2026 NBA Offseason Tracker

I guess it's that time of year already! I typically make this post after the NBA draft, but now that deals started pouring in over the weekend, I'm starting now and will just add draft day moves in here.

This will be constantly updated throughout the summer, so I'll be adding the latest news at the top to be readily available upon revisiting the page instead of always having to scroll down. Or in other words, it goes in chronological order from the bottom up.

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 the teams could give. Salaries are also color coded if they are a player option, a team option, not fully guaranteed, or a "mutual option" (a player option that's not fully guaranteed) based on the reporting, with parentheses to credit whoever broke the news and when.

6/30 update: The NBA officially announced that the salary cap for this season is $164,961,000, which is slightly lower than the $165 million that was projected. The luxury tax line, First Apron, and Second Apron are subsequently $200,428,000, $209,015,000, and $221,686,000, respectively. 

That means these are the maximum starting salaries and total possible contracts based on years of experience:

• 6 or fewer years (25% of the cap): $41,240,250 for up to 4 years, $177,333,075 with a new team or 5 years, $239,193,450 with their previous team.
• 7-9 years (30%): $49,488,300 for up to 4 years, $212,799,690 with a new team or 5 years, $287,032,140 with their previous team.
• 10+ years (35%): $57,736,350 for up to 4 years, $248,266,305 with a new team or 5 years, $334,870,830 with their previous team.

And the amount available for the various exceptions can go up to the following starting salaries and totals:

• Full Mid-Level Exception (MLE): $15,044,000 for up to 4 years, $64,689,200
• Taxpayer MLE: $6,064,000 for up to 2 years, $12,431,200
• Room Mid-Level Exception: $9,366,000 for up to 3 years, $29,502,900
• Bi-Annual Exception: $5,477,000 for up to 2 years, $11,227,850 (can only be used every other year)
• Minimum Exception: a $2,449,421 cap hit, aka the minimum for players with two years of experience, as long as it's a one year deal. The league subsidizes the cap hit and pays the difference between that and their actual salary that they earn based on years of experience.

Now back to the deals:

Bassey re-signs with the Warriors, 1 year, likely minimum contract (Shams 7/9)

Charles Bassey

$2,449,421

This is almost assuredly a the vet minimum after Bassey bounced around on multiple 10-day contracts in recent years, and having 5 years of experience, the backup big man would make $2,845,883 with the subsidized cap hit above on the one year deal. Turning 26 in October, I've always thought that the former Western Kentucky star could be a solid rotation player as an elite rebounder who can block some shots and finish inside, and even with Golden State retaining Porzingis and Horford, they'll likely need another body inside to fill in for some games.

Bassey's never been able to earn heavy minutes but has a 26.7% career defensive rebounding rate, and on a per-36 minute level, he has career averages of 14.4 points, 13.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.2 steals, and 2.8 blocks, albeit with 2.4 turnovers and 5.3 fouls. At the G League level last season, he even made 20 of 46 threes (43.5%) in 20 games between the Santa Cruz Warriors and Delaware Blue Coats, so perhaps he could bring some of that element to Golden State after their loss of Post.

Nance re-signs with the Bucks: 2 years, minimum contract (Fischer 7/9)

Pete Nance

$2,537,526

$2,756,909

After Milwaukee waived Nance's non-guaranteed salary with their roster maneuverings, he's now in line to make slightly more than he was originally due. Since this is a two year deal, his cap hit counts for his full salary as a player with three years of experience.

Clarkson re-signs with the Knicks: 1 year, minimum contract (Shams 7/9)

Jordan Clarkson

$2,449,421

Having over 10 years of experience, the backup guard will make $3,876,529 with the subsidized cap hit above on the one year minimum. Clarkson had a mostly consistent role as a bench scorer for the champs with 90 total games played, and though his minutes dropped from 17.8 minutes in the regular season to 10.8 in the playoffs, he had his moments. With him joining Alvarado, Shamet, and Diawara as retained free agents, New York can mostly run it back to try to defend their title. Now that Clarkson's price point is secured, they can sign a 14th player and stay under the Second Apron as they wanted, with Robinson as the key casualty of that goal.

Bamba re-signs with the Jazz: 2 years, likely minimum contract (Shams 7/8)

Mo Bamba

$3,506,659

$3,700,321

Another deal with no financials reported by Shams, so I'm going with the minimum like Bamba has had to play on in recent times, including 10-days after being multiple times. Because the 28 year old is signing a multiyear deal instead of a one year minimum, his cap hit will count for his full salary. Utah has plenty of room under the tax line to absorb that difference, and I'm willing to bet that the second year is a team option and/or non-guaranteed and added purely for potential trades next year.

Nance signs with the Pacers: 1 year, minimum contract (Shams 7/8)

Larry Nance Jr.

$2,449,421

Shams reported it as "$4 million," but it will surely be a veteran minimum for the luxury tax implications. Having over 10 years of experience, the backup big man will make $3,876,529 with the subsidized cap hit above on the one year minimum. Nance has only played 59 regular season games total over the past two seasons and is probably more valuable as a locker room voice at this stage of his career, but his smart game does fit in well with Indiana. The Pacers might need to cut one of their non-guaranteed contracts in order to fit this under the First Apron, and if it's Micah Potter, re-signing him to a minimum if he clears waivers might barely fit.

Update: Tony East reports that Potter will indeed be the roster casualty. He doesn't have a ton of size but has always had a nice DReb% to go with being a 38.9% career three point shooter, mostly from last year as the largest sample of his career. The 28 year old could be a sneaky waiver claim on the minimum.

Dallas sign-and-trades Middleton to complete massive six-team trade (Shams 7/7)

Mavericks receive: $22,206,026 total in; projected $8,824,422 out

Santi Aldama

$17,007,043

$17,007,043

Marcus Sasser

$5,198,983

Draft rights to Tarik Biberovic (56th pick in 2023)

Pistons receive: projected $23,822,198 total in; $35,008,183 out

John Collins

$16,190,476

$17,000,000

$17,809,524

Gary Harris	$3,815,861
Taurean Prince	$3,815,861

2029 2nd round pick (Best of Bucks/Knicks/Pistons) via Grizzlies

2031 Mavericks 2nd round pick via Grizzlies

2032 2nd round pick (their own, returned) via Grizzlies

Grizzlies receive: $24,206,370 total in; $17,007,043 out

Isaiah Stewart

$15,000,000

$15,000,000

D'Angelo Russell

$5,969,250

AJ Johnson

$3,237,120

$5,493,394

2030 Warriors 1st round pick (protected 1-20 before converting to a 2030 2nd) via Mavs

2029 Rockets 2nd round pick via Mavs

2029 Lakers 2nd round pick via Wizards

2033 Wizards 2nd round pick via Wizards

Right to swap 2032 2nd round picks (Best of 76ers/Grizzlies/Jazz) via Wizards

Bucks receive: $14,809,200 in; $7,631,722 out

Caris LeVert

$14,809,200

2027 2nd round pick (their own, returned) via Pistons

2027 2nd round pick (Worse of Nets/Mavs) via Pistons

Cash considerations via Clippers 

Wizards receive: projected $5,587,302 in; $5,969,250 out

Khris Middleton

$5,591,122

$5,870,678

$6,150,234

2033 Mavericks 2nd round pick via Mavs

Clippers receive: $0 in; projected $16,190,476 out

Trade Exception

2028 2nd round pick (protected 31-55) via Pistons

What started as simple (and surprising) news of Middleton going back to Washington ended up as a move that will tie together a handful of previously agreed to trades as one huge transaction, including the one right below this. I'll add more details once they come, but I believe that I have the primary pieces above. I'll go team by team in an attempt to figure out the cap mechanics of things getting combined here.

The Mavs combining these moves allows them to preserve their $20,830,154 Trade Exception (from when they dealt Anthony Davis to these Wizards) that I thought they'd be using on Aldama. Sign-and-trading Middleton with a starting salary above $5.2 million gives them enough to aggregate with Johnson's $3.2 million to match Aldama's $17 million. Sasser can go into either their MLE or BAE, and I would guess that the former is being used both for this and on the contract for Biberovic here, as discussed earlier today. Or if they still have plans to use the ~$12 million left of the MLE, they could use the BAE on Sasser now instead of having it available next year.

As previously mentioned, Pistons going the sign-and-trade route with Collins means that they don't have to make other moves to create the cap space for him, and combining that with the Stewart deal from Day 2 of the draft made for simple salary matching. I think that looping it into the LeVert move from just an hour earlier creates an ever so slightly larger Trade Exception for Stewart's salary instead of LeVert's. It could in theory also preserve the TPE from Schroder's sign-and-trade for another move, but that's expiring today anyway. They'll also create a smaller TPE worth Sasser's salary.

The Grizzlies combining their Stewart and Aldama trades here preserves both their huge $28,872,920 Jaren Jackson Jr. TPE and smaller $4,313,989 Ja Morant TPE. Aldama's outgoing $17 million is enough to take in all three players' combined $24.2 million here, and they pick up some extra 2nd round draft capital by adding Russell's expiring contract to that previously reported deal. As a reminder, the three 2nd round picks that they're sending to Detroit are the exact same picks that they received from the Pistons on Day 1 of the draft in order to move from pick #17 to #21.

Nothing really changes here for the Bucks except that they get some cash from the Clippers since each team needs to "touch" at least two teams in a multi-team deal like this. It hasn't been reported yet whether that will be just the minimum amount required or not. There is something funny about them being involved again in a deal that moves their former star, Middleton, to Washington once more.

The Wizards also combined with the Mavs for another trade so soon after they first got Russell from them a few months ago in the AD trade with Middleton going the other way. Now after DLo never ended up playing for them, they're using some of their extra draft capital to replace his salary with the veteran wing to be a bench option and a nice locker room presence for their young core. Depending on the exact starting salary for Middleton, he could fit into the remainder of their Kelly Olynyk Trade Exception (that expires tomorrow) after using it in the Ayton trade below. Doing so would create a new TPE worth Russell's salary similar to the $6 million TPE create for Hardy in that trade.

It's still pretty simple for the Clippers: they're getting a protected 2nd rounder (likely a "fake" pick that's top-55 protected) and sending out some cash in order to create a Trade Exception worth Collins' starting salary. They were going to lose him in free agency anyway, so they're helping out here to add a potentially useful piece for later.

Update: Josh Robbins reports that the second year of Middleton's deal is only partially guaranteed and the third year is non-guaranteed. It's a similar situation to Collins' since sign-and-trade deals are required to be for contracts of at least three years, but only the first year needs to be guaranteed. I also made a slight update on my projection for his salary based on the remainder of their Olynyk TPE.

Smith and Siegel provided clarifying details about which specific 2nd round picks are involved, and I did not originally have the fact that Washington is getting what seems like one of the 2nd rounders from Dallas that was originally going to Memphis. The Grizz were reportedly getting two 2nd rounders from the Mavs at first, but now it's one from Dallas with one and a swap from Washington. The Wizards getting one back helps balance things for a more reasonable outlay on the Russell for Middleton swap, and it is somewhat of an interesting bet that they're seemingly sending out their own 2033 2nd for the Mavericks'.

2026 NBA Lottery Reaction & the Results of Traded Picks

This is always one of my favorite posts to write every year because I have a funny fascination with the NBA Draft Lottery. Carefully crafted strategies by the smartest minds in the sport are at the whim of 14 ping pong balls, and that's wonderfully absurd in a way. I have some mixed feelings on the league's proposed changes to the format, especially rushing them to go into effect next year already, but that's a topic for another time. 

Today's results weren't nearly as crazy as last year's, but there was still some drama at the top. As usual, I'll run through quick thoughts on the fallout, with tidbits about the odds of picks landing where they did, before a breakdown of how high all of the previously traded 1st rounders ended up. A whopping 12 picks are already not in the possession of their original teams, and I'll explain how each of them got there.

• The big thing at the top of the order is that in likely the last year of the current lottery odds that began with the 2019 draft, this is the first time that the team with the worst record won the #1 pick. The fact that the Wizards did it with John Wall, the franchise's #1 pick the last time they won the lottery in 2010, as the representative on the dais was fitting. Maybe the basketball gods enjoyed that the team just had a John Wall Night to celebrate him a few months ago.
  
  
• This ended a run of three straight years that the worst team dropped to their lowest possible slot, #5. I noted that streak and the drought of #1 picks in last year's piece, along with a note on the previous format from 2005-2018. It began with 10 straight years of the team with the best odds not getting the #1 pick and then ended with four straight lottery wins.
  
  
• If this current format changes at the end of the month as expected, it will go down as having five instances that one of the three worst teams, who all have the same 14% chance, won the #1 pick. The other three winners had likelihoods of 6%, 3%, and 1.8%.
  
  
• I've written in previous editions how the lowest number drawn is often key since the the vast majority of them are assigned to the worst teams, so the 4 and 2 coming up at the start of the drawing really narrowed the field. That especially applies to a 1 popping up, and in fact, Brett Siegel reports that once those three numbers were drawn, it was guaranteed to be one of Washington's four-digit combinations. It's always cool to watch the footage from inside the secret drawing room that occurs before the television production, and you can even see Pacers assistant GM Ted Wu react to the third number before saying something to Wizards president Michael Winger. Unfortunately for Wu, he can also be seen looking a bit dejected partway through the final drawing because...
  
  
  
  

Top 2026 NFL Rookie RBs

The NFL Draft has long been over, and I finally finished my first dynasty league rookie draft of the season. That means that now is as good of a time as ever to go through some rookie rankings, starting with the weakest group in this class. There weren't many running backs taken overall and especially not early as a lot of the prospects have question marks. 

I ended up going a bit longer than expected on the clear top runner, but that's reflective of this draft with shorter write ups thereafter. As usual, I'm taking into account three components when evaluating these prospects: their production profile, their athleticism, and where they were drafted. As mentioned last year, the stats that I'm looking at come from years of following JJ Zachariason's work, including each of his prospect guides that go over his statistical models and how RBs' speed scores (based on 40 yard dash and weight) are important.

I'll be looking at each player's total yards from scrimmage per team play (TY/P), receiving yards per team pass attempt (RY/PA), his share of the team's total offensive touchdowns, and his share of the team's receptions in the games that he played. Besides speed score, I'm looking at vertical jumps and broad jumps to get a further idea of physical traits, and all measurements are from the NFL combine (ideally) or pro day results as listed in Dane Brugler's The Beast on The Athletic. Finally, the stats are coming from Sports Reference and Pro Football Focus.

1. Jeremiyah Love - 1st round, 3rd overall, 1st RB drafted - Cardinals

Like last year, this is the easiest start possible given Love's complete profile. You can argue that a team with as many roster needs as Arizona shouldn't take a running back so high (his draft slot will earn him the most guaranteed money at the position in NFL history, for example), but what is a widely held opinion is that he is the best skill position player in this draft. Perhaps even the best player overall.

Love broke out as a 19 year old sophomore on Notre Dame's national runner up team in 2024 with 163 carries for 1,125 yards (6.90 per carry) and 17 touchdowns along with 28 catches for 237 yards and another 2 scores. That resulted in a strong 27.54% touchdown share and 9.46% reception share but just okay 1.34 total yards per team play and 0.53 receiving yards team per pass attempt. This past season, however, he had similar yet improved raw numbers despite fewer games played, and thus his market shares were great across the board.

Carrying the ball 199 times for 1,372 yards (6.89), Love tied the Fighting Irish record with 18 rushing touchdowns, and with his 27 catches for 280 yards and 3 more end zone trips, his 21 total TDs set a new record in the school's long history. He would've also broken the records for most rushing yards and yards from scrimmage had he not been slowed by rib injury during his last game of the season or had the team not been frustratingly left out of the playoff bracket. Altogether, the Doak Walker award winner and Heisman trophy finalist scored 33.33% of the team's offensive TDs, averaged 2.20 TY/P and 0.87 RY/PA, and caught 12.44% of their receptions.

Love showed out at the Combine despite being a lock to be the top RB in this week class, which shows what kind of competitor he is and how confident he is in his athleticism. At 6'0" and 212 pounds, he blazed a 4.36 40 yard dash for an elite 117.33 speed score. He uses that strong frame and competitiveness as a very willing blocker, often leading the way on designed quarterback runs by the goal line that hurt his own scoring numbers. Sharing a backfield with a fellow 1st round pick (see below) didn't help either, and yet he still hits basically every mark. The reception share isn't at the top of the class but is still plenty good as he displayed dynamic ability as a receiver, with his one hander against Texas A&M a good example.

Altogether, Love possesses a three-down skill set with a terrific production profile, high-end physical tools, and about as high of a pedigree as you could get. Not even turning 21 until the end of May, he lands in a situation that isn't necessarily great but could be worse. The offensive line has potential after signing Isaac Seumalo and drafting Chase Bisontis in the 2nd round to improve both guard spots. In the short term, Jacoby Brissett displayed last season that he can run a functional passing game with a strong group of targets in Trey McBride, Marvin Harrison Jr., and Michael Wilson. The selection of Carson Beck in the 3rd round leaves a lot to be desired as a long-term QB to line up next to, but they could have another high draft pick in next year's stronger class. The signing of Tyler Allgeier to go with veteran holdover James Conner and 2024 2nd round pick Trey Benson is what made picking a RB at #3 such a surprising choice. The latter two are coming off of season-ending injuries, though, and have no attachment to a brand new coaching staff in place. They may cap Love's upside as a rookie with something of a committee, but his ascension to one of the league's stars should only be a matter of when, not if.

2. Jadarian Price - 1st round, 32nd overall, 2nd RB drafted - Seahawks

Notre Dame made history in the 1st round with this being the first time in the common draft era that the first two RBs selected came from the same school. Love and Price are also just the sixth pair of RB teammates to go in the 1st round and the first since Darren McFadden and Felix Jones (Arkansas) in 2008. Naturally, Price doesn't have a strong production profile given Love's dominance, so there's a lot of projecting needed here.

The main appeal for Price is his big play ability that was on display with his 15 total touchdowns on just 131 touches as a redshirt junior last season. Two of those came on special teams en route to being named a first team All-American kick returner (12 for 450 yards), and two others came as a receiver despite having just 6 catches for 87 yards. Hardly being involved at all in the passing game is the biggest knock for Price as he had paltry reception shares of 2.20%, 1.35%, and 2.76% over his three seasons.

That also resulted in just 0.27 RY/PA and 1.01 TY/P, with a 20.63% touchdown share being the only production metric even close to average in this class, but again, this was always going to be the case next to Love. Price did rank second within the class with 19.22% of his career carries going for 10+ yards, and looking more at physical traits, his Combine performance showed that he is a good, if unspectacular athlete. At 5'10.625" and 203 pounds, his 4.49 40 time was a little surprising given all of his long runs, but it was still enough for a decent speed score of 99.89. The 10'4" broad jump and 35" vertical better displayed his explosiveness, and he put up 21 bench press reps to boot.

What really solidified Price's ranking in this class was Seattle taking him in the 1st round. Possessing a monstrous defense and strong offensive line, the Super Bowl champions love to run the ball, and the 22 year old will have the opportunity to be the Week 1 starter. With Zach Charbonnet tearing his ACL in January and Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker lost to free agency, Price will be competing with Emanuel Wilson, who only received $1.6 million in free agency after being a Packers backup, and George Holani, who was re-signed for under $1.1 million after mostly playing special teams. Draft capital doesn't always guarantee playing time, but in this situation, the rookie has a great chance to be featured more as a pro than he was in college.

2026 NBA Trade Summaries

Now that the NBA Trade Deadline is officially in the rear view mirror, I wanted to put together a quick summary of every team's net result. Only three teams didn't make any in-season trades while some had a lot to process, so this is a high level view of where everyone ended up. I noted some players that were released in conjunction with moves and even a couple of immediate signings that followed.

Full details of every deal is of course in my tracker if you want to know the contracts, draft picks, trade mechanics involved, and a little bit about why each move was made. Basically, I combed through reports and press releases so that you don't have to and put it all in one place. Lastly, "fake" 2nd rounders are those that are top-55 protected and thus unlikely to convey, and teams are listed in order of championship odds on DraftKings Sportsbook. I find it interesting to see how active teams were relative to how much of a contender they are, along with the differences in title odds when compared to those with similar records.

Oklahoma City Thunder, 40-12. +135

In: Jared McCain, Mason Plumlee (released), draft rights to Balsa Koprivica (57th pick in 2021)

Out: Ousmane Dieng, one 1st round pick, four 2nd round picks, cash considerations

Denver Nuggets, 33-19. +450
In: one 2nd round pick

Out: Hunter Tyson, one 2nd round pick

Cleveland Cavaliers, 31-21. +1,100
In: James Harden, Dennis Schroder, Keon Ellis, Emanuel Miller (Two-Way), cash considerations

Out: Darius Garland, De'Andre Hunter, Lonzo Ball, Luke Travers (Two-Way, released), four 2nd round picks

New York Knicks, 33-18. +1,300
In: Jose Alvarado

Out: Guerschon Yabusele, two 2nd round picks, cash considerations

Boston Celtics, 33-18. +1,500
In: Nikola Vucevic, John Tonje (Two-Way), one 2nd round pick, one fake 2nd round pick, cash considerations

Out: Anfernee Simons, Xavier Tillman, Josh Minott, Chris Boucher, two 2nd round picks, cash considerations (twice)

Detroit Pistons, 37-13. +1,600

In: Kevin Huerter, Dario Saric, 1st round swap rights

Out: Jaden Ivey, Isaac Jones (released)

San Antonio Spurs, 35-16. +1,600

In: None

Out: None

Houston Rockets, 31-19. +2,200

In: None

Out: None

Minnesota Timberwolves, 32-20. +2,800
In: Ayo Dosunmu, Julian Phillips, Cash considerations

Out: Mike Conley Jr., Rob Dillingham, Leonard Miller, 1st round swap rights, four 2nd round picks

Back in after waivers: Mike Conley Jr.

2025-2026 NBA Trade Tracker

It took a while, but the NBA trade season is officially here now that the Trae Young deal came together rather quickly. As usual, this post will be constantly updated to serve as a one-stop shop for every trade that happens up until the deadline. 

Like last year's edition, the confirmed salaries come from Keith Smith's work at Spotrac, previously traded draft pick details come from RealGM, and I always make sure to list which reporter was first on the news. The latest deals will be added at the top of the post so that you don't have to keep scrolling to the bottom for updates, and salaries are color-coded based on whether they're player options, team options, or non-guaranteed.

Boston ducks the tax at the buzzer (Shams 2/5)

Hornets receive:

Xavier Tillman

$2,546,675

Cash considerations

Celtics receive:

TBD but likely a fake 2nd, old draft rights, or minimal cash

2030 Hornets 2nd round pick (protected 31-55)

I was wondering why Boston would do the Minott deal and not have a follow up trade lined up to get out of the luxury tax completely, but it turns out there was one last deal to be reported an hour after the deadline passed. As long as the teams were in the queue to make the trade call into the league office by noon PST today, trades can go through.

The actual money saved here probably won't be a lot more than the reported $3.5 million that Charlotte is receiving now that so many teams got out of the tax to lower the league distribution. However, Boston making these moves could be important since it starts the path towards resetting the repeater penalty. They were taxpayers in each of the last three seasons to trigger that, so they'll need to also avoid the tax next season in order to not be penalized at such harsh rates in '27-28. The fact that they were able to get all the way from the Second Apron to this point and still be tied for 2nd in the East with no Jayson Tatum is pretty remarkable.

Update: The Hornets' official press release is out to confirm that it's a 2nd rounder with maximum protections that they're sending out, as expected.

Milwaukee re-routes Richards (Shams 2/5)

Bulls receive:

Nick Richards

$5,000,000

Bucks receive:

Ousmane Dieng

$6,670,882

This will technically end up being a three-way trade with Phoenix's involvement below, but the main point is that Milwaukee is ending up with Dieng instead of Richards, who provides some much needed center help to Chicago.

Charlotte and Dallas flip new guards (Shams 2/5)

Mavericks receives:

Tyus Jones

$7,000,000

Charlotte receives:

Malaki Branham

$4,962,033

Even with both of these guards being acquired just yesterday, they can be traded here since it's a one for one deal without being aggregated. It makes sense, too, since Dallas could really use a set up man and now have more financial flexibility than over the summer. Fischer added that Jones was their main target over Russell but couldn't afford him at the time.

Charlotte didn't really have a need for another point guard, so this was probably to save a little bit of salary and get a look at the younger Branham, whom I liked as a mid-1st rounder coming out of Ohio State. Still only 22, he brings more size at guard to help replace Connaughton, who was waived as part of the Jones trade.

Update: Reading the press release, this technically got looped into the Mavs-Wizards trade that originally landed Branham in Dallas. I don't think that changes the trade mechanics, and Mavericks' Trade Exception worth Hardy's $6,000,000 should stay intact.

Indiana gets their center (Fischer that it was close, Shams and Siegel the deal 2/5)

Pacers receive: $20,756,880 total

Ivica Zubac

$18,102,000

$19,550,160

$20,998,320

Kobe Brown

$2,654,880

Clippers receive: $16,787,573 total

Bennedict Mathurin

$9,187,573

Isaiah Jackson

$7,600,000

$7,000,000

$6,400,000

2026 Pacers 1st round pick (protected 1-4 and 10-30, then becomes 2031 1st)

2029 Pacers 1st round pick

2028 Mavericks 2nd round pick

I don't think we've ever seen so many lottery teams be buyers (and all for big men), but since Zubac is on such a great contract, I get it in this case. Including this year's protected pick is fascinating since Indiana currently has the third-best lottery odds. If they stay in that position, then L.A. will have a 47.86% chance of the pick dropping to #5, #6, or #7, otherwise it will become an unprotected 1st five years from now instead of just rolling over to next year like most protections. I suppose the Clippers preferred it this way to try to maintain lottery upside given the uncertainty of the team that far down the line compared to them likely returning to playoff status next season. The back-end protections don't seem likely to come into play since the Pacers would have to drop to the 6th spot in the lottery standings to even have a 0.15% chance of dropping to #10. The 7th spot would have a 1.33% chance of the pick dropping far enough and then 7.13% if in the 8th position, but it is still a pretty creative set up to have here just in case. 

The Pacers aren't like the Jazz or Wizards, of course, since they were just a game away from winning the Finals last season before having to take this gap year due to Tyrese Haliburton's torn Achilles. Now they've locked in his new pick and roll partner with a 28 year old (29 next month) who also made 2nd team All-Defense. And they could still add a top-4 pick (in a great draft) to this core with their odds basically coming down to a coin flip pending any big movement in the standings. Gozlan did point out the nearly $800K bonus that Zubac will get from his trade kicker, so I think this is how his salaries will now look:

Ivica Zubac

$18,893,980

$20,342,140

$21,790,300

The Clippers 1st rounder that the Thunder own just got dangerously good again after they had been on a hot streak, but that was a sunk cost for them anyway. After making the Harden trade, cashing in on Zu at the likely peak of his value makes sense with the upside of this return. 

In addition to the draft picks, Mathurin is nice get since he's only 23, averaging a career-high 17.8 points, and will be a restricted free agent. He didn't fit into Indy's long-term plans with the other money that they owe and the luxury tax basically acting as a hard cap for them, but he has a ton of talent and had his moments in their Finals run. I've never been particularly high on Jackson, but he does have strong rebounding rates. His shot blocking has seen big a dip in this first year back from his torn Achilles, though, so the money owed to him could be seen as negative.