Hoops Rumors Live Chat: 7/20/2026
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Luke Adams
3:31
Thanks for all the early questions, guys! Let's jump right in.
Raz1374
3:31
Pacers have 14 players on the roster with 5 guys in the mix for 2 ways and or the 15th roster spot. They can’t sign a vet due to the 1st apron so do you see them A) promoting one of their 0/1 year guys into a non-guaranteed 15th spot (ala James Johnson/Toney Bradley) B) waiting 10-15 days in to promote Kobe Brown or maybe Jalen Slawson when their salary fits under the apron or C) trading Walker or Sheppard to free up flexibility and get under the tax? Seems like they have to make one more move before the season gets going, right?
Luke Adams
3:35
I wouldn't be surprised if they make another offseason/preseason trade to open up a bit more room below the first apron and to solve their roster crunch a bit. But I could also see them just sticking with these 14 guys and leaving the 15th roster spot open to start the year, then waiving Peter and Thompson to sign Slawson and Braden Smith to two-ways. Peter and Thompson are OK two-way options but I don't think they're good enough to jump through hoops to try to keep them.
Darin617
3:36
Who can the Wolves target at power forward if LeBron doesn't sign with MN? I doubt MN was ever a real destination for LeBron.
Drew
3:36
LeBron to the Wolves is/was a pipe dream…is there any move they could make that would excite fans to solve their need at the 4?
Luke Adams
3:39
I've mentioned it in a past chat, but the Bulls continue to look like a good trade partner to me, if you can figure out how to convince them to move Jalen Smith for Josh Green (I know the Wolves don't have much draft capital left to sweeten their offer).

Not much left in free agency. I sorta like Nic Batum as an option for them, but not sure he'd want to play in Minnesota for the minimum.
Kim
3:40
Hawks fan here. I have enjoyed all of the moves my Atlanta Hawks have made this offseason season. With the exception of picking up Buddy Heilds option when they could have declined it and owed back only $3 million. Why? He never really played meaningful minutes and looked goofy sitting on the bench. I believe another team may value his shooting ability. What earthly reason would the Hawks tie themselves into $9000 to sit on the bench? Do you think there is a plan here? Thanks!!
Luke Adams
3:42
I think it's been overlooked to some extent that Hield's contract includes a 2027/28 player option that carries a partial guarantee of a little over $3.1MM. So if they'd waived him this summer, they actually would've been on the hook for over $6MM, not just this year's partial guarantee of $3MM.

You could still argue that might've been worth it, especially now that the Hawks are facing a roster crunch and Hield looks like one of the potential odd men out. I do wonder if they thought they had momentum toward a trade when they made the decision to keep him and then got stuck when it fell apart.
Aaron
3:42
How do you figure the Bucks to solve their roster crunch? Does it make sense to S&T for Watson and what would a possible deal for him look like?
Luke Adams
3:45
I think a Watson sign-and-trade will be tricky, if the Nuggets' rumored asking price is true (they're said to want similar to what the Jazz got for Kessler). Even if they settle for a single first-round pick, I'd question whether that's the best use of resources at this point for a retooling Bucks team.

Complicating matters further is the fact that the Gary Trent deal moved the Bucks so close to the tax line. Without that contract on the books, they could've accommodated a Watson sign-and-trade using the Giannis TPE while staying below the tax line. Now they'd need to send out some salary of their own, and I don't think the Nuggets would be interested in taking any back unless they make a separate deal to shed salary.
3:46
If the Bucks don't make any trades, I'd expect Caris LeVert and Pete Nance to be the top release candidates.
Kuminga
3:46
What is the delay in my rumored move this offseason?
Luke Adams
3:47
Think it makes sense for you to wait on LeBron -- you've been linked to the Cavs, so if they don't end up with James, you might be the Plan B.
KJ
3:47
Now that the world cup is over I gotta think LeBron going to make up his mind soon now that attention can soley be on him?  Any guesses when?
Luke Adams
3:47
I've thought since last week that Tuesday (tomorrow) made sense for the timing, but that's just a guess.
Sean
3:48
Do you see the New York Knicks signing Jack Kayil this year and bringing him over and the Dallas Mavericks signing Vsevolod Ishchenko to a two-way contract instead of Draft and Stash.
Luke Adams
3:50
The Knicks' situation doesn't really lend itself to Kayil coming over immediately, since they probably want a veteran in that 14th roster spot and then wouldn't have room for him in the 15th spot. Signing him to a two-way is also tricky because they wouldn't be able to pay his buyout in that scenario.

My best guess right now is that both Kayil and Ishchenko end up as draft-and-stashs.
Knicks
3:51
Would dadiet plus two seconds be enough for cardwell or filipkowski? Seems they want a young third center
Luke Adams
3:53
Filipowski makes $16K more than Dadiet, so the Knicks technically wouldn't be allowed to make that trade (they can't take back more salary than they send out). I also don't think the Jazz would be especially motivated to trade another young big anyway, after losing Kessler.

Cardwell is maybe more realistic, but Dadiet just doesn't have much (any) value on his own, and I'm not sure the Kings would be eager to give up one of their best success stories in recent years for a couple seconds. They also have a tight tax situation to consider. Not impossible, but I'm skeptical the Knicks talk them into that one.
Thunder
3:54
Do the Thunder extend Cason Wallace?
Luke Adams
3:54
The Dort trade clearly signals to met that they envision him as part of the future there. I'd expect an extension before opening night if they're not too far apart on a price.
Benny the Bull
3:55
Do you think the Bulls have another consequential move or two in their offseason, or are they substantially done?
Luke Adams
3:57
I think they're essentially done in terms of adding veterans they targeted (like Claxton and Powell). But they have a LOT of breathing room below the tax line, which gives them a ton of flexibility to take on salary via the expanded trade exception and/or the room exception.

I could see them making one or two more deals before opening night in order to stockpile more draft picks or add another young player (they'd be a good Jarace Walker destination, for example, if the Pacers wanted to move him to get out of the tax -- he'd fit into the room exception).
Laker Fan
3:57
Lakers just announced 16th guaranteed contract. Who gets left out?
Luke Adams
4:00
I expect the Lakers to keep looking for 2-for-1 or 3-for-1 trade opportunities. If none arise and they have to waive someone, it's probably either Dalton Knecht or Bronny James. (Would've included Adou Thiero in that conversation a couple weeks ago, but I think he did enough in Vegas to keep his spot).
Chlo
4:01
If it’s a team penalty given for the Kawhi scandal, why would the raptors receive that and not the clippers?
Luke Adams
4:02
They wouldn't. If they made the trade today, the Raptors would subsequently be on the hook for any penalty Kawhi faced, which shouldn't be controversial (if he's on the roster, why wouldn't a suspension affect the Raptors?).

If the NBA decides to penalize the Clippers, that would have nothing to do with the Raptors either way.
Sam
4:02
So far, which team has your favorite off-season? And which team has had your least favorite?
Luke Adams
4:07
I don't know how competitive they'll be in 2026/27, but I really like what the Grizzlies did overall. Boozer should be an excellent pro, Isaiah Stewart feels undervalued to me, they did OK (not great but OK) in the Morant deal, and they generated a ton of value when they traded down from 16 to 21.

Also think the Raptors and Sixers did well in their trades for stars.

In terms of least favorite offseasons, I don't love the Pelicans' inactivity. Feel like the Lakers made some questionable investments (I like Kessler, Mamu, and Grimes well enough, but they got three of the biggest FA contracts of the summer, which was a little surprising). Jury's still out on the Pistons, but their moves feel sort of lateral so far.

Also, out of principle, I don't love the Knicks and Thunder - the last two champions - making financially motivated decisions that make their rosters worse.
teej-A
4:08
Heard anything on Spencer Jones' market?
Luke Adams
4:10
Hasn't been much chatter about him. If I were a team in need of a wing, I'd be tempted to throw him an offer sheet in the three-year, $15MM range. Make the Nuggets make a decision on him while they're stuck in limbo with Watson and are facing a difficult tax/apron situation.

I actually think he'd be a logical target for the Wolves, since he can play the four and would be a nice fit along ball-dominant stars, but they'd have trouble putting together a competitive offer since they're only $4MM below the second apron.
Gary Trent
4:11
Is the NBA going to void my contract and punish the Milwaukee Bucks for giving me this insane deal?
Luke Adams
4:12
Feel like voiding the contract would be the opposite of a punishment for the Bucks!

I'm skeptical the NBA does anything there unless they find proof of a handshake deal, which I can't imagine the Bucks and Klutch were careless enough to put in writing.
hollywood script
4:12
Lebron is making his final season documentary, and there are 3 Hollywood story lines to consider.  1. The Expendables @ Golden State, play with Steph and see if they can go on what could be an all time NBA legendary playoff run . 2. Return of the King @ Cleveland, if he can get them over the hump to their 2nd title, will be epic. 3. Bad Boys 2 @ Miami Lebron and Giannis flashing their games in the glamour of south beach. i think Golden State is the best story and I think he's going there. what do you hear?
Luke Adams
4:16
I think you could come up with a pretty good narrative for any of LeBron's potential destinations. Trying to help the Sixers win their first title since '83 or the Wolves get their first ever title would be pretty compelling too.

When I try to imagine LeBron in any of these situations, the Warriors one is the easiest for me to picture. He likes and respects Steph, Draymond, and Kerr; it's not too far from home; the expectations wouldn't necessarily be title-or-bust. That feels to me like a situation he'd enjoy.

But Shams keeps saying the focus is on the Eastern teams, and even though it seems like no one really knows anything, I tend to believe he wouldn't keep repeating that if he wasn't pretty confident about it.

If I had to make a bet today, I'd say Cleveland. But the idea of LeBron teaming up with Harden and Mitchell feels very weird to me.
Victoria Beckham
4:16
1 rookie extension so far in the first round, and it's Victor, who took a pay cut. Is that a record low for this stage of the offseason? Will there be a record number of RFAs next year? It has turned out ugly for more than one team already. Why aren't teams more proactive in signing their young players? Draft a young guy, and 3 years later act like you don't want him...
Luke Adams
4:18
I wouldn't overreact to the lack of rookie scale extensions so far. Usually only the max deals get done right away, and there are no obvious max guys in this class besides Wembanyama. I bet a bunch will get done in October.
Tiger Lover
4:18
Jalen Duren is not a max player. Not is he a 40 million dollar player. What are his agents seeing that the rest of the nba don’t. They met there match with Trajan langdon
Luke Adams
4:20
Would guess his agents are seeing a 20/10 guy who was the second-best player on a 60-win team and was named All-NBA at 22 years old.

I get why that playoff performance would make the Pistons hesitant to max out Duren, but I also think he and his reps are right to believe he earned a much bigger payday than someone like Kessler, who missed nearly all of last season and has never played at an All-Star level.
teej-A
4:21
Are the Nuggets waiting for James' decision and/or some clarity with Watson before making trades for financial relief?
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