Everybody but Brunson! Stephen A. shares whom Knicks should deal for Giannis (2:21)Stephen A. Smith jokingly says that the Knicks should be willing to trade the dance team, concession workers and anyone besides Jalen Brunson to the Bucks for Giannis Antetokounmpo. (2:21)
Bobby MarksApr 17, 2026, 10:30 PM ETCloseFollow on XMultiple Authors
Which teams are ready to take the next step in their rebuilds? Which have massive draft and trade decisions ahead? Could stars such as Giannis Antetokounmpo and Ja Morant be on the move this summer?
We’re breaking down the potential moves for each eliminated franchise, including a look at the state of the roster, finances, front office priorities, extension candidates to watch, team needs and future draft assets. (Note: 2026 draft picks are based on current league standings.)
2025-26 record: 44-38 Draft picks in June: No. 14, No. 16/17/18 (less favorable of ORL and PHX) Odds at the No. 1 pick: 0.5%
Losing in the play-in and not advancing to the postseason for the first time since 2016 should not diminish what Charlotte accomplished.
After a preseason win total of 26.5, according to DraftKings, the Hornets won 44 to more than double last season’s total. Charlotte’s 33-16 record since Jan. 1 is a by-product of multiple factors, including availability and consistency in the starting lineup and a strong 2025 draft class headlined by Rookie of the Year finalist Kon Knueppel.
Hornets rookies Knueppel, Sion James and Ryan Kalkbrenner scored 27% (31.4 points per game) of the teams’ offense. Knueppel, meanwhile, became the first rookie to lead the league in 3s with 270.
It starts with sticking to the core principles general manager Jeff Peterson outlined when he was hired in 2024.
“Our main goal is to have sustained success,” Peterson said. “We don’t want to make the playoffs one year and then we’re out for another three or four years. We want this to be sustainable and turn this team into a consistent winner.”
The White trade in February illustrated Peterson’s vision. By trading for White, Charlotte inherited his Bird rights, allowing the franchise to sign him as a free agent and exceed the salary cap. Without the trade, Charlotte did not have cap space to sign the guard outright. In 20 games off the bench since the trade, White averaged 15.5 points per game and shot 38.5% on 3s.
The draft and White’s free agency are priorities, but Charlotte has decisions when it comes to Bridges, Ball and Miller. All three are eligible for extensions.
Bridges is on an expiring $22.9 million salary and is eligible to extend for four years, $114.2 million. Since the All-Star break, Bridges’ scoring has decreased from 18.1 to 15 points per game but on better efficiency. In those 24 games, Bridges shot 49.1% from the field and 35.0% from 3.
Due to the Hornets managing his workload, Ball played the fewest minutes of his career (28 per game) but appeared in the second-most games in his career (72). Ball has two years remaining on his contract and is eligible to extend for three years, $119.9 million.
Roster flexibility is a starting point, with Charlotte having two first-round picks in June and 13 players under contract. With Green and Williams entering the final years of their contract, it will be an important offseason of development for former first-rounder Liam McNeeley.
The Hornets are well built for the future, with 10 first-round picks and 14 second-rounders available over the next seven years. Charlotte can trade up to seven first-rounders in the next seven years, including four of their own picks.
2025-26 record: 42-40 Draft picks in June: No. 36 (via MEM), No. 53 (via CLE); has Indiana’s pick if it lands Nos. 5 or 6
In August, ESPN ranked the three-year futures of all 30 teams. The rankings took into account the roster, finances and management, among other categories. The Clippers finished fifth.
As part of multiple reports by podcaster and ESPN contributor Pablo Torre, the Clippers were accused of circumventing the salary cap to pay Kawhi Leonard. The NBA’s investigation, which began shortly thereafter, is ongoing. If they are found guilty of any wrongdoing, building out the roster this offseason and in future years could be more difficult. The penalties could include the loss of draft picks, significant fines and suspensions of team executives, including owner Steve Ballmer.
The Clippers did not make the playoffs for the first time since 2022, but they did identify a blueprint for the future. Since Dec. 19, Los Angeles finished with the fourth-best record (36-19) in the Western Conference. The success stemmed from prioritizing their younger players (second-round pick Kobe Sanders, for example), marking a shift in roster-building philosophy.
“We were the oldest team in the NBA. We were in ninth place despite turning around, which we do not take lightly,” said president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank after the trade deadline. “But we had to make some really, really hard and difficult decisions.”
The decision Frank is referring to is trading 36-year-old James Harden to Cleveland for 26-year-old Darius Garland. The Clippers would then add a pair of former first-round picks, Bennedict Mathurin and Isaiah Jackson, and two future first-rounders from Indiana for Ivica Zubac.
The Clippers could have the No. 5 or No. 6 pick in this year’s draft if the Pacers’ first-rounder falls outside of the top four. There is a 27.8% and 20.1% chance that could happen, respectively.
What that means for the future of Leonard, who is entering the final year of his contract, remains unclear.
The Clippers could act as a cap-space team, but at the expense of Bogdanovic, Lopez, Batum, Kris Dunn, Cam Christie, Sanders and Miller. They would also need to renounce the free agent hold of Mathurin.
Trading Harden and Zubac would indicate the Clippers’ future does not include Kawhi Leonard. Frank looks at it differently.
“We can continue and look forward to building with Kawhi while still acknowledging we’re going to need more,” Frank said in February. “And we’ll go through every step of what that looks like, whether it’s free agency, whether it’s in trade, whether it’s in draft and how we build it.”
He averaged the most points per game in his career (27.9) and finished in the top 10 in field goal, 2-point and 3-point percentage. The Clippers were a plus-7.8 points per 100 possessions when he was on the court and a minus-6.9 when he was off. More importantly, Leonard played in 66 games, his second most since the 2016-17 season.
Entering the last year of a three-year $149.5 million extension that he signed in January 2024, Leonard is eligible, starting on the day after the NBA Finals, to extend his contract for two additional seasons. The maximum the Clippers can offer is $126.1 million over the two seasons.
Despite his production this season and durability, it might seem reckless to pay Leonard an average of $63 million over two seasons, especially considering the average salary in his recent extension was $50 million.
Besides the team options of Lopez, Bogdanovic and Batum, there’s Mathurin, a restricted free agent. The 23-year-old averaged 17.2 points per game in the 25 games he played with the Clippers since he was acquired from the Pacers in the Zubac deal.
Despite playing in 74 games last season, Kris Dunn failed to reach the 65-game minutes criteria and was ineligible to be named All-Defense.
This season, Dunn played all 82 games and qualified for regular-season awards. He ranked fourth in steals (trailing only Cason Wallace, Dyson Daniels and Ausar Thompson) and fifth in deflections. If Dunn is named to the All-Defense first team, his $5.7 million contract for next season becomes guaranteed. Starting on the day after the NBA Finals, Dunn is eligible to sign up to a four-year, $92.8 million extension.
The Zubac trade to Indiana recouped some of the first-round picks the Clippers lost when they acquired Harden. The Clippers now have eight first-round picks over the next seven years, including four that can be traded. While they cannot trade their own first until 2030 at the earliest, they do have 2029 and 2031 unprotected firsts from the Pacers. They have four second-round picks.
Getting swept by Cleveland also prompted coach Erik Spoelstra to overhaul an offense that ranked 27th in pace and 21st overall. And while Miami’s core returned for 2025-26, the franchise traded for Fontecchio and Powell, who was named an All-Star for the first time in his career.
The Heat started the season 14-7 and finished it ranked first in pace, 13th in offense and with six more wins than last year. While the offense improved considerably, the Heat’s defense slipped, forcing a fourth consecutive play-in berth. In the last 15 games of the regular season, Miami ranked 28th in defense and allowed opponents to score at least 130 points six times. They were outscored by 8.9 points and trailed Sacramento for the worst 3-point percentage allowed during that span.
After missing the playoffs for the first time since 2018, the Heat enter the offseason at a critical point, needing to evaluate if this roster can be more than a play-in team. (Eleven players are under contract for 2026-27.)
Miami has a lottery pick for the first time since 2018 and has a decision with free agent Powell, and extension-eligible players Tyler Herro and Jaime Jaquez Jr.
There is also the question of whether the playoff shortcomings create a sense of urgency in trade talks for Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Heat, Timberwolves and Warriors all pursued the former MVP before the February deadline.
Offseason finances: Powell will play a major role in what kind of flexibility Miami has this summer. Including Wiggins’ $30.2 million player option — he has until June 29 to decide — and the Heat’s own first-round pick, they are $33.2 million below the luxury tax and $39 million below the first apron. The Heat have two trade exceptions of $16.8 million and $5.6 million. Miami would be hard-capped at the first apron if they use either.