NBA’s 6 best moves of the offseason, ranked

Is there still a big movement in the off-season of the NBA? A year ago, the New York Knicks and the Minnesota Timberwolves finished a blockbuster in Buzzer which exchanged cities of Karl-Anthony for Julius Randle and Donte Divincenzo on the eve of the media day. The previous year, Damian Lillard was exchanged at the Milwaukee Bucks at the end of September. Just before the teams realized at the training camp. Do not be surprised if there is still an unexpected trade before the summer of NBA 2025 is finished, but for the most part, the only thing that still drags on the league is the limited free agent.

It is not too early to start your electricity ranking for the 2026 championship race. The reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder will enter the season again as the title of the title, but there are a large group of suitors behind them who loaded this summer.

Taking into account the current and the future, here are the six best movements of the NBA off -season.

6. The depth of the clippers moves

I thought the mowers were going to be in good shape after letting Paul George walk for nothing in free agency. A year later, it absolutely looks like the right decision. The Clippers won 50 games and brought the Nuggets to a match 7 in the first round last season when they favored the depth of an aging star, and their depth is only making this off -season stronger. The Clippers added Brook Lopez, Bradley Beal, Chris Paul and John Collins while losing only Norman Powell this summer. The heart of the team remains the Kawhi Leonard, James Harden Connection fortified by an elite defense led by the great man Ivica Zubac. With a larger depth than ever these days, the other team of the will legitimately 10 or 11 deeply with high level veterans. The clippers are the oldest team in the league, and it is difficult to count on Leonard to be available at this stage of his career, but the pieces assemble well if they can stay in good health and fresh for the playoffs. The best part of the clippers this summer is that they made them without obstructing their long -term salary ceiling sheet. The outdoor shot on the title this year, and can still be easily rotated in the coming years if they can get a younger star in a free agency. It is difficult to believe that mowers are one of the most intelligent basketball organizations now after decades of mismanagement, but it is undeniable that they have done well this summer without much margin of error.

5. The CHET HOLMGREN extension of the Thunder’s

The Thunder has given $ 822 million in extensions this summer to maintain their championship core in place. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren have all signed massive extensions to keep them in the long term, and the bad news for their competitors is that Thunder is always set up to escape the luxury tax and the aprons that followed for a few more years. SGA and Williams each obtained the best possible offers they could from the Thunder, but Holmgren gave a little to the negotiating table, and this could pay major dividends for the team. The Max extension of Holmgren would be a right of 25% of the salary ceiling agreement – which means that it would not get an increase if the NBA is winning the defensive player of the year next year. The victory of the Dpoy of Evan Mobley this season has earned him an additional $ 45 million on the life of its extension, which complicates the CAVS salary in the future. Holmgren has removed this possibility of the table, and this will help the Thunder to make the necessary movements around the margins to maintain the Rollin team ‘even after having finally lost players in the loss of salary. Holmgren had a difficult race offensively in the playoffs, but he looked like a great man of all-NBA caliber before fracturing his pool in the regular season. I am still in heaven on Holmgren as a dashboard protector who can pull three years and finish well inside. I think he can do the whole NBA this year if he remains in good health, and if that happens, his contract will be a good deal.

Photo by Jeremy Chen / Getty Images

4. Kevin trade during rockets

Kevin Durant has been a lot throughout his legendary NBA career, but he has never been a good deal so far. The Houston Rockets acquired for an extremely reasonable package this summer which sent Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks and the choice n ° 10 to the Phoenix Suns. During landing in a Houston team that desperately needed more shooting and marking, and this could be enough to push them into the championship level. The Rockets were already seeded n ° 2 in the West last season thanks to an elite defense and a young talented nucleus. Houston has kept all his best young players while adding KD, and they have depth and athletics to keep him in a role that works for a 37 -year -old man. During has always published fantastic score numbers last season while being one of the best defenders in Phoenix. Houston will allow their young defensive threats to do the heavily for this purpose with Amen Thompson and Tari Eason provoking wreaking havoc, while Alperen Sengun, Fred Vanvleet and perhaps Reed Sheppard help the scores of the spoon with a spoon. It looks like a perfect wedding of player and team, and if the young Houston core can do another step forward, the Rockets could really be the biggest challenger in the Thunder championship.

3. Cam Johnson of Nuggets

Nikola Jokic did everything for Nuggets last season. After a heartbreaking defeat of match 7 against the possible champion Thunder in the second round of the playoffs, Denver started making the life of the superstar a little easier to move forward. Denver swung for fences by exchanging an unprotected first round choice in 2032 and Michael Porter Jr. at Brooklyn Nets for Cam Johnson. Like MPJ, Johnson is a big shooter who should feast on looks created by Jokic, but his game is a little more complete and he does not have the same problems of chronic injury. The Nuggets did not stop there: they exchanged for Jonas Valancunas to save Jokic, they signed a direct elimination shooter at Tim Hardaway Jr., and they brought the guy from the glue of their championship race in 2023 to Bruce Brown. Johnson trade was the real needle engine. He was one of the most effective scorers in the league last year with Cam Thomas overcrowding him. Imagine what he could do with Jokic. Johnson was not so durable throughout his career, and that will have to change even with the found depth of the nuggets. The approach of the “two deadlines” of the former main framework Calvin Booth is dead. Denver is quite today during the Jokic bonus, and they could have improved enough to get another title.

Photo of Wes Hale / Getty Images

2. The trade of Desmond Bane of Magic

The Magic felt closer to the connection than a typical team of .500 last season. Orlando has missed its three best players – Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs – for big songs from the season, and has always finished No. 2 in team defensive efficiency. The problem of magic beyond the injuries is that they had one of the worst shooting teams of all time after finishing dead in percentage of three points. Enter Desmond Bane, a Knockdown shooter who will not sacrifice anything in defense while adding the ground spacing with quick trigger that this team had desperately needed. Magic spent four first -round choices for Bane, including the juicy choice of Suns 2026, in Memphis to conclude the agreement. It is a ton to put in a package for a player who has never been an All-Star, but Bane has experienced seasons of caliber of stars before, and is a hand in the glove to everything that magic needed. The big question with Orlando for me is always so Banchero and Wagner can really improve. The magic has been much better with only Wagner on the ground in recent years. Will the addition of a Knockdown shooter to the worst League spacing team solve this problem? It is a worthy bet for a team with two young stars ready to go up. Orlando has paid a high price, but the floors agreement could make a competitor during a year of decline for the East.

1. The Hawks traffic project with the Pélicans

The Hawks have achieved an impossible tip this summer: they made a competitor of the Eastern Conference Friging while picking up one of the most precious assets in the league which has the possibility of returning a future superstar. Atlanta’s transport of the off-season includes Kristaps Porzingis, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Luke Kennard, three players who can perfectly complement the star duo of the Hawks of Jalen Johnson and Trae Young if all (reading: Health) is fine. At the same time, the Hawks also won the choice of first round in 2026 of New Orleans in 2026 in an absolutely loaded project just to exchange 10 places in 2025. The Pelicans abused their future to land Derik Queen, and Atlanta was happy to conclude the contract and still added a talented player in ASA Newell later. Pelicans are very likely to be among the worst teams in the West this season, and this could mean a first -rate prospect for Atlanta with a chance of lottery. I have been covering the draft of the NBA for more than a decade here, and I have never seen a better “big three” than 2026 with Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer and AJ Dybantsa paving the way. This Hawks team already feels good enough to win an eliminatory series or perhaps even two in a better case. If the choice of pelicans is available in the top-3, Atlanta will really cook. When Joe Dumars and Troy Weaver call, you better answer. The robbery of Hawks has the potential to be something we are talking about for the years to come.