NBA free agency begins at 6 p.m. ET on Tuesday night, and it's already getting tough to keep up with all the moving parts. Giannis Antetokounmpo is in Miami. LaMelo Ball now plays for the Timberwolves. Ja Morant has been traded to Portland. It feels like deals involving Jaylen Brown, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Jalen Duren and/or Anthony Davis could happen any second.
So let's not waste what little time we may have to discuss 10 big names that could be on the move over the next few days in the Association.
1. LeBron James
Will the sport's biggest name be on the move? Or stay with the Lakers?
All reporting indicates that he and the Lakers are just now planning to talk about their possible future together. Funny how that works after news breaks that the Golden State Warriors are trying to bring LeBron and his old friend Anthony Davis aboard.
That plan sounded a bit pie-in-the-sky at first, but now that Draymond Green has declined his $27.7 million player option, presumably to take less annual money to then free up room for LeBron at the $15 million non-taxpayer mid-level exception, it's gotten a whole lot more real.
There is still a case for LeBron to stay with the Lakers. The Warriors have more money to give him than Golden State, and unless they're successful in the potential long-shot endeavor of filling their center needs with Jalen Duren or walker Kessler, there probably isn't a big man out there worth more to them than LeBron would be next season. Maybe they give him a bunch of money at the last minute. But maybe not. LeBron leaving the Lakers is a major story right now, and for good reason.
2. Jaylen Brown
One of the Celtics' stars has spent the last two weeks in nonstop trade rumors
A potential new drinking game: Every time you see the words written that the Celtics have gone too far with the Jaylen Brown saga to "put the toothpaste back in the tube," you have to take a shot. You'll probably be in need of medical attention very soon, because at the end of the day, that feels like the truth of the matter. This bridge feels sufficiently burned.
It's important to note the Celtics didn't do anything wrong here. They dangled an All-NBA player in a trade for an all-time player in Giannis Antetokounmpo. That's the NBA. If you're Brown, get over it.
On the other hand, you can understand the frustration of a player of Brown's caliber being the outgoing guy in all the Celtics' trade-machine rumors and, more importantly, the real rumors. He doesn't feel appreciated. Now he's battling the analytics crowd who say he's overrated. For Brown to go back to playing second fiddle for a Boston team that, in his eyes, doesn't value him as highly as it does the "real" stars in the league? That's problematic.
The problem is that the Brown market might be drying up. ESPN reported that the Blazers, who were widely considered one of the likelier Brown destinations, are not "actively pursuing" Brown after they made their big play by trading for Ja Morant. Don't believe everything you hear. The Blazers now have a glut of guards with Morant and Damian Lillard the presumed starters, and Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe might be a decent package going back to Boston if enough draft capital is involved.
If it's not the Blazers, the Nuggets could be in play for a Jamal Murray swap. The Rockets have major need for Brown's services and a ton of capital to work with. The Hornets. The Magic. Even the Spurs, who could trade De'Aaron Fox and a bunch of draft picks. Any of these teams would be thrilled to add Brown at a reasonable price, and the longer this goes, with the only alternative being Brown going back to Boston for an incredibly awkward training camp, they just may end up getting it.
3. Kawhi Leonard
Is the Klaw heading back to Toronto?
Steve Ballmer has maintained that he doesn't want to trade Leonard, but with all due respect, that would be crazy. Leonard is 35 years old and just had one of the healthiest and most productive regular seasons of his storied career. His value will never be higher, and not capitalizing on that to either sign Leonard to another long-term contract that will almost certainly age horribly, or let him walk for nothing next summer, would be malpractice.
Which is why a trade to Toronto feels so likely. Jake Fischer of The Stein Line has reported that the Clippers and Raptors have indeed had "real" talks about a Leonard trade, and that Toronto's preference would be to ship out Brandon Ingram to Los Angeles as the main money part of a deal.
Meanwhile, The Athletic has reported that the Mavericks have also held talks with the Clippers about a possible trade for Leonard. That would reunite him with his former GM in Toronto, Masai Ujiri, who's now running the show in Dallas.
Leonard controls most of how this goes because he's in the last year of his contract and can basically nix any deal he doesn't like by saying he won't re-sign with that team. He reportedly would only re-sign with one of his old teams, the Raptors or Spurs, and all is quiet on the San Antonio front. Sometimes the quiet team is the one that pops up last minute. But for now, the Raptors are the favorite.
4. Jalen Duren
Will the Pistons' All-NBA center leave Detroit?
Duren was third-team All-NBA last season and seemingly assured of getting a max contract, or something very close to it, from Detroit this summer. His postseason offensive no-show put a pin in that plan, and now he's out here trying to use the Kings -- the Kings! -- as leverage to get Detroit to pay up.
BREAKING: Due to sizable distance apart in negotiations, Detroit Pistons restricted free agent center Jalen Duren will meet with the Sacramento Kings at the start of free agency with the intentions of structuring a sign-&-trade out of Detroit. pic.twitter.com/rzUZWy2iJF
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) June 29, 2026
Sam Amick reported that the most likely deal with the Kings, which should be treated as a huge long shot, would involve Domantas Sabonis going back to the Pistons in a sign-and-trade for Duren, who is a restricted free agent. There are teams that could just pay Duren outright, however. The Nets could do it. So could the Lakers, at least up to a point, and now it's being reported that Duren will indeed meet with L.A. on Tuesday ahead of the 6 p.m. ET start of free agency.
We know the Lakers are in dire need of a center, and be it as a free-agent signing or a sign-and-trade they would probably abort any plans they might have to bring LeBron back if it meant they could get their hands on Duren or the next guy on this list.
5. Walker Kessler
Another restricted free agent center who could get a change of scenery
Kessler is another restricted free agent who so far isn't getting the kind of offer he's hoping for from his current team, the Jazz, who may have irked their young big man by not extending him last summer in the first place. It has been reported by ESPN's Tim McMahon that the Jazz have already offered Kessler a five-year, $140 million deal, but he wants more.
The same teams that could pay Duren could pay Kessler, and the Lakers are again the preeminent player in this game of chicken. They could throw a huge number at him and force Utah's hand. A lot of other teams could be sign-and-trade suitors the longer this plays out. Boston needs a center. Jaylen Brown sign-and-trade, anyone?
Utah may not be willing to go any higher than its current offer, given the top-end frontcourt depth with Jaren Jackson Jr. and Lauri Markkanen, but Danny Ainge is no dummy. He's not going to pay Kessler one penny more than he needs to until some other team forces him to dig deeper. We'll see how it plays out.
6. Anthony Davis
AD is being linked to the Warriors and a potential reunion with LeBron
If Davis weren't connected to LeBron as a possible package deal to the Warriors, he honestly wouldn't be that interesting. He's 33 years old and always hurt. He's played in 29 games since the Doncic trade in February of 2025. Twenty-nine. Think about that.
When the Mavericks eventually traded Davis to the Wizards, he basically had no market. And now he wants a max contract extension that no team in their right mind should give him. The Wizards, who have already done one dumb deal this summer by giving Trae Young $212 million, might be willing to pay Davis if it comes to that, but Golden State is the out here.
The Warriors can justify paying a little more for Davis because he comes as a package deal with LeBron and they are in high-risk mode trying to make one last push before Stephen Curry hangs up his sneakers. If that deal doesn't happen, is anyone going to get in Washington's way if they want to pay Mr. Street Clothes hundreds of millions?
7. Zion Williamson
The Grizzlies moved on from Ja, should the Pelicans do the same with Zion?
Zion's name is always in the same sentence as Ja Morant when it comes to superstars who finally wear out their welcome with the team that drafted them, only to find they don't have any real trade market because nobody else wants them or their contracts either.
But now that Morant (picked No. 2 in the 2019 draft after Williamson went No. 1) has found a taker, could Zion be next? He just played in 62 games and averaged 21 and 5 on 60% shooting. Given that he was a lineup mainstay from mid-December on, are the Pelicans back to seeing him as a future core guy, or is this their chance to trade him for decent value before he goes back to the injury list?
There isn't a lot of smoke around Zion's name right now, but it's one to watch with the Pelicans clearly moving in the direction of Derik Queen and Jeremiah Fears as their inside-out combo of the future and Zion not really fitting with either one of them.
8. Trey Murphy III
The Pelicans wing is highly coveted across the league
Murphy was a hot name to be moved last week around draft night. That didn't happen, but he's still one to watch. Weeks ago reporting came out that he wants to move on from the Pelicans, and every team in the league would love if they could get their hands on him. It's a matter of price.
Yahoo's Kevin O'Connor reported that multiple teams offered New Orleans two future picks for Murphy, but Joe Dumars wants three. That may be unlikely, which is why Murphy's name isn't higher on this list because he's an awesome player that fits any team. But still keep an eye on this.
Maybe it's more of a trade deadline thing once New Orleans has won enough games to get out of the bottom three (a no-no with the new lottery structure) and can more safely punt on the rest of the season. Or, maybe a team like the Nets comes calling over these next few days as the market takes shape.
9. Shaedon Sharpe
What's next for the Blazers after adding Morant?
He's not as big a name or as established as any of the guys above, but Sharpe is a legit 20 PPG scorer and still just 23 years old, and now he's suddenly gone from a future building block in Portland to a probable backup for Ja Morant and Damian Lillard.
Is Sharpe, who just signed a $90 million extension with Portland last summer, cool with fighting for bench minutes with Scoot Henderson and Jrue Holiday? He's just starting to get going in his career. The shooting numbers don't look like much at 45/33 splits, but when he has it going it's impossible to ignore the room he potentially has to grow into a more consistent marksman. At which point, with his athleticism, he would be a serious problem.
As stated above, reports indicate that the Blazers are no longer in Jaylen Brown pursuits after the Morant deal, but as also stated above, don't believe everything you hear. Agents and GMs and everyone else with an ear to speak leverage into say a lot of things at this time of year. But even if it's not in a Brown deal, Sharpe is a guy everyone should be watching as Portland's backcourt depth chart has gotten extremely crowded.
10. Scoot Henderson
Is now the time for the Blazers to move on from the top-three draft pick?
Everything we just said about Sharpe applies to Henderson, who certainly hasn't lived up to his draft billing but has made significant strides and had big-time playoff stretches last season. He's improved greatly as a shooter. He's a forceful and athletic pressure defender. He's still only 22 years old and can be impossible to keep out of the paint as a driver. His feel for navigating those paint probes with the right reads has grown tremendously.
Henderson is eligible for a rookie extension this summer, and if he doesn't get it, does he want to try to ramp up his market value for next summer as a restricted free agent by playing spare minutes behind Lillard, Morant and Holiday? Again, even if it's not in a Jaylen Brown deal, Henderson is a guy that could have regained some value as a still-very-young prospect with All-Star upside, and the Blazers now have sufficient incentive to move him.
