Lakers Likely To Sign Mamukelashvili, Grimes; Still Pursuing Kessler
People around the league increasingly believe the Lakers will sign forward/center Sandro Mamukelashvili and guard Quentin Grimes, according to Marc Stein of The Stein Line, who reports (via Twitter) that Los Angeles continues to pursue Jazz center Walker Kessler, its “top summer target.”
Mamukelashvili and Grimes are unrestricted free agents and thus able to sign with any team. Kessler is restricted, however, so the Lakers would have to either work out a sign-and-trade with Utah or sign him to an offer sheet that the Jazz are unwilling to match in order to acquire him.
Georgian big man Mamukelashvili figures to cash in after having a strong season with the Raptors on a veteran’s minimum in 2025/26. He far outperformed that deal and is expected to command an eight-figure annual payday this summer after declining his $2.8MM player option for ’26/27 to hit free agency.
Stein, his colleague Jake Fischer, and Dan Woike of The Athletic all linked Mamukelashvili to the Lakers late Monday night. Those same reporters, plus Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal, subsequently connected Grimes to L.A., referring to the former first-round pick as one of the team’s top targets.
Grimes, a 6’4″ shooting guard, has spent the past season-and-a-half with the Sixers. He signed his one-year qualifying last offseason as a restricted free agent and it sounds like the former first-round pick is on track to join his fifth different team ahead of his sixth year in the league.
The Lakers are operating with cap room this summer after LeBron James informed the team he plans to play elsewhere in ’26/27. While they may end up adding Mamukelashvili and Grimes, they’re losing sharpshooter Luke Kennard to the Suns and are expected to lose forward Rui Hachimura as well, per Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints (Twitter link).
As for Kessler, the 7’2″ big man has met with multiple suitors thus far as he looks to secure a massive contract. The 24-year-old was limited to just five appearances last season due to a shoulder injury, but he’s shown promise as a rebounder and rim protector and the Lakers have reportedly expressed interest in acquiring him in multiple times in the past.
Jazz RFA Walker Kessler Meets With Multiple Suitors
Jazz center Walker Kessler has already met with at least two teams at the start of free agency and is headed to another meeting, The Athletic’s Tony Jones reports (Twitter link).
The restricted free agent has multiple offers in the mid- to high-$30MMs annually, according to Jones, along with proposals that include player options.
As a restricted free agent, Kessler would need to have a suitor with ample cap room to sign an offer sheet. The Lakers are one of those teams and they’re interested in Kessler, The Athletic’s Dan Woike tweets. It’s unclear whether the Lakers are one of the teams who have already had a meeting and made an offer.
The Lakers are also reportedly meeting with another prominent RFA center, Detroit’s Jalen Duren.
Naturally, the Jazz can match any offer sheet Kessler signs. He could also seek a sign-and-trade with a team that doesn’t have major cap room, but Utah doesn’t necessarily need to accommodate that sort of deal.
The Jazz reportedly offered Kessler a five-year contract worth approximately $140MM. According to Jake Fischer of the The Stein Line (Twitter link), Utah’s offer was a take-it-or-leave-it, five-year-only proposal.
Kessler has made it clear for more than a year he wants to be in Utah long-term, Fischer adds. However, during the rookie scale negotiation window last fall, the Jazz never brought what Kessler’s side viewed as a serious extension offer during those talks, according to Fischer.
LeBron James Tells Lakers He’ll Play Elsewhere In 2026/27
Longtime star forward LeBron James has decided to play a record-setting 24th NBA season in 2026/27, but he won’t be returning to the Lakers. James informed the Lakers on Tuesday that they can move on without him, since he’ll be playing elsewhere, agent Rich Paul tells Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
According to Dan Woike of The Athletic (Twitter link), James hasn’t yet decided where he’ll be playing next season. Free agency doesn’t technically open until 5:00 pm Central time on Tuesday, so LeBron can’t commit to another team before that time.
The Warriors have been most frequently cited as the biggest threat to lure the four-time MVP out of Los Angeles. Reporting on Monday night indicated that Golden State is “far and away” the outside suitor with the most interest in the 41-year-old, who is close with Draymond Green and enjoyed collaborating with Stephen Curry and head coach Steve Kerr as part of Team USA at the 2024 Olympics.
The Warriors may be able to offer James the full $15MM non-taxpayer mid-level exception, though that will depend on what sort of contract Green signs and what other roster moves the club makes.
Sources tell Anthony Slater of ESPN (Twitter link) that the team’s decision-makers have been given no indication Golden State will be James’ destination and that it appears some level of recruitment will be necessary. Green and Curry are expected to be involved in that pitch, tweets Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints.
The Cavaliers also have interest in reuniting again with James, according to NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter link). Cleveland was the league’s highest-spending team in 2026/27 and would have to shed some salary in order to offer more than the veteran’s minimum.
Shams Charania of ESPN said during a TV appearance that James’ other former team, the Heat, could also be in play. They don’t currently have the full $15MM mid-level exception available, but could open it up if they’re able to trade Nikola Jovic.
Charania added during the same TV spot that James’ decision will be driven by where he thinks he’d be happiest, rather than which team offers the most money (Twitter video link).
James initially joined the Lakers as a free agent in 2018 and has been with the organization for the past eight seasons, which is his longest consecutive stint with any team since he entered the league as the first overall pick in 2003. LeBron spent his first seven NBA seasons in Cleveland, then returned to the Cavaliers for another four seasons from 2014-18 following a four-year stretch with Miami from 2010-14.
During his time in Los Angeles, James earned eight All-Star nods and made seven All-NBA teams, averaging 25.9 points, 7.9 assists, and 7.7 rebounds per game on .513/.356/.730 shooting across 479 total regular season contests. He also became the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on that list in February 2023.
While James is no longer putting up the types of numbers he was during his prime years, he remained highly productive in 2025/26, his age-41 season, averaging 20.9 PPG, 7.2 APG, and 6.1 RPG while shooting 51.5% from the floor. He has also remained relatively durable into his 40s — he missed time due to sciatica last fall, but still appeared in 60 games in 2025/26 after playing in at least 70 in each of the previous two seasons.
Although the Lakers advanced beyond the first round of the playoffs just three times in LeBron’s eight seasons, they won a championship in 2020 in the COVID-19 “bubble” in Orlando, with James and former teammate Anthony Davis leading the way.
According to Charania (Twitter link), James wanted to inform the Lakers of his intentions before free agency began out of respect for their time together. That will allow Los Angeles to conduct its offseason business without having to set aside a chunk of cap room for LeBron’s potential return.
The Lakers expressed to James that they wanted him back, Charania adds (via Twitter). However, a source close to LeBron tells Dave McMenamin (Twitter link) that the veteran star felt it was “time to move on.”
“LeBron James is one of the greatest athletes in history,” the Lakers said in a statement (Twitter link). “We will always be thankful for his eight years with the Lakers — including the title he led us to in 2020 under the toughest imaginable circumstances and the countless records he broke in purple and gold. We wish him all the best in the future, both on the court and off. He will always be a cherished part of the Lakers family.”
It certainly sounds like the Lakers would’ve been willing to bring back James, with head of basketball operations Rob Pelinka repeatedly expressing hope in recent years that LeBron would decide to finish his career in Los Angeles. However, the team has also made it clear since acquiring Luka Doncic in a stunning deal at the 2025 trade deadline that the 27-year-old Luka, not LeBron, is at the center of the franchise’s plans going forward.
With that in mind, the Lakers are considered likely to use their newfound cap flexibility to pursue the type of “A-list center” that Doncic is known to covet. According to Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints, the club is likely to be very involved in the restricted free agencies of Pistons big man Jalen Duren and Jazz big man Walker Kessler.
Detroit and Utah have leverage in that process, since they can match any offer sheet their RFAs sign, but Duren and Kessler are both said to be unhappy with how their negotiations have played out so far. The two big men are expected to meet with other suitors, including the Lakers, near the start of free agency.
It’s worth noting that previous reporting suggested the Lakers would likely welcome the opportunity to discuss a sign-and-trade deal with Cleveland involving James and center Jarrett Allen, though it’s unclear whether that will be something the Cavaliers are open to.
Meanwhile, there have been rumblings in the last day or two about the possibility of the Warriors pursuing a trade for Davis in an effort to entice James to choose Golden State in free agency. However, recent reporting has suggested no progress has been made on that front and that the Warriors remain interested in adding LeBron without acquiring the Wizards big man, rather than viewing the duo as a package deal.
Stein/Fischer’s Latest: Kawhi, Raptors, Brown, Westbrook, More
The Raptors and Clippers continue to have serious discussions about a Kawhi Leonard trade and there’s “momentum” on a deal that would send the two-time Finals MVP back to Toronto, league sources tell Marc Stein and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link).
Fischer first reported the Raptors’ interest in a reunion with Leonard, with multiple subsequent reports confirming the negotiations between the two teams.
Regardless of whether a deal comes to fruition, the Clippers haven’t pursued Celtics wing Jaylen Brown this offseason and don’t intend to make a run at the 2024 Finals MVP, Stein and Fischer report.
Here’s lots more from The Stein Line:
- The Wizards have a “level of interest” in free agent guard Russell Westbrook, according to Stein and Fischer. The former league MVP spent the 2020/21 season in Washington prior to being traded to the Lakers. Westbrook, 37, played for the Kings last season.
- Speaking of the Kings, they’re aiming to re-sign Precious Achiuwa and promote Daeqwon Plowden to a standard contract, per The Stein Line. Sacramento made Plowden, who finished last season on a two-way deal, a restricted free agent on Monday. Forward/center Achiuwa, meanwhile, is an unrestricted free agent.
- The Lakers are “strongly believed” to be one of three teams set to meet with Jazz restricted free agent center Walker Kessler on Tuesday, according to Stein and Fischer. The Lakers are also expected to meet with Pistons RFA Jalen Duren. Yet another restricted free agent, Nuggets forward Peyton Watson, continues to be linked to the Clippers, Stein and Fischer add.
- The Spurs are looking to add a power forward with the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, according to The Stein Line, with Sandro Mamukelashvili, Tobias Harris, Dean Wade, Rui Hachimura and John Collins said to be targets. The Lakers are another team with their eyes on Raptors forward/center Mamukelashvili, according to both Stein and Fischer and Dan Woike of The Athletic. Sources tell Stein and Fischer the Georgian big man is expected to receive multiple offers exceeding $10MM per year after declining his minimum-salary option to become a free agent.
- In other Raptors news, the team is expected to work out a new standard deal with 2025 second-rounder Alijah Martin, per Stein and Fischer. Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca reported the two sides were working on a multiyear standard contract after Martin was given a two-way qualifying offer, making him a restricted free agent.
- After previously reporting that the Magic were bracing to lose Moritz Wagner in free agency, Stein and Fischer hear the Nets are a “real contender” to sign the German big man. The Magic, meanwhile, are expected to re-sign Jonathan Isaac after waiving him earlier this week, sources tell the Stein Line.
- If the Bulls end up signing Norman Powell, his new contract is expected to be a lucrative short-term deal, Stein and Fischer report. Chicago is also thinking about retaining Anfernee Simons, who’s expected to receive interest from the Warriors and Celtics, and is also interested in Jonathan Kuminga. The Cavaliers are another potential Kuminga suitor, though they don’t have much money to offer at the moment, Stein and Fischer add.
- The Cavaliers agreed to re-sign Thomas Bryant in part because they believed the Pacers were going to pursue him in free agency, according to Stein and Fischer, who hear Josh Okogie, Gary Trent Jr. and Kelly Oubre Jr. are potential free agent targets for Indiana.
- Bradley Beal, Gabe Vincent and Khris Middleton are among the veterans the Heat are considering pursuing in free agency, Stein and Fischer report.
Free Agent Rumors: Kessler, Powell, Blazers, Simmons, Suns, Payton
Center Walker Kessler will meet with multiple teams when free agency opens on Tuesday evening, reports Tony Jones of The Athletic (via Twitter). According to Jones, the meetings will be held at CAA headquarters in Los Angeles.
Jones reported earlier on Monday that the Jazz formally issued Kessler a qualifying offer, making the 7’2″ big man a restricted free agent. Utah now has the right of first refusal on Kessler, giving the team the ability to match any offer sheet he might receive from a rival team.
Kessler and the Jazz have engaged in contract negotiations during Utah’s exclusive negotiating period. The team reportedly put a five-year offer worth approximately $140MM on the table, but the center and his camp were said to be unhappy about the way those talks were going.
Although “several” teams are expected to express interest in Kessler, the belief around the NBA is that he’ll eventually return to the Jazz, per Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints. Siegel also hears Utah is in the market for a veteran guard to add to their young backcourt.
Here are some more rumors on ahead of tomorrow’s free agency, with several players already agreeing to return to their respective teams:
- Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reported on Sunday that the Bulls are among the possible suitors for Norman Powell, and Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal has heard the same. Powell isn’t expected to explore sign-and-trade scenarios from the Heat, a source tells Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press (Twitter link). The 33-year-old wing made his first All-Star team in 2025/26, having averaged 21.7 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.1 steals on .470/.380/.827 shooting in 58 games (29.6 minutes per game).
- In a story that was published shortly before the Trail Blazers agreed to trade for two-time All-Star point guard Ja Morant, Joe Freeman of The Oregonian reported that Portland was interested in re-signing free agents Robert Williams, Matisse Thybulle and Blake Wesley “if the deal makes sense.” There’s mutual interest in a reunion with Williams, according to Freeman. This is just my speculation, but pending additional roster moves, Wesley seems less likely to return after adding Morant to a crowded backcourt.
- Speaking to Clay Skipper of Men’s Health, former NBA star Ben Simmons says he’s considering making a comeback attempt after he was out of the league this past season, as Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.com relays. “I plan on getting as strong as I can physically, getting my ass on the court, and then the team realizing that my abilities will be needed,” Simmons said. “I don’t have a plan on where.”
- The Suns are looking for a guard with the taxpayer mid-level exception, per John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter link). Of the six players Gambadoro listed, two — Kevin Huerter (Pistons) and Landry Shamet (Knicks) have reportedly agreed to re-sign with their respective teams. The other four guards are Luke Kennard, Collin Sexton, Jordan Clarkson and De’Anthony Melton.
- According to Siegel, Warriors guard Gary Payton II is interested in re-signing with Golden State on a minimum-salary contract.
Jazz Re-Sign Jusuf Nurkic To Two-Year Deal
July 9: Nurkic has officially re-signed with the Jazz, per a press release from the team. Since Nurkic agreed to his deal, Utah signed-and-traded Kessler to the Lakers, so the Bosnian big man will likely be in line for a more significant role than initially anticipated.
June 29: Free agent center Jusuf Nurkic will be returning to the Jazz, according to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link), who reports that the two sides have agreed to terms on a two-year, $22MM contract.
Utah traded Collin Sexton and a second-round pick to Charlotte during the 2025 offseason in order to acquire Nurkic to provide frontcourt depth. That move proved fortuitous when starting center Walker Kessler suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in just the fifth game of the season, forcing Nurkic to take on a much larger role than anticipated.
Nurkic responded in a major way, averaging a double-double (10.9 points, 10.4 rebounds) to go along with 4.8 assists and 1.3 steals in 26.4 minutes per game. He started 36 of the 41 games he played for Utah before nasal surgery prematurely ended his season.
Nurkic was initially viewed as a candidate to be flipped to a new team before the trade deadline, but his fit in Will Hardy‘s system had the Jazz talking about making him part of the team’s plans moving forward, and the Bosnian big man reciprocated the team’s interest.
While negotiations with Kessler in restricted free agency haven’t progressed as smoothly as the Jazz hoped, it still seems likely that he’ll re-sign with the team, in which case Nurkic would provide reliable depth behind Kessler and Jaren Jackson Jr. up front.
Examining Utah’s cap situation, Yossi Gozlan (Twitter link) notes that the team has about $38.5MM in room under the projected luxury tax line to sign Kessler and add one or two more players to its current group.
Jazz Issue QO To Kessler, Decline Options On Mbeng, Gray
The Jazz have formally issued Walker Kessler a qualifying offer, making him a restricted free agent, reports Tony Jones of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Kessler and the Jazz have engaged in contract negotiations during Utah’s exclusive negotiating period. The team reportedly put a five-year offer worth approximately $140MM on the table, but the center and his camp were said to be unhappy about the way those talks were going.
Despite being limited to five games in 2025/26 due to shoulder surgery, Kessler is one of the top free agents on the board this summer, coming in at No. 4 on our top-50 list. The The 7’2″ center, who will turn 25 next month, is one of the NBA’s best rebounders and has shown the potential to be an elite rim protector, having averaged 12.2 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game in 58 games in 2024/25.
The qualifying offer, which is worth $7,064,702, gives the Jazz the right of first refusal in the event that Kessler signs an offer sheet with another team. The big man also has the option of accepting that offer and playing out the 2026/27 season on a one-year, $7MM deal with an implicit no-trade clause. In that scenario, he could reach unrestricted free agency in 2027. However, there’s still plenty of time for the two sides to reach a longer-term agreement.
Here are more minor transaction-related updates on the Jazz:
- The Jazz won’t tender qualifying offers to two-way players Oscar Tshiebwe and Elijah Harkless, according to Jones (Twitter link). Because both players finished each of the past two seasons on two-way deals with Utah, their qualifying offers would have been equivalent to one-year, minimum-salary contracts with small partial guarantees, rather than another two-way contract.
- Although Tshiebwe and Harkless will become unrestricted free agents and won’t be with the Jazz’s Summer League team, Utah likes Harkless, so there’s still a chance he could return in some capacity, Jones notes.
- The Jazz are declining their minimum-salary team options on Bez Mbeng and Hayden Gray, who signed with the team near the end of the 2025/26 season, league sources tell Jones (Twitter link). They’ll stick with the Jazz for Summer League play, so the team will continue evaluating them, Jones adds. Technically, Mbeng and Gray would’ve been eligible for qualifying offers after having their options declined, but it doesn’t sound like a QO in the cards for either player.
Jazz To Sign Micah Handlogten To Exhibit 10 Contract
Former Florida center Micah Handlogten intends to sign an Exhibit 10 contract with the Jazz, according to the Gators’ men’s basketball program (Twitter link).
Handlogten, who spent his freshman year at Marshall in 2022/23, transferred to Florida for his remaining three college seasons and won a national title with the team in 2025.
The 7’1″ center was a full-time starter as a sophomore before moving to a reserve role over the next two seasons following the arrival of big man Rueben Chinyelu. As a senior in 2025/26, Handlogten averaged 4.1 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 0.9 blocks in 14.8 minutes per game across 34 outings.
Handlogten will be following in his father’s footsteps by signing a contract with Utah. Ben Handlogten, who went undrafted in 1996, spent several years playing overseas before joining the Jazz and appearing in 38 regular season games for the club between 2003-05.
An Exhibit 10 contract is a non-guaranteed training camp deal that makes a player eligible for a bonus worth up to $91K if he’s waived by his NBA team and then spends at least 60 days with that club’s G League affiliate. It can also be converted into a two-way contract prior to the regular season.
Jazz Sign Tamar Bates To Two-Way Contract
July 3: Bates has officially signed his two-way deal with the Jazz, according to a press release from the team.
June 26: The Jazz intend to sign free agent guard Tamar Bates to a two-way contract, reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (via Twitter).
Bates became an unrestricted free agent in March when he was waived by the Nuggets.
The 23-year-old quickly caught on with Denver on a two-way deal last summer after going undrafted out of Missouri, but his rookie season was derailed in December when he underwent surgery to repair a fracture in his left foot.
Although Bates has yet to make his NBA season debut, he was productive and highly efficient in the G League with Denver’s affiliate team, the Grand Rapids Gold, averaging 19.5 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.5 steals on .549/.441/.903 shooting splits in 13 games (33.2 minutes per contest).
Two-way contracts, which allow a team to shuttle a player back and forth between the NBA and the G League, are non-guaranteed and don’t count against the salary cap. Bates projects to earn $679K next season, assuming he sticks with Utah beyond the league-wide salary guarantee date in January.
Elijah Harkless, Oscar Tshiebwe and Blake Hinson ended last season on two-way deals with the Jazz. Hinson’s contract is a two-year deal that covers 2026/27, while Harkless and Tshiebwe are eligible for free agency.
And-Ones: Summer League, Expansion, Lottery, Kostas, More
The NBA has formally announced the schedule for its Las Vegas Summer League, which tips off on Thursday, July 9.
The most notable of the games scheduled for that first Thursday is a matchup between Wizards vs. the Jazz at 9:00 pm Eastern time, which should pit the top two picks in the draft against one another, with AJ Dybantsa suiting up for Washington and Darryn Peterson taking the court for Utah.
A day later, on Friday at 8 pm ET, the No. 3 overall pick Cameron Boozer and the Grizzlies are scheduled to square off against No. 4 pick Caleb Wilson and the Bulls.
Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- As Marc Stein of The Stein Lines notes (via Twitter), NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in multiple media appearances ahead of the draft, including during a spot on The Dan Patrick Show (Twitter video link), that if the league moves forward with expansion to Seattle and/or Las Vegas, the plan would be for the new team(s) to begin competing in the 2028/29 season.
- Although the NBA’s new draft lottery format is only officially in place through the 2029 draft, Silver said during a pre-draft interview with ESPN on Tuesday that the league doesn’t plan to revert to a system in 2030 that rewards tanking. “Part of the agreement with the teams was that this system would be in place for three years,” Silver said, per Devon Henderson of The Athletic. “In essence, it’s grandfathered in. We all agree that would give us an opportunity to assess how this is working, and also look at some other approaches, which we thought, in fairness, the teams needed to be built in over time. But most importantly, we will not be returning to a system where there is an incentive to be bad.”
- It’s safe to say it won’t be this week’s biggest news involving an Antetokounmpo, but former NBA forward Kostas Antetokounmpo, one of Giannis’ brothers, is nearing a multiyear deal with the Greek team Aris B.C., according to Stefan Acevski of Eurohoops. Kostas played for Aris in 2025/26 while on loan from Olympiacos.
- Cavaliers point guard Dennis Schröder, the lone NBA player on the roster, is the headliner for the German national team for its upcoming 2027 World Cup qualifying games against Israel and Cyprus. Dario Skerletic of Sportando has the details.
- John Hollinger of The Athletic takes an in-depth look at the free agent market for point guards this offseason, ranking the options available from James Harden at No. 1 to the “radioactive” Terry Rozier at No. 36.