{"id":2015593,"date":"2026-06-28T12:30:01","date_gmt":"2026-06-28T09:30:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2015593"},"modified":"2026-06-28T12:30:01","modified_gmt":"2026-06-28T09:30:01","slug":"nba-free-agent-signings-we-want-to-see-lebrons-final-stop-help-for-wemby-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2015593","title":{"rendered":"NBA free agent signings we want to see: LeBron\u2019s final stop, help for Wemby and more"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"Article_ContentContainer__jBNW3 article-content-container bodytext1\">\n<p>Free agency used to be a seismic event on the NBA calendar. With the rise of \u201cpre-agency,\u201d resulting in many stars being traded and then extending with their new teams before they ever reach the market, it has become a comparatively low-key affair.<\/p>\n<p>If a team is hoping to radically alter its core, free agency probably isn\u2019t the right course to take. However, it is a valid way to fine-tune and refine a roster.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad-container\">\n<div class=\"ad-wrapper article-treatment\">\n<div class=\"ad-slug-container\">\n<p class=\"ad-slug\">Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"mid1\" data-position=\"mid1\" class=\"ad place-ad\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>This year\u2019s market \u2013 which officially opens Tuesday at 6 p.m. Eastern \u2013 doesn\u2019t figure to alter the NBA landscape, but it could help several teams take important steps forward. Oh, and the league\u2019s all-time leading scorer is available, too.<\/p>\n<p>Below, five of <em>The Athletic\u2019s<\/em> reporters each chose two player-team pairings they would like to see, including writing the final chapter in LeBron James\u2019 career, finding the Minnesota Timberwolves some much-needed front-court depth after the LaMelo Ball trade, and getting Cade Cunningham a wingman.<\/p>\n<div data-ath-video-stream=\"GkT2JC65mk5eRyM\">\n<div class=\"VideoHost_Root__QeM_i\">\n<div class=\"VideoHost_VideoWidth__XjNKI VideoHost_Portrait__XBaJC\">\n<div class=\"VideoTitleFrame_Root__AGckL\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"VideoTitleFrame_Title__npf3B\">What we know about LeBron James&#8217; retirement decision<\/div>\n<div class=\"VideoTitleFrame_Authors__jxyYV\">Dan Woike<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"VideoTitleFrame_VideoWrapper__Xgp47\">{&#8220;@context&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/schema.org&#8221;,&#8221;@type&#8221;:&#8221;VideoObject&#8221;,&#8221;@id&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/video\/GkT2JC65mk5eRyM\/&#8221;,&#8221;url&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/video\/GkT2JC65mk5eRyM\/&#8221;,&#8221;name&#8221;:&#8221;What we know about LeBron James&#8217; retirement decision&#8221;,&#8221;description&#8221;:&#8221;Dan Woike has the latest on what LeBron&#8217;s future plans are. &#8220;,&#8221;uploadDate&#8221;:&#8221;2026-05-22T19:41:41.534Z&#8221;,&#8221;duration&#8221;:&#8221;PT1M59S&#8221;,&#8221;thumbnailUrl&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/cdn-media.theathletic.com\/video-stream\/auto-thumbnail\/GkT2JC65mk5eRyM\/cj49zB27ehwV.0000000.jpg&#8221;,&#8221;contentUrl&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/video.nyt.com\/athletic\/streams\/GkT2JC65mk5eRyM\/cj49zB27ehwV\/cj49zB27ehwV.m3u8&#8243;,&#8221;transcript&#8221;:&#8221;LeBron James is an unrestricted free agent. He does not have an option for next season. He does not know where he is going to play. He does not know if he is going to play, at least that&#8217;s the vibe I&#8217;ve gotten in the conversations I&#8217;ve had with him and people close to him throughout the course of the season. The way that this is gonna play out now is he&#8217;s gonna take a little time off. He&#8217;s gonna, you know, talk to his family, talk to his confidants, talk to his team, look at the options, and, and my guess is that he will not. Announce, yes, I&#8217;m, I intend on playing next season, um, because, quite frankly, he&#8217;s not a restricted free agent. He doesn&#8217;t know what the offers are. He doesn&#8217;t know what his options are yet. A more realistic thing would be, you know, if he does want to play next season, um, or he thinks he wants to, to test his body and get ready. But then to take a series of free agency meetings, talk to teams, figure out, um, what he&#8217;s willing to accept, figure out what&#8217;s out there for him. Um, we know, you know, there are only a handful of cap space teams available, um, the Lakers being one of them. There are the Brooklyn Nets, there are the Chicago Bulls. Neither of those teams, um, is in Los Angeles or ready to win. So I think he&#8217;s gonna consider some other teams. He&#8217;s gonna consider options where he feels like he can win a championship. But look, I think for a long time, he&#8217;s had options to go elsewhere, and he&#8217;s decided to stay with the Los Angeles Lakers. Um, the question becomes, what are the Lakers willing to offer him? Rob Plinka and JJ Reddick, but particularly Rob Plinka made it clear that while they want LeBron James, um, they would love to have him finish his career with the Lakers. You know, that, that&#8217;s not priority number one for them this offseason. Priority number one is to build around Lukadancic. And I think that they need, uh, a rim-running center. They need more athleticism on the wings, and they would love to fit LeBron James into that plan. It&#8217;s just a matter of if it&#8217;s if the money&#8217;s gonna work, if he&#8217;s willing to take it, and most importantly, if he wants to play next season.&#8221;,&#8221;ineligibleRegion&#8221;:[&#8220;BI&#8221;,&#8221;BY&#8221;,&#8221;CD&#8221;,&#8221;CF&#8221;,&#8221;CU&#8221;,&#8221;IQ&#8221;,&#8221;IR&#8221;,&#8221;KP&#8221;,&#8221;LB&#8221;,&#8221;LY&#8221;,&#8221;ML&#8221;,&#8221;NI&#8221;,&#8221;RU&#8221;,&#8221;SD&#8221;,&#8221;SO&#8221;,&#8221;SS&#8221;,&#8221;SY&#8221;,&#8221;UA&#8221;,&#8221;VE&#8221;,&#8221;YE&#8221;,&#8221;ZW&#8221;],&#8221;publisher&#8221;:{&#8220;@type&#8221;:&#8221;NewsMediaOrganization&#8221;,&#8221;@id&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/#publisher&#8221;,&#8221;name&#8221;:&#8221;The Athletic&#8221;,&#8221;url&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/&#8221;,&#8221;foundingDate&#8221;:&#8221;2016-01-25&#8243;,&#8221;logo&#8221;:{&#8220;@type&#8221;:&#8221;ImageObject&#8221;,&#8221;@id&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/theathletic.com\/app\/themes\/athletic\/assets\/img\/the-athletic-wordmark-black.png&#8221;,&#8221;url&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/theathletic.com\/app\/themes\/athletic\/assets\/img\/the-athletic-wordmark-black.png&#8221;,&#8221;contentUrl&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/theathletic.com\/app\/themes\/athletic\/assets\/img\/the-athletic-wordmark-black.png&#8221;,&#8221;creditText&#8221;:&#8221;The Athletic&#8221;,&#8221;height&#8221;:&#8221;60&#8243;,&#8221;width&#8221;:&#8221;435&#8243;},&#8221;publishingPrinciples&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/edit-guidelines\/&#8221;,&#8221;sameAs&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Athletic&#8221;},&#8221;author&#8221;:[{&#8220;@type&#8221;:&#8221;Person&#8221;,&#8221;name&#8221;:&#8221;Dan Woike&#8221;}]}<\/p>\n<div class=\"AspectRatioBox_root__AKv5b\" style=\"aspect-ratio:9 \/ 16;max-height:min(100%)\">\n<div class=\"AspectRatioBox_inner__86C_2\" style=\"aspect-ratio:9 \/ 16\">\n<div class=\"VideoStreamPlayer_GridStack__2H0p2\"><video preload=\"none\"><\/video><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Christian Clark<\/h2>\n<p><strong>LeBron James to the Warriors<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Yes, I want to see the basketball version of \u201cThe Expendables\u201d happen. It was a thrill to watch Stephen Curry and James win gold while playing for Steve Kerr in the 2024 Paris Olympics.<\/p>\n<p>The Warriors need to lighten Curry\u2019s load offensively. They ranked 24th in points per 100 possessions after Jimmy Butler went down with an ACL tear in January. James might be in his golf dad era, but he\u2019s still got plenty of pop.<\/p>\n<p>He could easily slide into a wing creator role while Butler recovers. Imagine how much fun he\u2019d have finding Curry for ridiculous 3s and serving up alley-oop passes for Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg? This could be a feel-good story, and even if the Warriors failed to win multiple playoff rounds, it wouldn\u2019t be viewed as a disappointment.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Sandro Mamukelashvili to the Timberwolves<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Timberwolves\u2019 frontcourt depth was depleted after they traded Julius Randle to the Brooklyn Nets and sent Naz Reid to the Charlotte Hornets in the LaMelo Ball deal. They need another big guy. How about Mamukelashvili, who was one of the most impactful bench players in the NBA last season with Toronto?<\/p>\n<div data-ath-video-stream=\"mvp9hTPWu3XYqRB\">\n<div class=\"VideoHost_Root__QeM_i\">\n<div class=\"VideoHost_VideoWidth__XjNKI VideoHost_Portrait__XBaJC\">\n<div class=\"VideoTitleFrame_Root__AGckL\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"VideoTitleFrame_Title__npf3B\">How did the Timberwolves land LaMelo Ball?<\/div>\n<div class=\"VideoTitleFrame_Authors__jxyYV\">Jon Krawczynski<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"VideoTitleFrame_VideoWrapper__Xgp47\">{&#8220;@context&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/schema.org&#8221;,&#8221;@type&#8221;:&#8221;VideoObject&#8221;,&#8221;@id&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/video\/mvp9hTPWu3XYqRB\/&#8221;,&#8221;url&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/video\/mvp9hTPWu3XYqRB\/&#8221;,&#8221;name&#8221;:&#8221;How did the Timberwolves land LaMelo Ball?&#8221;,&#8221;description&#8221;:&#8221;Jon Krawcynski explains how the LaMelo Ball trade happened and why it took the Timberwolves two years to acquire him. &#8220;,&#8221;uploadDate&#8221;:&#8221;2026-06-25T16:29:45.489Z&#8221;,&#8221;duration&#8221;:&#8221;PT1M14S&#8221;,&#8221;thumbnailUrl&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/cdn-media.theathletic.com\/video-stream\/auto-thumbnail\/mvp9hTPWu3XYqRB\/I7mcarA9ZK0Z.0000000.jpg&#8221;,&#8221;contentUrl&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/video.nyt.com\/athletic\/streams\/mvp9hTPWu3XYqRB\/I7mcarA9ZK0Z\/I7mcarA9ZK0Z.m3u8&#8243;,&#8221;transcript&#8221;:&#8221;The Minnesota Timberwolves knew they had to make big changes to the roster if they were going to stay competitive in the Western Conference as Anthony Edwards approaches his prime. Well, adding LaMelo Ball at point guard is a big change. President of basketball operations Tim Connolly and head coach Chris Finch have been chasing LaMelo Ball for 2 years now, trying to get him to pair up with Edwards. They believe Ball&#8217;s combination of shoe. In passing, and dynamic transition play will make Edwards take another step up that MVP ladder and also unlock more offense from Jaden McDaniels and from Rudy Gobert. The Timberwolves checked in with the Hornets from time to time over the last couple of years, trying to pry them out of Charlotte, but each time were turned away. After the draft on Wednesday night, word started to Spread around the league that the opponents were open to taking offers and Tim Connolly pounced. He put Naz Reid, an incredibly popular player in Minnesota, into the deal along with some draft pick compensation. And now they have their point guard of the future. It&#8217;s LaMelo Ball and Anthony Edwards in the backcourt in Minnesota, one of the most dynamic backcourts in the entire league.&#8221;,&#8221;ineligibleRegion&#8221;:[&#8220;BI&#8221;,&#8221;BY&#8221;,&#8221;CD&#8221;,&#8221;CF&#8221;,&#8221;CU&#8221;,&#8221;IQ&#8221;,&#8221;IR&#8221;,&#8221;KP&#8221;,&#8221;LB&#8221;,&#8221;LY&#8221;,&#8221;ML&#8221;,&#8221;NI&#8221;,&#8221;RU&#8221;,&#8221;SD&#8221;,&#8221;SO&#8221;,&#8221;SS&#8221;,&#8221;SY&#8221;,&#8221;UA&#8221;,&#8221;VE&#8221;,&#8221;YE&#8221;,&#8221;ZW&#8221;],&#8221;publisher&#8221;:{&#8220;@type&#8221;:&#8221;NewsMediaOrganization&#8221;,&#8221;@id&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/#publisher&#8221;,&#8221;name&#8221;:&#8221;The Athletic&#8221;,&#8221;url&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/&#8221;,&#8221;foundingDate&#8221;:&#8221;2016-01-25&#8243;,&#8221;logo&#8221;:{&#8220;@type&#8221;:&#8221;ImageObject&#8221;,&#8221;@id&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/theathletic.com\/app\/themes\/athletic\/assets\/img\/the-athletic-wordmark-black.png&#8221;,&#8221;url&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/theathletic.com\/app\/themes\/athletic\/assets\/img\/the-athletic-wordmark-black.png&#8221;,&#8221;contentUrl&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/theathletic.com\/app\/themes\/athletic\/assets\/img\/the-athletic-wordmark-black.png&#8221;,&#8221;creditText&#8221;:&#8221;The Athletic&#8221;,&#8221;height&#8221;:&#8221;60&#8243;,&#8221;width&#8221;:&#8221;435&#8243;},&#8221;publishingPrinciples&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/edit-guidelines\/&#8221;,&#8221;sameAs&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Athletic&#8221;},&#8221;author&#8221;:[{&#8220;@type&#8221;:&#8221;Person&#8221;,&#8221;name&#8221;:&#8221;Jon Krawczynski&#8221;}]}<\/p>\n<div class=\"AspectRatioBox_root__AKv5b\" style=\"aspect-ratio:9 \/ 16;max-height:min(100%)\">\n<div class=\"AspectRatioBox_inner__86C_2\" style=\"aspect-ratio:9 \/ 16\">\n<div class=\"VideoStreamPlayer_GridStack__2H0p2\"><video preload=\"none\"><\/video><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Mamukelashvili can become an unrestricted free agent if he declines his $2.8 million player option for next season. The burly 6-foot-9 Mamukelashvili is a confident stretch big who barrels to the rim off the dribble. He made 38.9 percent of his 3s on nearly four attempts per game last season. It\u2019d be a blast to watch him play next to Ball and Edwards in a five-out offense. Timberwolves coach Chris Finch could also use Mamukelashvili at power forward next to Rudy Gobert. Now all they have to do is make the math work, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7395855\/2026\/06\/26\/lamelo-ball-trade-timberwolves-hornets-analysis\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">which won\u2019t be easy<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad-container\">\n<div class=\"ad-wrapper article-treatment\">\n<div class=\"ad-slug-container\">\n<p class=\"ad-slug\">Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"mid2\" data-position=\"mid2\" class=\"ad place-ad\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Law Murray<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Deandre Ayton to Nets<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The conversation about the Lakers center situation has made it quite clear that Los Angeles would ideally move on from Ayton, the only player on the team that started more than 70 games. Good luck with that maneuver. The possibility of Ayton leaving of his own accord has been less discussed.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s a reason Ayton\u2019s value is so maligned. When he looks bad, he can look be quite bad, from an inconsistent motor to a pronounced struggle to catch the ball. Edward Scissorhands is a more reliable interior receiver. But Ayton still converted 67.1 percent of his field goals while averaging 8.0 rebounds per game. With Nic Claxton traded in the deal that brought Randle in, Brooklyn could add another center to go with Day\u2019Ron Sharpe. Ayton is right there.<\/p>\n<div id=\"top-league-content-root\"><\/div>\n<p>    {&#8220;endpoint&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/api-prd-nyt.theathletic.com\/graphql&#8221;}<\/p>\n<p><strong>D\u2019Angelo Russell to Rockets<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Russell has a player option worth nearly $6 million, and you might not even realize that he finished last season on Washington\u2019s roster. I\u2019d expect Russell to opt in and then get his wings. That would allow a team such as Houston to snap Russell up on a veterans\u2019 minimum.<\/p>\n<p id=\"article-pickem\">\n<p>Russell might be down to his last legs as an NBA player, after Russell flaming out of Dallas\u2019 rotation. That was an especially bad look given the horrible point guard play the Mavericks had all of last season. Houston could use another point guard option with Fred VanVleet returning from a torn ACL, and Russell can either show that he still has something left, or that\u2019ll be it for him even though he is only 30 years old.<\/p>\n<h2>Eric Nehm<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Rui Hachimura to the Spurs<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Spurs will have access to the non-taxpayer midlevel exception (roughly $15 million) this offseason. Ultimately, the Lakers could be comfortable matching that salary to retain Hachimura, assuming he wants to be in L.A. San Antonio might want to force the Lakers to do just that.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad-container\">\n<div class=\"ad-wrapper article-treatment\">\n<div class=\"ad-slug-container\">\n<p class=\"ad-slug\">Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"mid3\" data-position=\"mid3\" class=\"ad place-ad\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>San Antonio clearly thought there was some value in starting a stretch four next to Victor Wembanyama, as they started Harrison Barnes for the first 47 games of this season before changing to a lineup that featured another guard. Hachimura started in 41 of his 68 games with the Lakers this season and knocked down 44.3 percent from 3 on his way to 11.5 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. With his ability to stretch the floor on offense and switch on defense, Hachimura would provide more size and give the Spurs even more lineup options, while not requiring a lot of shots to be useful.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Khris Middleton to the Heat<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This one feels pretty simple. Middleton won a championship in Milwaukee with Giannis Antetokounmpo in 2021 and he was the man that the Bucks relied upon in the clutch. He does not move as well as he once did after multiple surgeries, so he would not be as impactful as he was during his time in Milwaukee. But there is no denying his chemistry with Antetokounmpo.<\/p>\n<div data-ath-video-stream=\"sHGJop76tgRYNLN\">\n<div class=\"VideoHost_Root__QeM_i\">\n<div class=\"VideoHost_VideoWidth__XjNKI VideoHost_Portrait__XBaJC\">\n<div class=\"VideoTitleFrame_Root__AGckL\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"VideoTitleFrame_Title__npf3B\">How the Heat pulled off a heist for Giannis<\/div>\n<div class=\"VideoTitleFrame_Authors__jxyYV\">Esfandiar Baraheni<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"VideoTitleFrame_VideoWrapper__Xgp47\">{&#8220;@context&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/schema.org&#8221;,&#8221;@type&#8221;:&#8221;VideoObject&#8221;,&#8221;@id&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/video\/sHGJop76tgRYNLN\/&#8221;,&#8221;url&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/video\/sHGJop76tgRYNLN\/&#8221;,&#8221;name&#8221;:&#8221;How the Heat pulled off a heist for Giannis&#8221;,&#8221;description&#8221;:&#8221;Esfandiar Baraheni breaks down the trade the sends Giannis Antetokounmpo to the Miami Heat. &#8220;,&#8221;uploadDate&#8221;:&#8221;2026-06-23T17:20:09.711Z&#8221;,&#8221;duration&#8221;:&#8221;PT3M&#8221;,&#8221;thumbnailUrl&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/cdn-media.theathletic.com\/video-stream\/auto-thumbnail\/sHGJop76tgRYNLN\/doZ6wafq4S1i.0000000.jpg&#8221;,&#8221;contentUrl&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/video.nyt.com\/athletic\/streams\/sHGJop76tgRYNLN\/doZ6wafq4S1i\/doZ6wafq4S1i.m3u8&#8243;,&#8221;transcript&#8221;:&#8221;Did you notice the Miami Heat pulled off a heist to get Giannis Anntokopo? The full haul that the Milwaukee Bucks got for the former two-time MVP sounds like a lot. Tyler Hero, Jae Haquez, Kahalel Ware, Casperis Yakohoni, three first-round picks, including the 13th pick in the 2026 draft, one pick swap, and a second-round pick for Giannis and Bobby Portis. From the Bucks&#8217; perspective, none of these players are good enough to be your franchise cornerstone. The hometown kid hero is expiring contract that they either have to resign or trade for more assets down the road. The big piece of the pie here for the Bucks are the picks that they got. And while those picks have a chance to be good, it&#8217;s hard to bet against the team that just acquired Giannis and rarely, if ever, tanks. The Heat have had just 4 lottery picks in the last 15 seasons. Pat Riley and the Heat organization never throw the towel in, and so those picks, even that far away, might not have. As much value as they would if they were from a different organization. And to further that point, the Bucks don&#8217;t control their picks from 2027 to 2030, which makes this trade even more confusing for a team that just made a rebuilding move. Not having talent, not controlling your future picks, it&#8217;s a dangerous position to be in if you&#8217;re the Bucks, even if you feel like there are a lot of pieces in this trade. And for the Miami Heat, this is them definitively. choosing a direction. After trading Jimmy Butler, the Heat had been stuck in limbo in the middle of the Eastern Conference. And now with Bam Adebayo and Giannis, they have a core worthy of building a championship roster around. It&#8217;s not a perfect team. The Heat still need to re-sign Norm Powell this summer and try to add shooting and ball handling to a team that doesn&#8217;t have much money to work with. And while the addition of Portis gives them some assurance in the front court, their lack of depth is jarring, and in many ways, they The Heat will have to try and build out their roster from scratch, but they can do that with a player that can lead them to a championship at the center of it all. Giannis. Amid all the trade rumors, what has been lost is just how good of a player Giannis Antetokopo is when he&#8217;s healthy. He was top five in MVP voting from 2019 to 2025 and has averaged 30 points, 11 rebounds, and 6 assists for the last eight seasons. Those type of players don&#8217;t just grow on. Breeze. And while it&#8217;s true that the 31-year-old has dealt with injuries the last few seasons and is entering the second half of his career, betting on Giannis instead of toiling in mediocrity is well worth the risk for the Miami Heat. It won&#8217;t be easy. It might not even get them to that elusive championship, but the Miami Heat got substantially better after this trade by getting one of the best players in the world without giving up anything of true consequence. That is as big of a win as you can get.&#8221;,&#8221;ineligibleRegion&#8221;:[&#8220;BI&#8221;,&#8221;BY&#8221;,&#8221;CD&#8221;,&#8221;CF&#8221;,&#8221;CU&#8221;,&#8221;IQ&#8221;,&#8221;IR&#8221;,&#8221;KP&#8221;,&#8221;LB&#8221;,&#8221;LY&#8221;,&#8221;ML&#8221;,&#8221;NI&#8221;,&#8221;RU&#8221;,&#8221;SD&#8221;,&#8221;SO&#8221;,&#8221;SS&#8221;,&#8221;SY&#8221;,&#8221;UA&#8221;,&#8221;VE&#8221;,&#8221;YE&#8221;,&#8221;ZW&#8221;],&#8221;publisher&#8221;:{&#8220;@type&#8221;:&#8221;NewsMediaOrganization&#8221;,&#8221;@id&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/#publisher&#8221;,&#8221;name&#8221;:&#8221;The Athletic&#8221;,&#8221;url&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/&#8221;,&#8221;foundingDate&#8221;:&#8221;2016-01-25&#8243;,&#8221;logo&#8221;:{&#8220;@type&#8221;:&#8221;ImageObject&#8221;,&#8221;@id&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/theathletic.com\/app\/themes\/athletic\/assets\/img\/the-athletic-wordmark-black.png&#8221;,&#8221;url&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/theathletic.com\/app\/themes\/athletic\/assets\/img\/the-athletic-wordmark-black.png&#8221;,&#8221;contentUrl&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/theathletic.com\/app\/themes\/athletic\/assets\/img\/the-athletic-wordmark-black.png&#8221;,&#8221;creditText&#8221;:&#8221;The Athletic&#8221;,&#8221;height&#8221;:&#8221;60&#8243;,&#8221;width&#8221;:&#8221;435&#8243;},&#8221;publishingPrinciples&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/edit-guidelines\/&#8221;,&#8221;sameAs&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Athletic&#8221;},&#8221;author&#8221;:[{&#8220;@type&#8221;:&#8221;Person&#8221;,&#8221;name&#8221;:&#8221;Esfandiar Baraheni&#8221;}]}<\/p>\n<div class=\"AspectRatioBox_root__AKv5b\" style=\"aspect-ratio:9 \/ 16;max-height:min(100%)\">\n<div class=\"AspectRatioBox_inner__86C_2\" style=\"aspect-ratio:9 \/ 16\">\n<div class=\"VideoStreamPlayer_GridStack__2H0p2\"><video preload=\"none\"><\/video><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>As the Heat scour the league for players to fill out their roster next to Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo, Middleton could provide scoring, playmaking and creation, while also providing great size at his position. He is not able to stay in front of quicker players like he used to on defense, but he remains incredibly smart and understands how to play the game. Let\u2019s get the band back together.<\/p>\n<h2>Joe Vardon<\/h2>\n<p><strong>LeBron James to the Lakers<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I understand this may raise a few eyebrows, given my place of residence and shared history with the player. I wouldn\u2019t, like, kick the neighbor\u2019s dog if he wound up in Cleveland. But I don\u2019t think it will happen \u2014 nor do I think it would be a good fit.<\/p>\n<p>I want to see him finish his career with the Lakers, because, primarily, he wants to live in Los Angeles. The Lakers can pay him way more than the Cavs can, which I think would be a problem in Cleveland. How do you think LeBron would feel about walking into the locker room, looking around, and realizing he is barely outearning Craig Porter Jr. and being behind Sam Merrill on the payroll?<\/p>\n<p>I also want to see LeBron play a full season with Luka Don\u010di\u0107 and Austin Reaves running the offense. I get it: The Lakers feel far away from being able to compete with Oklahoma City or San Antonio, so perhaps one more championship is not in the cards. But his final season, whenever and wherever that is, will be a circus, and the Lakers as an organization can handle it. I don\u2019t want to watch LeBron be miserable living away from home for his final season, either. So if he is putting off retirement, I hope it\u2019s to return to the Lakers.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dean Wade to the Lakers<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Wade is a good fit for the Lakers, who are defensively challenged. He was most comfortable in Cleveland when he didn\u2019t have to shoot. He wouldn\u2019t have to shoot often on a team with Luka, Reaves and (maybe) LeBron. Wade can guard almost any position, and the Cavs often used him to guard the other team\u2019s best scorer.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad-container\">\n<div class=\"ad-wrapper article-treatment\">\n<div class=\"ad-slug-container\">\n<p class=\"ad-slug\">Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"mid4\" data-position=\"mid4\" class=\"ad place-ad\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>By rule, the Cavs can pay Wade whatever they\u2019d like because they have his Bird rights\u00a0 \u2014 they would just go even further beyond the aprons. Assuming they\u2019re trying not to do that and he leaves, Wade can go be the Lakers\u2019 defensive anchor and completely avoid the spotlight on offense. He can hit open shots, making him a nice fit. In an underwhelming free-agent class, perhaps you weren\u2019t counting on Wade\u2019s name being on this list. But I\u2019d like to see him in L.A.<\/p>\n<h2>Mike Vorkunov<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Robert Williams III to the Spurs<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a deep cut, but I would love to see the Spurs add size and skill along the frontline next to Wembanyama. They did some of that in the draft, but it seems hard to fathom that late-first-round picks could help a title contender right away.<\/p>\n<p>Williams, if healthy, could be a good player next to Wemby or serve as a capable backup. The NBA Finals made it clear that the Spurs need to add some size, and Williams would be an interesting answer.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Norm Powell to the Pistons<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7394856\/2026\/06\/26\/pistons-jaylen-brown-tyler-herro-cap-space\/\">Let\u2019s make it happen<\/a>. The Pistons sure seem like they\u2019re trying to get a second big playmaker alongside Cade Cunningham. Powell can fill that role. It might be a rough transition from winters in Miami to winters in Detroit, but his skills would be valuable there.<\/p>\n<p>He could take some of the burden off Cunningham. The Pistons are talented enough and have won enough in the regular season that they should be thinking about how they can take the next step in the playoffs. They\u2019ll need enough scoring to keep up with the Knicks and Celtics. Powell would help.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Free agency used to be a seismic event on the NBA calendar. With the rise of \u201cpre-agency,\u201d resulting in many stars being traded and then extending with their new teams before they ever reach the market, it has become a comparatively low-key affair. If a team is hoping to radically alter its core, free agency [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,241],"class_list":["post-2015593","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-nytimes-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2015593","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2015593"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2015593\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2015593"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2015593"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2015593"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}