NBA 2026-27 offseason trades, signings & rumors

[Who]

Golden State is prepared offer James the $15 million Non-Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception this summer. That would involve the Warriors clearing some room under the first apron, as using the Non-Taxpayer MLE triggers a first-apron hard cap. However, Golden State is confident that they can create the room necessary to use the full exception.

The Warriors plan to clear additional spending power seems to revolve around Draymond Green opting out but re-signing on a new deal that lowers his salary for this season. It's important to note that Green and James share Klutch Sports as their agency.

[Who]

League sources said Ballmer has maintained a firm stance against a Leonard trade, preferring to continue building around his star forward.

ESPN

[jambr380]

Walker Kessler and the Utah Jazz remain far apart on contract talks despite a five-year $140 million offer, sources told ESPN. The figure would represent the largest contract ever given to a center who had not yet earned an All-Star selection.

In 2024-25, he ranked second in the league in blocks (2.4) and fifth in rebounds (12.2) while averaging 11.1 points and shooting 66.3% from the floor.

That is insane.

That is just under $30mil a year. $28mil a year.

How much does Kessler expect to make? I wouldn't want him to pay him in excess of $30mil per season. As for BOS and Kessler potentially being a TPE target, UTA are already offering more money so that is a non-starter.

I kind-of want to see the Jazz start to do well. I hope they let Kessler go to the Lakers and don't tie themselves down to that kind-of contract.

There are people here that want to bring in Kessler. Hopefully they realize that Kessler at $30M+/yr is not the right decision. Dude is okay, but nothing special.

[Phantom255x]

Golden State is prepared offer James the $15 million Non-Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception this summer. That would involve the Warriors clearing some room under the first apron, as using the Non-Taxpayer MLE triggers a first-apron hard cap. However, Golden State is confident that they can create the room necessary to use the full exception.

The Warriors plan to clear additional spending power seems to revolve around Draymond Green opting out but re-signing on a new deal that lowers his salary for this season. It's important to note that Green and James share Klutch Sports as their agency.

Even with the age of the roster and their stars too, I do think Lebron's best bet is Golden State. Weird to say with a Lakers team with Doncic, but GSW has Curry, Butler, Green (presumably lower salary), probably Porzingis or Horford, and still some solid role players in Gary Payton II, Santos, etc. It's a high risk-kind of move but they would still have more high-end talent than LAL. Injuries really sabotaged Golden State last year otherwise many still predicted they'd make the playoffs outright (no play-in). Butler as a 3rd option is a lot better then Reaves.

[jambr380]

If the thought or report is that the other team is DET, how would they even do this?  I don't think they have a big enough TPE to take in Hauser.  I believe they would have to send something back.

Another thought on this is that move up may be to make the pick more valuable to MIL in a Giannis trade.

I don't see our pick as relevant in a Giannis trade -- it's what another team would offer for getting JB.  If we had to throw in a first then #27 would likely suffice since a pick 5-6 slots higher is only slightly more valuable and not enough of a difference to kill a deal of that nature

I liked Vermont Green's take on this. If we assume Jaylen on his own is better than the Miami package, then why would we need to add anything to Jaylen in order to get a deal done? Maybe there are other teams Giannis would be willing to extend with, but we haven't heard who those teams are or what they have to offer.

So I agree, there's no reason for us to add any picks or players to Jaylen in a Giannis deal. And anything we do with our pick(s) should have no bearing on whether or not we try to acquire Giannis.

[slamtheking]

If the thought or report is that the other team is DET, how would they even do this?  I don't think they have a big enough TPE to take in Hauser.  I believe they would have to send something back.

Another thought on this is that move up may be to make the pick more valuable to MIL in a Giannis trade.

I don't see our pick as relevant in a Giannis trade -- it's what another team would offer for getting JB.  If we had to throw in a first then #27 would likely suffice since a pick 5-6 slots higher is only slightly more valuable and not enough of a difference to kill a deal of that nature

I liked Vermont Green's take on this. If we assume Jaylen on his own is better than the Miami package, then why would we need to add anything to Jaylen in order to get a deal done? Maybe there are other teams Giannis would be willing to extend with, but we haven't heard who those teams are or what they have to offer.

So I agree, there's no reason for us to add any picks or players to Jaylen in a Giannis deal. And anything we do with our pick(s) should have no bearing on whether or not we try to acquire Giannis.

I'm confused.  you "liked VG's take" but everything you wrote backs up my take on it. 

[keevsnick]

So the issue with Jaylen being a part of the Giannis deal is that:

I'm not 100% sure Jaylen IS more valuable than the heat package, depending on what the Heat package is. On draft nice the Heat could in theory trade #13, 29', 31, 33' first rounders along with swaps in 28', 30', 32' plus Hero, Jaku, Jaquez and Ware*. Now obviously we don't know if all of that is on the table, but if I'm the Bucks I might prefer the pick heavy package from a team that will be locked into Giannis/Bam at Giannis' age 33-38 seasons over Jaylen.

Now, it depends on what you can spin Jaylen off for. If you can get back your own picks from Portland then that exceeds any MIA offer, but it's not obvious Portland would do that. I can see a scenario where they'd rather just keep those picks with the Bucks imploding. There's no other pick-based offer out there that is so obviously better than a bunch of Mia future draft capital. It would be a bit of a bet, but not a bad one.

Which leads to the whole problem with a Jaylen based offer: He'd the best individual piece the Bucks could get, but he's not the KIND of piece they want. Sure, Boston could blow away the MIA offer by doing Jaylen and a bunch of their own picks but they you get into the conversation of why you'd trade BOTH JAYLEN AND ALL YOUR PICKS. That's too much.

This is why 3 team teams are hard. You need to find a team that wants Jaylen at a 35% max, has the assets to offer a similar price to what Giannis would go for, and wouldn't simply pay that price for Giannis directly.

[Celtics2021]

So the issue with Jaylen being a part of the Giannis deal is that:

I'm not 100% sure Jaylen IS more valuable than the heat package, depending on what the Heat package is. On draft nice the Heat could in theory trade #13, 29', 31, 33' first rounders along with swaps in 28', 30', 32' plus Hero, Jaku, Jaquez and Ware*. Now obviously we don't know if all of that is on the table, but if I'm the Bucks I might prefer the pick heavy package from a team that will be locked into Giannis/Bam at Giannis' age 33-38 seasons over Jaylen.

Now, it depends on what you can spin Jaylen off for. If you can get back your own picks from Portland then that exceeds any MIA offer, but it's not obvious Portland would do that. I can see a scenario where they'd rather just keep those picks with the Bucks imploding. There's no other pick-based offer out there that is so obviously better than a bunch of Mia future draft capital. It would be a bit of a bet, but not a bad one.

Which leads to the whole problem with a Jaylen based offer: He'd the best individual piece the Bucks could get, but he's not the KIND of piece they want. Sure, Boston could blow away the MIA offer by doing Jaylen and a bunch of their own picks but they you get into the conversation of why you'd trade BOTH JAYLEN AND ALL YOUR PICKS. That's too much.

This is why 3 team teams are hard. You need to find a team that wants Jaylen at a 35% max, has the assets to offer a similar price to what Giannis would go for, and wouldn't simply pay that price for Giannis directly.

Couple things.  One, the Heat can not offer a first until 2030, because of protections on a pick that do not expire until 2028.  So it is three picks max.  #13, 2030, and 2032, or #13, 2031, 2033 if they wait until post draft.

Two, are they adding in a bunch of swaps?  Have not heard that.  If they do, the Celtics should let the Heat win the battle.  Not totally sure they can add all the swaps, either, because the Bucks are missing 1sts to swap some of those seasons.

[Who]

Dru Star: ?I know the Bucks don't love the Miami deal. But it appears to be the best deal. Boston I'm hearing would love to sneak in & get him. That might mean moving Jaylen to another place. I know Jaylen wouldn't want to play for Milwaukee.? @MarcJSpears

x.com

I thought that was Marc Spears saying Jaylen wouldn't want to move to MIL when I first read it ... but it is that other guy Dru Star messaging Marc Spears, right? I don't know who Dru Star is.

Dru (also known as @dru_star) is not a traditional play-by-play or television commentator. He is a highly visible NBA media personality, Miami Heat analyst, and podcast contributor known for his sharp, local reporting and trade rumor analysis.

He is heavily involved in the Five on the Floor podcast and provides extensive commentary on the Miami Heat. Currently, he is a prominent voice in the media tracking high-profile trade discussions involving stars like Giannis Antetokounmpo.

[Who]

Art Cummings: The Utah Jazz are looking at Cam Boozer hard per Tim MacMahon via the Hoop Collective Podcast. He mentioned that Cam Boozer and Jaren Jackson Jr are a potential great complimentary duo in the future. Cam?s elite rebounding helps JJJ and JJJ?s elite rim protection helps Cam.

x.com

[Who]

Contrary to recent reports suggesting Jaylen Brown could be rerouted to the Los Angeles Clippers as part of the Boston Celtics? aggressive pursuit of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jake Fischer Report downplayed the murmurs and speculations in his latest NBA update for Bleacher Report.

Fischer shot down the notion that the Clippers would look to go after the Celtics superstar via a massive three-team trade along with the Milwaukee Bucks, insisting that the franchise would remain committed to picking at No. 5 for the upcoming NBA Draft.

"I made calls on that and I have been told that that is not true, that Los Angeles has not looked into any real avenue here at all," the NBA insider indicated. "At this juncture, I have been told repeatedly that the Clippers have every intention to stick around the No. 5 pick and make a selection."

I don't know why LAC would be committed to keeping the #5 pick. All the guys available there play the same position as D Garland.

As part of a looming Giannis deal that is expected to happen this offseason, the Bucks are also exploring possible ways to include both Kyle Kuzma and Bobby Portis.

"The Bucks are also looking to potentially offload Kyle Kuzma and Bobby Portis? salaries in a potential Giannis deal, so there are a lot of balls in the air for them," NBA Insider Jake Fischer said in his latest updates for Bleacher Report.

[Moranis]

Golden State is prepared offer James the $15 million Non-Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception this summer. That would involve the Warriors clearing some room under the first apron, as using the Non-Taxpayer MLE triggers a first-apron hard cap. However, Golden State is confident that they can create the room necessary to use the full exception.

The Warriors plan to clear additional spending power seems to revolve around Draymond Green opting out but re-signing on a new deal that lowers his salary for this season. It's important to note that Green and James share Klutch Sports as their agency.

Even with the age of the roster and their stars too, I do think Lebron's best bet is Golden State. Weird to say with a Lakers team with Doncic, but GSW has Curry, Butler, Green (presumably lower salary), probably Porzingis or Horford, and still some solid role players in Gary Payton II, Santos, etc. It's a high risk-kind of move but they would still have more high-end talent than LAL. Injuries really sabotaged Golden State last year otherwise many still predicted they'd make the playoffs outright (no play-in). Butler as a 3rd option is a lot better then Reaves.

The Lakers are better than that Warriors team.  I mean Lebron without Doncic and Reaves (for the most part) beat the 5th seeded Houston with Lebron and the rest of the roster and the Warriors didn't even make the playoffs. Smart, Rui, Ayton, Kennard, Hayes are solid role players.   

[keevsnick]

So the issue with Jaylen being a part of the Giannis deal is that:

I'm not 100% sure Jaylen IS more valuable than the heat package, depending on what the Heat package is. On draft nice the Heat could in theory trade #13, 29', 31, 33' first rounders along with swaps in 28', 30', 32' plus Hero, Jaku, Jaquez and Ware*. Now obviously we don't know if all of that is on the table, but if I'm the Bucks I might prefer the pick heavy package from a team that will be locked into Giannis/Bam at Giannis' age 33-38 seasons over Jaylen.

Now, it depends on what you can spin Jaylen off for. If you can get back your own picks from Portland then that exceeds any MIA offer, but it's not obvious Portland would do that. I can see a scenario where they'd rather just keep those picks with the Bucks imploding. There's no other pick-based offer out there that is so obviously better than a bunch of Mia future draft capital. It would be a bit of a bet, but not a bad one.

Which leads to the whole problem with a Jaylen based offer: He'd the best individual piece the Bucks could get, but he's not the KIND of piece they want. Sure, Boston could blow away the MIA offer by doing Jaylen and a bunch of their own picks but they you get into the conversation of why you'd trade BOTH JAYLEN AND ALL YOUR PICKS. That's too much.

This is why 3 team teams are hard. You need to find a team that wants Jaylen at a 35% max, has the assets to offer a similar price to what Giannis would go for, and wouldn't simply pay that price for Giannis directly.

Couple things.  One, the Heat can not offer a first until 2030, because of protections on a pick that do not expire until 2028.  So it is three picks max.  #13, 2030, and 2032, or #13, 2031, 2033 if they wait until post draft.

Two, are they adding in a bunch of swaps?  Have not heard that.  If they do, the Celtics should let the Heat win the battle.  Not totally sure they can add all the swaps, either, because the Bucks are missing 1sts to swap some of those seasons.

The Heat would need to get Charlotte to remove the 1-14 protection for 2027, not sure how much Charlotte would require to do so.  But even if they don't Miami could still use "first allowable" language to conditionally give them picks in 29, 31, 33 with the downside of if Miami is in the lottery in 2027 the Bucks would essentially lose one of those picks.

As for the swaps the Bucks have picks in 2028, 2030, 2032. The 2028 one is swapped to hell, but that actually makes an incoming swap somewhat more valuable in that year. They own 2030 and 2032 outrtight.

[jambr380]

If the thought or report is that the other team is DET, how would they even do this?  I don't think they have a big enough TPE to take in Hauser.  I believe they would have to send something back.

Another thought on this is that move up may be to make the pick more valuable to MIL in a Giannis trade.

I don't see our pick as relevant in a Giannis trade -- it's what another team would offer for getting JB.  If we had to throw in a first then #27 would likely suffice since a pick 5-6 slots higher is only slightly more valuable and not enough of a difference to kill a deal of that nature

I liked Vermont Green's take on this. If we assume Jaylen on his own is better than the Miami package, then why would we need to add anything to Jaylen in order to get a deal done? Maybe there are other teams Giannis would be willing to extend with, but we haven't heard who those teams are or what they have to offer.

So I agree, there's no reason for us to add any picks or players to Jaylen in a Giannis deal. And anything we do with our pick(s) should have no bearing on whether or not we try to acquire Giannis.

I'm confused.  you "liked VG's take" but everything you wrote backs up my take on it.

Yeah, I didn't clarify. VG said this in a different thread yesterday:

What I think is interesting from a BOS perspective, is that they can play either side of a 3-way trade.  If there is a team that is interested in Brown and willing to offer a package of X, Y, and Z, BOS could potentially just take X, Y, and Z instead of Giannis.  A scenario I have in my mind is that there is at least one 3-way deal on the table but MIL is saying "OK, we will take X, Y, and Z but we also want BOS to add A and B".

This way, BOS can say to MIL, fine, have a nice season with Herro because we are just going to take the X, Y, Z  deal over adding in A and B to get Giannis.  Maybe BOS is offering Brown + C but MIL is trying to drive them up.

I definitely should have quoted this when I responded to your comment. Of course, I also agree with you, too, and that is why I responded to your comment. We all seem to agree 

[SparzWizard]

So the issue with Jaylen being a part of the Giannis deal is that:

I'm not 100% sure Jaylen IS more valuable than the heat package, depending on what the Heat package is. On draft nice the Heat could in theory trade #13, 29', 31, 33' first rounders along with swaps in 28', 30', 32' plus Hero, Jaku, Jaquez and Ware*. Now obviously we don't know if all of that is on the table, but if I'm the Bucks I might prefer the pick heavy package from a team that will be locked into Giannis/Bam at Giannis' age 33-38 seasons over Jaylen.

Now, it depends on what you can spin Jaylen off for. If you can get back your own picks from Portland then that exceeds any MIA offer, but it's not obvious Portland would do that. I can see a scenario where they'd rather just keep those picks with the Bucks imploding. There's no other pick-based offer out there that is so obviously better than a bunch of Mia future draft capital. It would be a bit of a bet, but not a bad one.

Which leads to the whole problem with a Jaylen based offer: He'd the best individual piece the Bucks could get, but he's not the KIND of piece they want. Sure, Boston could blow away the MIA offer by doing Jaylen and a bunch of their own picks but they you get into the conversation of why you'd trade BOTH JAYLEN AND ALL YOUR PICKS. That's too much.

This is why 3 team teams are hard. You need to find a team that wants Jaylen at a 35% max, has the assets to offer a similar price to what Giannis would go for, and wouldn't simply pay that price for Giannis directly.

That third team needs to be interested in Jaylen and are willing to unload a boatload of picks/foundational player for Milwaukee.

Otherwise, I can also see why Milwaukee may be enticed by that stash of draft picks. But Herro, Jacquez, Ware etc to build around with...is this the Milwaukee Heat? Giannis and Bam being a duo with nothing else around them? It's a lose/lose trade for both teams.