2026 NBA Rumors Updates with Latest News, Free Agency Buzz and Grades

After three seasons with the Toronto Raptors, head coach Darko Rajaković is getting a multi-year contract extension, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

This is well-deserved. Rajaković's coaching philosophy has proved extremely adaptable over the past three seasons. He has incorporated a bunch of different player archetypes into his offense and instilled aggressive defensive tenets that scale to lineups both with and without traditional size at the center spot.

The Raptors have also improved every year under their head honcho. They won 25 games in his first season; 30 in his second; and racked up 46 victories last year, while ranking in the top 13 of both offense and defense for the first time since their title-winning 2018-19 campaign.

Extending Rajaković now is the ultimate display of continued confidence, too. Toronto just traded for Kawhi Leonard. That significantly raises on the stakes on next season and beyond. The Raptors clearly believe Rajaković is up to the challenge.

The Boston Celtics didn't set out to accept Paul George, two first-round picks and two second-round picks for Jaylen Brown. They were apparently hoping the Philadelphia 76ers would give them five firsts and VJ Edgecombe.

You're reading that correctly.

Speaking on SportsCenter, ESPN's Shams Charania revealed that Philly initiated talks for Brown, and that Boston's asking price was delusionally high.

"The Celtics had such a high bar on a deal," Charania said. "They were thinking if you're gonna trade us Paul George we need four firsts, five firsts. We need a player like a VJ Edgecombe. That was the bar that was set early. There were other teams around the league that might of stopped conversations or moved on to do other deals, but the Sixers stayed with it."

If this report is true, new Sixers president Mike Gansey deserves a medal for his negotiating exploits. Celtics president Brad Stevens, meanwhile, has some questions to answer. Mainly: If that is what you wanted for Brown, why move him for a fraction-of-a-fraction of that asking price instead of just, ya know, keeping him?

Anfernee Simons has "emerged" as a primary target for the Dallas Mavericks, according to Marc Stein of The Stein Line. The 27-year-old shooting guard is considered extremely up-for-grabs after the Chicago Bulls, his incumbent team, signed Norman Powell to a two-year, $45 million deal.

Dallas is well positioned to bag him if its interest is serious. Even after acquiring Santi Aldama from the Memphis Grizzlies, the front office has the full $15 million mid-level exception to spend.

The Mavs checking in on Simons at all is encouraging. It proves they're committed to surrounding Cooper Flagg with better floor-spacers.

Though Simons' three-point accuracy fell off a cliff after getting traded from Boston to Chicago, he finished the season in the 96th percentile of catch-and-shoot efficiency on treys and 90th percentile of pull-up three-point efficiency, according to BBall Index. By comparison, Flagg's teammates ranked in the 19th and 21st percentiles, respectively, for the same categories.

If you have attempted to rationalize the Boston Celtics' return for Jaylen Brown by thinking he forced their hand, then phew, do we have the update for you: That didn't happen, according to SI.com's Chris Mannix.

To be fair, Boston shouldn't have cared even if Brown was agitating for an exit. He has three guaranteed years left on his deal. The Celtics, in theory, had all the leverage.

What they accepted from the Philadelphia 76ers—Paul George, two firsts and two seconds—ultimately suggests that they had a lower opinion of Brown or that we don't know the full story. A source familiar with the Cs' thinking told Mannix "J.B. had to go."

Is that because of his Twitch streams? Or because he claimed last season was his personal favorite, despite winning a title and Finals MVP in 2024?

Some think it has more to do with the three years and $180-plus million left on his contract. That's doubtful. Paul George has two years and $110-plus million remaining on his deal. If the goal was to escape the final season of Brown's pact, the Celtics could have simply waited.

This is all to say: Boston's motivations for acting like it had to deal Brown remain a mystery. But we at least know the move wasn't the result of a trade demand.

Frontloading Julian Champagnie's three-year, $45 million deal is a wise move by the San Antonio Spurs. His salary will now decrease in 2027-28, when Victor Wembanyama begins his eventual supermax extension, and again in 2028-29, when Stephon Castle's next deal would take effect.

Sure, the amounts are small. Champagnie's salary declines by $350,000 in each of the latter two seasons. But every cent of flexibility counts in the Era of Aprons.

Just ask the Oklahoma City Thunder, who are cost-cutting around the second apron right now. Or the New York Knicks, who are Super Mario-ing their way around the second apron as well.

What was already a home-run deal by the Spurs is officially even friendlier.

Grade: A

After burning through their available cap space and trade assets on non-wings, the Los Angeles Lakers are on the prowl for—you guessed it!—an actual wing. And a "high-upside swing receiving consideration" is Jonathan Kuminga, according to Dan Woike of The Athletic.

"Consideration" makes it sound like this is the Lakers' call. That would be a genuine shocker since they only have a minimum contract to offer.

Kuminga is an intensely flawed player. His defensive engagement comes and goes. The jumper is shaky. He can freelance too much when he gets the ball. The rebounding vacillates. The tunnel vision is real.

Still, if he's actually in play for the minimum, the Lakers shouldn't hesitate to bet on putting his athleticism, scoring upside and tantalizing-yet-fleeting flashes of two-way play to good use.

Just $10 million of DeMar DeRozan's $25.7 million salary for next season is guaranteed. He is apparently pushing for the Sacramento Kings to waive him (or trade him) so that he can find a new home before the market completely dries up, according to Yahoo Sports' Kelly Iko.

Sacramento feels like a good bet to grant DeRozan his wish at some point. As of now, it will be over the luxury tax if it keeps on the books.

Planning around DeRozan's defensive limitations and finite three-point shooting can be difficult, but he remains a low-turnover maestro of the mid-range with the ball-handling and vision necessary to run secondary offense. He is coming off a season in which he averaged 18.4 points and 4.1 assists while knocking down 52.1 percent of his twos.

It'll be fascinating to see how in-demand DeRozan is once he reaches the open market. Price will have a lot to do with it. Suitors will probably line up if he's willing to take mini-MLE money or less.

Marvin Bagley III is signing a one-year minimum deal to become the Denver Nuggets' latest backup center.

The 27-year-old is working off a solid 2025-26 campaign in which he split time with the Washington Wizards and Dallas Mavericks. Though he doesn't provide much playmaking or defense, he is a strong offensive rebounder who knows how to get a bucket.

Last year turned out to be the most efficient season of his career. He finished in the 83rd percentile of points per shot attempt and converted over 76 percent of his looks at the rim in the half-court.

Bagley is best served as as a play-finisher but has traces of a floor game. The 46.6 percent clip he posted on 52 three-point attempts is also something to watch.

Denver has gotten in the habit of rostering vastly different Nickola Jokić backups year-over-year. Bagley's arrival is no exception. He is a stark departure from Jonas Valančiūnas' more bruising style. If last year is any indication, Bagley has the higher offensive upside. So while he can by no means be the Nuggets' biggest move of the summer, he's worth a look at the minimum.

Grade: B+