NBA free agency arrives on Monday (officially, we all know plenty is already done behind the scenes). Here are some of the latest rumors circulating around the league, starting in Phoenix, which has already had a busy offseason.
Booker expected to extend with Suns
Phoenix’s offseason checklist:
1) Trade Kevin Durant.Done.
2) Hire a new coach.Done (Jordan Ott is a deserving hire).
3) Have a strong NBA draft. Done (Khaman Maluach is a quality addition).
4) Trade Bradley Beal. Good luck with that (more on this below).
5) Extend Devin Booker. Working on it.
During the draft, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst talked about how Booker — the guy the Suns are now building around — was active in the coaching search and is talking with the Suns about a two-year, $150 million extension. He doesn’t have to sign that, but he can if he wants to show an extra level of commitment to the franchise. If that comes together, it would lock Booker in Phoenix on a what would now essentially be a five-year, $320 million contract. That is a serious commitment to their star.
So no, the Suns aren’t trading Booker anytime soon.
Beal open to trade but it’s unlikely
Bradley Beal is owed $110 million over the next two seasons and holds a no-trade clause that would let him reject a trade anywhere he doesn’t want to live and play. That means Beal is likely to be on the Suns next season, and new coach Jordan Ott will play him heavy minutes early in the season, hoping to raise his trade value.
Beal is “open” to a trade, Fred Katz reports at The Athletic, but that comes with conditions:
Beal would be open to the right trade that sends him to the right destination, but his preference is to remain in Phoenix, even if the team won only 35 games a season ago and just downgraded from Kevin Durant, who it dealt to the Houston Rockets last weekend.
Beal will make an average of $55 million each of the next two years, and this is a player most teams believe to be worth more like $15 million a season at this point in his career (Katz confirmed that for The Athletic). No team is taking on that extra cash without some draft picks as sweeteners, and it’s going to take a lot of them. Which is another reason a Beal trade is unlikely.
Some fans and media reports have suggested the Suns should waive-and-stretch Beal, which would open up a roster spot and spread his contract over the next five years ($22 million a season of dead money on the books). The problem, as Katz notes, is that because the Suns have already waived-and-stretched Nassir Little and E.J. Liddell, doing the same to Beal would put the Suns over the little-known rule that only 15% of a team’s cap space can be used on stretched players. The Suns could ask Beal to shave $13.7 million off his contract to facilitate getting waived, but Beal has shown zero interest in taking a haircut in the past.
The reality is that the Suns are going to stay in the Bradley Beal business for a while.
LeBron expected to pick up option
In recent years, the pattern has been for LeBron James to decline his player option, then re-sign a two-year contract with the Lakers that has a player option in the second year.
Not this summer, he is expected to pick up the second and final year of his contract at $52.6 million, reports Dave McMenamin of ESPN.
That does not mean this is LeBron’s final season — his 23rd — the report adds. Nothing has been decided on that front.
LeBron returning turns out to be the easy part of the offseason for Lakers GM Rob Pelinka. The Lakers and Dorian Finney-Smith need to work out a new contract, for one (he has a $14.1 million player option but is expected to turn that down, seeking more years and money). Then there is Luka Doncic. Come On Aug. 2, the Lakers will offer him a four-year, $229 million max extension, however, the expectation is that he will ultimately sign a three-year, $165 million extension that will have him hit free agency just as he reaches 10 years in the league and can then get a max of 35% of the salary cap. There are zero signs or expectations that Doncic is leaving the Lakers, he is by all accounts happy in his new home.
Gary Payton II likely out in Golden State
Payton is a fan and locker room favorite with the Warriors who was a key part of their run to the 2022 title. He is their best point-of-attack perimeter defender, and last season, in 62 games he averaged 6.5 points per game (in 15 minutes a night). He was a guy coach Steve Kerr leaned on in big moments.
He’s also going to be too expensive for the Buler/Curry Warriors to retain. He made $9.1 million last season and is looking for a healthy raise. One source summed it up to Monty Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area.
“It’s looking doubtful,” one source said Friday.
“Golden State still likes him, and there’s still a chance he’s back,” another source said of the Warriors. “But they have a lot of moving parts as they work through the Jonathan Kuminga situation, so Gary could land elsewhere next season.”
Pistons, Clippers interested in Nickeil Alexander-Walker
Minnesota has agreed to a deal to bring back sixth man Naz Reid, and the latest reporting suggests Julius Randle is next for a new contract with the team (Randle has a $30.9 million player option, the Timberwolves want to give him more years and total money, but at a lower per-year figure).
That leaves Nickeil Alexander-Walker as the guy without a chair when the music stops — Minnesota can’t afford to bring all three back with raises. The Clippers, Pistons and Magic are the teams he’s been most linked to, reports Jake Fischer of The Stein Line. Alexander-Walker likely will make around the full mid-level exception ($14.1 million).
Kings have interest in Kuminga
First and foremost, the Sacramento Kings need a point guard. That said, they don’t want an expensive older player, so they are not going after Trae Young, nor did they have serious interest in Jrue Holiday when he was available, reports Sam Amick of The Athletic. They are interested in one veteran PG: Dennis Schroder (who will come at a much lower price than Young or Holiday).
That is not the only other summer plan in Sacramento. The Kings are also looking for talent upgrades at the right price, and that has them possibly interested in a Jonathan Kuminga sign-and-trade with the Warriors. Amick notes that it’s unlikely Kuminga is a King at the start of next season, but he uses it as an example of the thinking of first-year general manager Scott Perry — he wants younger players with potential and to build something, not just collecting older, bigger contract name players that don’t fit (which is what happened under the previous regime, although owner Vivek Ranadive had a heavy hand it that). Perry also has no interest in extending the contract of one of those older players, Zach LaVine, and they have had talks about a trade with some teams, although there seems to be little traction at this point.
Perry is putting the Kings on a better path. It’s going to take time to turn this ship around (and a little luck, it always takes a little luck). Let’s hope Perry gets plenty of time and leeway to make the changes he wants — “patience” and “Kings ownership” have not been words put in the same sentence very often in the last decade. It’s time they are.
A couple more quick notes
• Cam Whitmore has a lot of fans in front offices around the league, but he’s struggled to get steady minutes on the incredibly deep Rockets. He might be a guy on the move.
Rockets third-year wing Cam Whitmore has been the subject of a number of trade discussions in recent days, sources tell @TheAthletic. Situation is best described as fluid right now.
— Kelly Iko (@KellyIko) June 27, 2025
• Rockets keeping trio. Whatever happens with Whitmore, the Rockets plan to re-sign Aaron Holiday, Jae’Sean Tate, and Jeff Green, reports ESPN’s Charania. All three likely get signed on minimum contracts.
• Cleveland locks up Sam Merrill. The Cavaliers and bench sharpshooter Merrill have agreed to a four-year, $38 million contract, Shams Charania reports. Merrill averaged almost 20 minutes a night last season, improved defensively, and has shot 39% from beyond the arc over the last two seasons. He was set to be a free agent.
NBA free agency arrives on Monday (officially, we all know plenty is already done behind the scenes). Here are some of the latest rumors circulating around the league, starting in Phoenix, which has already had a busy offseason.
Booker expected to extend with Suns
Phoenix’s offseason checklist:
1) Trade Kevin Durant. Done.
2) Hire a new coach. Done (Jordan Ott is a deserving hire).
3) Have a strong NBA draft. Done (Khaman Maluach is a quality addition).
4) Trade Bradley Beal. Good luck with that (more on this below).
5) Extend Devin Booker. Working on it.
During the draft, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst talked about how Booker — the guy the Suns are now building around — was active in the coaching search and is talking with the Suns about a two-year, $150 million extension. He doesn’t have to sign that, but he can if he wants to show an extra level of commitment to the franchise. If that comes together, it would lock Booker in Phoenix on a what would now essentially be a five-year, $320 million contract. That is a serious commitment to their star.
So no, the Suns aren’t trading Booker anytime soon.
Beal open to trade but it’s unlikely
Bradley Beal is owed $110 million over the next two seasons and holds a no-trade clause that would let him reject a trade anywhere he doesn’t want to live and play. That means Beal is likely to be on the Suns next season, and new coach Jordan Ott will play him heavy minutes early in the season, hoping to raise his trade value.
Beal is “open” to a trade, Fred Katz reports at The Athletic, but that comes with conditions:
Beal would be open to the right trade that sends him to the right destination, but his preference is to remain in Phoenix, even if the team won only 35 games a season ago and just downgraded from Kevin Durant, who it dealt to the Houston Rockets last weekend.
Beal will make an average of $55 million each of the next two years, and this is a player most teams believe to be worth more like $15 million a season at this point in his career (Katz confirmed that for The Athletic). No team is taking on that extra cash without some draft picks as sweeteners, and it’s going to take a lot of them. Which is another reason a Beal trade is unlikely.
Some fans and media reports have suggested the Suns should waive-and-stretch Beal, which would open up a roster spot and spread his contract over the next five years ($22 million a season of dead money on the books). The problem, as Katz notes, is that because the Suns have already waived-and-stretched Nassir Little and E.J. Liddell, doing the same to Beal would put the Suns over the little-known rule that only 15% of a team’s cap space can be used on stretched players. The Suns could ask Beal to shave $13.7 million off his contract to facilitate getting waived, but Beal has shown zero interest in taking a haircut in the past.
The reality is that the Suns are going to stay in the Bradley Beal business for a while.
LeBron expected to pick up option
In recent years, the pattern has been for LeBron James to decline his player option, then re-sign a two-year contract with the Lakers that has a player option in the second year.
Not this summer, he is expected to pick up the second and final year of his contract at $52.6 million, reports Dave McMenamin of ESPN.
That does not mean this is LeBron’s final season — his 23rd — the report adds. Nothing has been decided on that front.
LeBron returning turns out to be the easy part of the offseason for Lakers GM Rob Pelinka. The Lakers and Dorian Finney-Smith need to work out a new contract, for one (he has a $14.1 million player option but is expected to turn that down, seeking more years and money). Then there is Luka Doncic. Come On Aug. 2, the Lakers will offer him a four-year, $229 million max extension, however, the expectation is that he will ultimately sign a three-year, $165 million extension that will have him hit free agency just as he reaches 10 years in the league and can then get a max of 35% of the salary cap. There are zero signs or expectations that Doncic is leaving the Lakers, he is by all accounts happy in his new home.
Gary Payton II likely out in Golden State
Payton is a fan and locker room favorite with the Warriors who was a key part of their run to the 2022 title. He is their best point-of-attack perimeter defender, and last season, in 62 games he averaged 6.5 points per game (in 15 minutes a night). He was a guy coach Steve Kerr leaned on in big moments.
He’s also going to be too expensive for the Buler/Curry Warriors to retain. He made $9.1 million last season and is looking for a healthy raise. One source summed it up to Monty Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area.
“It’s looking doubtful,” one source said Friday.
“Golden State still likes him, and there’s still a chance he’s back,” another source said of the Warriors. “But they have a lot of moving parts as they work through the Jonathan Kuminga situation, so Gary could land elsewhere next season.”
Pistons, Clippers interested in Nickeil Alexander-Walker
Minnesota has agreed to a deal to bring back sixth man Naz Reid, and the latest reporting suggests Julius Randle is next for a new contract with the team (Randle has a $30.9 million player option, the Timberwolves want to give him more years and total money, but at a lower per-year figure).
That leaves Nickeil Alexander-Walker as the guy without a chair when the music stops — Minnesota can’t afford to bring all three back with raises. The Clippers, Pistons and Magic are the teams he’s been most linked to, reports Jake Fischer of The Stein Line. Alexander-Walker likely will make around the full mid-level exception ($14.1 million).
Kings have interest in Kuminga
First and foremost, the Sacramento Kings need a point guard. That said, they don’t want an expensive older player, so they are not going after Trae Young, nor did they have serious interest in Jrue Holiday when he was available, reports Sam Amick of The Athletic. They are interested in one veteran PG: Dennis Schroder (who will come at a much lower price than Young or Holiday).
That is not the only other summer plan in Sacramento. The Kings are also looking for talent upgrades at the right price, and that has them possibly interested in a Jonathan Kuminga sign-and-trade with the Warriors. Amick notes that it’s unlikely Kuminga is a King at the start of next season, but he uses it as an example of the thinking of first-year general manager Scott Perry — he wants younger players with potential and to build something, not just collecting older, bigger contract name players that don’t fit (which is what happened under the previous regime, although owner Vivek Ranadive had a heavy hand it that). Perry also has no interest in extending the contract of one of those older players, Zach LaVine, and they have had talks about a trade with some teams, although there seems to be little traction at this point.
Perry is putting the Kings on a better path. It’s going to take time to turn this ship around (and a little luck, it always takes a little luck). Let’s hope Perry gets plenty of time and leeway to make the changes he wants — “patience” and “Kings ownership” have not been words put in the same sentence very often in the last decade. It’s time they are.
A couple more quick notes
• Cam Whitmore has a lot of fans in front offices around the league, but he’s struggled to get steady minutes on the incredibly deep Rockets. He might be a guy on the move.
• Rockets keeping trio. Whatever happens with Whitmore, the Rockets plan to re-sign Aaron Holiday, Jae’Sean Tate, and Jeff Green, reports ESPN’s Charania. All three likely get signed on minimum contracts.
• Cleveland locks up Sam Merrill. The Cavaliers and bench sharpshooter Merrill have agreed to a four-year, $38 million contract, Shams Charania reports. Merrill averaged almost 20 minutes a night last season, improved defensively, and has shot 39% from beyond the arc over the last two seasons. He was set to be a free agent.
