Hoops Rumors Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript: 3/25/2026
Hoops Rumors’ Arthur Hill held a live chat today exclusively for Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers. Topics included the Lakers' plans for Austin Reaves, Draymond Green's future with the Warriors, the Sixers' playoff prospects with a healthy roster, Ja Morant's trade market and more!
Will RFAs Have More Negotiating Success In 2026 Than 2025?
There were four primary restricted free agents -- Josh Giddey, Jonathan Kuminga, Quentin Grimes and Cam Thomas -- in 2025 whose situations took several weeks or more to resolve. In part because the Nets and Bucks were the only teams with significant cap room, each of those players re-signed with his incumbent club (Chicago, Golden State, Philadelphia, and Brooklyn, respectively).
Here are the contracts each of those players signed last offseason:
- Giddey: Four years, $100MM
- Kuminga: Two years, $46.8MM (includes second-year team option)
- Grimes: Accepted one year, $8.7MM qualifying offer
- Thomas: Accepted one year, $6MM qualifying offer
Kuminga was traded to Atlanta ahead of last month's deadline, while Thomas was waived by the Nets shortly after the deadline and quickly signed with Milwaukee, which released him on Monday in order to promote Pete Nance. Grimes is on track for unrestricted free agency this summer, and Kuminga could be a UFA if his option is declined.
The 2026 RFA class is headlined by Pistons center Jalen Duren, a first-time All-Star in 2025/26, and also features intriguing young players like Peyton Watson and Walker Kessler, among others. But will this year's group of RFAs have more negotiating leverage than last year's?
What Teams Got In Return For Their Traded 2026 Draft Picks
The origins of 2026's most valuable draft picks - the ones that could turn into top-10 selections - are pretty widely known. For instance, it's no secret that the Hawks control the most favorable of New Orleans' and Milwaukee's 2026 first-rounders as a result of the Pelicans trading up for Derik Queen on draft night last June.
But there are dozens of other 2026 draft picks likely to change hands, and the reasons that teams gave up some of those picks aren't quite so memorable. That's especially true of traded second-rounders, but it applies to a few first-round selections too.
For instance, if you're a Timberwolves fan, you probably haven't forgotten why the Pistons will almost certainly have Minnesota's first-round pick this June. But if you root for another team, you might not remember that the Wolves gave up swap rights on that pick just last month in a deal involving Mike Conley.
Going down memory lane and revisiting past deals to see what sort of impact they'll have on this year's draft is a fun exercise, so we're going to run through all of this year's traded draft picks and identify the deal in which they were initially given up.
A couple caveats before we dive in: First, we're just looking at the initial trade in which the pick was moved, so if it has changed hands a few times since then, we're not covering all of those subsequent deals.
Second, we're not including the traded picks that are locks (or near-locks) to fall into their protected range this season, such as the top-eight protected first-rounder the Wizards owe New York. We're just focusing on picks that will - or at least have a realistic chance to - change hands this spring.
With all that in mind, let's revisit the deals in which teams gave up 2026 draft picks...
Hoops Rumors Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript: 3/19/2026
Hoops Rumors’ Arthur Hill held a live chat today exclusively for Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers. Topics included the Lakers' hold on the No. 3 seed and their playoff chances, the reasons for the Rockets' offensive woes, the power struggle between the Bucks and Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Hawks' options for a center upgrade, players to watch in March Madness and more!
What Will The Wizards’ Roster Look Like Next Season?
There was never any doubt that they wouldn't be, but the Wizards were formally eliminated from postseason contention when they lost on Thursday evening.
Washington has been -- by far -- the worst team in the NBA since the start of the 2023/24 season, posting an abysmal 49-181 (.213) record during that stretch. The next-worst team since the fall of 2023 is Utah, which has gone 68-163 (.294).
That said, there have been clear signs that the rebuilding Wizards don't want to be as bad in 2026/27 as they've been for the past three seasons.
With an eye toward the future, Washington used some of its financial flexibility this season to take buy-low swings on a pair of multi-time All-Stars. Trae Young has played pretty well in limited minutes, while Anthony Davis is still recovering from ligament damage in his left hand.
How aggressive will the Wizards be this summer to built out their roster around Young, Davis and their young core? And which players are definitively viewed as part of that core?
Hoops Rumors Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript: 3/12/2026
Hoops Rumors’ Arthur Hill held a live chat today exclusively for Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers. Topics included draft options for the Bulls, a potential shakeup for the Timberwolves, the playoff race involving the East's top four teams, Bam Adebayo's 83-point game and more!
Looking Ahead To The Grizzlies’ Offseason
During the 2021/22 season, the Grizzlies tied a franchise record by winning 56 games en route to the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference. They also advanced to the second round of the playoffs for just the fourth time in the team's 31-year existence, losing to the eventual champion Warriors in six games.
Ja Morant was named Most Improved Player that season, his third in the league, after averaging 27.4 points, 6.7 assists, 5.7 rebounds and 1.2 steals on .493/.344/.761 shooting. He was also named to the All-NBA Second Team.
Jaren Jackson Jr. finished fifth in Defensive Player of the Year voting and was named to the All-Defensive First Team for the first time. Desmond Bane was coming off a second season in which he averaged 18.2 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 2.7 APG and 1.2 SPG while shooting 43.6% from three-point range.
The Grizzlies also had several key role players on that roster, including Dillon Brooks, Steven Adams, De'Anthony Melton, Kyle Anderson and Brandon Clarke. None of their top 10 rotation players were older than 28.
Unfortunately for fans of the team, the '21/22 campaign turned out to be the peak of the Morant/Jackson/Bane era. The team still won 51 games in '22/23, but things started to go off the rails in Memphis.
Two-Way Trends And Recapping The Buyout Market
In the wake of Wednesday's deadline for two-way signings, all 90 two-way contract slots around the NBA are now filled, with each team carrying three two-way players into the home stretch of the regular season.
Of those 90 players who are on two-way contracts, more than a third are on two-year contracts (the maximum allowable), which run through the 2026/27 season. By our count, 31 players are in that group, including many who have signed their two-way deals since the trade deadline.
The total number of players to finish a season on two-year, two-way contracts has been steadily increasing in recent years, with 23 players falling into that category in 2023/24 and 26 doing so in '24/25. But 31 would represent a new record.
It makes sense that a team would always prefer having two years of control of a player instead of one when there are no salary cap implications to worry about. At the start of a league year, when all 30 teams are vying for the best undrafted rookies on the market, front offices don't necessarily have the leverage required to get those players to accept multiyear deals. But it's a different story later in the season when there are a limited number of open two-way slots available for hundreds of G League players hoping to be called up.
But does it really give an organization a meaningful advantage to secure that extra year of team control for one or two of its two-way players, especially if it might mean settling for a lesser prospect who doesn't have the leverage to negotiate a rest-of-season contract?
Hoops Rumors Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript: 3/5/2026
Hoops Rumors’ Arthur Hill held a live chat today exclusively for Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers. Topics included the Pistons' and Spurs' playoff chances, the Hornets' emergence as a contender in the East, Luguentz Dort's future with the Thunder, a potential Kawhi Leonard trade and more!
Hoops Rumors Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript: 2/26/2026
Hoops Rumors’ Arthur Hill held a live chat today exclusively for Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers. Topics included potential buyout candidates, the Bulls' options following an active trade deadline, Jonathan Kuminga's future with the Hawks, a proposed tanking solution and more!