The buzz around this year's NBA offseason is that the action could happen earlier than usual, so I'm just going to start my annual tracker now. This way I can list any players under contract that get traded during the draft here instead of having those in my separate post about every team's picks.
The Rockets got things started already with the first extension reached right in the middle of the Finals, so I may as well get started now! As usual, players already under contract have their figures listed based on Keith Smith's work at Spotrac.com while salaries in bold italics are my own estimates based on reported numbers and the standard 5% or 8% raises that teams could give. Salaries are also color coded if they are a player option, a team option, not fully guaranteed, or mutual option. Since this post will be constantly updated throughout the summer, I'll be adding the latest news at the top to be readily available upon revisiting this page. Or if you want to go in chronological order, start at the bottom.
6/30 Update: The NBA officially announced that this year's salary cap is set at $154,647,000 with the tax line at $187,895,000, which is right at the expected 10% growth from last year. That means the the full Mid-Level Exception can have a starting salary of $14,104,000 and can top out at 4 years, $60,647,200; the Taxpayer MLE can start at $5,685,000 and go to 2 years, $11,654,250; the Room MLE can start at $8,781,000 and go to 3 years, $27,660,150; and the Bi-Annual Exception can start at $5,134,000 and go to 2 years, $10,524,700. Notably, Marks reports that the salary cap is only projected to go up by 7% raises instead of the maximum of 10% like this year, which could throw a wrench into team's budgets.
7-team trade wrapping up draft day deals makes NBA history (7/6)
Aside from not knowing the destinations of the Two-Way contract guys, Daeqwon Plowden (Phoenix) and David Roddy (Atlanta), I was able to put together the details of this behemoth last week when it first had NBA Twitter abuzz. And my summary was
more detailed than Shams' if I do say so myself.
Indiana picks up a big man (Shams first, Scotto the details 7/5)
Pacers receive:
| Jay Huff | $2,349,578 | $2,667,944 | $3,005,085 |
Grizzlies receive:
2029 Trail Blazers 2nd round pick
Right to swap 2031 2nd round picks with the Pacers
After putting up good numbers in the G League and in small NBA sample sizes, Huff was converted from his Two-Way contract to this cost controlled deal early in the season. He wasn't able to maintain his role in Memphis as their core bigs got established, but he's certainly worth taking a flier on with career per 36 averages of 20.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2 assists, 0.9 steals, and 2.5 blocks with 52%/40.4%/82.4% shooting while attempting 8.8 threes. This move won't replace the loss of Turner, but it could provide somewhat of a facsimile in a smaller role. Indiana already owes a 2031 swap to Miami from the trade for another backup center, Thomas Bryant, so giving up secondary rights here isn't much to add to the extra pick from Portland.
Shedding this salary isn't enough yet for Memphis to clear enough space for Jackson's renegotiation, but it does get them closer. I think they would need Anthony to give up around $4 million in a buyout to ensure the $240 million total number, so it could come down to whether he has a guarantee elsewhere of a team's BAE or Taxpayer MLE. As a five year veteran, his minimum is only about $2.7 million.
Washington picks up Whitmore (Shams first, Scotto the details 7/5)
Wizards receive:
| Cam Whitmore | $3,539,760 | $5,458,310 |
Rockets receive:
2026 Bulls 2nd round pick
2029 Kings 2nd round pick
Washington has a ton of 2nd round picks, so at least from Houston's perspective, the two involved here come from teams with shaky management. Still, this is a pretty sweet pickup for the rebuilding team with Whitmore showing a ton of scoring potential while being stuck on a deep squad trying to contend. He hasn't been shy when he got his chances with per 36 averages of 22.3 points, 7 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.3 steals, 0.6 blocks, and 2 turnovers with 44.9%/35.7%/70.7% through two seasons, and he only turns 21 this week.
As an aside, with Whitmore's #7 now available, I wonder if Durant takes it now like with the Nets and later career Team USA or stick with his traditional #35 (#7 is retired for the Suns, so it wasn't available when he went from Brooklyn to Phoenix).
Wagner to re-sign with the Magic: 1 year, $5 million (Shams 7/4)
Coming off of a torn ACL, this is a fair deal to keep the older Wagner brother in the fold. If he comes back to play at the level he was at before the injury, Orlando will still have his Bird Rights to give him a more suitable salary. Barring another move to shed salary, it looks like they’ll be a taxpaying team this season for the first time since the Dwight Howard era.
Hayes to re-sign with the Lakers: 1 year, minimum contract (Shams 7/3)
I'm projecting the minimum here given how close they are to the First Apron and the fact that the agent didn't leak any details. As a six year veteran, Hayes will earn about $2.9 million with this cap hit subsidized by the league.
I've never been a big fan, but he's fine as a backup on the minimum instead of being pressed way out of his depth as a starter due to LA's roster at the end of last year. For someone with his length and athleticism for stuffing Luka lobs, you'd think that he'd have a career defensive rebounding rate of 17.3%. I learned from Shams' Tweet that Hayes is also represented by Duffy like Doncic and Ayton, so you can't dismiss that aspect of keeping the new franchise star happy.
Ayton to sign with the Lakers: 2 years, $16.6 million (Stein/Fischer 7/2)
| Deandre Ayton | $8,100,000 | $8,505,000 |
I'm estimating $8.4 number here based on what LA had left of the MLE after signing LaRavia and Shams saying that Ayton will make $34 million combined this season. Fischer said the other day that Ayton gave up $10 million of his original $35,550,814 salary, so depending on the exact amount LaRavia got, so the math would pretty much checks out.
It was easy to connect the dots to LA once the surprise buyout happened given the widely known need at center for the Lakers and the lack of starting caliber options truly available for what they could offer. It also doesn't hurt that Ayton has the same power agent as Luka Doncic, Bill Duffy, and now it's so funny that the former #1 overall pick will now be teammates with the player who should've been picked ahead of him.
Since Doncic typically pairs with true lob threats, it's not necessarily a perfect fit given that Ayton prefers to settle for two-point jumpers and infamously goes to the free throw line at a low rate despite making 75.5% for his career. He does inhale boards with a 26.9% percent career defensive rebounding rate, though, so that could go a long way towards addressing the Lakers' issues from these past playoffs. LA is now hard-capped at the First Apron but still has enough flexibility under it to use the BAE for another addition.
Update: Fischer followed up that it will be a two-year deal with an $8.1 million starting salary, and Scotto added that the second year is a player option, as you'd expect. With a standard 5% raise, that gets to $16.6 million. After Indiana shockingly lost Turner yesterday, there was some thought that they could get involved with the full $14.1 million of the MLE available since they were the ones who gave Ayton the max contract offer sheet back in 2022, but I feel like this was already a done deal.
Exum to re-sign with the Mavericks: one year deal (Shams 7/2)
This is also likely to be for the minimum given how close Dallas is to the Second Apron. Although he's a fellow 2014 draftee like his former Mavs teammate Dinwiddie below, Exum only has 8 years of NBA experience since he had to go overseas for a couple of years, so he'd be set to earn about $3.3 million with the subsidized cap hit. They have a full roster, so another move will be coming to open up some space.
Dinwiddie to sign with the Hornets: one year deal (Shams 7/2)
| Spencer Dinwiddie | $2,296,274 |
I'm just going with the minimum here unless any other details come out. As a veteran with 10+ years of experience, Dinwiddie would earn $3.6 million with this subsidized cap hit on the one-year deal, and it's a bit of a surprising match. You'd think someone in his position would try to join a playoff team if settling for the minimum, and Charlotte has already made other moves to shore up their back court.
Gordon re-signs with the 76ers: unknown details (Team announcement 7/1)
It's a minimum deal since it was already signed while the moratorium is still going on, so it's just a matter of whether it's a 1+1 like Gordon's last couple of contracts. As a veteran with 10+ years of experience, he will earn $3.6 million, but whether or not that's subsidized by the league for the smaller cap hit above if it's a one year deal could make a big difference for Philadelphia.
I'm going with just one year for now since they're around $10 million away from the First Apron and $22 million from the Second Apron with Quentin Grimes still left to be signed in restricted free agency and at least one more open roster spot. Gordon declining his $3,468,960 player option actually got him a slight raise with the vet minimum rising by 10% with the cap compared to his 5% annual raise, and doing this lowered his cap hit if is a one-year. Win-win.
Mann to re-sign with the Hornets: 3 years, $24 million (Shams 7/1)
| Tre Mann | $7,407,407 | $8,000,000 | $8,592,593 |
This one was a bit of a roller coaster because around draft time Jeff Peterson's public comments indicated that Mann would be back after a back injury limited him to just 13 games last year. Then they ended up with that shocking Sexton trade and didn't tender him the qualifying offer of about $6.9 million, so it seemed like they were pivoting. Now it appears he will start at about the same amount as that QO in a similar situation to Sharpe and Brooklyn.
Mann is only 24 and played well enough between that short stint and the 28 games for them after arriving at the 2024 trade deadline to warrant this kind of salary as a backup guard who can both pass (4.5 assists per game with them) and shoot (37.7%) decently enough.
7/2 Update: Scotto reports that the last year is a team option, which is understandable given that back issue that Mann's coming off of.
Robinson to sign-and-trade with the Pistons: 3 years, $48 million (Shams 7/1)
Pistons receive:
| Duncan Robinson | $15,238,095 | $16,000,000 | $16,761,905 |
Heat receive:
| Simone Fontecchio | $8,307,692 |
When Robinson opted out of his $19,888,000 salary with Miami due in part to only having $9,888,000 guaranteed, I didn't expect him to end up getting a new deal this high. In fact, it's more than his former college teammate LeVert got to also return to the state of Michigan.
Adding to the cost is the fact that Detroit is giving up an underrated wing in Fontecchio, who in turn makes for a nice return from the Heat perspective instead of losing a free agent for nothing. He's not nearly the shooter that Robinson is but is acceptable from deep while bringing solid defense. Still, Robinson brings a valuable skillset with his 39.7% career mark from distance on 7.2 attempts per game, and he's become an underrate playmaker when he has to put the ball on the deck. After the Pistons finally provided Cade Cunningham with proper spacing (and competent coaching) last season, they made sure that they had replacements ready for Malik Beasley and Hardaway (another Michigan man) with these deals for LeVert and Robinson.
This hard-caps Miami at the Second Apron, which isn't a problem with them still around $5.8 million under the tax line, and Detroit at the First Apron, with them still around $26 million under the tax line. The Heat still have the MLE available but has a full roster, and I think the Pistons could still structure things to have either the Room MLE or BAE at their disposal.
Update: Omari Sankofa reports that Robinson's 2nd year only has a partial guarantee and that the third year is non-guaranteed, which makes more sense when comparing to LeVert's deal. Since sign-and-trades have to be for at least three years with only the first year guaranteed, you often see those last years look like this.
Nance to sign (back) with the Cavaliers: 1 year, minimum contract (Stein 7/1)
| Larry Nance Jr. | $2,296,274 |
Cleveland only has minimums to offer, so I don't need to speculate this time. As a veteran with 10+ years of experience, Nance will earn $3.6 million with this subsidized cap hit on the one-year deal. He only played 24 games last year but could be a great value at this price as a bench big man and locker room presence.
Eubanks to sign with the Kings: 1 year deal (Shams 7/1)
Sacramento could be offering the BAE here, but like with Hardaway below, I'm just projecting the minimum, especially since they seem to be wary of the tax based on the Valanciunas-Saric trade. As a seven-year vet, Eubanks will make $3,080,921 with this subsidized cap hit on the one-year deal, so he gets a decent chunk back of the $4,750,000 non-guaranteed salary that the Clippers waived.
Hardaway to sign with the Nuggets: 1 year deal (Shams 7/1)
| Tim Hardaway Jr. | $2,296,274 |
Denver still has the MLE to offer, but I'm projecting just the minimum for now since no salary was included in the report (agents always brag if it's for more than the minimum). As a veteran with 10+ years of experience, Hardaway will earn $3.6 million with this subsidized cap hit on the one-year deal.
Minott to sign with the Celtics: 2 years, minimum contract (Shams 7/1)
| Josh Minott | $2,378,870 | $2,584,538 |
Between Minott and Garza, Boston is really trying to capture some upside with former Wolves on two year deals despite the slightly higher cap hits despite trying to avoid the Second Apron. Both are young enough that having longer control if they break out could be valuable, and then they'd have Early Bird Rights to retain them.
Scotto adds that the second year is a team option, so there's little risk here for the Celtics, even if it does (likely temporarily) put them just over the Second Apron again. They have non-guaranteed contracts that could be waived, or other trades could be on the way.
Poeltl to extend with the Raptors: 3 years, $84.5 million (Shams 7/1)
| Jakob Poeltl | $19,500,000 | $19,500,000 | $26,080,247 | $28,166,667 | $30,253,086 |
The phrasing of this was interesting because Shams reported it as 4 years, $104 million but also said that Poeltl is picking up his $19.5 million player option for '26-27 and tacking on three years. That's why I'm structuring it this way and listing it as 3 years, $84.5 million since that's the new money involved. If it was a true $104 million extension, that would replace the player option with flatter cap hits of $23,214,286/$25,071,429/$26,928,571/$28,785,714 instead of the jump up in '27-28.
Update: Fischer adds that the final year only has $5 million guaranteed with structured language that it could increase. I guess only getting about $59 million guaranteed is why Shams reported it the way he did with the option year included.
Mamukelashvili to sign with the Raptors: 2 years, minimum contract (Shams 7/1)
| Sandro Mamukelashvili | $2,461,464 | $2,801,345 |
This is the same deal as Sims since they both have four years of experience, and Mamukelashvili could be a sneaky good replacement for free agent Chris Boucher. The 25 year old made 37.3% of his threes with the Spurs last year while attempting 8.5 per 36 minutes, and he has a 34.8% career-mark along with a 19.1% career defensive rebounding rate.
Sims to re-sign with the Bucks: 2 years, minimum contract (Shams 7/1)
| Jericho Sims | $2,461,464 | $2,801,345 |
Milwaukee is really loading up on these 1+1 deals with the slightly higher tax hits in order to lure players with the opportunity to opt out for more next summer after a role on a playoff team.
Schroder to sign with the Kings: 3 years, $45 million (Katz first, Shams the details 7/1)
| Dennis Schroder | $14,104,000 | $14,809,200 | $15,514,400 |
The full MLE tops out at $44.4 million if used on a three year deal, so barring this ending up a sign-and-trade, those are the figures I'm going with here. Stein has been reporting on this likely match for a while now, and following Sacramento's Valanciunas trade, they can now fill out the roster with minimum salaries and safely duck the luxury tax.
If they're willing to dip their toes into those waters, this deal could fit into their Kevin Huerter TE in order to sign someone else with the MLE, as Gozlan pointed out on Twitter. That would require Detroit to play ball with a sign-and-trade, of course. Haynes also added that the third year only has a partial guarantee, so I'm curious how much that will be worth after Fischer said yesterday that the deal was expected to be around $28 million over two years.
7/2 Update: Sankofa reports that this will a sign-and-trade after all, so Schroder could get more than the MLE after all. This will allow Detroit to create a Trade Exception equal to his first year salary or add another player right now making up to about $22 million, with Malik Monk a name that's been in the rumor mill for Sacramento.
Milwaukee salary dumps Connaughton (Shams 7/1)
Hornets receive:
| Pat Connaughton | $9,423,869 |
2031 2nd round pick
2032 2nd round pick
Bucks receive:
After Micic was seemingly one of the biggest winners of draft night by having his team option picked by Phoenix up to facilitate the Mark Williams trade, his return to Charlotte didn't last long. He reportedly has good offers to play overseas again, so a buyout with Milwaukee to create more cap space than the $1.3 million difference in salaries here could be on the way to justify this price. Even then, the math will be tight and might require waiving one of their non-guaranteed contracts (likely Chris Livingston).
All of this being necessary for the Turner signing really makes that a costly addition, especially since this basically drains them of their last remaining 2nd round picks. The only one that they have left over the next seven years is Utah's next year that has top-55 protection, which means it almost certainly won't convey.
Harris to sign with the Bucks: 2 years, minimum contract (Shams 7/1)
| Gary Harris | $3,634,153 | $3,815,860 |
Like with Prince for Milwaukee, the cap hit will reflect Harris' actual salary since this is a multiyear deal. This can be signed after their other moves that use cap space. The total guarantee here is about what Harris could've made had Orlando not declined his $7.5 million team option, but he's of course hoping to be able to opt out for a bigger deal next summer if he rehabs his value this season.
Denver and Sacramento swap backup bigs (Shams 7/1)
Nuggets receive:
| Jonas Valanciunas | $10,395,000 | $10,000,000 |
Kings receive:
Unless this is is combined with the Porter-Johnson trade, it will hard-cap Denver at the First Apron since they're taking in additional money, which also puts them right on the edge of the luxury tax. It's kind of funny that they were the runner up for Yabusele, per Scotto, since he would've made it three straight years that they give someone a 1+1 with the Taxpayer MLE that he got in New York. In each of the first two cases, Reggie Jackson and now Saric, they had to get off of the second year of the deal when it was inevitably picked up after a down season.
This trade didn't cost the Nuggets picks like before, though, and Valanciunas could in theory solve their annual problem of getting killed when Jokic subs out. He was traded to Sacramento just five months ago but is a salary dump here as they try to fill out their roster with the full MLE without crossing the tax line.
Turner to sign with the Bucks: 4 years, $107 million (Shams 7/1)
| Myles Turner | $24,883,721 | $26,127,907 | $27,372,093 | $28,616,279 |
The longest tenured Pacer is an ideal fit next to Giannis Antetokounmpo in the Brook Lopez role, but there must be some accompanying move for Milwaukee to able to sign him to this large of a deal. Fischer reports that Indiana's offer never exceeded three years, $60 million, which almost feels insulting from an outsider's perspective. They were reportedly willing to make a rare foray into the tax to bring him back, but I guess Tyrese Haliburton now being out for the season in all likelihood changed the equation.
Update: I thought it would just be some sort of sign-and-trade with the Pacers, but instead Damian Lillard will be waived with his remaining $112.6 million stretched over five years to create the necessary cap sapce, wow. That means a dead money cap hit of over $22.5 million each year, and the crazy part is that this he was on an extension that just kicked in for this season. Lillard is expected to miss the entire season after tearing his Achilles in the playoffs, but talk about an unceremonious end just two years after their blockbuster trade for him.
So this means that Milwaukee will be operating as a cap space team to sign Turner, and then it would seem that Porter and Trent will be splitting the Room MLE rather than being signed with the BAE and Non-Bird Rights, respectively. I think they still need to shed a bit more salary (ideally Pat Connaughton's expiring $9,423,869) to have enough cap space to start this series of transactions.
