Latest NBA Rumors, Buzz on LeBron James, Kevin Durant and 2025 Draft Plans
While the 2024-25 NBA playoffs are still unfolding, most of the league has already turned its attention to the looming offseason.
This is shaping up to be an intriguing offseason. Cooper Flagg headlines an impressive draft class, free agency could feature a few big names, and there's a non-zero chance that a legitimate superstar like Kevin Durant could be traded.
Of course, we have close to a month before things officially get rolling. The draft is set to kick off on June 25, while the free-agent negotiation period will open on June 30.
That leaves plenty of time for speculation. Let's dive into some of the latest NBA offseason buzz.
LeBron James Expected to Opt-In With Lakers
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While players like Myles Turner and Josh Giddey (restricted) will bring some excitement to free agency, stars like James Harden, LeBron James and Julius Randle will need to decline player options to hit the market.
James is a particularly interesting player to watch. Though he'll turn 41 in December, he just averaged 24.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 8.2 assists. He could return to the Los Angeles Lakers to try playing a full season with Luka Dončić, or he could try latching on with a stronger contender by opting out.
Opting out and re-signing with L.A. could also be an option for James. His option is worth $52.6 million, so re-signing for anything less could give the Lakers some added financial flexibility.
According to Charania, though, James is likely to opt-in.
"That’s likely. That’s the plan. But again, his option date is June 29. So he still has about a month to figure it out," ESPN's Shams Charania told The Pat McAfee Show.
Of course, there's no guarantee that James will be back with the Lakers next season. Dončić is the future face of the franchise, and a lot could depend on L.A.'s plan for building around him.
"[James] still has to have some hard conversations that are gonna happen between him and the Lakers to see what this team looks like," Charania told The Pat McAfee Show. "Because listen, LeBron James, whether he plays one more season or a few more seasons, he wants to be in a competitive environment."
If the Lakers have any hope of contending next season, they need to convince James to stay and fix the glaring need at center. General manager Rob Pelinka is expected to aggressively try addressing the center issue this offseason, according to ClutchPoints' Anthony Irwin.
Spurs, Timberwolves Had Previous Interest in Kevin Durant
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At this point, it would be more surprising to see Kevin Durant stay with the Phoenix Suns than to see him moved during the offseason. What's unknown is where he'll land and what Phoenix will net in return.
"I'm like 98-percent sure he's not gonna be a Sun next year, how it works out though I'm about 1-percent sure," ESPN's Brian Windhorst said Wednesday on NBA Today (h/t Brendan Mau of SI.com).
It's hard to know where Durant will end up because it's hard to know how teams view the aging star. Durant is still a terrific player, but he'll turn 37 in September and has just one more year remaining on his contract.
It's clear, though, that at least a few teams will be interested. The Minnesota Timberwolves may be among them. According to Windhorst, Minnesota kicked the tires on Durant at last year's trade deadline.
"It became clear to me in talking to the parties involved just how serious the Wolves were about trying to trade for Kevin Durant at the trade deadline," Windhorst said on Friday's Hoop Collective podcast (h/t RealGM).
The San Antonio Spurs could also target Durant. Charania told The Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday that there was "mutual interest" between the Spurs and Durant at the trade deadline.
Seeing Durant land with either team would make for an interesting offseason. The Timberwolves just made it to the Western Conference Finals, while San Antonio has one of the league's brightest young stars in Victor Wembanyama.
Dylan Harper Trending as Franchise-Changing Prospect
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There should be no uncertainty at the very top of this year's draft. The Dallas Mavericks own the top pick and are expected to use it on Duke superstar Cooper Flagg.
"The Dallas Mavericks are likely already thinking about about how they'll use him, rather than going through a typical process of evaluating multiple prospects," Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman wrote in his latest mock draft.
The Spurs could be close to locking in the second pick as well, with Rutgers guard Dylan Harper as the logical target.
"If the Spurs keep the second pick and don’t trade out of this position, it seems like Harper will be the pick," Kevin O'Connor of Yahoo Sports wrote in his mock draft 3.0.
It would seem that Flagg isn't the only "can't-miss" prospect in the 2025 draft class. According to O'Connor, Harper is viewed as being in a similar tier.
"A lot of people around the NBA—like, everybody has Cooper Flagg for the most part ahead of Dylan Harper—but there are a lot of people who consider Dylan Harper a can't-miss prospect, a guy who can change a franchise," O'Connor said told NBC Sports Boston's The OffC'season special on Wednesday (h/t Darren Hartwell of NBC Sports Boston).
Obviously, nothing is set in stone yet, but the draft's drama could begin with the Philadelphia 76ers at No. 3.
Rockets Could Trade Out of the Top 10
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Neither the Mavericks nor the Spurs are likely to trade down in this year's draft. The Houston Rockets, however, might. According to O'Connor, Houston is widely expected to move up, down or out from the No. 10 spot:
"League sources expect the Rockets to look into trading this pick, whether it’s a trade way up, a trade out for a star, or a trade out for a group of future picks similar to what the Spurs received from the Timberwolves when they moved up for Rob Dillingham last year."
The Dillingham trade, for the record, netted San Antonio a 2031 unprotected first-round pick and a 2030 pick swap (top-1 protected).
Staying flexible would make sense for the Rockets, who bowed out in the first round but who have come a long way since winning 17 games in the 2020-21 season. Houston could move up for a prospect it absolutely loves, or look to add more trade chips to an already-impressive cache.
The Rockets have five tradeable first-round picks in the next seven years, along with seven second-round selections.
The question for general manager Rafael Stone is whether it makes more sense to continue building a young roster or to go star-chasing this offseason and/or next.
Staying put and picking at No. 10 is also an option—Wasserman paired Houston with Illinois guard Kasparas Jakucionis in his mock—but the Rockets may be looking to make moves on draft day.
