Don’t get too excited about 2026 NBA free agency, plus your thoughts on the 2020 Lakers

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On this date in 1992, the Dream Team brought home the gold medal in Barcelona. They beat Croatia 117-85, which was their smallest margin of victory in the entire tournament, slightly closer than their previous 33-point victory over Croatia in group play. The first Olympics with pro players from the NBA started a dominant run for Team USA men’s basketball. Except for 2004. Please don’t ask us about 2004. Argentina, Lithuania and Puerto Rico, please do not ask us about 2004.

2026 Outlook

Class is dwindling after Luka extension

Many teams have been planning for the summer of 2026 to be a big offseason. Several NBA teams have set up either cap flexibility or roster flexibility or both for 2026 and a free-agent class potentially headlined by Luka Dončić. Instead, he signed an extension with the Lakers as part of a whirlwind week. De’Aaron Fox also signed an extension with San Antonio, and it’s looking more and more likely that 2026 free agency could also be slathered in malaise.

Here are four categories of potential free agents for next summer, listed in order of highest salary to lowest for next season.

Guys with player options for 2026-27

I would be shocked if Young doesn’t have an extension with Atlanta … by the end of this sentence … let alone the Hawks allowing this to get to next summer with him hitting free agency. I don’t fully expect Green to leave Steph Curry and the Warriors, nor do I expect Reaves to vacate the Lakers. Harden is probably staying with the Clippers, as is VanVleet with the Rockets (unless they need that cap flexibility following some extensions). So … who is excited about the potential LaVine and Wiggins sweepstakes?

Guys with team options for 2026-27

This gets interesting because the world champion Thunder have to figure out some cap stuff as these extensions kick in for Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in 2026 and beyond. I would expect OKC is more likely to trade those guys for assets, if it gets rid of them at all.

Restricted free agents

These guys can sign extensions off their rookie deals before the start of the 2026-27 season, so I wouldn’t expect this list to stay intact, but maybe guys like Sochan, Williams and a couple of others could headline that area of the class. Daniels has earned himself a massive contract based on how he performed last season.

Unrestricted free agents

There is some spice here! Obviously, we’ve already discussed some LeBron possibilities, and it will continue to be a topic of conversation. Most expect Durant to agree to a two-year extension with Houston. Outside of them, there are some really good players, but it’s not exactly the 2010 free-agent class. Well … except that LeBron is somehow still a highly sought-after free agent.

The potential for a big, expensive, stunning summer is still there. But it’s far less sexy than you expect when you start breaking down who is likely to make it to free agency. However, when you start peeking toward 2027 and see names like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Anthony Davis and Nikola Jokić with player options, and Curry, Jimmy Butler and Kawhi Leonard hitting unrestricted free agency, those eyes emojis pop out. 👀👀👀

The Last 24

🏀 Getting taller. The Celtics dumped Georges Niang’s salary to Utah. But they added Chris Boucher for their interior.

🏀 Blueprint? How can we restore the joy to the NBA All-Star Game? The WNBA showed the way.

🏀 Stop it! Please stop throwing items onto the court at WNBA games. Especially these risqué items that may be linked to … cryptocurrency?

🏀 Grand theft! A former Heat employee stole hundreds of items of memorabilia, including a $3.7 million LeBron jersey.

🗽 Eyes on the prize. The Knicks are monitoring the Giannis situation. But will they sign Ben Simmons?

🚚 Not happening? Steve Pagliuca wants to make history with buying a WNBA team. Will the league let him?

Elite Trolling

Bueckers wants you to review her buckets

Paige Bueckers has been a star since high school and furthered that stardom at UConn. Now that the No. 1 pick is in the WNBA, she’s delivering on a nightly basis to continue building her place in basketball. She’s averaging 18.6 points, 5.4 assists and four rebounds with 45.7/33.3/86.1 shooting splits. That’s a true shooting percentage of 55. Not bad for a rookie!

Bueckers is a clear bright spot for the Dallas Wings, who are still pretty bad (8-22 after going 9-31 last season). In an 85-76 loss at the New York Liberty, Bueckers had the moments of the night. After a tough bucket against four-time All-Defensive player Jonquel Jones, the Liberty center wanted the foul call reviewed. Apparently, Bueckers did too.

Paige Bueckers getting the and 1 against Jonquel Jones and then twirling the finger to call for the review with her is wild. pic.twitter.com/p6143NBaod

— Steve Jones Jr. (@stevejones20) August 6, 2025

Yes, the Wings lost. Bueckers did her part with 21 points, eight rebounds and four assists. But she put on a show, which is all a rebuilding team can ask when trying to gather momentum around its young star. This is elite trolling, something Bueckers has not been afraid to do to opponents. Walking up next to Jones like that to mimic and mock her review motion takes some real bravado.

It wasn’t even Bueckers’ best highlight/moment of the game. In the second quarter, she cooked Stephanie Talbot. That’s borderline bullying. It also reminded me so much of the time Steve Francis decided to embarrass Troy Hudson.

You Responded

What Bounces think of the Lakers’ 2020 title

Last week, we heard from Daryl Morey saying the 2020 NBA championship won by the Los Angeles Lakers in the bubble at Disney World doesn’t hold up as a genuine championship. According to him, that’s what people say around the league when he talks to them about it, but he fully admitted he would have celebrated it as a complete title if his Houston Rockets won it that year. Predictably, the internet jumped all over Morey, his failures in securing titles with Houston and Philadelphia and his general attitude toward a lot of things basketball.

My colleagues offered their opinions on the championship, and not a single person discredited the title from that experience. I find that fascinating because I also have talked to a lot of people about that championship over the years, and there are plenty who question the validity of it. At times, so do I.

Some days I agree with Morey’s sentiment, and some days I think it’s a crap assessment. Is that hypocritical and wishy-washy? Most likely. Multitudes exist in some sports opinions! But that’s not the important part here. More interestingly, we asked YOU, the Bounce subscriber, to weigh in on the situation. Here’s what you said:

We also included a question asking for one word on how you would describe the Lakers’ 2020 title. Predictably, a lot of you didn’t stop at one word. And some of those responses were really good (even though they broke the rules):

“People who try to diminish this do so because they hate the Lakers or because their team lost. It’s time for them to stop whining. And given his own record and his own tendencies, Morey’s whining is borderline insufferable.”

Quite a few people went after Morey in this way, and it does echo the sentiment I shared about a lack of accountability when it comes to the shortcomings of Morey’s teams. It’s always someone else’s fault. Usually, the refs.

“Relieving for fans (sorry — it meant SOOO much extra during the lockdown).”

I appreciate this reminder of how much of a good distraction this bubble moment/endeavor was.

“While I recognize the stress there might have been being isolated in Orlando, they were at Disney World in resorts with no travel constraints. It’s a simulated experience versus the Bucks’ and Warriors’ championship(s) after 2020.”

“It counts but is a ‘lesser’championship.”

“Equivalent to the In-Season Tournament Cup.”

“It is a baby championship as good as one of those NBA cups. It is a big meh.”

The NBA Cup took some hits! We are pro-NBA Cup around these newsletter parts and will not stand for such slander! Unless you meant it as a compliment to that title?

Let’s get to the one-word vortex. Of the one-word answers, these (variations combined into one) showed up the most:

Legitimate: 14 percent
Asterisk: 4 percent
Valid: 3.4 percent
Resilient: 3.2 percent
Impressive: 3.2 percent
Lucky: 3.1 percent
Mickey Mouse/Disney: 3.1 percent

A few people mentioned COVID or “covidion” as their descriptor. Some said “tainted” or “soft” or mentioned the 1999 Spurs, who won the title in a shortened 50-game season. Earned and convenient and “bubbly” descriptors even made it in.

And for those of you who have been paying attention to Bounce polls for quite some time, you’re just here to find out how many Bouncers mentioned Thanasis Antetokounmpo in some manner with the write-in option.

Well, 4.5 percent responded with Thanasis, one way or another. You’re trolling me, and I don’t appreciate it!

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(Top photo of Luka Dončić and guard Austin Reaves: Jerome Miron / Imagn Images)

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