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Magic Sign Paolo Banchero To Five-Year Max Extension

July 7th, 2025 at 7:04pm CST by Dana Gauruder

7:04 pm: Banchero’s five-year, maximum-salary extension is official, the Magic announced in a press release (Twitter link).

“We are thrilled to keep Paolo in a Magic uniform for years to come,” Magic president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman said in a statement. “At just 22, he has won NBA Rookie of the Year, been named an NBA All-Star and is widely regarded as one of our league’s brightest young stars.

“This commitment reflects our belief in Paolo’s talent, character and desire to win at the highest level. It also reflects Paolo’s belief in our organization, our fans and the city of Orlando. We are excited to continue this journey together.”

5:31 pm: Magic star forward Paolo Banchero has agreed to a five-year maximum rookie scale contract extension that be worth as much as $288MM, ESPN’s Shams Charania tweets.

The contract will include a player option in the final year, the first time that’s happened in a rookie scale maximum-salary extension since 2021, when Luka Doncic and Trae Young each received one.

As cap expert Yossi Gozlan points out (Twitter link), the extension is technically worth a projected $240MM but it could rise another $48MM if Banchero meets the Rose Rule performance criteria, which includes making an All-NBA team or winning the Most Valuable Player Award.

The salary projections are based on a 7% cap increase for 2026/27.

Banchero will now be signed through at least 2030, with a ’30/31 player option. The five-year extensions for Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs kick in this coming season and recently acquired Desmond Bane has a contract that runs through the 2028/29 season. That means that four members of the starting lineup are signed for at least the next four seasons.

Orlando’s decision to make Banchero the top pick of 2022 draft was somewhat surprising at the time, but he has lived up to that billing. He was the Rookie of the Year in 2023 and an All-Star in 2024.

An early-season oblique injury marred Banchero’s third NBA season, but he still averaged 25.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game in 46 starts. The 22-year-old has averaged 28 points per game in 12 postseason contests over the past two seasons.

Back in May, Banchero told Marc J. Spears of ESPN he wasn’t sure if he’d sign an extension but was hopeful it would come to fruition.

“I was in over my head when I signed my rookie (contract). So, I really haven’t thought much about that. … But it’s a blessing and hopefully all that stuff works out if I’m able to sign with the team and lock in my future,” he said. “That’s every young player’s goal coming into this league, establishing yourself early, get a second contract. So, when (the) time comes, I’m sure all that stuff we can figure out. I don’t know. They say more money, more problems. So, we’ll see what happens.”

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Bucks Officially Stretch Lillard, Buy Out Micic

July 7th, 2025 at 6:56pm CST by Luke Adams

6:56 pm: Micic gave up $6.1MM in his buyout agreement with the Bucks, who stretching his remaining $2MM across three seasons for annual cap hits of $667K, reports Eric Nehm of The Athletic.

5:09 pm: The Bucks have officially waived point guards Damian Lillard and Vasilije Micic, according to the transaction log at NBA.com. Both moves had been anticipated as Milwaukee looked to clear the cap space necessary to sign free agent center Myles Turner to a four-year, $107MM contract.

Reports last Tuesday indicated that Lillard would have his remaining $112.6MM salary spread across five seasons instead of two using the stretch provision in order to create immediate cap relief for Milwaukee.

Lillard is expected to miss most or all of the 2025/26 season while he recovers from the torn Achilles he suffered during the first round of the playoffs in April. The nine-time All-Star has reportedly drawn interest already from many teams around the NBA, but hasn’t yet decided whether he’ll sign a new contract this offseason and is said to be in no rush to make that decision.

As for Micic, the expectation after he was acquired from Charlotte in exchange for Pat Connaughton and a pair of second-round picks was that he would agree to reduce his $8.1MM cap hit in order to become a free agent and generate a little extra cap space for the Bucks. According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link), the two sides did reach an agreement on a buyout, though it’s unclear at this point how much of his salary Micic gave up.

Micic has played a pretty limited role in the NBA during the past couple seasons after starring in Europe for most of his career. In 101 total games for Oklahoma City, Charlotte, and Phoenix, he averaged 6.8 points and 3.9 assists in 19.4 minutes per contest.

Rumors in recent months have linked Micic to multiple EuroLeague teams — while it’s not clear exactly which one he’ll end up with, it seems likely that the 31-year-old Serbian will head back overseas to resume his playing career.

It appears both Lillard and Micic were technically placed on waivers on Sunday evening, as the NBA’s transaction log lists Turner’s deal as having gotten done last night. Still, if those cuts occurred after 4:00 pm Central time, neither player will officially clear waivers until Wednesday.

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Kyle Lowry Remains With Sixers On One-Year Deal

July 7th, 2025 at 4:48pm CST by Dana Gauruder

4:48 pm: Lowry’s new deal is now official, according to a press release from the Sixers.

“Kyle’s championship experience and Hall-of-Fame resume speaks for itself. He is a proven floor general with tremendous knowledge of the game that is a resource to everyone in the organization,” president of basketball operations Daryl Morey said in a statement. “It’s only fitting that his 20th NBA season will be right here in Philadelphia, the city he calls home.”

4:20 pm: Free agent guard Kyle Lowry has agreed to a one-year deal to return to the Sixers, ESPN’s Shams Charania tweets.

The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Keith Pompey predicted last month that Lowry would sign another contract with the team since the Sixers value the Philadelphia native for his leadership and mentorship of young guards like Tyrese Maxey and Jared McCain.

Lowry, 39, played on the veteran’s minimum last season and figures to do so again. He only appeared in 35 games last season, including 12 starts, averaging 3.9 points and 2.7 assists in 18.8 minutes per game.

Not too long ago, Lowry was once one of the highest-paid guards in the game. His NBA career dates back to 2006, when he was a late first-round pick with Memphis. He’s a six-time All-Star and won a championship with Toronto in 2019.

He only projects as an insurance policy for next year’s Sixers team with Maxey, McCain and first-round pick VJ Edgecombe likely ahead of him on the depth chart.

He’ll become the 12th player in NBA history to play 20-plus seasons and the second point guard to do so, Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports tweets, joining Chris Paul.

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Norman Powell To Heat, John Collins To Clippers In Three-Team Trade

July 7th, 2025 at 4:21pm CST by Arthur Hill

4:21 pm: The three-team trade is official, according to a press release from the Jazz.

9:27 am: The Clippers, Jazz and Heat have reached an agreement on a three-team trade, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link). The deal will send Norman Powell to Miami, John Collins to L.A. and Kevin Love, Kyle Anderson and a 2027 Clippers second-round pick to Utah.

Powell is coming off the best scoring season of his career and will bring more offensive punch to Miami’s backcourt. After finishing fourth in the Sixth Man of the Year balloting in consecutive seasons, Powell was moved into the starting lineup and responded by averaging 21.8 points per game while shooting 48.4% from the field and 41.8% from three-point range.

Powell, 32, will make $20.5MM next season before becoming a free agent in 2026. He’s eligible for a three-year extension worth $77.4MM. Those limits would increase to $128.5MM over four years in six months.

The Clippers were reluctant to give Powell a long-term extension, sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). With Kawhi Leonard and James Harden both signed through 2026/27, the team is preserving cap space for 2027 free agency.

Miami will use the expanded traded player exception to acquire Powell, Bobby Marks of ESPN notes (Twitter link), hard-capping them at the first tax apron, and will be $1.3MM over the luxury tax line once the deal is complete.

Miami will be just $3.9MM away from that first-apron threshold once the trade is complete, so it won’t be able to use the full taxpayer mid-level exception of $5.7MM, according to cap expert Yossi Gozlan (Twitter link), who also speculates that acquiring Powell means the team is probably no longer a logical fit for Bradley Beal, who is believed to be nearing a buyout with Phoenix.

Collins, 27, will bring more frontcourt depth to a Clippers team that recently added Brook Lopez in free agency. Collins has been a starter in Utah since being acquired from Atlanta two years ago, but he was limited to 40 games last season. He has one year left on his contract at $26.6MM and can sign an extension worth up to $100.5MM over three years, per Marks. While a massive payday is unlikely for Collins, it’s worth noting those extension limits would increase six months after the trade to $166.7MM over four years.

L.A. is now $6.7MM below the first apron with $5.3MM of its mid-level exception remaining, according to Gozlan (Twitter link). With their top three-point shooter now gone, Gozlan expects the Clippers to be in the market for Beal.

Anderson, 31, has been a useful contributor on contending teams throughout his career, but it’s not clear how he fits in with the rebuilding Jazz. His contract covers two more seasons at $9.2MM and $9.7MM, but 2026/27 is non-guaranteed. Love, who’ll turn 37 in September, has a $4.15MM expiring deal and will likely become a buyout candidate.

Gozlan notes that Utah can create a $26.6MM trade exception by using the mid-level exception to take on Anderson and Love (Twitter link). Alternatively, the Jazz could create roughly $22MM in cap space by waiving the non-guaranteed contracts of KJ Martin ($8MM) and Jaden Springer ($2.4MM) and could be in position to make a play for one of the remaining free agents.

It sounds like Utah will continue operating over the cap, going the trade exception route, tweets Marks.

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Knicks Hire Mike Brown As Head Coach

July 7th, 2025 at 4:06pm CST by Luke Adams

July 7: The Knicks have officially named Brown their head coach, issuing a press release to confirm the news.

“After a thorough and extensive search process, we are pleased to announce Mike Brown as the head coach of the New York Knicks,” team president Leon Rose said in a statement. “Mike has coached on the biggest stages in our sport and brings championship pedigree to our organization. His experience leading the bench during the NBA Finals, winning four titles as an assistant coach, and his ability to grow and develop players will all help us as we aim to bring a championship to New York for our fans.”

“I would like to welcome Mike Brown to New York and the Knicks organization,” Knicks owner James Dolan added in a statement of his own. “Leon and our staff ran a thorough and thoughtful process that led our organization to Mike, and I’m pleased to see him on the sideline for us next season.”

As we relayed on Saturday, Brown has reportedly signed a four-year contract worth an estimated $40MM.

July 2: The Knicks are expected to hire Mike Brown as their new head coach, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link). NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter link) confirms Brown has been offered the job and says the two sides are working “expeditiously” on finalizing the terms of a contract.

Brown, who began his coaching career as an assistant with the Wizards, Spurs, and Pacers, has since held head coaching positions with the Cavaliers (twice), Lakers, and Kings, as well as spending six years on the Warriors’ staff as Steve Kerr‘s top assistant.

He holds a career regular season record of 454-304 (.599), with a 50-40 (.556) mark in the postseason.

A Coach of the Year in Cleveland in 2009 and again in Sacramento in 2023, Brown helped the Kings snap a 16-year playoff drought two seasons ago, but after the team missed the playoffs in 2024 and got off to a slow start this past fall, he was let go and replaced with Doug Christie.

The Knicks’ decision to hire Brown caps off an eventful head coaching search that began with the team requesting permission to speak to several coaches already under contract with teams. The Mavericks (Jason Kidd), Timberwolves (Chris Finch), Rockets (Ime Udoka), Hawks (Quin Snyder), and Bulls (Billy Donovan) all declined the Knicks’ requests, prompting the club to turn to candidates who didn’t currently hold head coaching jobs.

Brown was one of at least four candidates interviewed by the Knicks, along with Taylor Jenkins, James Borrego, and Micah Nori. The team also reached out to South Carolina’s Dawn Staley to discuss the job, though it’s unclear if she had a formal interview.

Brown had a second interview that included team owner James Dolan on Tuesday, with reporting later in the day indicating he was the frontrunner for the job. He was the only candidate confirmed to get a second meeting.

In his new role, Brown will be tasked with helping a Knicks team that advanced to the conference finals this spring make it over the hump and win its first championship since 1973. He’ll take over a roster headlined by All-Stars Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns.

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Pacers’ Pritchard: Haliburton Won’t Play In 2025/26

July 7th, 2025 at 2:04pm CST by Luke Adams

Speaking on Monday to reporters, Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard confirmed that star point guard Tyrese Haliburton, who tore his right Achilles tendon during Game 7 of the NBA Finals last month, will miss the entire 2025/26 season.

“I have no doubt that he will be back better than ever,” Pritchard said (Twitter video link via WISH-TV News). “… He will not play next year though. He would not jeopardize that now. So don’t get any hopes up that he will play.

Pritchard’s update doesn’t come as a real surprise, given how late in the spring Haliburton’s injury occurred. He suffered the Achilles tear on June 22 and underwent surgery the following day.

It typically takes upwards of a full calendar year for players to fully recover following Achilles surgery. By the time the NBA postseason tip off next April, Haliburton will be fewer than 10 months into his recovery process, and there’s no guarantee Indiana will make a deep playoff run – or even make the playoffs at all – without him available in 2025/26.

Pritchard said Haliburton’s absence will create “opportunities to grow” for some of Indiana’s players. While Andrew Nembhard and T.J. McConnell are the top two candidates to take over point guard duties, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Bennedict Mathurin also assumes more of a ball-handling and play-making role as he enters the final year of his rookie scale contract.

As Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star relays (via Twitter), Pritchard went on to joke that Haliburton will have to serve as his general manager until he’s healthy and that he’ll “probably be better than (actual GM) Chad (Buchanan).”

Haliburton has expressed no regrets about trying to play through a calf injury to win a championship, suggesting he’d do it the same way over again if he could, even knowing he’d suffer a far more significant injury. Pritchard doesn’t share that sentiment, Dopirak notes (via Twitter), even though the Pacers’ top basketball executive believes the club would have won Game 7 if Haliburton didn’t get hurt.

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Blazers, Celtics Finalize Holiday, Simons Trade Without Draft Picks

July 7th, 2025 at 12:40pm CST by Luke Adams

The Trail Blazers and Celtics have officially completed their trade sending Jrue Holiday to Portland and Anfernee Simons to Boston, according to a press release from the Blazers.

However, the terms are slightly different than what was reported last month. Portland had originally agreed to send the Knicks’ 2030 second-round pick and the Blazers’ own 2031 second-rounder to Boston, but those draft assets are no longer in the deal, which is now a straight one-for-one player swap.

Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian hears from a source that a review of Holiday’s medicals prompted the Blazers to alter the initial terms of the agreement.

There wasn’t enough concern on Portland’s end to nix the deal entirely, Fentress explains, adding that the veteran guard is considered healthy and is working out this summer in preparation for training camp in the fall.

As a result of taking back more salary than they’re sending out in the trade, the Trail Blazers are now hard-capped at the first tax apron for the rest of the 2025/26 league year.

The Celtics, meanwhile, have officially completed both of their major offseason trades on Monday, having also finalized the three-team deal sending Kristaps Porzingis to Atlanta.

You can read more about the Holiday/Simons swap in our original report on the deal.

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Kyrie Irving: ‘Don’t Hold Your Breath’ On Return By Playoffs

July 7th, 2025 at 8:01am CST by Arthur Hill

The Mavericks reportedly have some optimism that Kyrie Irving might resume playing as soon as January, but the star guard urged caution during a recent interview (YouTube link). Responding to questions from viewers, Irving refused to guarantee that he’ll be available by playoff time (hat tip to HoopsHype).

“Don’t hold your breath on that,” he said. “You know what I’m saying? That doesn’t mean I won’t be back, it’s just — I don’t want to make any predictions on when I’m going to be back. I just want to be back 150,000% better.”

A firm recovery timeline hasn’t been set for the 33-year-old guard, who suffered a torn ACL in his left knee on March 3 and underwent surgery about three weeks later. It’s not uncommon for players to take a year or more to recover from ACL tears, although it can vary according to the severity of the injury.

Losing Irving was part of a run of bad luck that affected Dallas in the wake of the Luka Doncic trade, but the team’s fortunes turned around by winning the lottery and drafting Cooper Flagg. The star rookie has rekindled the Mavs’ dreams of becoming a contender again in a tough Western Conference, but they’ll almost certainly need a full recovery from Irving to make a long playoff run.

“So I’m taking my time right now to really get healthy,” Irving continued. “I’m taking my time to get my body right — other portions of my body right — and really just enjoy this recovery process. Man, it’s not pretty. Yes, it is a beautiful struggle, but I go through kind of the mental roller coaster ride of every day. I just want to be back out there.”

Irving recently declined his $43MM player option and signed a new three-year, $119MM contract that runs through 2027/28. It starts at an estimated $36.7MM for next season, which enabled Dallas to duck below the second apron and use its $5.7MM taxpayer mid-level exception to add D’Angelo Russell, who will take over the lead guard duties until Irving can return.

Irving addressed a few other topics in the interview, including an upcoming game in Mexico City, his plans for a Kobe Bryant-inspired basketball shoe and the nervous feeling he still gets before games.

“Being judged for who you are — it’s an honor,” he said. “Now, it’s up to you whether or not you pay attention to those judgments. But with all the mental stuff people go through, I’ve learned to expand and focus on what I can control in the moment — to be better, rather than afraid of being uncomfortable or facing confrontation.” 

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Ryan Rollins Returns To Bucks On Three-Year Deal

July 6th, 2025 at 9:24pm CST by Luke Adams

July 8: The Bucks’ deal with Rollins is now official, per a press release.

July 6: Free agent guard Ryan Rollins is returning to the Bucks, according to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link), who reports that the two sides have agreed to a three-year deal worth $12MM. The agreement will include a third-year player option, Charania adds.

The 44th overall pick in the 2022 draft, Rollins had only appeared in 25 NBA regular season games across two seasons with Golden State, Washington, and Milwaukee entering the 2024/25 season. However, after opening the year on a two-way contract with the Bucks, he emerged as a reliable part of the rotation and earned a promotion to the standard roster in March.

In 56 games (19 starts) last season for Milwaukee, Rollins averaged 6.2 points, 1.9 assists, and 1.9 rebounds in 14.6 minutes per game, along with a shooting line of .487/.408/.800. He played significant minutes during the season’s final weeks while Damian Lillard was sidelined due to a blood clot in his calf.

Milwaukee initially tendered Rollins a qualifying offer to make him a restricted free agent before withdrawing it early in the week, making him unrestricted. Even after rescinding that QO, the Bucks were able to hang onto the 23-year-old’s Early Bird rights, which will allow them to go over the cap to re-sign him after they use up all their room.

While the 2025/26 Bucks will be without Lillard – who tore his Achilles in April and is being waived to create cap room to sign Myles Turner – they’ve now struck deals to bring back both of their free agent point guards, Rollins and Kevin Porter Jr.

Rollins is the sixth of the Bucks’ own free agents that has reached an agreement to re-sign with the club, joining Porter, Bobby Portis, Taurean Prince, Gary Trent Jr., and Jericho Sims.

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NBA Transactions Becoming Official: July 6, 2025

July 6th, 2025 at 9:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The July moratorium is over and teams are now permitted to officially finalize all the free agent signings and trades they’ve agreed to since the new league year began (or earlier, in some cases).

Rather than bumping all of our previous stories on those free agent and trade agreements, we’ll be tracking all the previously reported moves that become official on Sunday in the space below.

To be clear, we’ll still be publishing new stories on breaking free agent and trade agreements. This space is just to track the moves we already know about becoming formally completed.

These lists will be in chronological order, so we’ll add the most recent items to the bottom throughout the day.

Trades:

Free agent signings:

Contract extensions:

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