5 NBA Teams We Already Know Will Define 2026 Offseason
Plenty of basketball is left in the NBA's regular season and playoff tanks. We needn't watch any of it to know which teams will already define the summer.
Sure, certain squads will be nudged toward wholesale overhauls and stunning moves depending on how this year ends. Teams like the Cleveland Cavaliers, Orlando Magic, New York Knicks, Houston Rockets, and Minnesota Timberwolves all spring to mind.
Still, for the time being, these squads technically have the ability to stave off splashy upgrades or big-time teardowns. A handful of their peers do not.ย
Significant turnover, in these cases, is the defaultโno matter what happens the rest of the way.
Brooklyn Nets
1 of 5
Salary-cap sickos noticed that the Brooklyn Nets didn't take on any long-term money at the trade deadline. Combine that with their decision to hold onto Michael Porter Jr., and it's worth billing them as this offseason's "Now, why would they do that?" team.
Brooklyn could be saving what Spotrac Keith Smith projects to be $45-plus million in cap space to facilitate other teams' bigger offseason swings. Or the Nets could be gearing up to take big swings of their own.
The latter feels counterintuitive for a squad that doesn't yet have a franchise cornerstone. But Brooklyn's 2027 draft pick is controlled by the Houston Rockets. It has no real incentive to be bad.
General manager Sean Marks has historically not allowed being on the wrong side of draft-pick obligations to dictate the Nets' timeline. He could continue along with this gradual program, power through the optics of sending Houston a high lottery pick, and take a stab at landing another top prospect in 2028.ย
Yet, while this path is hardly out of the question, it is no longer as palatable as it wasโฆmere weeks ago. Commissioner Adam Silver has made it clear that the league will implement lottery reform prior to next season. Brooklyn's slow-playing of its position may not carry the same prospective payoff in 2028 that it does now.
Fast-tracking the timeline is suddenly a more distinct possibility. Rival teams already view the Nets as a dark-horse suitor for Giannis Antetokounmpo if he hits the chopping block.ย
Between plenty of draft equity and cap flexibility, its 2027 pick heading to Houston and the absence of a tent-pole star, Brooklyn is a candidate to do just about anything.ย
Chicago Bulls
2 of 5
The Chicago Bulls approached the trade deadline like a team ready to embrace a hard reset. Rather than buy or stand pat, they aggressively sold off impact veterans approaching free agency for modest draft compensation. This is the M.O. of a squad preparing to prioritize the bigger picture, which doesn't always lend itself to bonkers offseason activity.
Then again, these are the Bulls. We should not pretend to know what they're thinking, ever, at all.
Truth be told, Chicago is an even bigger wild card now. It is one of three teams expected to chisel out $30-plus million in cap space; it doesn't have a long-term solution at center; remains light to barren on impact wings; and still won't have the player good enough to build around unless it scoops him up in the draft.ย
This is grounds for a polarizing offseason even in the most predictable hands. It's a Molotov cocktail of possibilities for the Bulls.ย
They could follow the conventional course and take on unwanted money while prioritizing internal development and second-draft swings. They could blow up restricted free agency for other teams by chasing a Jalen Duren, Walker Kessler, or Peyton Watson. They could even look to use this year's pick, their flexibility, and other assets to trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo or some other big name.ย
Chicago's range of outcomes and aims is vastโand, therefore, equal parts terrifying and bound to make offseason headlines.
Golden State Warriors
3 of 5
Everyone agrees the Golden State Warriors' 2022 title was the cherry atop their dynastic sundae. They could spend the rest of Stephen Curry's days spinning their wheels, pretending to turn over big-name rocks without ever doing anything, and it would be OK. Hard to watch, but OK.
Is that really how this all ends, though?
Curry turns 38 in March and still plays like an All-NBA Second-Teamer. That's enough star juice to try and reopen the team's window in the Western Conference. And it just so happens the Warriors will have up to five first-round picks to trade over the summer: whomever they select in June, and their firsts in 2027, 2029, 2031 (protected 21 to 30), and 2033.
Granted, pulling off any big swing will come with collateral damage. That's part of the intrigue. The Warriors are left with few sizable matching salaries. There is Jimmy Butler's expiring $56.8 million, and Draymond Green's $27.8 million, which can technically be wiped away if he declines his player option.
Butler is the smart bet here. He won't be ready to start next season after suffering a torn ACL, doesn't have anywhere near the same ties to the organization as Green, and is the simpler star-for-star salary match.
This all presumes the Dubs make a massive trade. If they don't, well, their offseason is still high-stakes. What becomes of Green if he declines his option or decides he wants a change of scenery? Will Golden State re-sign Kristaps Porziลฤฃis? Does Brandin Podziemski get an extension? And above all, how will Steph feel if the Warriors are on track to do little more than maintenance?
In more ways than one, from a multitude of angles, Golden State's offseason is going to be fascinating.
Los Angeles Lakers
4 of 5
Major changes are coming to the Los Angeles Lakers, almost regardless of how this season ends.
Austin Reaves is a free agent (player option) and could be on track for a max or near-max payday. LeBron James hits the open market as well, and the prevailing sentiment seems to be he's as good as gone.ย
Unless the Lakers re-sign both stars, they're in line to have what could be league-leading cap space. Assuming they carry Reaves' free-agency hold, but not LeBron's, they'll have nearly $50 million to burn. That goes a long way when you're the Lakers, and when fewer than five total teams project to have space.
Bake in the ability to deal three first-round picks (2026, 2031 and 2033), and L.A. is positioned for seismic change. It's not an accident, either. These are circumstances they have designed and preserved. What follows remains to be seen, but it's clear they're a "Grab your popcorn and watch the fireworks" squad.
Milwaukee Bucks
5 of 5
Giannis Antetokounmpo has made it clear he's committed to the Milwaukee Bucks so long as he sees a pathway toward contending for a title. Staying put through the trade deadline suggests he's willing to give the team time to reassemble an Eastern Conference superpower.ย
Whether that's feasible can be debated ad nauseam. Either way, though, he and the Bucks are speeding toward an inflection point.
Antetokounmpo will be extension-eligible on Oct. 1. Convincing him to sign on the dotted line will almost assuredly require Milwaukee to make another big swing. And it just might be well-equipped to do so.
The Bucks can trade up to three first-rounders after this year's draft: whoever they select with their 2026 pick (less favorable of their own and New Orleans' selection), their 2031 first, and their 2033 first. That's enough draft equity to gain entry into higher-end discussions.ย
If they can't acquire a player (or players) good enough to reopen their window in the East, Giannis may continue to equivocate on whether he'll sign an extension. And if that ambiguity persists, they'll have no choice but to entertain moving him for the highest possible return.
For real, this time.
Dan Favale is a National NBA Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Bluesky (@danfavale), and subscribe to theย Hardwood Knocksย podcast, co-hosted by Bleacher Report'sย Grant Hughes.
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