playESPNMultiple AuthorsSep 23, 2026, 09:00 PM ETOpen Extended ReactionsNBA free agency has almost reached the end, with several players landing in new homes this offseason.LeBron James decided to continue his historic career with the Philadelphia 76ers after months of deliberation. The Sixers also traded for Jaylen Brown this summer, turning the franchise into a true contender with two huge moves.Meanwhile, Giannis Antetokounmpo is headed to South Beach to team up with Bam Adebayo and the Miami Heat, and the Los Angeles Lakers have been sold for the second time in 10 months.What will happen next during this turbulent offseason?Check back here for all the latest buzz, news and reactions from our ESPN NBA insiders, with the latest info at the top:Quick links: Free agency grades | Trade grades Trade tracker | Transactions Depth charts | Trade machine | MoreSept. 23Sources: Status of Mavs big man Lively up in airDallas Mavericks center Dereck Lively II has not been cleared for training camp and his status for the start of the regular season has yet to be determined as he continues to recover from right foot surgery, sources told ESPN’s Tim MacMahon.After playing a key role as a rookie in the Mavericks’ run to the 2024 NBA Finals, Lively’s promising career has been derailed by recurring problems with his right foot, which has been surgically repaired twice in the last 14 months.Lively is ramping up toward being cleared for basketball activity, sources said, emphasizing that the team is not discouraged by his progress. Dallas begins training camp on Saturday.Extension unlikely as Knicks, Towns talks stallTalks have stagnated between the New York Knicks and Karl-Anthony Towns on a contract extension, and an agreement is considered unlikely as the team begins training camp next week, sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania and Vincent Goodwill on Wednesday.The sides have spent extensive time discussing a potential extension during the offseason, but there has been no movement lately in negotiations, sources said, as the Knicks stand to go for a repeat following their first NBA title in 53 years.Sept. 22Charania: Hield, Nembhard to Charlotte for Finney-SmithThe Atlanta Hawks are trading Dorian Finney-Smith to the Charlotte Hornets for Buddy Hield, Ryan Nembhard and cash, sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania.Leonard, Raptors agree to two-year extensionThe Toronto Raptors and Kawhi Leonard have agreed to a two-year, $115 million extension, sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania. Leonard now has a total of three years and $165 million left on his deal.The 2026-27 season will be Leonard’s first back in Toronto since the 2018-19 campaign, a season in which he helped lead the Raptors to their only title in franchise history.Sept. 21Charania: Pistons, Duren at an “impasse”Free agent center Jalen Duren and the Detroit Pistons are at an impasse this season and the franchise is uncertain if he will show up to next Monday’s Media Day, sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania.”When you talk to people close to [Duren], he feels a certain way toward the Pistons’ respect level for him,” Charania said on NBA Today.
“For him it’s been all about respect, for the team it has just been about business. … Over the course of this offseason, his offer has been been around the $180 to $190 million over five years range. And that has also included incentives like weight clauses to my understanding. And that has all played a part in this as well.”Over the last several weeks it’s kind of quiet on this front.
The sides have picked up communication. And I am told right now the Pistons offer to Jalen Duren is $200 million over five years.”Duren has until Oct. 1 to sign a qualifying offer.Hawks’ Henri Veesaar out with torn ACLThe Atlanta Hawks announced that center Henri Veesaar tore his ACL during a Sept. 15 workout. He will undergo surgery in October and is expected to miss the entire 2026-27 season.Sept. 18Pistons, Thompson reach five-year, $155 million extensionDetroit Pistons All-Defensive forward Ausar Thompson has agreed to a five-year, $155 million rookie-scale contract extension with the franchise, sources told ESPN.Thompson lands the fully guaranteed extension after making first-team All-Defense and finishing third in Defensive Player of the Year voting last season. The 23-year-old averaged 9.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 0.9 blocks in 2025-26 while leading the NBA in steals per game (2.0).Heat, Larsson agree to four-year, $60 million extensionMiami Heat guard Pelle Larsson has agreed to a new four-year, $60 million contract extension, with a mutual option for the 2030-31 season, Austin Brown and Steven Heumann of CAA Sports told ESPN on Friday.A second-round find in the 2024 draft, the 6-foot-5 guard avoids restricted free agency next summer and locks in a new deal with a mutual option that fully guarantees $60 million while allowing either side to opt in on 2030.Jazz, George agree on a five-year, rookie-scale extensionUtah Jazz guard Keyonte George have agreed on a five-year, $157.5 million rookie-scale contract extension with the franchise, sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania and Tim MacMahon.
George was the No. 16 pick in the 2023 draft and has averaged 17.2 points and 5.3 assists per game in his three seasons with the Jazz.Sept. 17Bey, Pelicans agree to three-year extensionNew Orleans Pelicans’ Saddiq Bey agreed to a three-year, $55.5 million contract extension with the franchise, plus a trade kicker, sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania. Bey averaged a career-high 17.7 points per game last season after missing all of the 2024-25 season with a torn ACL.Sept. 16Kings remain interested in DurenThe Sacramento Kings continue to loom in the background of Jalen Duren’s restricted free agency with the incumbent Detroit Pistons.Kings general manager Scott Perry met with Duren for dinner in Miami in early July and has maintained a level of steady interest in the ultimate outcome of Duren’s free agency, though a path to acquire Duren this summer remains blocked.The Pistons declined any legitimate conversation about a Duren sign-and-trade to the Kings for starting center Domantas Sabonis and have maintained a strong stance about their intention to keep Duren.As ESPN reported earlier this month, the Pistons have a five-year offer in the $35 million per year range on the table, but that hasn’t been enough to entice the disgruntled Duren to sign.His greatest piece of leverage is a risky one — the $9.6 million qualifying offer that would make him an unrestricted free agent next summer, when Sacramento will have flexibility for the first time in Perry’s tenure as general manager. Zach LaVine’s $48.9 million contract and De’Andre Hunter’s $24.9 million contract both expire, allowing the Kings to generate a max offer for Duren, should he be available.But that would only be the case if Duren is willing to take a massive one-year paycut and accept the risk of the qualifying offer. Until then, the Kings remain in the background as an interested long-term suitor helping Duren’s leverage. — Anthony SlaterKnicks sign Brown to training camp contractThe New York Knicks are signing Bruce Brown to a training camp contract, sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania.
New York will also have “John Konchar, Drew Eubanks and others enter camp to compete for the final regular season roster,” per Charania.Sept. 15Shams: NBA Las Vegas expansion plans due ThursdayThe NBA and commissioner Adam Silver are in deep expansion conversations with Las Vegas, sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania, with the next round of bids due Thursday. Charania also reported that the final round of bids will be due shortly after this round and that his understanding is that the Las Vegas expansion proposal could exceed $10 billion.The expansion process is ongoing in Seattle as well, per Charania, but hasn’t gained as much momentum as Las Vegas currently. Charania expects clarity on votes on both expansion franchises “over the next couple months.”S
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