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Charania’s Latest: Durant, Celtics, Giannis

June 26th, 2025 at 4:45pm CST by Luke Adams

Kevin Durant will become eligible to sign an extension in July and there’s an expectation that he and the Rockets are going to explore that possibility once the trade sending him from Phoenix to Houston is official, ESPN’s Shams Charania said on Thursday’s episode of First Take (YouTube link).

“The goal right now for Kevin Durant and the Rockets is for him to retire in Houston,” Charania said. “They’re going to eventually, this offseason, discuss a contract extension and figure out where that lands.”

Durant, who will turn 37 in September, will make roughly $54.7MM during the final year of his current contract in 2025/26. Once he’s traded to Houston, he’ll be immediately eligible to sign a two-year extension worth up to about $122MM.

If he were to wait six months, he could get up to nearly $124MM on that two-year deal — the first-year max salary would be the same, but he could get an 8% raise for year two instead of 5%.

Given the minimal difference between those two hypothetical extensions, I’d expect the Rockets and Durant to try to get something done before the regular season begins rather than waiting until January.

Here are a couple more items of interest from Charania:

Although they reportedly spoke to teams with lottery picks ahead of Wednesday’s first round, the Celtics were “not close” to trading Jaylen Brown, Charania said on ESPN’s First Take (YouTube link). Charania reiterated that Boston isn’t looking to move Brown or Derrick White and would only consider it if it an offer “blows them out of the water.” While Sam Hauser and Anfernee Simons are still trade candidates to monitor, Charania suggests that the brunt of the Celtics’ cost-cutting moves are already done, with Jrue Holiday headed to Portland and Kristaps Porzingis going to Atlanta.
After reporting in mid-May that Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo is “open-minded” about considering possible options for his future outside of Milwaukee, Charania said on ESPN’s Get Up on Thursday (YouTube link) that that’s still the case, even though the two-time MVP hasn’t requested a trade to this point. “He’s going to remain open-minded,” Charania said (hat tip to RealGM). “I don’t think his future is necessarily tied to this week, to free agency week. It’s going to be a process where you see how this team looks into July – well into July, potentially – and then ultimately he will see how the Bucks look and how the chess pieces look across the league and ultimately have some form of a resolution.”

Bulls Issue Qualifying Offer To Josh Giddey

June 26th, 2025 at 3:50pm CST by Luke Adams

The Bulls have tendered a qualifying offer to guard Josh Giddey, making him a restricted free agent, according to RealGM’s log of NBA transactions.

Giddey’s qualifying offer, which is determined by his draft slot, is a one-year contract offer worth roughly $11.14MM, but it essentially serves as a placeholder while he and the Bulls work out a new contract agreement — or while he pursues an offer sheet from a rival suitor.

As long as that qualifying offer is on the table, Chicago maintains the right of first refusal on Giddey, giving the club the opportunity to match any offer sheet he signs.

Giddey could accept the qualifying offer and play out next season on a one-year, $11.14MM deal if he chooses, which would set him up to become an unrestricted free agent in 2026. But after a strong first season in Chicago, he appears to get a much more lucrative deal this summer, so that would likely be a last resort.

After being acquired from Oklahoma City in exchange for Alex Caruso last summer, Giddey got off to a slow start as a Bull, averaging 11.4 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 6.7 assists per game with a .439/.324/.750 shooting line through his first 40 outings.

However, the 22-year-old finished the season strong, taking on more offensive responsibilities following Chicago’s trade-deadline deal sending Zach LaVine to Sacramento. Giddey put up 18.9 PPG, 9.1 RPG, and 7.8 APG on .490/.436/.799 shooting in his final 30 games.

Giddey, who was said to be seeking $30MM annually when he and the Bulls discussed a rookie scale extension last fall, is the No. 5 player on our list of this summer’s top 50 free agents.

In other minor restricted free agency news, Rockets big man N’Faly Dante has also received a qualifying offer, per RealGM. Dante’s QO is equivalent to another one-year, two-way deal.

Dante made just four appearances at the NBA level in his rookie season in 2024/25, but had a strong debut season in the G League, averaging 16.5 PPG, 10.6 RPG, and 2.2 BPG in 31 games (29.1 MPG) for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Houston’s NBAGL affiliate.

Rockets Re-Sign Fred VanVleet To Two-Year Deal

June 25th, 2025 at 11:16am CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

July 7: VanVleet’s new contract agreement with the Rockets is now official, according to the transaction log at NBA.com.

June 25: The Rockets are declining Fred VanVleet‘s $44.9MM team option and will instead re-sign him on a two-year, $50MM deal, reports Shams Charania of ESPN. The second season will be a player option, Charania adds.

According to Kelly Iko of The Athletic (Twitter link), VanVleet’s new deal will have a flat structure, paying him $25MM next season, with his option also worth $25MM.

During his 60 healthy games for Houston in 2024/25, the Wichita State alum averaged 14.1 PPG, 5.6 APG, and 3.7 RPG, with a .378/.345/.810 shooting line that was well below his career average.

The 2023 offseason veteran additions of VanVleet, Dillon Brooks, Jeff Green and head coach Ime Udoka proved to be the kind of steadying forces needed to take a talented young team to the next level. During VanVleet’s first season in town, Houston finished with a solid 41-41 season and barely missed the postseason in a deep Western Conference.

Last year, the Rockets’ youth movement exploded. Houston finished with the West’s No. 2 record, 52-30, and almost outlasted the Warriors in a hard-fought first round playoff loss.

Houston has now reconfigured its core by bringing in 15-time All-Star forward Kevin Durant in a blockbuster pre-draft trade, which cost the team Brooks, the No. 10 pick in this year’s draft, young guard Jalen Green, and five second-round picks.

Retaining VanVleet on a cheaper deal with give the Rockets more room to maneuver this summer, as the club hopes to become a true title contender in 2025/26.

To wit, cap expert Yossi Gozlan of Third Apron tweets that Houston now projects to be comfortably below the league’s first tax apron and luxury tax line. Keith Smith of Spotrac reports (via Twitter) that the new agreement will give the Rockets access to the $14.1MM non-taxpayer’s mid-level exception this year, though using all of the MLE would push the team back above the tax threshold.

While VanVleet’s new contract is a short-term agreement, Charania hears from sources that both sides would like their partnership to ultimately last longer than just the next two years.

Draft Notes: Bailey, Johnson, Maluach, Jazz, Raptors

June 24th, 2025 at 10:08pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Ace Bailey may be the most polarizing player at the top half of the lottery. Bailey, once projected to go off the board with the No. 2 or 3 pick, could drop a few notches after his unconventional pre-draft approach.

The Wizards, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Keith Pompey, are hoping that’s the case. Sources tell Pompey that the Wizards want to select the Rutgers freshman with the sixth pick. Washington hopes that Bailey’s refusal to work out for teams during the pre-draft process will cause to him to fall out of the top five.

Bailey canceled his pre-draft workout with the Sixers after they wouldn’t commit to selecting him third overall.

Here’s more draft-related info:

Tre Johnson, a top-10 prospect, has worked out for the Hornets, Jazz, Wizards and Nets, Brian Lewis of the New York Post tweets. Johnson, a one-and-done who averaged 19.9 points for Texas in his lone college season, is ranked No. 5 on ESPN’s Best Available list.
In their latest mock draft, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo have moved Duke center Khaman Maluach into the No. 7 slot, where the Pelicans sit. New Orleans agreed to trade Kelly Olynyk to the Wizards and are in need of more size. The Suns, who acquired the No. 10 pick from the Rockets, are now projected to select Arizona forward Carter Bryant.
The Jazz currently have four picks in the draft, including the No. 5 selection. Andy Larsen of the Salt Lake Tribune gives his preferred selections at each spot in a subscriber-only story. He’s hoping Baylor’s V.J. Edgecombe slips to that spot but believes it’s more likely the Jazz will wind up with Johnson.
Multiple league sources confirmed to TSN’s Josh Lewenberg that the No. 9 pick held by the Raptors is available. Toronto is looking to upgrade its roster with established players who are ready to contribute to a playoff push.

Fischer’s Latest: Porzingis, Spurs, Bulls, Suns, Thunder, Rockets

June 24th, 2025 at 11:42am CST by Luke Adams

After agreeing on Monday night to trade Jrue Holiday to Portland, Boston continues to explore potential Kristaps Porzingis trades, according to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link), who says the Celtics are determined to get positive value for Porzingis and get younger in the process, like they did with the Holiday deal.

In addition to reiterating that the Suns have done due diligence on Porzingis, Fischer identifies the Spurs as one of the teams with some level of interest in the Celtics big man. Fischer cautions that San Antonio may be a long shot to acquire Porzingis, but it certainly seems as if the club will be in the market for frontcourt help, having also been linked to Guerschon Yabusele this week.

According to Fischer, there has been some chatter about the Spurs potentially eyeing a big man with their second lottery pick (No. 14), or even trying to move up from that spot to add more size.

The Bulls, meanwhile, aren’t pursuing Porzingis, but there have been some rival teams wondering if they might do so, Fischer writes, explaining that Chicago is being “increasingly mentioned in connection with various big men.” The Bulls are another team considered a possible trade-up candidate from the late lottery (No. 12) in the hopes of adding a frontcourt player, Fischer adds.

Here’s more from Fischer:

There’s an expectation that the Suns will be targeting a big man with their newly acquired No. 10 pick. Derik Queen and Danny Wolf are two of the potential targets Fischer has been told to keep an eye on at that spot.
The Thunder, who control the 15th and 24th overall picks, are being “frequently described” as a team with interest in moving up in the draft, according to Fischer. ESPN’s Jonathan Givony reported something similar during a TV appearance (Twitter video link). Oklahoma City probably isn’t in position to add two first-round picks to its 15-man roster, so a deal involving one or both of those selections seems like a real possibility.
Noting that that the Thunder talked a little to Houston about the No. 10 pick before the Rockets sent it to Phoenix, Fischer wonders if the Suns would have interest in swapping No. 10 for Nos. 15 and 24 in order to add multiple young prospects to their revamped roster.
Fischer and Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required) both report that the Rockets are exploring trade options to get back into the draft after sending their only 2025 picks (Nos. 10 and 59) to Phoenix. Sources tell Lerner that there are about five prospects, mostly projected first-round picks, that Houston is very high on, so the team could get more aggressive about trading back into the draft if one of those players starts to slide.

Stein’s Latest: Gafford, Irving, VanVleet, Collins, Thybulle

June 24th, 2025 at 9:02am CST by Arthur Hill

The terms of Daniel Gafford‘s three-year extension will keep him trade-eligible without a six-month waiting period, but that doesn’t mean the Mavericks are looking to deal the 26-year-old center, Marc Stein of The Stein Line writes in his latest column (Substack link). Stein confirms that Gafford’s new contract, which will start with the 2026/27 season and is projected to be worth about $54MM, contains no options for him or the team.

Stein states that Dallas’ front office expects “considerable” trade interest in Gafford, but is reluctant to part with him after injuries limited Dereck Lively to 36 games during his second NBA season. Stein notes that forward P.J. Washington is also eligible for an extension this summer and says the Mavericks plan to hold onto him as well.

This is an important day for the organization, Stein adds, as it’s the deadline for Kyrie Irving to pick up a $43MM player option. If Irving passes on the option, Stein views that as a sign that he has an agreement with the Mavericks on a new long-term deal that will likely be announced early in free agency. It’s also possible that Irving could pick up the option and negotiate an extension after the moratorium is lifted or he could decide to test free agency next summer. A source tells Stein that Irving remained undecided as of Monday night.

Stein shares more inside information from around the league:

The Rockets may decline their $44.9MM option on Fred VanVleet, but Stein states there’s “no scenario” where he won’t be with the team next season. A source tells Stein that Houston and VanVleet would “do a new deal” if the option is turned down by Sunday’s deadline. Stein points out that the original deadline on the team option was five days after the Rockets’ season ended, but VanVleet and the team reached an agreement to push it back to late June. Stein also notes that Kevin Durant will be eligible for a two-year extension once he officially joins the team next month, suggesting it’s possible that VanVleet and Durant will both be signed to new deals that cover the next three seasons.
Stein reports that Jazz center Walker Kessler has been “unavailable for some time” and speculates that could have led to recent rumors that the Lakers are interested in John Collins. Stein calls it a “mischaracterization” to suggest that L.A. is a trade suitor for Collins.
The Trail Blazers expect swingman Matisse Thybulle to pick up his $11.5MM player option by today’s deadline, Stein adds.

And-Ones: Taylor, Parker, Avdija, Power Rankings

June 23rd, 2025 at 8:28pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Maria Taylor has officially been named NBC Sports’ lead studio host for the NBA and WNBA, according to an NBC Sports press release.

NBC reacquired the rights to NBA games in an 11-year agreement with the league last summer and will begin its coverage in 2025/26. Taylor will host NBC Sports’ NBA studio programs on Sunday and Tuesday nights alongside analysts Carmelo Anthony and Vince Carter.

Taylor has been the lead host of Football Night in America since 2022. Taylor also served as a host for the Tokyo, Beijing, and Paris Olympics and numerous other major events.

Here’s more from around the international basketball world:

Jabari Parker, the No. 2 pick of the 2014 draft, will play for a different European team next season. Parker and FC Barcelona have mutually agreed on an early termination of their contract, Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops.net relays. Parker is expected to stay in the EuroLeague and join Partizan Mozzart Bet for the 2025/26 season. He averaged 13.8 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 0.8 steals per game over 39 appearances last season in the EuroLeague.
Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija is among 20 players on the preliminary roster announced by the Israeli Basketball Association for the EuroBasket tournament this summer, according to Askounis. Israel is scheduled to compete in Group D of the preliminary round, facing Iceland, Poland, France, Belgium, and Slovenia in Katowice from Aug. 28-Sept. 4. Avdija made his debut for the Israeli national team in 2019.
Not surprisingly, the champion Thunder are at the top of The Athletic’s and ESPN’s power rankings for next season. The Pacers, Knicks, Timberwolves and Cavaliers round out The Athletic’s top five. ESPN has a much different top five, going with the Timberwolves at No. 2, followed by the Nuggets, Cavs and Rockets.

Draft Notes: Latest Mocks, Murray-Boyles, Jakucionis, NIL Impact, Seniors, Team Needs

June 23rd, 2025 at 5:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The latest ESPN mock draft has plenty of guards going in the lottery. Their experts, Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo, believe that eight guards and/or wings will come off the board within the first 13 picks.

After Cooper Flagg (Mavericks) and Dylan Harper (Spurs), ESPN’s latest mock has guards V.J. Edgecombe (Sixers), Kon Knueppel (Hornets) and Jeremiah Fears (Jazz) rounding out the top five. Ace Bailey, formerly considered a top three pick, slips to the Wizards at No. 6. The Suns, who are acquiring the No. 10 pick from the Rockets, are projected to take South Carolina big man Collin Murray-Boyles.

Here’s more draft-related info:

In his latest mock draft, The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie says he thinks the Sixers trading down from the No. 3 slot remains a real possibility. The Hornets have also had discussions moving both up and down the board from the No. 4 spot, while Texas wing Tre Johnson could be a surprise selection in the top five, Vecenie writes, adding that Johnson could go as high as No. 3.
Speaking of Murray-Boyles, he worked out for the Trail Blazers over the weekend, as did Illinois guard Kasparas Jakucionis, Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian tweets. ESPN ranks Murray-Boyles at No. 13 overall with Jakucionis at No. 10. Portland owns the No. 11 pick.
Just 32 non-international early entrants from colleges and other basketball teams or leagues and 14 international players remain in the draft, a dramatic drop-off from recent years. What’s the difference? NIL money has motivated most prospects to stay in college, unless they believe they’ll go in the first round, as Amanda Christovich of Front Office Sports details. “If you are not a guaranteed first-round pick, top-20, top-30 guy—unless you really do not want to play college basketball anymore, we are recommending and most of them are staying in school as long as they possibly can,” Michael Raymond, president and founder of Raymond Representation, told Christovich.
The draft is usually headed by one-and-dones and other underclassmen. However, there are more seasoned college players who will come off the board this year. HoopsHype’s Cyro Asseo de Choch takes a look at the cream of the senior crop.
The Athletic’s Law Murray breaks down the biggest draft needs for each team, identifying the picks each of those clubs hold.

Scotto’s Latest: Thunder, Pacers, Kings, Barrett, Rockets, Wolves, KD

June 23rd, 2025 at 4:09pm CST by Luke Adams

Their seasons ended less than 24 hours ago, but the Thunder and Pacers will have significant roster decisions to make in the coming days, and executives around the NBA are keeping an eye on both teams to see how they’ll handle them, writes Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

The Thunder have the ability to essentially run it back with their same roster, since 13 of their players are on guaranteed deals for next season, while the team holds cost-effective options on the other two. However, Oklahoma City also has multiple first-round picks at No. 15 and No. 24 and could be facing a roster crunch.

According to Scotto, rival executives believe the Thunder may either trade the No. 24 pick for a future first-rounder or use it to select a potential draft-and-stash prospect like Hugo Gonzalez or Noah Penda. Execs also view former lottery pick Ousmane Dieng as a possible trade candidate as he enters the final year of his rookie scale contract, Scotto notes.

Meanwhile, with Tyrese Haliburton potentially sidelined for all of the 2025/26 season after tearing his Achilles, people in league circles are wondering if the Pacers and team owner Herb Simon are still prepared to go into luxury-tax territory in 2025/26 to re-sign Myles Turner and keep their roster intact, says Scotto. There’s an expectation that rivals will inquire this summer on the trade availability of role players like Bennedict Mathurin, Obi Toppin, and Jarace Walker, Scotto adds.

Here’s more from Scotto:

Although a Sacramento Bee report over the weekend indicated that the Kings haven’t yet engaged in trade discussions about Malik Monk, Scotto hears from sources that the team has gauged the market on both Monk and Devin Carter as it seeks a potential first-round pick and a point guard upgrade. Sacramento was unwilling to move Carter when the club talked to the Nets about Cameron Johnson prior to the trade deadline, Scotto writes, but Scott Perry has replaced Monte McNair as the Kings’ head of basketball operations since then and may not be as attached to last year’s No. 13 overall pick.
According to Scotto, the Raptors have continued to gauge the trade market for forward RJ Barrett. The former No. 3 overall pick hasn’t come off the bench since his rookie year in 2019/20, but could be the odd man out of Toronto’s starting five with Brandon Ingram set to make his Raptors debut this fall.
Rockets head coach Ime Udoka, who spent a season with Kevin Durant in Brooklyn, was in favor of the Celtics trading for Durant during his time in Boston and advocated for Houston to acquire the star forward this summer, per Scotto. In addition to reuniting with Udoka, Durant will be teaming up again with friend and fellow Texas alum Royal Ivey — the Rockets assistant interviewed for the Suns‘ head coaching vacancy and turned down interest from the Grizzlies and Spurs for assistant coaching positions, Scotto reports.
In addition to being concerned about Durant’s lack of enthusiasm for Minnesota, the Timberwolves didn’t want to lose Rudy Gobert, a Suns target in trade talks, which is why the Wolves didn’t end up beating Houston’s offer for the 15-time All-Star, Scotto explains. Giving up Gobert and potentially having Durant play alongside Julius Randle in their frontcourt wasn’t considered an “ideal pairing defensively” for the Wolves, Scotto writes.

Rockets Likely To Decline VanVleet’s Option, Work On New Multiyear Deal

June 23rd, 2025 at 3:19pm CST by Luke Adams

The Rockets will likely decline their team option on Fred VanVleet for the 2025/26 season in the coming days, but still intend to work toward a new multiyear contract with their starting point guard, according to Kelly Iko of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Veteran reporter Marc Stein (Twitter links) also hears that there’s a “strong expectation” the Rockets and VanVleet will agree to terms on a new deal soon, though he cautions that one source said Houston is still weighing its options and hasn’t ruled out simply exercising that option.

Whichever direction the Rockets go, VanVleet is considered a good bet to remain with the team, Stein adds (Twitter link).

Declining VanVleet’s option in order to sign him to a longer-term deal makes sense for the Rockets, since picking it up would lock in his $44,886,930 salary for 2025/26. That’s a big number for a Houston team that has agreed to acquire Kevin Durant and would likely have to operate in tax-apron territory if it brings back VanVleet on a maximum-salary cap hit.

Turning down the option and lowering the 31-year-old’s cap hit for ’25/26 would position the Rockets to remain below the aprons and potentially even to avoid the luxury tax, depending on how much of a pay cut VanVleet is willing to take. Tacking on multiple years could entice VanVleet to take a sizable haircut in year one, since a deal in the neighborhood of, say, $30MM annually over three seasons would still assure of him significantly more total guaranteed money than his option would pay him.

There had been speculation that Houston might exercise its option on VanVleet in order to include him as a salary-matching piece in a trade for Durant. However, using one of their other big contracts (like Jalen Green‘s) as a centerpiece for Durant always made more sense for the Rockets, who would have created a major hole at point guard by sending out VanVleet in the move.

A career 37.5% three-point shooter entering 2024/25, VanVleet had a down year from beyond the arc (34.5%), but led the Rockets with 5.6 assists per game, ranked third on the team with 14.1 points per contest, and served as a veteran leader and organizer for a young squad that won 52 games and claimed the No. 2 seed in a tough Western Conference.

The Rockets’ decision on VanVleet’s team option was originally due five days after the team’s season ended, but the two sides agreed last month to push it back to June 29.