Transactions Rumors | Hoops Rumors

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.

Nets Trading No. 36 Pick To Suns For Two Future Second-Rounders

June 26th, 2025 at 2:50pm CST by Rory Maher

The Nets have agreed to trade the 36th pick in the 2025 draft to the Suns in exchange for two future second-rounders, according to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 reported earlier this afternoon that he expected Phoenix to inquire about the possibility of moving up to draft a player it likes. Once the trade is official, the Suns will have three picks in tonight’s draft at Nos. 36, 52 and 59.

Brooklyn set an NBA record last night by selecting five players in the first round. Instead of using their sixth pick, the Nets have decided to send it to Phoenix and will add to their stash of future assets.

The two second-rounders headed to Brooklyn in the deal are 2026 and 2030 picks, per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). The 2026 second-round pick will be the least favorable of (a) the Clippers’ 2026 second-rounder; or (b) the most favorable of the Celtics’, Pacers’, and Heat’s 2026 second-rounders. The 2030 second-round pick is Boston’s.

Both are selections that the Suns are acquiring from Houston in the Kevin Durant deal, which means this trade will either become part of that one or will be completed after the Durant trade is official. Either way, it appears this Suns/Nets trade won’t get formally finalized until July, since Phoenix and Houston won’t be able to complete their Durant blockbuster before then.

Lakers Trade 55th Pick, Cash To Bulls For 45th Pick

June 26th, 2025 at 11:26am CST by Rory Maher

June 30: The trade is now official, according to Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report, who tweets that the Bulls received $2.5MM in cash in the deal, along with the draft rights to No. 55 pick Lachlan Olbrich, in exchange for the rights to No. 45 pick Rocco Zikarsky.

The Lakers subsequently traded up again – using the No. 45 pick and cash – to No. 36, but that trade won’t become official until after the July moratorium.

June 26: The Lakers are trading the 55th pick of the 2025 draft and cash to the Bulls for tonight’s 45th selection, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (via Twitter).

As Keith Smith of Spotrac tweets, the Lakers will now be hard-capped at the second tax apron for the 2025/26 season because they are sending out cash in the deal.

Bulls general manager Marc Eversley said during a Wednesday night press conference that Chicago was open to moving the No. 45 pick, either to move out of the second round or to select a draft-and-stash prospect. In this case the Bulls moved back 10 spots and added cash in the process.

Los Angeles is clearly targeting a player it likes and thinks will be available at No. 45 but may not have been at No. 55. In the past, sending out cash to move up in the draft wasn’t a big deal, but changes in the new CBA mean the Lakers will be unable to surpass the second apron — projected at $207.8MM — for next season.

Although they’ll lose a little bit of roster flexibility as a result of the trade, the Lakers were unlikely to exceed the second apron in ’25/26 anyway, notes Yossi Gozlan of Third Apron (Twitter link).

According to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Twitter link), the Hornets (either No. 33 or No. 34), Raptors (No. 39), Warriors (No. 41) and Thunder (No. 44) are also open to trading their second-round picks. ESPN identified Charlotte this morning as a team to monitor with one of its early second-rounders.

The Timberwolves (No. 31) are also fielding trade inquiries on the first pick of the second round, sources tell Fischer (Twitter link).

Kings Acquire No. 24 From Thunder, Draft Nique Clifford

June 25th, 2025 at 9:58pm CST by Rory Maher

11:25 pm: The trade is official, per a press release from the Kings.

9:58 pm: The Kings have agreed to acquire the No. 24 pick from the Thunder and used it to draft Colorado State’s Nique Clifford, reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

According to Sacramento radio host Carmichael Dave (Twitter link), the Thunder will receive San Antonio’s 2027 first-round pick (top-16 protected) from Sacramento. If that selection falls in its protected range, Oklahoma City will instead receive two second-rounders in 2027.

Sacramento has long been rumored as a candidate to move into the first round, as the team only controlled a second-round pick — No. 42 — heading into Wednesday. The Stein Line reported this morning that No. 24 was one pick the Kings were looking at acquiring.

The Thunder are facing a minor roster crunch in 2025/26 and had no need to add two first-round picks to their championship roster. They selected Georgetown big man Thomas Sorber at No. 15.

Clifford is among the most NBA-ready players who will be drafted this week — he spent three years at Colorado and two more at Colorado State before becoming automatically draft-eligible this year at age 23.

While he didn’t post big numbers earlier in his college career, Clifford has come on strong in the past couple seasons. In 2024/25, he nearly averaged a double-double, with 18.9 points, 9.6 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 1.2 steals in 35.4 minutes per game across 36 starts, with a .496/.377/.777 shooting line.

The 6’5″ swingman had one of the best rebounding seasons for a wing in NCAA history for the Rams, according to Jonathan Givony of ESPN, who adds that Clifford’s “instincts and competitiveness stood out.”

Clifford’s game and versatility is similar to Josh Hart‘s, according to Law Murray of The Athletic, who points out (via twitter) that new Kings GM Scott Perry traded for Hart in New York and is now acquiring Clifford as well.

Wizards Trade No. 18 Pick Walter Clayton Jr. To Jazz

June 25th, 2025 at 9:17pm CST by Luke Adams

11:46 pm: The trade is official, according to a press release from the Jazz.

9:17 pm: After drafting Ace Bailey fifth overall earlier in the evening, the Jazz have traded up to No. 18 and used their second first-round pick of the night on Florida’s Walter Clayton Jr., reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

Washington is acquiring the Nos. 21 and 43 picks in the 2025 draft and a pair of future second-rounders in the deal, tweets Jake Fischer of The Stein Line. Those future second-rounders are picks in 2031 and 2032, per Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

The Wizards used the 21st pick to select Illinois wing Will Riley.

Clayton, a 6’3″ guard, is coming off a memorable senior season. He was a consensus first-team All-American, earned a spot on the All-SEC first team, and led the Gators to a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament and then a national title.

Clayton had a handful of big games in the NCAA tournament, racking up 30 points against Texas Tech in the Elite Eight and 34 against Auburn in the Final Four. He was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four after registering 11 points, seven assists, and five rebounds in the championship game against Houston.

A Florida native, Clayton averaged 18.3 points, 4.2 assists, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game on the season, with a strong .448/.386/.875 shooting line.

This will be the third consecutive year in which the Jazz have used a first-round pick on a guard. Clayton will join a backcourt that features 2023’s 16th overall pick Keyonte George and 2024’s 29th overall pick Isaiah Collier, along with veterans Collin Sexton and Jordan Clarkson, though there’s no guarantee all of those players will still be on the roster by the time the season begins this October.

Pelicans Acquire No. 13 Pick From Hawks, Draft Derik Queen

June 25th, 2025 at 8:39pm CST by Luke Adams

10:31 pm: The trade is official, the Pelicans confirmed in a press release.

8:39 pm: The Pelicans and Hawks have agreed to a trade that will send the No. 13 overall pick from Atlanta to New Orleans in exchange for No. 23 overall and a 2026 first-round pick, reports ESPN’s Shams Charania (Twitter link). The 2026 first-rounder is unprotected and will be the most favorable of the Pelicans’ and Bucks’ picks.

The Pelicans are using that newly acquired pick to draft Maryland big man Derik Queen, per Charania (Twitter link).

Queen was highly productive in his freshman season with the Terrapins, averaging 16.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.1 blocks in 30.4 minutes per contest across 36 total games. He helped guide Maryland to a 27-9 record and a spot in the Sweet 16, scoring 27 points in a loss to Florida.

While Queen is perhaps the most offensively gifted big man in the 2025 draft class, reports during the pre-draft process indicated some NBA evaluators had concerns about his lack of length and explosiveness, as well as some questions about what types of players he would guard on defense.

Still, he’s an intriguing addition for a New Orleans team that badly needs frontcourt depth to complement 2024 first-rounder Yves Missi and ranked last in the NBA in defensive rebounding percentage this post season, as ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets.

Reporting earlier today from Jonathan Givony of ESPN suggested the Pelicans had their eye on Queen in part to new front office executive Troy Weaver, who has “long-standing connections” to Baltimore- and D.C.-area prospects, and whose son was a graduate assistant on Maryland’s coaching staff in 2024/25.

As for the Hawks, after agreeing to trade the No. 22 overall pick to Brooklyn in their three-team Kristaps Porzingis deal, they’ll now move down 10 spots from No. 13 and end up in that range once again. They’re using that No. 23 pick on Georgia forward/center Asa Newell.

Meanwhile, the 2026 first-rounder they’re acquiring from New Orleans could end up being a valuable one. The Bucks will be missing Damian Lillard as he recovers from a torn Achilles and Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s future in Milwaukee still isn’t a certainty, while the Pelicans are coming off a 21-win season. The most favorable of those two teams’ picks could easily land in the top half of the first round.

Grizzlies Acquire No. 11 Pick Cedric Coward From Blazers

June 25th, 2025 at 8:27pm CST by Earnest Marshall

11:17 pm: The trade is official, according to a press release from the Grizzlies (Twitter link).

8:27 pm: Washington State forward Cedric Coward is the No. 11 overall pick, but he won’t remain with the Trail Blazers. According to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link), Portland is sending the selection to the Grizzlies.

In exchange for No. 11, the Blazers are acquiring the 16th overall pick, a future first-rounder, and two second-round selections, reports Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Twitter link). Portland surprisingly used the No. 16 pick on Chinese big man Hansen Yang — many analysts had second-round grades on the 7’2″ center.

The future first-rounder being sent to Portland is Orlando’s 2028 selection, per Charania (Twitter link). According to Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian (Twitter link), the second-rounders will be Atlanta’s 2027 pick and Sacramento’s 2028 pick.

Coward played just six games at Washington State in 2024/25 before suffering a shoulder injury that sidelined him for the remainder of his senior season. He averaged 17.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.7 blocks per game while shooting 55.7% from the floor and 40.0% on three-pointers during his abridged stint with the Cougars.

Before transferring to Washington State, the 6’6″ wing played two years at Eastern Washington, averaging 11.3 PPG and 6.1 RPG in 66 games. He spent his freshman season at Willamette University in Oregon.

Due to his lack of reps against high-level college competition, Coward was ranked outside of the first round by a number of draft experts earlier this year, but improved his standing during the pre-draft process, impressing NBA teams at last month’s combine and at workouts.

Coward has the makings of a strong pick for the Grizzlies, who are seemingly re-tooling around Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. after sending away Desmond Bane to Orlando in a blockbuster trade earlier this month. Coward has a tremendous frame and a good-looking three-point shot that connects at a high rate.

The Grizzlies had the ammunition to go up and get a player they coveted after that Bane deal, which included Orlando’s 2028 first-rounder.

This move makes sense for both sides on paper. The Grizzlies get a player who can contribute early on his career, assuming he’ll be fully recovered from the shoulder injury at the start of the season. In return, Portland collects a future first and additional assets to move down five slots.

The Trail Blazers have an impressive defense, and their better-than-expected 36-46 record (including a 23-18 second half) last season reflects the growth of their young core led by the likes of Scoot Henderson, Toumani Camara, Shaedon Sharpe and Donovan Clingan. With no glaring holes to address with a lottery pick, moving down a few spots to pick up a future first-rounder looks like a sound transaction.

Spurs Trading No. 38 Pick To Pacers

June 25th, 2025 at 6:24pm CST by Luke Adams

The Spurs have agreed to trade the No. 38 overall pick in this year’s draft to the Pacers in exchange for a future second-round pick and cash, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

The pick headed to San Antonio is the Kings’ 2030 second-rounder, according to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Twitter link).

While the deal is the first reported first draft-night trade, it technically won’t even affect Wednesday’s results, since the Pacers won’t make their newly acquired No. 38 pick until Thursday.

San Antonio still holds a pair of lottery picks at No. 2 and No. 14, but Indiana previously traded away its own first-rounder and only controlled the No. 54 overall pick, so this will give them a second 2025 selection.

The fact that the Pacers are agreeing to this trade now instead of waiting to see who’s on the board suggests they’re not necessarily targeting a specific prospect at that spot.

For a team flirting with the luxury tax line, the ability to select a player at No. 38 and sign him to a rookie-minimum contract could be valuable, since that player’s cap hit (projected to be $1.27MM) would be $1MM+ less than the cap charge for a player on a veteran-minimum deal ($2.3MM). It’s also worth noting, as Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets, that the No. 23 pick Indiana traded away last week would’ve carried a cap hit of roughly $3.2MM.

As Keith Smith of Spotrac notes (via Twitter), sending out cash will hard-cap the Pacers at the second tax apron for the 2025/26 league year.

John Collins Picks Up $26.5MM Player Option

June 25th, 2025 at 4:34pm CST by Arthur Hill

Jazz big man John Collins has exercised his $26.5MM player option for next season, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link). He faced a Thursday deadline for the decision, as our tracker shows.

Collins averaged 19.0 points and 8.2 rebounds this season, but he was limited to 40 games and didn’t return after suffering a left ankle sprain on March 12. Utah held out several veteran players late in the season to improve its lottery odds, so Collins may have been able to play under different circumstances.

The player option represents the final season of a five-year deal Collins signed in 2021 when he was still with the Hawks. Atlanta traded him to the Jazz in 2023, and he has been a consistent starter during his two seasons in Utah.

Trade speculation has been swirling around Collins and other Jazz players, and it’s likely to continue now that his status for next season is certain. His name was also frequently mentioned around February’s trade deadline, including a potential swap with Sacramento.

Collins and Lauri Markkanen ($46.4MM) will be Utah’s highest-paid players next season, and new president of basketball operations Austin Ainge may not want to spend so heavily on two power forwards. The results of tonight’s draft, where the Jazz hold picks No. 5, 21, 43 and 53, could also affect Collins’ future.

Collins, 27, was selected by Atlanta with the 19th pick in the 2017 draft. He has appeared in 472 total games and has career averages of 16.0 points and 8.1 rebounds in 30.5 minutes per night.

Rockets Re-Signing Fred VanVleet On Two-Year Deal

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

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.