Hoops Rumors Front Office Subscriber Chat: 5/7/2026
Hoops Rumors’ Arthur Hill will hold a live chat Thursday at 11 am Central time (noon Eastern) exclusively for Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers. Use the link below to ask a question in advance, participate in the live event and read the transcript afterward.
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.
Hoops Rumors Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript: 4/16/2026
Hoops Rumors’ Arthur Hill held a live chat today exclusively for Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers. Topics included the Hawks' approach to stopping Jalen Brunson, the Bulls' plans with Billy Donovan, Kawhi Leonard's future with the Clippers, how playoff outcomes will affect the offseason and more!
Checking In On NBA’s 2026 Lottery Standings, Projected Draft Order
The 2025/26 NBA regular season is officially over, but the draft order for this June has not yet been set.
A handful of factors, including the play-in results, random tiebreakers, and - of course - the lottery results themselves will ultimately determine what the 60 picks in the 2026 NBA draft look like. But with the season in the books, there's plenty we do know.
Let's dive in and check in on several key aspects of the lottery standings and projected draft order...