Top NBA Free Agents 2026 Rumors and Predictions Before NBA Draft
The 2026 NBA offseason is all the way on.
That shift was always bound to take place today, since the first round of the draft tips off night. But the overnight (long-awaited) Giannis Antetokounmpo blockbuster trade sealed the deal.
It's landscape-shifting season, folks, and maybe we're just getting started.
The draft should be next up in terms of moving puzzle pieces around, and the trade market is active already. Free agency holds major roster-reconstructing potential, too, so let's check the recent rumblings on that front and predict what they might mean for the future.
Max Money Required to Lure Austin Reaves Out of L.A.?
1 of 3
Austin Reaves doesn't have many obvious reasons to leave the Los Angeles Lakers. They're within arm's reach of the championship race, and he's a part of the same backcourt as one of the best players on the planet in Luka Dončić. The setup is, objectively speaking, pretty sweet.
It's hard to conjure up scenarios in which Reaves would want to walk away from this—except for the obvious. Money often talks loudest in free agency, and maybe someone throws him an offer that lands north of what the Lakers are comfortable paying.
It'd take a lot for that to happen, of course. As HoopsHype's Michael Scotto reported, "teams besides the Lakers know they'll have to offer a max contract for Reaves to realistically entertain the thought of leaving the Lakers." That's a huge amount of money (roughly four years, $178 million from an outside suitor) for a 28-year-old, zero-time All-Star, but he has multiple suitors, and maybe at least one of them is ready to pay it.
Still, the likeliest scenario has always involved Reaves running it back in L.A., and this report does nothing to change that. If it would take a max offer—which he's not guaranteed to get—to make him even think about leaving, he probably doesn't want to exit.
Prediction: Reaves re-signs with the Lakers for five years and $185 million.
Robert Williams III on Lakers' Radar?
2 of 3
When assessing the Lakers' roster, it's hard not to notice their glaring hole on the middle. That's apparently true for not only outside observers, but also players on the team, too.
When Dončić thinks about the kind of help he'll need to contend, for instane, his "first and foremost desire is an A-list center," a source told ESPN's Dave McMenamin.
That might be a tricky wish to grant in this market, as the top available bigs are restricted free agents (Jalen Duren, Walker Kessler). Robert Williams III isn't an A-Lister, but he is "an option" for the Lakers, per The Athletic's Dan Woike, who noted the Portland Trail Blazers are "expected to show interest" in re-signing Williams.
Williams almost assuredly isn't the first name that comes to mind in the Lakers' search for a 5, but he'd fit a lot of the job qualifications as a chaos-creator on defense and a reliable play-finisher on offense. He'd also come with serious availability concerns, having never made more than 61 appearances in any of his eight NBA seasons.
He's still an interesting flier for some team to take, but that team probably doesn't have as big of a budget to upgrade as the Lakers.
Prediction: Williams signs a three-year, $39 million deal with the Boston Celtics.
Suitors Circling Tari Eason?
3 of 3
Had Tari Eason orchestrated a perfectly timed breakout during the 2025-26 NBA season, he might be closing in on generational wealth right now. A lot of his numbers backtracked, though, meaning he'll enter restricted free agency with a bit less appeal than he'd like.
That said, the market is seemingly very much interested in his services. The Houston Rockets would like to bring him back, per Yahoo Sports' Kelly Iko, while "the Los Angeles Lakers, Brooklyn Nets and a number of teams...have gauged Houston's willingness in sign-and-trade scenarios."
Clearly, suitors aren't punishing Eason for failing to time his ascension just right. Well, that or they're hoping his inability to take flight could create some discount potential. Even in this relatively underwhelming season, he still put his two-way versatility on display.
Considering he's only 25 and has shown such obvious ability to this point, one would assume it'd take a fortune to pry him away from Houston. And unless some team has a projection system that's absolutely wild about him, it's hard to see that kind of fortune coming after the relatively quiet season he just had.
Prediction: Rockets re-sign Eason on a three-year, $81 million deal.
.png?w=600 "Final Mock After Giannis Trade ✍️")
