Answering big post-draft NBA questions as free agency and offseason near

New York Times

2 days ago

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Bouncers, as we hit the offseason schedule, we're going to move The Bounce to Tuesdays and Fridays starting next week. We'll still break down everything you need to know about free agency and trades! Just didn't want to alarm you with our typical summer schedule if you're new.
Big summer questions after NBA Draft
Now that the 2025 NBA Draft is over and some teams are already tanking for AJ Dybantsa in 2026, we head to free agency! That's the next step on the NBA calendar. Free agency starts on Monday at 6 p.m. ET. That's when teams can pretend to start talking to free agents for the first time. In reality, they've been setting up stuff for weeks and months.
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One of the biggest hurdles in team-building these days is the dreaded second apron for the luxury-tax penalties. Don't worry if you're still fuzzy on what that is. I've got an easy explainer for you right here on how that affects your team. As teams try to avoid the punitive financial aprons, some will make a push to shed some salary while trying to remain competitive. Others will push chips in and try to get to the top of their conferences.
The draft was a big step toward making those moves already, as were the trades we had reported leading up to the draft. That leaves me with a flock of questions to answer before we hit next week.
Will Dallas make another big deal? General manager Nico Harrison did not build this team in a controversial manner (moving Luka Dončić out of town) with the possibility of having Cooper Flagg. That just kind of happened. So, now that this wunderkind has been dropped onto Dallas' roster, how does that affect things moving forward? The Mavs frontcourt is crowded.
They have Anthony Davis (32 years old), Flagg (18), Daniel Gafford (26), Dereck Lively II (21), P.J. Washington (26) and even Dwight Powell (33) in the frontcourt. That doesn't even count versatile wings like Naji Marshall (27), Caleb Martin (29) and Olivier-Maxence Prosper (22), who are all better served at the 3 than the 2. They just extended Gafford for three years, and Lively is extension-eligible this fall. They're waiting for Kyrie Irving to come back from his ACL tear, which could happen around midseason. Would it behoove them to move some of this frontcourt depth for a guard that can help them now?
It would also open up more minutes for Flagg at his natural 4 position, which means Davis has to play more at the 5. He hates that.
Does everything fit in Spurs backcourt? Speaking of prospects dropped on your roster, the Spurs ending up with Dylan Harper with the second pick isn't exactly a perfect fit, either. They just traded for De'Aaron Fox last season, and they play the same position. The Spurs also have the reigning Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle, who fancies himself a playmaking guard as his preferred position. Fox is also eligible for a big extension.
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The 27-year-old is 6-foot-3, Harper is about 6-foot-5 and Castle is 6-foot-6. Fox has a 6-foot-6 wingspan, Castle has a 6-foot-9 wingspan and Harper has a 6-foot-10 wingspan. You can play all three together, although we need to see how the defense looks with Harper and Fox on the floor. Indiana showed us the importance of having multiple guys who can attack and initiate, so it could work out. But I wonder if this changes anything for San Antonio.
Maybe the Spurs' other role players like Devin Vassell, Keldon Johnson or Jeremy Sochan now become more tradeable to put a bigger player next to Victor Wembanyama?
The Nets used all of their picks. What's their cap situation? I'm fully willing to be wrong, but I did not like the Nets' draft, and I'm not alone. Five picks and five projects. I know they're not trying to win now, but I figured we'd see them trade a couple of those picks to either move up or get potentially better picks in the future to utilize. If they sign all five of those first-round picks, they'd have 15 players on the roster and roughly $50 million in cap space without their own free-agent cap holds.
They also have D'Angelo Russell, Cam Thomas, Day'Ron Sharpe, Ziaire Williams, Trendon Watford and Reece Beekman as free agents. Those guys eliminate the cap space unless the Nets relinquish their free-agent rights, which allows them to go over the cap to re-sign them. Sharpe, Thomas, Williams and Beekman are restricted free agents, too.
This is a numbers crunch, and any agents hoping to use the Nets' cap space as a bargaining tool against other teams, or even just to get their guys paid in Brooklyn, might be out of luck now.
Seriously, what the hell, Pelicans? Over a day after the Pelicans traded up from 23rd overall to 13th by giving away the more favorable of their own pick or Milwaukee's to grab Derik Queen, people around the league were still dumbfounded. They were also still kind of confused by adding the extra year of salary for Jordan Poole in jettisoning CJ McCollum.
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This is their current projected depth chart (we can quibble about the actual order, but I'm just using this to show a vague idea):
PG: Jeremiah Fears, Jose Alvarado, Elfrid Payton, Dejounte Murray (Achilles injury)
SG: Jordan Poole, Jordan Hawkins, Brandon Boston Jr., Lester Quinones, Antonio Reeves
SF: Trey Murphy III, Herb Jones, Saddiq Bey
PF: Zion Williamson, Derik Queen
C: Yves Missi, Karlo Matković
That kind of looks like a team that is fun in a video game and destined to have a high lottery pick if injuries run rampant. So, why did you give that pick to Atlanta?
Are the Hawks sneakily dangerous — not to themselves — for once? Once the Hawks fleeced the Pelicans in that draft-night trade, everybody started wondering if this new front office has them ready to pounce in the vulnerable East. This will depend on a few things.
1) How healthy will Kristaps Porziņģis be, and how easily can he play next to Onyeka Okongwu? If the answer to be is 'very,' then the Hawks are fine. 2) How healthy will Jalen Johnson be? The team fell off a cliff when he got hurt. 3) How are they able to use their $25 million trade exception? If they can add a big-time perimeter player and Zaccharie Risacher takes a step forward, the Hawks might be able to really make some noise here.
One last question: Is Trae Young going to play a lot better? His passing was really good, and he did defend better at times. But he shot horribly, and the turnovers are just too much.
Did the Suns actually do some good stuff? I secretly love their draft. Khaman Maluach is one of my favorite prospects, and they acquired Mark Williams to help bring Maluach along slowly. The latter will get plenty of opportunities to show what he can do, but it isn't imperative he's good right away. They grabbed Rasheer Fleming to start the second round, and I think he can play right away, too. This team is still a mess, but maybe it's learning.
Mavericks coach ain't leaving, New York
🏀 No, Knicks. Harrison is done with these rumors. Jason Kidd will remain in Dallas.
💰 Big decisions. Speaking of the Knicks: James L. Edwards has you covered with what to expect from this offseason.
🎲 Sound bet? Does Flagg have any challengers for next season's Rookie of the Year?
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🏀 The long game? Austin Reaves declined an extension with the Lakers. Does it mean he's leaving?
🏀 Who's left? There are still good players who didn't get drafted. Here are the undrafted free agents to know.
🤔 Best/worst moves. John Hollinger breaks down all things good and bad from the draft.
🎶 The right note? Tony Jones explains why the Jazz were to draft Ace Bailey, no matter what.
The story of the greatest players in NBA history. In 100 riveting profiles, top basketball writers justify their selections and uncover the history of the NBA in the process.
The story of the greatest players in NBA history.
Will other teams join Celtics' tax-dumping?
We know the luxury tax wasn't enough of a deterrent for teams spending a lot. That's why the owners put the hard cap first and second aprons into the new collective bargaining agreement in addition to the luxury taxes. We saw the Celtics dump Jrue Holiday and Porziņģis this week in deals to get out of the second-apron threshold.
On Wednesday night, Celtics general manager Brad Stevens said this about the financial reality of the second apron and his team:
'I think the second-apron penalties are real, and I didn't realize how real they were until they were staring me in the face over the past month. You can't overstate that.'
I think other teams are just now realizing how crippling these penalties are. It's not just a choice of spending or not spending anymore. It affects how you trade, sign players and even move or use draft picks in the future. The Celtics were not alone in the second apron, though.
The Cavaliers and Suns were there. The Knicks and Nuggets are also teams in danger of bumping up against it. The Timberwolves and Lakers are closing in on that first apron, too, as are the Rockets. This is the dance these teams have to do now. Will they dump money or spend further and risk the aprons?
This is the fun part about basketball! Accounting!
Hunting for second-round surprises
Last night, the second round of the draft received its own spotlight for the second year in a row. I have to say: I'm into it. I'm not sure the television product has been nailed yet. It still feels a lot like the end of a long draft night with both rounds, only we've separated it into its own evening. There's still way more work to be done in introducing the players to the basketball audience and making it feel more special.
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I like the concept, though! Since it was the second round and we've had several current or future Hall of Famers get drafted there (Nikola Jokić, Manu Ginobili, Draymond Green, etc.), there's no better thing to do with last night's selections than to guess which players will surprisingly contribute the most to their new teams:
Noah Penda | Orlando Magic | 32nd pick: Penda is a smart wing who is great in transition. I think he'll be able to shoot the ball. He's a big wing that Orlando will love on defense.
Adou Thiero | Los Angeles Lakers | 36th pick: He can't shoot, but he's an unreal athlete at 6-6 who can lock down defensively. He could absolutely be in the Lakers rotation right away.
Maxime Raynaud | Sacramento Kings | 42nd pick: The Kings need a smart backup center who can grab rebounds and knock down outside shots.
Tyrese Proctor | Cleveland Cavaliers | 49th pick: Proctor can really shoot the ball, and he's a smart guard who doesn't try to do too much. Probably like a fourth or fifth guard in the rotation.
Alex Toohey | Golden State Warriors | 52nd pick: He's a big wing that makes plays, and he's going to be someone who disrupts on defense. He's got a little flash to his game, too, but I'm not sure he can shoot.
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