Wizards, Mavericks Had No Interest In Trading Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving
There had been reporting that LeBron James was interesting in teaming up with one of his former teammates when he picked a new team. The Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers were linked to Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving, respectively.
However, neither Davis’ current team, the Washington Wizards, nor Irving’s current team, the Dallas Mavericks, had any interest in trading either player. In addition, James, nor his agent Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, made no demands of teams that they must trade for Davis or Irving to get the NBA’s all-time leading scorer.
Ultimately, James picked the Philadelphia 76ers for the upcoming season. It’s expected that both Davis and Irving will start the season with the Wizards and Mavericks, respectively.
Spencer Jones and the Oklahoma City Thunder have agreed to a two-year, $12 million offer sheet.
The Denver Nuggets will have the opportunity to match the offer sheet as Jones is a restricted free agent.
Jones appeared in 64 games last season with the Nuggets, averaging 5.5 points and 3.3 rebounds in 22.1 minutes while shooting 39.6 percent on three-point shooting.
The Nuggets also have Peyton Watson in restricted free agency this offseason.
LeBron James May Remain Genuinely Undecided On Free Agency Decision
LeBron James still had not announced a decision on his next team, 24 days after confirming he would not return to the Los Angeles Lakers fort he 2026-27 season. A source close to James offered a candid assessment of the situation.
The prolonged wait has left the Cleveland Cavaliers, Golden State Warriors, Miami Heat, Minnesota Timberwolves and Philadelphia 76ers all in limbo as they wait to see whether James will sign or whether they need to pivot toward strengthening their rosters elsewhere. James addressed the timeline last Thursday during an appearance at Fanatics Fest in New York.
“I won’t hold you guys up too much longer,” said James.
James’ agent, Rich Paul, has said he has already communicated everything necessary to the five teams considered front-runners for James’ services. Paul addressed his approach during an appearance on his own podcast this week.
“Is there anything more we should be doing? We could be doing?” said Paul. “No. We don’t need you to go above and beyond about anything. We understand it. It’s clear. All the messages have been sent.”
Speculation has continued to swirl in the absence of concrete information, including reports of a since-deleted Heat YouTube link referencing a July 27 press conference, which the team described as an honest mistake. Sources close to James also dismissed rumors that he had reversed a prior decision, calling those claims false.
Only two teams have made roster moves directly tied to pursuing James. Warriors forward Draymond Green, also represented by Paul, declined his player option in late June in coordination with Golden State’s front office to create flexibility for potentially signing James and trading for Anthony Davis. Sources said there were no guarantees attached to that move. Meanwhile, James Harden has remained unsigned as part of a plan to preserve Cleveland’s ability to sign James, a strategy Harden has publicly confirmed as the team’s goal.
Jae’Sean Tate, Rockets Agree To One-Year, $3.07M Deal
Jae’Sean Tate and the Houston Rockets have agreed to a one-year, $3.07 million contract. The deal is partially guaranteed for $1.04 million.
Tate appeared in 46 games last season with the Rockets, averaging 2.8 points and 1.6 rebounds in 8.8 minutes. Tate’s minutes have decreased each season of his career down from when he played in 29.2 minutes per game as a rookie and was a First Team All-Rookie selection.
RealGM Radio: Truth About Second Apron, LeBron’s Decision, NBA Like The World Cup
Is the NBA overreacting to the second apron? Wes Goldberg argues that the loudest criticism of the league’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement is missing the bigger picture. He breaks down why recent salary dumps by the Thunder, Celtics and Knicks don’t prove the system is broken, explains what the players actually gained in the latest CBA, and makes the case that the one change everyone avoids discussing-reducing the number of regular-season games-is the real solution to many of the NBA’s biggest problems.
Then Wes reacts to the latest on LeBron James’ prolonged free agency, explaining why he believes basketball may not be the biggest factor delaying a decision and why Miami still makes the most sense. Finally, he unveils a radical idea for reimagining the NBA season using a World Cup-inspired format featuring stages, Swiss-system scheduling and fewer regular-season games to make every matchup matter.
Timestamps 00:00 Intro
00:59 Truth about Second Apron
18:26 LeBron’s Decision Delay
27:50 The NBA Like the World Cup
Subscribe to RealGM Radio on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or via the RSS feed for smart NBA offseason coverage, trade rumors, draft coverage and big-picture basketball conversations.
Cameron Boozer Says Versatility Sets Him Apart, Cites Knicks As Model
Cameron Boozer said his ability to fill multiple roles on the floor is what sets him apart, pointing to the New York Knicks’ championship run as a blueprint for the kind of versatile play teams now covet. The Memphis Grizzlies’ first round draft pick spoke to The Athletic about his approach following a standout summer league performance.
“Versatility is the name of the game. That’s what teams are looking for,” said Boozer. “Teams want five guys who can make plays. Look at the Knicks this year. Everyone on that team was capable of doing more than one thing. Everyone was capable of playing on or off the basketball. That’s what I feel like I can do best. I can screen. I can handle it. You can put me in a lot of different scenarios.”
Boozer closely studied New York’s title run, taking note of how the team shared the ball, moved cohesively on both ends of the floor, and relied on players capable of multiple skill sets rather than a single dominant scorer. Those observations shaped his own vision for how he wants to impact games as a professional.
That approach was on full display during a dominant 10-day stretch at summer league, where Boozer averaged 18.5 points, eight rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.8 steals per game. His performance helped lead Memphis to the Las Vegas Summer League championship game, a narrow loss to the Golden State Warriors.
Selected third overall in the 2026 draft behind AJ Dybantsa and Darryn Peterson, Boozer is expected to be a day-one starter for the Grizzlies alongside Cedric Coward, last season’s All-Rookie First Team selection. His combination of playmaking, physicality and positional flexibility as a 6-foot-10 forward has drawn comparisons to the multi-skilled roster construction that defined New York’s championship approach.
Dunc’d On: Dort/Risacher Trade; OKC, ATL, DAL, WAS, MEM, CHI Offseasons
Nate and Danny go long on the fascinating Dort/Risacher trade. Was this the right way to save money by OKC? And was giving up on Risacher the right move for Atlanta?
Then, we break down the offseasons with our letter grading system for OKC, ATL, DAL, WAS, MEM and CHI, before hitting on some news including Matisse Thybulle in LA.
0:42 – Oklahoma City Thunder
31:06 – Atlanta Hawks
53:56 – Dallas Mavericks
1:07:32 – Washington Wizards
1:18:41 – Memphis Grizzlies
1:27:32 – Chicago Bulls
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Matisse Thybulle, Lakers Agree To One-Year, $3.3M Deal
Matisse Thybulle and the Los Angeles Lakers have agreed to a one-year, $3.3 million contract.
Thybulle is coming off his three-year, $33 million contract with the Portland Trail Blazers that was originally signed as a restricted free agent offer sheet with the Dallas Mavericks in 2023 that was matched. Luka Doncic was with the Mavericks when Thybulle signed the offer sheet.
Thybulle appeared in 30 games last season with the Blazers, averaging 5.8 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals as one of the NBA’s best wing defenders.
Thybulle missed most of the 2024-25 season due to right knee tendinopathy.
The Lakers currently have 16 players on guaranteed contracts for the 2026-27 season, which will necessitate additional roster maneuvers before the start of the regular season.
NBA trade grades for Lu Dort 3-team deal with Hawks, Mavs, and Thunder
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – MAY 30: Luguentz Dort #5 of the Oklahoma City Thunder celebrates during the game against the San Antonio Spurs during Game Seven of the NBA Western Conference Finals on May 30, 2026 at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
The Oklahoma City Thunder have traded one of the foundational players from their 2025 NBA championship run in an effort to trim payroll and stay out of the dreaded second apron. The Thunder traded Lu Dort to the Atlanta Hawks in a three-team deal that also sends former No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher to the Dallas Mavericks, according to ESPN insider Shams Charania. Here’s the full breakdown of the trade:
Thunder acquire: Three future second-round picks
Hawks acquire: Lu Dort, Ryan Nembhard
Mavericks acquire: Zaccharie Risacher
The Thunder have reportedly saved $224 million in luxury tax and payroll this season by trading Dort, Aaron Wiggins, and Isaiah Joe. OKC is now under the second apron, and they are acquiring a 2027 second rounder from the Chicago Bulls (via Dallas), a 2031 most favorable second rounder from the Hawks, and a 2032 most favorable from the Hawks in the deal, according to Jake Fischer. Atlanta has added another bulldog defender on the perimeter, and the Mavs are taking a flier on a failed No. 1 overall pick.
Let’s grade this trade from every side.
Hawks trade grade for Lu Dort deal
Atlanta found some magic after trading Trae Young to the Washington Wizards in January of last season. The Hawks finished 28-15 after the trade with the league’s No. 8 net-rating at +4.9, then proceeded to take two games off the New York Knicks in the first-round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs.
In landing Dort, Atlanta adds another bulldog perimeter defender to pair with fDyson Daniels and Nickeil Alexander-Walker. Dort is on an expiring $18.2 million deal for the 2026-27 season, which means the Hawks maintain a lot of cap flexibility ahead of the next summer. The Hawks are positioned to have $40+ million in cap space next season according to Charania, and they’re going to be very annoying to play against this year with arguably the league’s toughest defensive trio on the perimeter.
It feels like Atlanta has quietly become one of the best-run teams in the league since promoting Onsi Saleh to lead executive. The Hawks added Kingston Flemings via the brilliant Derik Queen trade, re-signed C.J. McCollum to a smart one-year deal, and added Devin Carter and Aaron Wiggins in trades. Risacher was drafted by the old front office, and he clearly wasn’t part of the Hawks’ long-term plans. Moving off him now seems fine to me given that he was set to make $31.2 million over the next two years. Atlanta is clearly loading up on defense around star forward Jalen Johnson, and they have the assets to make a bigger splash a year from now.
Dort is so physical defensively that he’s a borderline dirty player, and that might be putting it charitably. The East has gotten much stronger this summer, but no one will want to play the Hawks this year.
Grade: A-
Thunder trade grades for Lu Dort deal
Sam Presti always has a long-term vision in mind. He moved off Josh Giddey before he was due for an extension, and added a critical piece to a championship team in Alex Caruso in the process. Now he’s dealing Dort to significantly trim OKC’s tax bill, and potentially open up an extension for Cason Wallace.
Again: doing all of this on the fly (literally!) but Oklahoma City should see their luxury tax bill drop from ~$102.2M to ~$19.6M.
That’s the difference in the tax bands by shedding roughly $15.5M in one trade.
And of course, under the second apron now too. Cason Wallace…
The Thunder were always going to be very expensive once the extensions for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren all kicked in. Presti has done well to navigate the second apron as a small market team by moving off role players, replacing them with cost-controlled draft picks, and adding more future assets to potentially make more moves in the future.
The Thunder were the No. 1 team in our way-too-early power rankings. To get back to being a championship team, OKC will need Williams and Holmgren to regain the form they showed on the 2025 title run. In many ways, this team has outgrown Dort. Wallace feels like a more dynamic two-way player, and this also potentially opens up more opportunities for Wallace, Ajay Mitchell, Nikola Topic, and rookie Bennett Stirtz.
Presti isn’t perfect, it just feels that way sometimes. This is pretty good business to move off Dort, add some second-round picks, and maintain flexibility going forward.
Grade: A-
Mavericks trade grades for Zaccharie Risacher deal
Risacher was always a bet on a 3-and-D wing. So far, he hasn’t been too impressive in either area. Risacher’s defense graded out in the 26th percentile on EPM last season, and he’s a 36 percent three-point shooter on 8.5 attempts per 100 possessions for his career. Risacher offers very little shot-creation or playmaking. He’s not a plus rebounder for his position, either, and his scoring efficiency has been below league-average both years of his career.
Still, he’s only 21 years old, and could benefit from a change of scenery. He could be a good fit next to Cooper Flagg long-term if he actually becomes effective in the 3-and-D areas he’s supposed to be good at, and he’s already a pretty solid transition player who should run the floor well. I’ve never been a big fan of Risacher, but there’s an outline of a good player there, and the Mavs certainly bought very low on him in this deal. Schmitz knows what he’s doing, and if he believes in Risacher’s long-term future, then this is a fine flier to take at minimal cost.
