Trade & Free Agency 2026/2027

[RoyTarpleysGhost]

It seems like Mathurin wants to only be committed for 1 year and then be a FA again, but as a FA the only way thats possible is to sign the QO. If LAC will remove the QO, then he can sign that 1+1 with NO, but LAC loses control.by doing so and theres no trade or compensation, so it's quite an unrealistic going-nowhere ask. The NO front office under Dumars again seems incredibly unware of the rules and their nuances.

Seems like the Clippers dont care enough to even get something back for him.  That is somewhat surprising.

[Chicagojk]

Sheesh. The NBA is telling us that they no longer value this player archetype. I will need to adjust my own view of player value going forward. I've been way off on a number of contracts this off-season.

It tells me it is going to really important for PJ and Gafford to get off to good starts.   I think both are good players.  Both had off years last year.   It seems outside of a handful of guys these type of players are getting squeezed.  Both in years and total salary.   

While good players, I don't think many teams are hot and heavy paying a good center pair 18 million or paying PJ who will have a 22 million payday in the future.

[Smitty]

It tells me it is going to really important for PJ and Gafford to get off to good starts.   I think both are good players.  Both had off years last year.   It seems outside of a handful of guys these type of players are getting squeezed.  Both in years and total salary.   

While good players, I don't think many teams are hot and heavy paying a good center pair 18 million or paying PJ who will have a 22 million payday in the future.

I don't see the correlation. Neither PJ or Gafford are inefficient chuckers, undersized scoring guards, or one-way players. Those are the guys that really got squeezed this offseason. I think the two-way Wings and shot blocking Bigs market is still in demand.

I do agree that they need to be healthy and productive this season, or it will start to look like an overpay/bad contract.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Shams Charania: Clippers guard Jordan Miller underwent surgery Wednesday to repair a torn left rotator cuff sustained during an offseason workout and will be reevaluated in six months, sources tell ESPN.

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[HoosierDaddyKid]

Shamit Dua: I'm told the to expect a small corresponding move from the Pelicans to open up some space under luxury tax and create a roster spot for Benn Mathurin. Keep an eye on that September 8th date. The Pelicans are excited to add Mathurin's downhill scoring and athleticism. Mathurin has an elite ability to get to the free throw line. Mathurin has been above 95th percentile at shooting fouls drawn his whole career, with last year being 100th percentile per CTG. The Pelicans will use the $15 million non-taxpayer mid-level exception to sign Bennedict Mathurin, which hard caps them to the $209 million first apron. However, his projected contract puts them above the first apron. They'll need to shed payroll first to fit him on these terms.

x.com

[Chicagojk]

Kuminga to the timberwolves. I like it from a pure talent play. He should get plenty of playing time to show he can help a team win

https://x.com/shamscharania/status/20927...45842?s=46

[Moviemavguy]

Mathurin and Kuminga for peanuts.

[Chicagojk]

Pretty crazy Kuminga was taken with the pick Minny traded to get off Wiggins, I believe. He was suppose to be a bridge to the next version of the warriors. Instead he is in his third team making 6 million.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Kuminga to the timberwolves.  I like it from a pure talent play.  He should get plenty of playing time to show he can help a team win

https://x.com/shamscharania/status/20927...45842?s=46

 Minnesota has totally changed its roster from one with size, to athleticism.  They should be fun to watch. I don't think it translates to another Western Final run however.  We'll have to wait and see.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Bobby Marks: Minnesota will need to make a roster move to fit the Kuminga $6.1M salary below the second apron. The deadline to stretch a player is Saturday. In addition to adding Jonathan Kuminga at ~$6M for next season, Wolves will need to clear enough space to add a vet minimum signing at ~$2.5M. That's to get them back up to 14 players. That means at least $4.1M has to go out to fit everything in under the second-apron hard cap. Kuminga will be a starter alongside Anthony Edwards, LaMelo Ball, Jaden McDaniels and Rudy Gobert on the West contender.

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[HoosierDaddyKid]

Michael Scotto: The Orlando Magic and Malaki Branham have agreed to a deal, agent Deirunas Visockas of @gershbasketball told @hoopshype. Branham, the 20th pick of the 2022 NBA Draft, has averaged 8.0 points in four combined NBA seasons with the San Antonio Spurs and Washington Wizards.

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[OldMavsFan]

Mathurin and Kuminga for peanuts.

Well that seems to be right and you do wonder if the FO would not of made the moves they made if they had a clue that Mathurin and Kuminga would have been available would they take them or not and money wise would they fit.  I will make a wild guess but Kuminga may not of been one the first office may have passed on for any price.  Mathurin, it sounds like he has no plans to play for more than one year on next contract, so even if he his the next coming of some  past superstar, like several here seem to believe, he might not be as good a choose as are already on the team.

[RoyTarpleysGhost]

Bro turned down 3 years $75 million from the Warriors.

[Smitty]

Bro turned down 3 years $75 million from the Warriors.

Modern day Nerlens Noel.

[cow]

Modern day Nerlens Noel.

What condiments does Kuminga like on his hot dogs?

[Moviemavguy]

Well that seems to be right and you do wonder if the FO would not of made the moves they made if they had a clue that Mathurin and Kuminga would have been available would they take them or not and money wise would they fit.  I will make a wild guess but Kuminga may not of been one the first office may have passed on for any price.  Mathurin, it sounds like he has no plans to play for more than one year on next contract, so even if he his the next coming of some  past superstar, like several here seem to believe, he might not be as good a choose as are already on the team.

They are putting a lot of eggs with Christie which is interesting.  Christie can shoot threes though which neither of those two players can do.

[Dahlsim]

Klay Thompson: "Miami was always on my mind. My agent and I approached Dallas with the buyout because things change a lot when I signed there in 2024. They were great in honoring our request and understanding that those things did happen and that I'm on the back end of things. They understood I wanted a chance to really make a deep postseason run. I'm not saying they won't do that, but I think just Miami was way better position for that. It wasn't too stressful though. I knew I always had a chance to end up here and I'm just happy it all worked out." Cyro Asseo: I asked Klay Thompson on adapting his game to age/new roles & why the Miami Heat are a great fit: "As you get older, you train differently... With Coach Erik Spoelstra & his staff, I was just really attracted to the fact that they built such a well-rounded roster." @hoopshype

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So as I understand it, Mavs searched and didn't have a better deal out there.
they took what little they could get in cash relief.

Roughly $9.8 million in cash savings for the Mavericks (with ~$7.7 million remaining as dead money), which moved them from ~$2.2–2.3 million under the luxury tax line to ~$12 million under it. They also gained a needed roster spot (from 16 guaranteed contracts to 15)
The buyout preserved the Mavericks’ existing exceptions and traded player exceptions (TPEs) while adding roughly $10 million of extra room under the luxury tax line in the event they make moves later.

[omahen]

Kuminga to the timberwolves.  I like it from a pure talent play.  He should get plenty of playing time to show he can help a team win

https://x.com/shamscharania/status/20927...45842?s=46

Bullet dodged for Lakers imho. I never understood why they were after him in the first place, didn't like the fit at all. They still need a starting SF/PF wing. 

Kuminga really should fire his agent, again declining higher options to bet on himself.

Seems like Minny will need to either stretch or dump DiVincenzo, as they need to clear over 4 mil of salaries. They massively transformed the team this summer. Very young (outside of Gobert) and much more athletic

Edit: I overlooked they have Josh Green, so I think he will be the one going out to clear cap space

[HoosierDaddyKid]

Bullet dodged for Lakers imho. I never understood why they were after him in the first place, didn't like the fit at all. They still need a starting SF/PF wing. 

Kuminga really should fire his agent, again declining higher options to bet on himself.

Seems like Minny will need to either stretch or dump DiVincenzo, as they need to clear over 4 mil of salaries. They massively transformed the team this summer. Very young (outside of Gobert) and much more athletic

Edit: I overlooked that they have Josh Green, so I think he will be the one going out to clear cap space. The Wolves will have to make a roster move to free up the additional $3 million and stay under the second apron. To make that happen, sources said the Wolves will likely look to trade veteran Josh Green, who is making $14.6 million, for a player making less money. The Wolves could also waive and stretch his salary to create the room needed to sign Kuminga.

New York Times

Either Green or Jaylen Clark.

[Smitty]

Josh Green for Caleb Martin makes some sense for both teams. TWolves save $4.7M, giving them a buffer under A2 of about $1.2M, with Martin's ULTBE accounted for. Mavs get off Martin's money next season and give themselves a decent sized expiring to maybe use at the TDL? The expiring's they have now seem like ones they'll want to keep. Green, probably not.

To not make it all about the contract/money.... Green is a career 39% 3PT shooter and fits in the 25 and under box.