ESPN article on Offseason decisions for playoff teams, some interesting dilemmas:
MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES
Draft picks in June: No. 56 (via HOU)
Free agents: Santi Aldama (R), Luke Kennard, Lamar Stevens, Marvin Bagley III, Yuki Kawamura (R), Cam Spencer (R)The future of Jaren Jackson Jr. in Memphis could hinge on whether he is named to an All-NBA team. If he falls short of either honor, the Grizzlies will need to clear cap space to renegotiate and then extend his contract. If they don't, Jackson likely becomes one of the top free agents available in the 2026 offseason. Besides Jackson, the franchise needs to address the restricted free agency of reserve Santi Aldama and extension talks for Ja Morant.
The Smart trade to Washington has put Memphis in position to retain Aldama and also renegotiate Jackson's contract. Including the free agent hold of Aldama, Memphis is $7 million below the salary cap. If the Grizzlies act as a room team, they will then have the $8.8 million mid-level exception. Memphis is also $50 million below the luxury tax.
JJJ...A five-year, up to $345 million supermax extension could be the reward if he is named All-NBA. The Grizzlies are allowed to negotiate up to 35% of the salary cap in the first year but are required to extend for five years...Of the 14 players who signed supermax extensions, only Rudy Gobert did not receive the full amount...There is also the scenario that Jackson does not earn postseason honors. Because the rookie extension he signed in 2021 declines, the maximum extension allowed would be four years, $146 million -- $150 million less than what Jackson can sign with Memphis as a free agent in 2026 and $75 million less than what he could sign with a team that has cap space. A renegotiation and extension is allowed, but only if the Grizzlies create cap space in the offseason.
ALDAMA...Expect Memphis to tender him a $5.9 million one-year qualifying offer prior to June 29. He would then be a restricted free agent, allowing the Grizzlies to match any offer sheet.
MORANT...Extension talks with Morant will be a good indicator if Memphis views the former All-Star as a franchise player to continue building around...The Grizzlies have up until Oct. 21 to tack on an additional two years ($61.7 million and $66.7 million) to the three years already left on his contract.
TEAM NEEDS: DEFENSIVE IDENTITY
DALLAS MAVERICKS
Draft picks in June: No. 11 (own).
Free agents: Spencer Dinwiddie, Dante Exum, Kyrie Irving (P), Dwight Powell (P), Kessler Edwards (R), and Kai JonesThe season in Dallas has been met by an unprecedented list of injuries, as the Mavericks ranked in the top five in missed games. Dallas used 47 different starting lineups this season, tied for the fourth most by any team since starters were first tracked in 1970-71. The Mavs missed a combined 363 games this season, nearly double from a year ago.
Irving's future will factor heavily into whether the Mavericks can return to contender status. Irving had ACL surgery on March 26 and has a $41 million player option for next season. Including their lottery pick in June, Dallas has 12 players under contract and the trade assets to once again make another deal. They have three tradable firsts and 10 contracts between $2 million to $16 million to use in a trade.
...the Mavericks to hover around the tax line and first apron threshold. Including Irving's $43 million player option and their 2025 first-round pick, Dallas is $8 million over the luxury tax and $4 million over the first apron. Irving and Powell have until June 24 to opt in to their contracts...The Mavs are not allowed to use any of their four trade exceptions ($11 million, $7 million, $4.3 million and $2.1 million) if they are an apron team next season. If any of the exceptions are used between now and June 30, the first apron is triggered for 2025-26 (they are $50,148 below). If the Mavericks finish the 2025-26 season in the tax, they are then a repeater tax team in 2026-27. Not including a new contract for Irving and a PJ Washington extension, Dallas is $46 million below.
...how should the Mavericks handle negotiations with Irving knowing there are no teams outside of Brooklyn with more than $40 million in cap space and the 33-year-old guard coming off a significant knee injury?
TEAM NEEDS: AVAILABILITY
ATLANTA HAWKS
Draft picks in June: No. 13 (via SAC) and No. 22 (via LAL). Note: Atlanta will receive the Kings' first-round pick if it lands 13-30.
Free agents: Clint Capela, Garrison Mathews, Larry Nance Jr., Caris LeVert, Keaton Wallace (R) and Dominick Barlow (T)Instead of being one dimensional with Trae Young solely as the face of the franchise, Atlanta has shifted to building a sustainable roster. "Ultimately, it's not about just one season," GM Hawks Landry Fields said in February. "We're here to build a championship-caliber roster, not just for a single year, but for years to come."
The long-term vision has shifted toward young players, the draft and financial flexibility to make trades. Four of their five starters, Dyson Daniels, Jalen Johnson, Zaccharie Risacher and Onyeka Okongwu, are 24 or younger and are either on team-controlled contracts or signed long term. Atlanta will add two first-round picks, one possibly in the top-15 from Sacramento and a second from the Lakers.
Daniels is extension-eligible this offseason and is considered one of the best wing defenders in the NBA...The positives however could be overshadowed by the one big question that will linger over the franchise this offseason. Is Trae Young part of the long-term future? He is eligible to sign a four-year extension and could be a free agent in summer 2026.
The Dejounte Murray and De'Andre Hunter trades have taken Atlanta out of financial purgatory. Instead of straddling the luxury tax line like in years past, Atlanta enters the offseason right at the salary cap. Besides the possibility of two first-round picks, the Hawks have the flexibility to use their $14.1 million non-tax mid-level exception and still be active in the trade market. Atlanta also has the $5.1 million biannual, veteran minimum and four trade exceptions ($25.3 million, $13.1 million, $3.7 million and $3.5 million).
...Atlanta is facing a decision on whether to commit to the guard. He is eligible to sign a four-year, $229 million extension up until next June 30 or a five-year, $345 million super max extension if he is named All-NBA this season. If an extension is not reached, Young could become a free agent next summer but only if he declines the $49 million player option in 2026-27.
It is unlikely that Daniels will see the same five-year, $245 million max extensions that Paolo Banchero and Jalen Williams will most likely sign in the first week of free agency...still worthy of a lucrative new contract...A contract for Daniels should be in the five-year, $170 million range. The $34 million per year average is comparable to the same salary cap percentage that Jalen Suggs signed with the Magic last October.
TEAM NEEDS: DEFENSE
SACRAMENTO KINGS
Draft picks in June: No. 42/43 (via Chicago) Note: They retain their first-round pick if it falls in the top 12.
Free agents: Trey Lyles, Jake LaRavia, Jae Crowder, Markelle Fultz, Keon Ellis (T), Doug McDermott, Mason Jones (R), Isaiah Crawford (R), Isaac Jones (T)The fit between Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan and Domantas Sabonis has been unclear...The Kings have two max players under contract (LaVine and Sabonis) but still have the flexibility to take back money in a trade or use their $14.1 million exception in free agency...$24 million below the luxury tax and is in no danger of being in the first apron once their roster is filled out.
The Kings have until June 29 to exercise the $2.3 million team option of Keon Ellis. If the option is declined, Ellis would then become a restricted free agent. If it is exercised, Ellis would become an unrestricted free agent in 2026...The Kings are restricted in what they can pay free agent Jake LaRavia with his next contract; because his fourth-year rookie option was declined by Memphis, the maximum starting salary in his next contract is $5.1 million. Besides the non-tax midlevel, Sacramento also will have the biannual ($5.1 million), second round, veterans minimum and five trade exceptions ($16.7 million, $6.3 million, $5.9 million, $4.7 million and $1.9 million).
Clarity is the most important word in Sacramento this offseason...whether the Kings, as currently constructed, can be more than a .500 roster.
MURRAY...Considering he is not a max player, expect extension talks to linger until Oct. 21, the last day eligible to sign a new contract. A comparable extension is the four-year $112 million contract Trey Murphy III signed with New Orleans in October.
TEAM NEEDS: PERIMETER SHOOTERS & DEFENDERS
CHICAGO BULLS
Draft picks in June: No. 12 and No. 44/45 (via Sacramento).
Free agents: Tre Jones, Josh Giddey, Jevon Carter (P), Talen Horton-Tucker, Emanuel Miller (R) and E.J. Liddell (R)The Bulls went 17-10 after the All-Star break and had the fifth-best record (15-5) after March 6. The improvement is a combination of a more balanced roster since the Zach LaVine trade in February, a career second-half performance for Coby White and the development of Josh Giddey and rookie Matas Buzelis..."This is not a final product. We'll continue to look for opportunities to improve our team. The next phase is during the draft and free agency. We obviously value draft compensation and young players and flexibility in that order. We have nine players between 20 and 25," Karnisovas said in February.
...Bulls flexibility to re-sign restricted free agent Giddey while still having the option to add in free agency or swing a trade. Before agreeing to new contract for Giddey, the Bulls have no players earning more than $22 million next season and only $45 million in total salary for 2026-27...The Bulls have $135 million committed but because of the free agent hold of Josh Giddey ($25.1 million) and their first-round pick, they will not have cap space (and are $46 million below the luxury tax). Chicago has access to its non-tax midlevel ($14.1 million), biannual ($5.1 million), veterans minimum and second-round pick exceptions. It also has trade exceptions of $17.2 million and $2.9 million.
Reaching a compromise on a new contract for Giddey is first on the offseason to do list...Numbers aside, restricted free agency gives the Bulls a competitive advantage on keeping Giddey. Outside of Brooklyn, no team could currently sign the guard to an offer sheet with a first-year salary of $30 million or more. The average salary for starting point guards next season is $38 million.
WHITE...He is eligible to sign a four-year, $89 million extension starting July 10. White will be an unrestricted free agent in 2026 if a new contract is not signed by June 30, 2026.
TEAM NEEDS: DEFENSE
FOR REFERENCE - PORTLAND
Draft picks in June: No. 10 (own)
Free agents: Dalano Banton, Rayan Rupert (T), Matisse Thybulle (P), Jabari Walker (R), Justin Minaya (R) and Bryce McGowens (R)With the progress this season also comes big questions over the summer. The Trail Blazers have four veterans -- Anfernee Simons, Matisse Thybulle, Robert Williams III and Deandre Ayton -- entering the last year of their contracts.
With 13 players under contract for next offseason, Portland is over the salary cap but well below the luxury tax to add during free agency or in a trade. With their upcoming lottery pick, the Blazers are $11 million below the tax and $17 million below the first apron. Thybulle, who dealt with various injuries while playing the fewest games of his career, has until June 24 to opt in to his $11.5 million salary for next season, while the Trail Blazers could gain roster relief with the non-guaranteed contracts of Rayan Rupert and Duop Reath. The $2.2 million Rupert contract is guaranteed on July 1, and Duop's $2.2 million contract will be guaranteed on Aug. 1. Portland has the four exceptions -- non-tax mid-level, biannual, second round and veteran minimum -- available.
Besides the draft, there were two sets of priorities in Portland this offseason...The second is to find clarity with their veterans. Ayton, Simons, Williams and Thybulle are not only in the last year of their contract but are also extension eligible. Simons has led the team in scoring two straight seasons. Portland could have a projected $70 million in cap space next offseason if the four players are not extended.
Toumani Camara and Shaedon Sharpe are two of the eight players on the roster who are extension eligible...Camara has two years left on his contract ($2.2 million and $2.4 million) and is eligible to sign a four-year, $89.2 million extension starting on July 20. To maximize their finances, Portland is better off waiting until next offseason to offer Camara a new contract.
Sharpe is one of the more intriguing rookie extension candidates because of his upside. After missing most of last season because of an abductor injury, Sharpe averaged a career-high 18.5 points. He came off the bench in all but four games since the All-Star break.
TEAM NEEDS: INTERNAL DEVELOPMENT, VETERAN PG, PERIMETER SHOOTING
