NBA 2026-27 offseason trades, signings & rumors

[MattyIce]

Free agent guard Marcus Smart has agreed on a two-year, $13 million deal with the Houston Rockets, plus a player option for the second season, sources tell ESPN. The former Defensive Player of the Year reunites with Ime Udoka for significant opportunity in the Rockets backcourt

[Who]

Free agent guard Marcus Smart has agreed on a two-year, $13 million deal with the Houston Rockets, plus a player option for the second season, sources tell ESPN. The former Defensive Player of the Year reunites with Ime Udoka for significant opportunity in the Rockets backcourt

I feel sorry for Durant that Houston continues to refuse to put any skilled players alongside them. The lack of shooting, ball-handling & passing on that team is incredible for a squad hoping to win a title.

G: VanVleet, R Sheppard, JD Davison
G: Amen Thompson, M Smart
F: Durant, Okogie, Bogdanovic
F: Jabari Smith Jr, Tari Eason, DFS
C: Sengun, S Adams, Capela

Okogie is a free agent. Not sure if he is coming back or not. Aaron Holiday was with the team last season. I do not see why they would bring him back. They did keep JD Davison. So they do not need a 4th PG. Especially with Smart able to play there as well.

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You look at that team PG through PF. The only above average shooter other than Durant in their rotation is Reed Sheppard - and he is still unreliable against playoff caliber defenses as shown in the playoffs.

Sengun can't make a shot outside of 15 feet. S Adams and Capela are paint only players. Amen Thompson can't make a shot outside of 10 feet. He might as well be a center.

Jabari Smith Jr is a below average to average shooter. Tari Eason is a below average to average shooter. Marcus Smart and VanVleet are below average shooters. Okogie can shoot but is a low volume shooter. They should bring him back to play behind Durant. Not clear what will happen there.

Bogdanovic can shoot but his defense is so bad nowadays you can't put him on the court. It remains to be seen if he is even an NBA level player anymore. DFS is a big swing player for them. He shot the ball terribly last year but he has been a good shooter in the past.

[keevsnick]

John Collins signs a 3/51 deal with Detroit. That's a solid get for them, he's shot 39% from three over the past three seasons.

[Who]

John Collins signs a 3/51 deal with Detroit. That's a solid get for them, he's shot 39% from three over the past three seasons.

I wonder if that is a replacement for Tobias Harris - an insurance policy if T Harris leaves.

[perks-a-beast]

John Collins signs a 3/51 deal with Detroit. That's a solid get for them, he's shot 39% from three over the past three seasons.

Wow, thats a great pickup for them. DET definitely needs shooting around Cade to optimize what he does.

I can still see them trying to make a play for a wing - someone like Trey Murphy or MPJ.

[Who]

Maccabi Tel Aviv forward Oshae Brissett officially signed a new 2-year deal with the Israeli team.

[Who]

Sources say that the Rockets have thus engaged several teams in trade discussions in recent days to try to offload Dorian Finney-Smith and clear the way to furnish Smart with a multiyear offer expected to land in the $7 million range in annual average value. Without trading Finney-Smith. Houston would still be able to sign Smart to a two-year deal valued at an estimated $13 million.

marcstein.substack.com

So they signed Smart for that 2yrs $13mil ... so I presume this means they could not move DFS and intend to keep DFS.

[Who]

Fred Katz: Funky contracts all around the league now. Adding to @anthonyVslater?s report on Kristaps Porzingis contract details: Porzingis is guaranteed for only $3M in 2026-27 and the Warriors have until July 7 to waive him. Extra flexibility for them.

Another tweet explained this

Keith Smith: In order for Kristaps Porzingis to have a partial guarantee with an early trigger date for the 2027-28 season, the 2026-27 season has to be partially guaranteed with an early trigger date too. I get why it?s frustrating, but the Trade Machine is functioning as it?s supposed to.

So GSW have 1 week to trade Porzingis if they so desire. I don't know who they would trade him for. They would still be well short of money for AD. Surely it would have to be J Butler for AD. Not Porzingis.

Anyway, likely nothing will come of it. One week will pass and his deal will become guaranteed.

[keevsnick]

John Collins signs a 3/51 deal with Detroit. That's a solid get for them, he's shot 39% from three over the past three seasons.

I wonder if that is a replacement for Tobias Harris - an insurance policy if T Harris leaves.

Ya its essentially a younger Tobia Harris. Could still see Harris returning there, but Collins is also a pretty good fit next to Duren. 

Interesting that the dela is for SLIGHTLY more than the full MLE, maybe that was what pushed them over the top for Collins vs other teams probably offering the full MLE.

If Detroit can find a way to turn Robinson/Lavert into one more offensive guard (Hero, Powell) then they will have a pretty solid team.

[Who]

I am not that high on the John Collins to DET move.

His shooting is over-rated. He shoots a good percentage but he rarely takes them. He is not a comfortable / confident shooter. He only takes 3 threes per game in 27mpg. About one every 9 minutes. Which is normal for his career. He will shoot one if he is wide open but only if he wide open. Any type of decent close out and he will refuse to shoot it.

So I don't think he provides that much spacing for Cade. Or for Duren as a rim roller. And they still have the issue of Ausar Thompson and his lack of shooting.

[Who]

Shams Charania: The Pistons pursued Collins as their top target to assume an expected starting role at power forward

Sounds like Tobias Harris is moving on ...

If T Harris does move on, I view this as a downgrade. I was surprised to see T Harris takes about the same amount of 3s as John Collins. I would have expected him to take more. However, T Harris is a much better ball-handler, passer and connectivity player.

T Harris with 2.5apg to 1.0 turnover per game. J Collins with 1.0apg to 1.4 turnovers per game. Collins is one of the worst passing PFs in the league. That is why his offensive impact numbers (on/off, +/-, whatever you are looking at) have been dodgy throughout his career.

[Who]

Odd contract details for John Collins

KeithSmithNBA‬: The reported contract for John Collins with the Pistons is for more than the Non-Taxpayer MLE. That signals this is either Detroit using cap space or working out a sign-and-trade with the Clippers.

Why pay him slightly more MLE? Barely above the MLE. Just give him the MLE.

Omari Sankofa II‬: Per source, last two years of John Collins' contract are non-guaranteed. Don't have the exact figures yet, but only first year is fully-guaranteed. Similar structure as Duncan Robinson's deal last season. Creating cap space would mean the Pistons have to waive Robinson. There's more to map out, but I do think they have a path to sign Collins while also keeping Robinson. We'll see how it plays out

Especially with this info. With so little money guaranteed, surely that small bit above the MLE vs MLE is not important.

Anyway, this looks like a rental. A 1yr rental. Then trade him in 12 months time with that non-guaranteed deal. Look for someone who is a better individual player / better fit for their team than John Collins is. Just a temporary stop-gap solution.

[Who]

A big one ...

Michael Scotto: Sources: The Chicago Bulls and Norman Powell have agreed to a two-year, $45 million deal. Powell is coming off his first All-Star season and is a career 40% 3-point shooter

Chicago Bulls

G: Josh Giddey, Tre Jones, Rob Dillingham
G: Norm Powell
F: Matas Buzelis, I Okoro, Dailyn Swain, Noa Essengue
F: Caleb Wilson, Pat Williams, Jalen Smith
C: Nic Claxton, Zach Collins, Leonard Miller

That team should be able to play .500 ball.

[DefenseWinsChamps]

A big one ...

Michael Scotto: Sources: The Chicago Bulls and Norman Powell have agreed to a two-year, $45 million deal. Powell is coming off his first All-Star season and is a career 40% 3-point shooter

Chicago Bulls

G: Josh Giddey, Tre Jones, Rob Dillingham
G: Norm Powell
F: Matas Buzelis, I Okoro, Dailyn Swain, Noa Essengue
F: Caleb Wilson, Pat Williams, Jalen Smith
C: Nic Claxton, Zach Collins, Leonard Miller

That team should be able to play .500 ball.

Good. The Heat roster should be more depleted now. It really seemed like they thought Powell would come back.

[perks-a-beast]

A big one ...

Michael Scotto: Sources: The Chicago Bulls and Norman Powell have agreed to a two-year, $45 million deal. Powell is coming off his first All-Star season and is a career 40% 3-point shooter

Chicago Bulls

G: Josh Giddey, Tre Jones, Rob Dillingham
G: Norm Powell
F: Matas Buzelis, I Okoro, Dailyn Swain, Noa Essengue
F: Caleb Wilson, Pat Williams, Jalen Smith
C: Nic Claxton, Zach Collins, Leonard Miller

That team should be able to play .500 ball.

They definitely dont feel as rudderless as they have the past few years. Getting a Top 4 pick was massive for them. Feels like theyre heading in the right direction for the first time in a LONG time.