What’s next in NBA offseason? Four biggest questions remaining, including top 10 free agents still available

Most of the biggest movement of the NBA offseason has predictably come and gone. LeBron James has re-signed. Paul George and Klay Thompson have changed teams. This is how the offseason calendar tends to work. We come into the summer with a certain group of big names whose futures are settled between the draft and the first few days of free agency. Things slow down from there, but that doesn’t mean they stop.

Remember, Damian Lillard and Jrue Holiday were traded right around the start of training camp a year ago. The Donovan Mitchell saga lasted several months as well. The NBA isn’t going to stop on a dime the moment the Olympics roll around. After all, Dwight Howard was literally traded while playing for Team USA during the 2012 Olympics. There is still movement on the table this summer.

So what business is left to be settled? Here are four questions that need to be answered between now and opening night.

1. Will Markkanen or Ingram be traded?

The best player still seemingly available through trade is Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen. While there is no hard deadline for Utah to make a decision, the date that is looming in these talks is Aug. 6. That is when Markkanen becomes eligible to renegotiate-and-extend his contract. The Jazz have the cap space to take him up to his max right away, and if they do so, he would be off-limits for trade purposes until six months have passed. That could get him back on the market before the trade deadline, but it’s more likely that the Jazz either move him before Aug. 6 or plan to keep him. At present, his relatively low $18 million cap number means that almost any team in the NBA could fit him onto a balance sheet.

A number of teams have reportedly spoken to the Jazz about possible Markkanen trades, with the Golden State Warriors reportedly the most aggressive among them. Golden State is having trouble on two fronts for the time being, though. The first relates to their reluctance to include promising young forward Jonathan Kuminga in a deal. The second ties back to their 2030 first-round pick,…

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Author : Sam Quinn

Publish date : 2024-07-08 20:30:03

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