NBA free agency: Live updates, trade rumors, everyone chasing Oklahoma City

NBA free agency officially opened Monday night with a quiet start, but the first major shockwave came Tuesday morning when top free agent Myles Turner agreed to join the Bucks on a four-year deal, prompting Milwaukee to waive Damian Lillard to clear space.

SGA signs record-breaking $285 million supermax extension with NBA champion Thunder

While stars like LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, James Harden, Julius Randle, and Fred VanVleet had already committed to staying with their teams before June 30, the market still saw plenty of action. The biggest move outside free agency came via trade, with the Nuggets sending Michael Porter Jr. and a 2032 first-round pick to the Nets for Cam Johnson, gaining cap flexibility while Brooklyn added a long-term asset.

Several teams remained aggressive: Atlanta added Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Luke Kennard, Houston picked up Dorian Finney-Smith and Clint Capela, and Orlando landed Tyus Jones. Meanwhile, Memphis locked in Jaren Jackson Jr. with a max extension and re-signed Santi Aldama, while Milwaukee kept three key pieces from last season, signaling continued stability around Giannis Antetokounmpo.

With plenty of moves still to come, the balance of power in the NBA could shift dramatically in the days ahead with every team chasing Oklahoma City.

Latest Deals and Rumors

Lakers land Deandre Ayton

The Los Angeles Lakers are expected to sign free-agent center Deandre Ayton, according to NBA insider Chris Haynes. Though Ayton was an appealing Lakers center target on paper all offseason, the possibility of actually acquiring him at a reasonable price only recently presented itself. Ayton was originally due to earn $35.5 million this season. Matching such a cap figure in a trade would have cost the Lakers virtually all of their extraneous salary. However, Ayton managed to secure a buyout from the Trail Blazers on Sunday (the night before free agency began), opening the door for him to sign with the Lakers at a more palatable price and leaving them the bulk of their tradable salary to potentially use elsewhere.

Could Chris Paul return to the Suns?

A reunion between free agent point guard Chris Paul and the Phoenix Suns appears to be on the table. ESPN's Ramona Shelburne said on Wednesday that Paul is "most likely" going to end up signing with Phoenix. Paul played for the Suns from 2020-23 and helped Phoenix reach the NBA Finals in 2021. The 40-year-old guard played in all 82 games last season for the San Antonio Spurs.

Danté Exum is returning to Dallas

The Dallas Mavericks are re-signing point guard Danté Exum to a one-year deal, ESPN reported on Wednesday. Exum has spent the last two seasons with Dallas and is expected to share point guard duties with new FA signing D'Angelo Russell until star Kyrie Irving returns from his knee injury suffered earlier this calendar year.

Kings still have interest in Russell Westbrook

Despite signing free agent point guard Dennis Schröder yesterday and having a log jam of guards on their roster, the Sacramento Kings still appear to be interested in Russell Westbrook. NBA insider Marc J. Spears said on Wednesday that the Kings are "certainly interested" in Westbrook and that the 36-year-old free agent wants to be closer to home. Westbrook grew up in Los Angeles and played at UCLA.

Tre Mann returning to Hornets

The Charlotte Hornets are re-signing guard Tre Mann to a three-year, $24 million deal, per ESPN. Mann averaged 14.1 points this past season in Charlotte. He started his career with the Oklahoma City Thunder before being traded to the Hornets at the 2024 trade deadline.

Detroit adds Duncan Robinson, Miami gets Simone Fontecchio

The Detroit Pistons are signing sharpshooter Duncan Robinson to a three-year, $48 million deal, per ESPN. This will be part of a sign-and-trade that will see Simone Fontecchio get traded to the Miami Heat. The Pistons are adding more shooting to their team amid free agency sharpshooter Malik Beasley being the subject of a serious gambling investigation from the U.S. District Attorney's office. 

Another free agency signing for Denver

The Denver Nuggets have been extremely active during the first two days of free agency. Now, they're signing Tim Hardaway Jr. to a one-year deal, ESPN reported Tuesday. Hardaway joins Bruce Brown (free agency), Cam Johnson (trade) and Jonas Valančiūnas (trade) as new additions to the roster within the last 24 hours. The Nuggets are one of the early winners of this free-agency period.

Raptors extend Jakob Poeltl

The Toronto Raptors and Jakob Poeltl have agreed on a four-year, $104 million contract extension that will keep him with the franchise through the 2029-30 season, ESPN reports. Poeltl will pick up his 2026-27 player option and this will add three additional years to his current deal.

Lillard reportedly 'elated' to become free agent

How is Damian Lillard taking the news that he won't be returning to the Milwaukee Bucks? Pretty well, apparently.

The Athletic reports Lillard is "elated" by the news. Lillard is still going to be paid the $113 million owed to him by Milwaukee. Now he just gets to handpick his next team without worrying about who has enough money to sign him. The nine-time All-Star can essentially pick his next destination without the usual cap-management logistics. Lillard is expected to miss most or all of the 2025-26 season as he recovers from a torn Achilles, but he could help a contender in 2026-27.

Here's more from The Athletic:

League sources say Lillard is elated with this decision, as it puts him in the kind of basketball-first position that few All-Star level players, if any, have experienced in league history. In short, he'll be able to join the contending team of his choosing, either sometime soon or perhaps next summer, without the financial aspect of the decision playing a significant part.

Kings land Dennis Schröder 

The Sacramento Kings are signing veteran point guard Dennis Schröder to a three-year, $45 million deal, ESPN's Shams Charania reported on Tuesday. Schröder is set to play for his fourth NBA team since the start of last season and tenth overall. He had stints with the Brooklyn Nets, Golden State Warriors and Detroit Pistons during the 2024-25 campaign and combined to average 13.1 points, 5.4 assists and 2.6 rebounds in 75 games.

Kings trading Jonas Valančiūnas to Denver

The Sacramento Kings are trading center Jonas Valančiūnas to the Denver Nuggets in exchange for Dario Šarić, ESPN reported on Tuesday. The Nuggets have already had a busy offseason by adding Bruce Bruce in free agency and Cam Johnson and Jonas Valančiūnas via trade.

Giannis unhappy with Lillard being waived

The Bucks might've signed Myles Turner and waived Damian Lillard to keep Giannis Antetokounmpo happy, but it sounds as though he may not be thrilled about all of this. According to Chris Haynes, the Bucks superstar is "not pleased" with Milwaukee deciding to waive Lillard.

Obviously this is all just reported information, so it's unclear if Antetokounmpo is truly unhappy with the prospect of no longer having Lillard on his team. But he could be upset at the fact that the Bucks having $22.5 million in dead money over the next five years as a result of waiving and stretching the final two years of Lillard's contract. That will certainly handicap the Bucks for any future signings, and while they are signing Turner to a deal, now Milwaukee has to figure out who the starting point guard will be going forward.

Another Bucks move

Milwaukee's busy day is not done. The Bucks are reportedly adding veteran forward Gary Harris to the roster.

Milwaukee waiving Damian Lillard

The Bucks aren't done surprising us. In an effort to make room for Myles Turner's new contract, Milwaukee will be waiving Lillard, and stretching out the remaining $113 million he's owed over five years, per ESPN. So Lillard will make $22.5 million from the Bucks in each of the next five seasons, while he's able to now freely sign elsewhere.

Lillard will spend most, if not all of next season rehabbing from a torn Achilles, but he can sign somewhere else that he prefers. Back when the Bucks traded for Lillard initially, his preferred destination was the Miami Heat, that now becomes a possibility for Miami when he clears waivers.

Myles Turner headed to the Bucks

In a surprising turn of events, Turner will be signing a four-year, $107 million contract with the Bucks, per ESPN. That's incredibly shocking news considering the expectation was that Turner would remain with the Pacers, especially after the team reached Game 7 of the NBA Finals.

However, with Tyrese Haliburton expected to miss most if not all of next season after tearing his Achilles, perhaps the Pacers thought process was to not expend a ton of money on Turner right now in an effort to keep their books clean for the next few years down the line. Milwaukee doesn't have the cap space to sign Turner, so this could likely be a sign-and-trade with the Pacers.