Ranking the 10 Boldest Moves of the 2025 NBA Offseason
The boldest moves of summer may be behind us as the NBA offseason nears completion.
The restricted four remain unsettled (Josh Giddey, Jonathan Kuminga, Quentin Grimes and Cam Thomas). The rookie-scale extension deadline for players like Dyson Daniels, Benedict Mathurin, Jalen Duren and others doesn't hit until the day before the regular season starts, and a surprise trade or two is always a possibility.
Still, teams have taken some big swings—not of the minor variety like the Portland Trail Blazers selecting Yang Hanson at No. 16 (choosing a highly-valued player without fixating on draft position)—but potentially franchise-altering ones that could lead to years of repercussions.
The following is a list of the top-10 outright bold moves of the 2025-26 offseason.
No. 10: Boston Breaks Up Championship Roster
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The Boston Celtics may have considered paying over $500 million in payroll and taxes for its 2025-26 roster had the group won back-to-back titles. Instead, the Celtics not only fell short in a hard-fought second-round series to the New York Knicks, but lost Jayson Tatum for a year with an Achilles injury.
With second-apron penalties, repeater taxes and the prospect of a down season without Tatum, the front office went about the painful task of breaking up a championship roster. Trading Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porziņģis made sense on paper, but executing the steps to worsen the team that took years to construct took guts.
No. 9: Lakers Don't Offer LeBron
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The Los Angeles Lakers have given LeBron James a "yes" to essentially every contract demand since acquiring the former NBA MVP in 2018 as a free agent. Whether it was trading most of the roster to acquire Anthony Davis (leading to the title in 2020), bringing on Russell Westbrook, or drafting his son, Bronny James, in 2024, the Lakers have done James' bidding.
That's not necessarily a criticism; for many, James ranks as the No. 1 best player in league history. But this summer, the Lakers didn't give him whatever he wanted. When James needed to decide on his player option before the end of June, the Lakers chose not to offer him a longer deal. Without a one-plus-one (two-year deal with a player option after the 2025-26 season) or a three-year contract offer from the Lakers, James chose to opt into his final year.
L.A. has a new face of the franchise (Luka Dončić), and the bold signal was made to James (turning 41 in December) that he is no longer that guy.
Grizzlies Sacrifice to Renegotiate JJJ
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The Memphis Grizzlies bounced back from a down season, but 48 wins placed the team at No. 8 in the Western Conference, advancing through the play-in tournament before being swept by the Oklahoma City Thunder. Instead of putting resources into significantly upgrading the roster, the Grizzlies used cap flexibility to lock down Jaren Jackson Jr. with a long-term, multi-year renegotiation and extension.
The cost, in part, was key starter Desmond Bane, who was sent to the Orlando Magic for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Cole Anthony. The Grizzlies were well-rewarded with draft compensation, but Caldwell-Pope is over 30 and on the downslope of his career; Anthony was bought out entirely.
While the additions of Ty Jerome and, via trade, Cedric Coward (No. 11) will help, the Grizzlies sacrificed immediate improvement to ensure Jackson remains with the franchise for a long time.
No. 7: Nuggets Get Cam Johnson
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The Denver Nuggets still risk plateauing during the peak of Nikola Jokić's career. After winning the title in 2023, the team hasn't gotten past the second round, falling in consecutive seven-game series. Something had to change, and the franchise parted ways with Michael Porter Jr., a core member from the title run.
In return for Porter and an unprotected 2032 first-round pick, Denver added Cam Johnson from the Brooklyn Nets. Both are capable three-point shooting wings, but Johnson's lower salary ($20.5-$24.7 million for 2025-26, depending on incentives) compared to Porter's $38.3 million gives the Nuggets some breathing room to possibly get under the luxury tax before the end of the season. The downside is that Johnson has reached 60 games just twice in six years (with various injuries)—and that distant pick may be beyond Jokić's tenure with the club.
Will it work? The core element of risk is what makes it a bold move.
No. 6: Spurs Max Fox
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The De'Aaron Fox extension was the least surprising on the list. When the San Antonio Spurs acquired the former All-Star from the Sacramento Kings before the February deadline, the expectation league-wide is that a deal was loosely agreed to at that time.
The boldness comes from the pure heft of the deal, with Fox earning $61.4 million in 2029-30. He's an outstanding player, but with NBA inflation, he's extremely well-paid over the life of his five-year contract.
Good for Fox; potentially so for the Spurs, who have the current rookie of the year in Stephon Castle and just drafted Dylan Harper at No. 2. Too much talent isn't a bad thing for nearly any team, but the Fox price tag stands out.
No. 5: Suns Pivot Out, Pay Booker
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The Phoenix Suns have floundered in recent years. The Bradley Beal trade limited flexibility, didn't work, and led to this summer's pivot. Kevin Durant, one of the best players in league history, was sent to the Houston Rockets. Beal was let go, his salary stretched over multiple seasons at $19.4 million through 2029-30.
With minimal control over its draft picks, Phoenix didn't go all the way towards a rebuild, giving Devin Booker an extension that will pay $68.8 million in 2029-30 (player option). The team also traded for Mark Williams, a talented young center who has struggled through significant injuries throughout most of his young career.
The Suns took back Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks from the Rockets, acquired Khaman Maluach (No. 10), Rasheer Fleming (No. 31) and Koby Brea (No. 41) in the draft, and claimed Jordan Goodwin off waivers from the Los Angeles Lakers.
Is the team better without Durant and Beal? The answer to their bold choices will be played out on the court…
No. 4: Rockets Land KD
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The Houston Rockets stand on the other end of the Kevin Durant trade, acquiring him from the Phoenix Suns for players the team was willing to move on from (Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks). Bold shouldn't have a negative connotation; the Rockets saw an opportunity to compete at the top of the West and went for it.
In addition to bringing on Durant, an elite NBA scorer even at his advanced age (almost 37), Houston also landed Dorian Finney-Smith, Clint Capela and Josh Okogie. The Rockets retain the heart of the No. 2 team in the conference, with significant upgrades.
Pencil in Houston as the greatest threat to unseat the Oklahoma City Thunder in the postseason.
No. 3: All in on Desmond Bane
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The Orlando Magic returned to the playoffs in 2024, but haven't gotten out of the first round in two tries. Injuries played a significant factor in last year's run, but that didn't stop the franchise from going hard at a potential upgrade. Sending out multiple first-round picks to get Desmond Bane was extremely bold.
Bane, 27, provides the most significant lacking skill set on Orlando's roster: shooting. At 41 percent from three-point range (career), Bane should help provide floor spacing for new teammates Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs. The Magic have heavily invested in the trio, now a quartet of high-salaried players that will test the team's appetite for luxury taxes and apron restrictions.
The Eastern Conference, with injuries to players like Tyrese Halliburton and Jayson Tatum, may be wide open for an upstart like Orlando; it just better work because the Magic gave up a ton to get Bane and are relatively locked into its four main players.
No. 2: Bucks Stretch Dame, Keep Giannis, Sign Turner
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The Milwaukee Bucks have done everything within their power to give Giannis Antetokounmpo a reason to stay beyond his current contract. Whether that works long-term is unknown; despite widespread speculation from competing teams, agents and the media, Antetokounmpo remains in Milwaukee.
Often, when a team's championship window starts to close (after the 2020-21 title), the star will look for a new home as the roster ages out, roster flexibility shrinks, and the cost of trading future picks several years ago comes due (specifically when acquiring Jrue Holiday in 2020).
The Achilles injury to Damian Lillard appeared to be the final straw of the Antetokounmpo run; instead, the Bucks pivoted under the salary cap by waiving and stretching Lillard's salary. The team signed center Myles Turner (29) to replace Brook Lopez (37). Milwaukee retained veterans Bobby Portis, Kevin Porter Jr., Ryan Rollins, Taurean Prince, Jericho Sims and Gary Trent Jr., while adding scoring point guard Cole Anthony.
In an Eastern Conference weakened by injury, maybe that's enough for the Bucks and Antetokounmpo. That the franchise has a $22.5 million dead-money cap hit for Lillard through 2029-30 to be a good, but not great, NBA team was a bold, bold choice.
No. 1: Unprotected first for Derik Queen
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The New Orleans Pelicans stunned the league by trading an unprotected first-round pick in 2026 to the Atlanta Hawks (the higher between the Milwaukee Bucks and Pelicans) to move up from No. 23 to No. 13 to acquire Derik Queen.
With health, the Pelicans may be better this coming season than last year's 21-win disaster, but if they're not? The Bucks should have at least a top-8 team in the East, but if Giannis Antetokounmpo misses any time (or asks to be traded), Milwaukee could fall off the map entirely.
Fundamentally, the Pelicans are gambling that Queen, a 6'10" center out of Maryland, will have a better career than a chance at a top pick in 2026 with prospects like AJ Dybantsa (BYU), Cameron Boozer (Duke), Darryn Peterson (Kansas), and Nate Ament (Tennessee), etc. Even if New Orleans doesn't want to take the lottery risk, couldn't the franchise trade it later when it has a better sense of its fortune?
No, the Pelicans believe in Queen, their roster upgrades (including Jordan Poole from the Washington Wizards), and that the Bucks won't be a lottery factor. If it's the right choice, it's one that had nearly the entire NBA world buzzing in June for sheer boldness.
Email Eric Pincus at eric.pincus@gmail.com and follow him on X @EricPincus and Bluesky.
