickly hired Shreveport native Joe Dumars, who had been working in the league office since 2022. Dumars, a Hall of Fame shooting guard who spent his entire playing career with Detroit, was previously the Pistons' top basketball executive as well as an advisor in Sacramento.
Dumars' first major hire was a surprising one -- he added former Pistons GM Troy Weaver as his top lieutenant (Weaver holds dual titles of senior VP of basketball operations and general manager). Dumars' tenure in Detroit didn't overlap with Weaver's at all, but obviously they were familiar with one another.
The new front office regime in New Orleans, which also features Dumars' son Jordan Dumars, made some significant roster moves last summer, starting with trading CJ McCollum, Kelly Olynyk and a 2027 second-round pick to the Wizards for Jordan Poole, Saddiq Bey (who missed all of '24/25 due to a torn ACL) and the 2025 second-round pick that turned into Micah Peavy.
That trade was a mixed bag. Poole had a disappointing first season as a Pelican following a modest bounce-back year as a Wizard in '24/25. On the plus side, Bey vastly outplayed his team-friendly deal in his return from a major knee injury, and Peavy showed some flashes as a rookie.
The second deal was a major one, as the Pelicans sent last year's No. 23 overall pick and an unprotected 2026 first-rounder -- the most favorable of their own pick or the Bucks' -- to the Hawks to move up to No. 13 and select Derik Queen. The former Maryland big man had a promising rookie campaign, but obviously the opportunity cost was significant. We'll find out in two days at the draft lottery where the 2026 first-rounder will land, but there's a 90% chance it will be in the top eight and a 40% chance it'll be a top-four selection.
The Dumars-led front office filled out last season's roster with big men Kevon Looney (two years, $16MM including a team option) and DeAndre Jordan (minimum salary). They combined to play just 33 games in '25/26, but provided examples of veteran leadership to a relatively young group.
While the Pelicans had better health luck in '25/26 and their roster looked a little different, their on-court results were very similar. They finished just 25-56, registering the third-worst win percentage (.317) in franchise history and tying for the seventh-worst mark in the league. Now the big question is if New Orleans will prioritize continuity or consider retooling the roster again this summer.
The Pelicans' Offseason Plans
The first order of business for the Pelicans is finding a new permanent head coach. Rajon Rondo, Steve Hetzel, James Borrego and Darvin Ham are said to be the frontrunners for the job, but that was before the Magic fired Jamahl Mosley, whom the Pelicans are reportedly fans of. It's unclear if Mosley will factor into the search.
Hoops Rumors Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript: 5/7/2026
Hoops Rumors’ Arthur Hill held a live chat today exclusively for Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers. Topics included the Bulls' best draft options, the status of Sixers GM Daryl Morey and coach Nick Nurse, how a top-four pick might affect Giannis Antetokounmpo's future with the Bucks, the Hawks' offseason decisions and more!
2026 NBA Offseason Preview: Portland Trail Blazers
There were plenty of reasons not to believe that the Trail Blazers were going to take a significant step forward in 2025/26.
Two of Portland's most significant roster additions during the 2025 offseason were a veteran who would sit out the entire year while recovering from a torn Achilles (Damian Lillard) and a first-round pick who didn't appear ready to immediately contribute as a rookie (Yang Hansen). Then, head coach Chauncey Billups was arrested during the first week of the regular season as part of a federal investigation into illegal gambling, prompting the team to pivot to an interim head coach, Tiago Splitter, after a single game.
But a Blazers season that looked like it might quickly go off the rails turned out to be the most promising year the team has had in a half-decade, as Portland finished over .500 and made the playoffs for the first time since 2021.
Sixth-year forward Deni Avdija led the way, making a leap from solid starter to star and earning the first All-Star nod of his career while finishing as a Most Improved Player finalist. However, there was no shortage of complementary pieces fueling the Blazers' success.
Toumani Camara played all 82 games and continued to establish himself as an impact two-way player; Jerami Grant enjoyed a bounce-back season following a down 2024/25; Jrue Holiday fit into the backcourt exactly like the front office envisioned when he was acquired last summer from Boston; second-year center Donovan Clingan established himself as a reliable starter in the middle, while Robert Williams was healthy enough to back him up for most of the season; and Splitter acquitted himself well after being unexpectedly thrust into his first NBA head coaching job.
The 2025/26 season provided a number of reasons for optimism in Portland, and Lillard's impending return is another. Still, there are some question marks entering the summer that can't be overlooked.
Was finally freeing up their lottery-protected first-round pick by conveying the No. 15 overall selection to Chicago a good thing, or will it hurt the Blazers not to add another young player to this core? Is a consolidation trade for a star necessary to become a true contender? And just how aggressively will new team owner Tom Dundon, who has already made several headlines related to off-court cost-cutting moves, be willing to spend on his roster?
The Trail Blazers' Offseason Plans
Ten of the 15 players who finished the season on Portland's standard roster have guaranteed salaries for 2026/27, while two more - Vit Krejci and Sidy Cissoko - have non-guaranteed minimum salaries that look like pretty good deals. In other words, before they begin seriously exploring the trade market or talking to free agents, the Blazers could open the offseason with 12 of their 15 roster spots already spoken for.
Five Questions About The NBA’s Lottery Reform Plan
Last Tuesday, word broke that the NBA had let its general managers know that a new draft lottery reform concept dubbed the "3-2-1 lottery" is the new clubhouse leader to be implemented in time for the 2027 draft. The highlights of the proposal are as follows:
- The lottery would expand from 14 to 16 teams, and all 16 picks would be drawn via the lottery.
- The bottom three teams by record would receive two lottery balls apiece (5.4% odds at the No. 1 overall pick) and could fall as low as 12th overall.
- The other seven non-playoff and non-play-in teams (fourth-worst through 10th-worst) would receive three lottery balls apiece (8.1% odds at the No. 1 pick).
- The teams who finish the regular season ranked ninth and 10th in each conference would receive two lottery balls apiece.
- The losers of the No. 7 vs. 8 play-in games would receive one lottery ball apiece (2.7% odds at the No. 1 pick).
- Teams would be prohibited from protecting traded picks in the 12-15 range.
- Teams would be prohibited from winning the No. 1 pick in back-to-back years and from winning top-five picks in three consecutive years.
- The plan would have a sunset provision, giving the NBA and its teams a chance to scrap it or reform it in 2029.
- The league would have increased latitude to impose penalties on teams believed to be tanking, including reducing that team's lottery odds or modifying its draft position.
Critics of the proposal - and there are many of them - have questioned whether the plan would actually fix tanking or whether it would just move it to a different part of the standings by providing incentives for borderline playoff teams to tank out of the play-in or into a lower play-in seed.
There was also a significant outcry about the fact that the proposal has the potential to hurt genuinely bad teams, who run the risk of repeatedly finishing in the bottom three of the league and not even getting a top-10 pick after a 17-win season, giving them few avenues to actually improve.
While I'm sympathetic to those concerns, I actually think there's a lot to like in the proposal, which could still be tweaked and must be approved by the NBA's Board of Governors before it's officially implemented. For one, I view it as a good thing that it no longer provides team a safe "floor."
Hoops Rumors Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript: 4/30/2026
Hoops Rumors’ Arthur Hill held a live chat today exclusively for Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers. Topics included Anthony Davis' future with the Wizards, the depleted Timberwolves' chances to close out the Nuggets, Kawhi Leonard's next team, potential buyer's remorse regarding Kevin Durant and more!
Which Potential 2026 RFAs Will Actually Receive Qualifying Offers?
Within our list of 2026 free agents, there are currently 17 players in the "restricted free agents" section. However, not all of these players will actually become restricted free agents this offseason.
In order to make those players restricted free agents, their teams must issue them a qualifying offer, which is essentially a one-year contract offer that gives the club the right of first refusal in the event the player wants to sign with another team.
In some cases, that qualifying offer is a mere formality. There was a never a scenario in which the Bulls wouldn't extend a QO to Josh Giddey last offseason, for instance. But if the player's club decides not to issue that QO, he becomes an unrestricted free agent, able to freely sign anywhere.
Even if a team wants to retain a certain free agent, it might not make sense to tender him a qualifying offer if the club isn't comfortable with the idea of him actually accepting that offer due to the cost of the QO or the team's overall cap situation.
Last summer, Brooklyn opted not to issue a QO worth approximately $8.35MM to Ziaire Williams, even though the team hoped to retain him. The Nets were able to eventually re-sign Williams to a two-year, $12.5MM deal that put them in a better position to maximize their cap room.
Of course, in other cases, a team that doesn't issue a qualifying offer to its potential restricted free agent is simply fine with the idea of losing that player. The Trail Blazers passed on a QO for Jabari Walker last offseason, then watched him sign with Philadelphia as an unrestricted free agent.
In total, 10 of 18 players on standard contracts (ie. non two-way deals) who were eligible to receive qualifying offers last June got them from their respective teams. A similar process could play out this time around.
Here's an early look at which potential restricted free agents are good bets to get their qualifying offers and which ones might end up as unrestricted FAs:
Free Agent Stock Watch: Detroit Pistons
For the rest of the regular season and postseason, Hoops Rumors is taking a closer look at players who will be free agents – or could become free agents – during the 2026 offseason. We’ll consider whether each player’s stock is rising or falling due to his performance and several other factors.
Today, we’re focusing on a handful of Pistons players, starting with an All-NBA candidate who had a breakout fourth season in Detroit.
Hoops Rumors Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript: 4/23/2026
Hoops Rumors’ Arthur Hill held a live chat today exclusively for Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers. Topics included which Rockets need to improve to salvage their series with L.A., Kawhi Leonard's offseason fate, the Bulls' front office candidates, the Magic's options if they lose in the first round and more!
Free Agent Stock Watch: Los Angeles Lakers
For the rest of the regular season and postseason, Hoops Rumors is taking a closer look at players who will be free agents – or could become free agents – during the 2026 offseason. We’ll consider whether each player’s stock is rising or falling due to his performance and several other factors.
Today, we’re focusing on a handful of players on the Lakers, who have 11 potential free agents this summer, the most in the NBA.