Trade & FA 2025-26: Free Agency Starts 5pm CST/6pm EST

[DanSchwartzgan]

You have heard some reports that this offseason may be the craziest yet with trades.  It is funny though, I have listened to some national podcasts discussing offseason trades and it is very tricky to find matches in trades.  It seems a lot hard than previous years.

I wonder if this will limit trades in total due to these limitations?  Or due to these limitations does this create some off the wall type of trades just to get them to work?

It feels to me a bit like musical chairs.  Every day new teams seem to pop up for Giannis and KD.  San Antonio, New York, Minnesota, Toronto and Houston get the most prominent mentions, but there are probably others.  But, when the music runs out there are too many players and not enough chairs.  That doesn't even begin to address the lesser names (some of whom are pretty big names) or the outgoing players that might be involved in any Giannis or KD trade.

If nothing else happens but KD and Giannis move and Boston sheds a big salary, it was already a pretty big summer.  I don't think the rules make trades impossible.  I've seen viable deals for these guys from all of these destinations.  But, it may not be the traditional 'expiring contracts and picks' type of deal.  Real players with real contracts have to be outgoing and some of these are big names in their own right.  Randall?  Towns?  Green?  Did Toronto get Ingram just to have expendable matching salary?  The outgoing names being fairly prominent only adds to the perceived 'craziness'.  And what do the musical chair losers do once Giannis and KD are off the table?