NBA Free Agency 2026 Rumors After Knicks vs. Spurs Finals Bracket

The New York Knicks closed out the NBA Finals on Saturday night, securing their first championship since 1973. Though New York had nothing close to an easy game during the series, they did best the San Antonio Spurs in a 4-1 gentleman's sweep.

While the Knicks' celebration is unlikely to end anytime soon, the rest of the NBA now has one eye on the looming offseason. The draft will begin on June 23, and free-agent negotiations can begin on June 30.

Naturally, there's no shortage of NBA buzz coming out of the Finals. Here, we'll examine some of the latest.

Austin Reaves Drawing Plenty of FA Interest

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When it comes to Los Angeles Lakers free agency, LeBron James will be the headliner of the offseason. Of course, the 41-year-old will have a limited market of teams looking to contend right away.

Fellow Laker Austin Reaves, on the other hand, is only 28 years old and will reportedly have a strong overall market in free agency. A return to L.A. will certainly be possible, but it won't be his only option.

According to Dan Woike of The Athletic, the Brooklyn Nets are atop Reaves' list of likely suitors.

"Multiple front-office sources around the league, granted anonymity to freely discuss an opposing player, expect Reaves to have interest from the Brooklyn Nets, with a four-year, $178.5 million contract expected to be offered," Woike wrote. "...League sources said the Detroit Pistons and Atlanta Hawks are among a group of interested teams."

It'll be interesting to see how high Reaves' price point rises on the open market because that will likely determine if the Lakers are able and willing to retain him.

According to Kurt Helin of NBC Sports, re-signing Reaves "is at the top of the Lakers' offseason to-do list."

Antetokounmpo Prefers Trade to Heat, Also Interested in Celtics

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When it comes to the looming trade market, no name stands taller than Giannis Antetokounmpo. A trade involving the Milwaukee Bucks star does appear to be "drawing near," according to NBA insider Marc Stein.

According to ESPN's Brian Windhorst, Giannis wants out and would prefer to join the Miami Heat.

"Talks have intensified over the last seven to 10 days. Look, he has focused on wanting to be a member of the Miami Heat," Windhorst said Monday on Get Up (h/t Dakota Randall of NESN).

However, dealing with Miami isn't Milwaukee's only option. According to Michael Pina of The Ringer, the Boston Celtics are also involved in trade talks and do interest Antetokounmpo:

"Antetokounmpo is reportedly interested in playing for the Boston Celtics. If the two-time MVP is traded sometime before the NBA draft, the 18-time champions are, somewhat out of nowhere, now considered to be the most logical destination."

It's currently unclear where Antetokounmpo will be playing next season, but a return to Milwaukee is beginning to feel very unlikely. Right now, Miami and Boston appear to be his top two choices.

Lakers Unlikely in on Giannis Trade, Could Have Competition for LeBron James

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The Lakers would clearly prefer to keep Reaves alongside Luka Dončić for the long-term. It appears unlikely that they'll get in on the Giannis trade sweepstakes in order to make him a third star.

"The Lakers haven't come up in any of my conversations at all," NBA insider Jake Fischer recently said (h/t Adel Ahmad of Heavy).

Even if the Lakers were interested in making a run at Antetokounmpo, he "reportedly does not want to go to the West," according to Helin.

Los Angeles may prefer to make one more run with Dončić, Reaves, and James before seeking a third star in 2027. However, L.A. will reportedly have competition if it wants to retain James.

"James' agent, Rich Paul, recently told The Pat McAfee Show that he has received calls from 10-12 teams already.

Returning to L.A. would make plenty of sense for James, especially if he believes that a healthy Lakers team can actually compete for a championship.

However, there's a very good chance that next season will be James' last—assuming he doesn't pull a surprise retirement this summer—so he's likely to weigh every option before making a decision.