Biggest winners from the 2025 NBA draft
For The Win’s Bryan Kalbrosky says that smart trades and bold picks helped the Suns, Grizzlies, and Hawks steal the spotlight on draft night.
The NBA’s free agency period began Monday evening, June 30, with several notable names expected to be available on the market. The moves continued into Tuesday.
Free agency will provide teams with the opportunity to reshape and retool their rosters to take one step closer to their respective NBA championship aspirations.
Several big-name players who had the potential to become free agents are no longer expected to be available. That list includes Lakers star LeBron James, Clippers standout James Harden and Timberwolves forward Julius Randle.
Centers Myles Turner and Al Horford are among the top unrestricted players on the market as of Sunday evening. Chris Paul, Tyus Jones and Josh Giddey are expected to be among the top unrestricted guards available.
Malik Beasley also could be among the list of notable guards, but instead will be the subject of another storyline after it was reported he is being investigated for gambling on NBA games.
USA TODAY Sports will have live updates and analysis on all of the NBA free agency news and rumors as they happen:
The Pistons have agreed to a three-year, $48 million deal with the former Michigan standout, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports. It’s a sign-and-trade deal, with Simone Fontecchio going to Miami, per Charania.
Robinson had spent his entire seven-year NBA career with the Miami Heat. In 2024-25 he averaged 11 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 74 games (37 starts).
Robinson will likely come off the bench in Detroit, which seemingly turned to the longtime Heat player as a replacement for Malik Beasley. — Jace Evans
The Hornets are re-signing Mann, on a three-year, $24 million deal, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports. Mann, the 18th overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, arrived in Charlotte on trade deadline day 2024 in the deal that sent Gordon Hayward to Oklahoma City. He played in just 13 games in 2024-25, none after Nov. 21, due to a back injury. He averaged 14.1 points, 3 assists and 2.9 rebounds in 24.5 minutes. — Jace Evans
After four years away from Cleveland, Larry Nance Jr. is returning to the Cleveland Cavaliers, per Marc Stein.
Per Shams Charania, the Los Angeles Clippers may be waiving Drew Eubanks, but he’s already found another California squad in the Sacramento Kings. Charania reports that Eubanks plans on signing a one-year deal with Sacramento after he clears waivers. Eubanks averaged 4.6 points per game with the Jazz and Clippers last season.
Tim Hardaway Jr. is joining his third team in three seasons, per Shams Charania, joining a Denver Nuggets squad that has already added Jonas Valanciunas, Cam Johnson, and Bruce Brown this offseason. Hardaway agreed to a one-year deal with the team. He averaged 11 points on 37% three-point shooting for the Pistons last year.
After originally offering Rollins a qualifying offer following his best season as a pro, the Bucks have reportedly rescinded said offer, making Rollins an unrestricted free agent, per Chris Haynes.
Rollins provided solid shooting off the bench in Milwaukee, hitting over 40% of his three-point attempts for the Bucks in 2025. Rollins will now be looking to join his fourth team in five years.
Poeltl always seems to find his way north of the border. After spending the last three years in Toronto, it appears he’ll be staying through the end of the decade after signing a four-year, $104 million extension through the 2029-30 season, per Shams Charania.
Charania also reports that there were many considerations for the deal, including an opt-out of the final year of his contract, followed by an extension. However, it seems Poeltl and the Raptors eventually settled on Poeltl accepting his player option for 2026-27 at $19.5 million followed by another three year extension.
It seems the addition of Gary Harris was not enough. In a span of about eight minutes, the Bucks traded away wing Pat Connaughton for point guard Vasilije Micic, per Shams Charania, then followed that up by adding center Jericho Sims on a two-year deal.
In an effort to give Nikola Jokic a bit more help in the frontcourt next year, the Denver Nuggets have traded Dario Saric to the Sacramento Kings in exchange for veteran big man Jonas Valanciunas, per Shams Charania.
Yesterday, it was revealed that the Kings were looking for veteran guard help and were interested in both Dennis Schroder and Russell Westbrook. Today, the contract details for Schroder have been revealed. Per Shams Charania, Schroder, 31, is signing a three-year, $45 million deal with the team.
Bucks fans were ecstatic to learn that despite their salary issues, they were still able to grab veteran frontcourt help with the addition of Myles Turner to a four-year, $107 million deal.
That excitement quickly transitioned to stunned silence when it was revealed that in order to pull off this move, the Bucks waived star guard Damian Lillard, per Shams Charania. Lillard is nursing a torn Achilles he suffered in the first-round of the playoffs, but will not return to Milwaukee.
In order to replace Lillard, the Bucks immediately went out and signed Gary Harris to a two-year deal. However, that move did nothing to quell star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo’s anger. Per Chris Haynes, the Greek Freak is “not pleased” with the Bucks’ decision.
Milwaukee retains another member of the 2024-25 team with the re-signing of Gary Trent Jr. He will sign a two-year, $7.5 million deal that includes a player option to return to Milwaukee, Shams Charania reports.
Trent is coming off one of his best seasons as a pro. He played in a career-high 74 games and averaged 11.1 points per game off the bench, including a 41.6% mark from 3-point land. He also tied a franchise playoff record when he made nine 3-pointers in Game 3 of the first round series against the Indiana Pacers.
Philadelphia is adding an emerging forward in Trendon Watford. He will sign a two-year, $5.3 million deal with the 76ers, Shams Charania reports. A reserve most of his career, Watford had a breakout campaign in 2024-25 despite missing most of the first half of the season. He averaged a career-high 10.2 points per game.
The Bucks will keep Taurean Prince on a two-year, $7.1 million deal, according to Shams Charania. He played 80 games for Milwaukee last season, the most he’s played since 2017-18. He averaged 8.2 points and 3.6 rebounds and gets to stay with assistant Darvin Ham, who he was with when Ham was coach of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Prince also reportedly has a player option for the second season.
Mason Plumee is headed back to the Queen City, signing a one-year, $3.6 million deal with the Charlotte Hornets, Shams Charania reports. Plumlee played for the Hornets from 2021-23 before he was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers.
Atlanta continues to make moves with the addition of Luke Kennard. The Hawks will sign the wing to a one-year, $11 million deal, according to Shams Charania.
Kennard spent the past two and a half seasons with the Memphis Grizzlies and solidified himself as one of the best sharpshooters in the league. He shot 43.3% from 3-point land during the 2024-25 season, ninth best in the NBA. He has shot at least 40% from beyond the arc the past five seasons, including when he was a league-high 44.9% from 3 in 2021-22.
After starting 58 games for the Phoenix Suns last season, Jones is headed to an Eastern Conference contender in the Orlando Magic on a one-year, $7 million deal, per Shams Charania. Jones has averaged more than 10 points per game in each of the last three seasons.
A solid scoring option off the bench for Minnesota, the Atlanta Hawks have acquired Nickeil Alexander-Walker via a sign-and-trade on a four-year, $62 million deal, per Shams Charania. In just his seventh year in the league, Alexander-Walker is already joining his fifth team, but his first in the Eastern Conference.
In return, the Timberwolves are acquiring a 2027 second-round pick (via Cleveland) and cash.
Reports also indicate that Hawks star Trae Young was heavily involved in the acquisition of Alexander-Walker.
Three years, $28 million. That’s the deal for sought-after guard Ty Jerome, who will be moving to Tennessee to play with the Memphis Grizzlies, per Shams Charania.
Jerome was an elite shooter last season, nearly joining the 50-40-90 club (52% FG, 44% 3PT, 87% FT) during the regular season, playing vital minutes for the Cavaliers. He played a major role in the Cavaliers earning the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, and is a massive addition for a Grizzlies’ team that just locked up Jaren Jackson Jr. long-term.
Former NBA champion Brook Lopez, 37, is headed back to the City of Angels, this time as a member of the Clippers after signing a two-year, $18 million deal, per Shams Charania. Lopez spent the 2017-18 season with the Los Angeles Lakers, then spent the next seven seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks, playing a sizable role on the 2021 championship team.
Lopez will likely serve as a bench option for the Clippers behind Ivica Zubac.
Shams Charania reports that the Detroit Pistons and free agent guard Caris LeVert have agreed to a two-year, $29 million deal. LeVert is familiar with the Detroit area, having spent his collegiate career at the University of Michigan.
After five seasons with the Atlanta Hawks, free agent big man Clint Capela is returning to the Houston Rockets on a fully guaranteed, three-year, $21.5 million deal, per Shams Charania.
Capela played in just 55 games last season, his fewest since the COVID-shortened 2020 season. He spent most of last year battling a series of injuries.
Early reports indicated that the Sacramento Kings were looking to add veteran guards this offseason. Well, they’ve begun with the addition of Dennis Schroder, per The Athletic’s Fred Katz. Though details of the agreement are still unknown, there have been reports that Sacramento’s guard hunt will not end there. The Kings are also interested in adding Russell Westbrook to the fold for the 2025-26 season.
The San Antonio Spurs have added depth behind Victor Wembanyama, adding center Luke Kornet, part of the Boston Celtics’ 2024 championship team, to a four-year, $41 million deal, per Shams Charania.
Given the uncertainty regarding Wembanyama’s blood clot in his shoulder, adding Kornet provides a bit of an immediate safety blanket, even though Wembanyama is considered likely to recover before the start of next year.
Longtime Golden State Warrior and three-time NBA champion Kevon Looney is leaving the West Coast for a two-year, $16 million deal with the New Orleans Pelicans, per Shams Charania. Looney had been a starter for much of his last five years with Golden State before being relegated to a bench role in 2025, starting in only six games all of last season. Looney did still put up solid minutes though, averaging 15 minutes per game.
The Los Angeles Lakers will reportedly sign Jake LaRavia to a two-year, $12 million deal, per Shams Charania. LaRavia has always been a strong three-point shooter, which could come in handy as part of a team that finished outside the top-ten in three-point percentage a year ago.
With Kyrie Irving nursing an ACL tear, the Dallas Mavericks have added some guard depth by signing D’Angelo Russell to a two-year, $13 million deal. Russell has experience playing with Davis, having each spent parts of the last three seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Days after they agreed to trade for Kevin Durant, the Rockets are bolstering their perimeter play — on both sides of the ball — by reportedly locking up forward Dorian Finney-Smith. ESPN reports the deal is worth four years and $53 million.
The Lakers had acquired Finney-Smith in a December 2024 trade that shipped D’Angelo Russell to the Nets. Now, L.A. loses Finney-Smith, a steady 3 and D forward, to a conference rival gearing up for a deep run.
After he stepped up in the playoffs with backup forward-center Isaiah Stewart sidelined with a right knee injury, Paul Reed became a valuable fill-in for the Pistons. Detroit is rewarding Reed with a two-year, $11 million deal to return to the team, per ESPN.
The Grizzlies are continuing their roster overhaul. All-Star forward Jaren Jackson Jr. is expected to ink a renegotiated, five-year, max contract extension worth $248 million, according to ESPN. Jackson was on a favorable contract that he had outperformed.
Memphis’ trade of Desmond Bane helped clear up the cap space required to make this deal happen. The Grizzlies shipped him to the Magic, but then — following a separate trade with the Trail Blazers — drafted Cedric Coward at No. 11 overall. Coward essentially becomes a low-cost replacement for Bane. Another corresponding salary cap maneuver being made to accommodate the Jackson deal is a reported buyout to guard Cole Anthony, whom Memphis had just acquired in the Bane trade.
ESPN also reports that the Grizzlies also locked backup forward Santi Aldama to a three-year, $52.5 million deal.
It’s not often that consistent, double-digit scorers hit the open market. But as the Utah Jazz continue to remake their roster, Jordan Clarkson has finalized a buyout, according to the Athletic, making him an unrestricted free agent.
Clarkson, 33, averaged 16.2 points, 3.7 assists and 3.2 rebounds in 37 games last season. Clarkson had carved out a role as Utah’s sixth man and became known for providing a scoring spark off the bench. Given his ability to score off the bench, Clarkson could draw interest from contenders looking to bolster their depth.
Forward Nicolas Batum, a steady presence off the bench for the Los Angeles Clippers, will sign a two-year deal worth $11.5 million, per ESPN.
After locking up one of their reserve forwards earlier Monday in Ziaire Williams, the Nets moved to do the same for backup center, Day’Ron Sharpe. ESPN reports that Sharpe is set to sign on a two-year deal to keep him in Brooklyn, worth $12 million.
Veteran forward Joe Ingles will be playing his 12th season in the NBA, returning to the Minnesota Timberwolves on a one-year contract worth $3.6 million, according to ESPN.
Knicks forward Josh Hart had a funny response to the news, writing: “Man someone tell him to go head and retire already” in a social media post.
Free agent forward Ziaire Williams is on the verge of signing a two-year, $12 million deal to return to the Brooklyn Nets, ESPN reports. Williams, the No. 10 overall pick in the 2021 draft, averaged 10 points and 4.3 rebounds in 63 games with the Nets last season.
Center DeAndre Ayton is finalizing a buyout agreement with the Portland Trail Blazers, according to ESPN, which will make him a free agent — and one of the more interesting players available.
Ayton was acquired by the Blazers in 2023 as part of a three-team trade with Phoenix and Milwaukee. He’s played in only 95 games in two seasons with Portland, averaging 15.7 points and 10.6 rebounds per game. As part of the contract he signed with the Suns, Ayton was scheduled to make $35.6 million next season.
When is NBA free agency? Dates, times and offseason schedule
NBA free agency officially began on Monday, June 30, at 6 p.m. ET. Teams and players can now start agreeing to the terms of a contract. Teams and players, however, will have to wait until July 6 for contracts to be officially signed.
The biggest stories, every morning. Stay up-to-date on all the key sports developments by subscribing to USA TODAY Sports’ newsletter.
