NBA Wiretap

Paolo Banchero and the Orlando Magic have agreed to a five-year, $239 million maximum extension. The deal includes triggers to elevate his salary to the Rose rule max if he makes an All-NBA team.

The deal also has a player option for Banchero in 2030-31, which hasn't happened on a rookie max since Luka Doncic and Trae Young in 2021.

Orlando now has Banchero, Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs signed for the next five years.

Banchero averaged 25.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists last season. Banchero missed 34 games over the first two months of last season due to an oblique injury.

Kyle Lowry and the Philadelphia 76ers have agreed to a one-year deal. Lowry will be in his 20th NBA season and his third with the Sixers.

Lowry averaged 3.9 points, 1.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists last season for the Sixers. Philadelphia also has Tyrese Maxey, Jared McCain and VJ Edgecombe in the backcourt.

Lowry first joined the Sixers after the trade deadline in 2024 when he was bought out by the Charlotte Hornets following his trade from the Miami Heat.

The Miami Heat have acquired Norman Powell from the Los Angeles Clippers in a three-team trade involving the Utah Jazz. The Clippers will acquire John Collins, while the Jazz will receive Kevin Love, Kyle Anderson and a 2027 second round pick from the Clippers.

Powell is on a $20.5 million expiring contract from his five-year, $90 million deal initially signed with the Portland Trail Blazers. Powell will provide the Heat additional shot creation in the backcourt as he comes off a career-high average of 21.8 points per game when he was an All-Star candidate. 

Collins is also on a $26.6 million expiring contract from his five-year, $125 million contract initially signed with the Atlanta Hawks. Collins will give the Clippers more depth in the frontcourt. Last seasons, Collins averaged 18.9 points and 8.2 rebounds in 30.5 minutes over 40 games. 

The Clippers have also been linked with Bradley Beal if he gets bought out by the Phoenix Suns as expected, as well as with Chris Paul.

Love will be a buyout candidate for the Jazz as they continue their rebuild. 

Malcolm Brogdon will likely remain unsigned until after Bradley Beal's situation is resolved. Brogdon has received interest from the Los Angeles Clippers, Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors, Minnesota Timberwolves, New Orleans Pelicans, Sacramento Kings and Milwaukee Bucks.

The Washington Wizards are open to sign-and-trade discussions involving Brogdon.

Brogdon appeared in 24 games this past season with the Washington Wizards, averaging 12.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 4.1 assists in 23.5 minutes. Brogdon is 32 and has played for four different teams over the past four seasons as he played out the remainder of his two-year, $45 million extension signed with the Indiana Pacers in 2021.

The Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks and Minnesota Timberwolves are some of the team confirmed to have interest in Bradley Beal if he reached agreement with the Phoenix Suns on a buyout.

The Clippers still have $5.3 million to spend remaining from their non-taxpayer midlevel exception. The Clippers opened up potential minutes at guard with their trade of Norman Powell to the Miami Heat.

Beal is on a five-year, $251 million deal signed originally with the Washington Wizards. Beal has two years remaining on his contract totaling $110 million. Beal will have to take a significant reduction on the buyout in order for his contract to be stretched. Beal will then make some of that contract back up when he signs in free agency. 

In 53 games last season with the Suns, Beal averaged 17.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 32.1 minutes while shooting 38.6 percent on three-pointers. Beal had a PER of 14.9 as his usage dropped from his All-Star performance with the Wizards. Beal had a True Shooting Percenage of .598.

Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga, like most restricted free agents this offseason, has been stuck in a holding pattern. With very little cap space available this summer, rival teams don't have the ability to put pressure on incumbent teams with offer sheets. That's left restricted free agents like Kuminga waiting to figure out their next contract.

As of now, Kuminga has had no traction towards a new deal, either with the Warriors or another team. Several teams have been reported as having interest in a sign-and-trade for the talented young forward, with the Sacramento Kings having the most interest of that group.

It appears that Kuminga, along with players like Josh Giddey of the Chicago Bulls and Cam Thomas of the Brooklyn Nets, will have to wait as their restricted free agency drags out a little longer.

Forward A.J. Dybantsa led Team USA to the title in the FIBA U19 World Cup over the weekend. Dybantsa was named MVP of the tournament, which the United States capped off with a 109-76 victory over Germany in the final.

Dybantsa is headed to BYU this fall. The 6-foot-8 forward averaged 14.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.1 steals in 20 minutes per game for Team USA.

Louisville-bound guard Mikel Brown also had a strong tournament for the United States. Brown was the team's leader in scoring at 14.9 points and passing at 6.1 assists per game.

Dybantsa and Brown are part of a strong group at the top of the 2026 NBA Draft class. Those two are joined by Darryn Peterson (Kansas), Cameron Boozer (Duke) and Nate Ament (Tennessee) at the top of the earlier pre-draft rankings.

Koby Brea and the Phoenix Suns have agreed to a Two-Way deal. Brea was the 41st overall pick in the 2025 draft out of Kentucky.

Brea averaged 11.6 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 28.1 minutes as a fifth-year senior with Kentucky after beginning his collegiate career with Dayton. Brea shot 32.5 percent on three-pointers.

Nikola Jokic publicly urged the Denver Nuggets to add depth to their roster this offseason and have responded by turning Michael Porter Jr., Russell Westbrook and Dario Saric into Cam Johnson, Bruce Brown Jr., Tim Hardaway Jr. and Jonas Valanciunas.

"The Nuggets have their new backcourt, and I was told that—and Mr. Jokic has not spoken on the record, at least in English, about this that I've seen—but I was told through secondhand that Jokic was very pleased with the Nuggets' moves," said ESPN's Brian Windhorst.

While Valanciunas would likely only play limited minutes in the playoffs, his presence would allow the Nuggets to reduce Jokic's minutes during the regular season. Last season, Jokic averaged a career high 36.7 minutes as the Nuggets needed him to play at an MVP level with heavy minutes to even qualify for a non-Play-In spot. Jokic played in only 34.6 minutes per game in 2023-24, which was up from the previous two seasons.

The Nuggets plan to offer Jokic a contract extension this offseason worth $206 million over three seasons.

The Golden State Warriors remain the clear favorite to sign Al Horford this offseason despite no agreement being reached one week into the start of free agency. The Warriors currently can only offer Horford the $5.7 million taxpayer midlevel exception.

Horford has also been considering retirement and also had been linked with the Los Angeles Lakers. The Denver Nuggets have also been mentioned as a possibility for Horford, but they continue working to convince Jonas Valanciunas to remain in the NBA.

Last season, Horford averaged 9.0 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists while shooting 36.3 percent on three-pointers for the Celtics.