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NBA free agency 2026 winners and losers from Day 1: Raptors bet on Kawhi Leonard, Lakers set to transform team originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
NBA free agency kicked off on Tuesday at 6pm ET, but the real action started earlier in the week. Marquee players are much more likely to be traded than signed in free agency. We saw that with trades for Giannis Antetokounmpo, Julius Randle, LaMelo Ball, Ja Morant, and Miles Bridges. Wednesday added another bombshell with the Kawhi Leonard trade to the Raptors.
Kawhi was the biggest news, but far from the only thing that happened during an eventful Day One of free agency. We now have a much clearer picture of what rosters will look like going into the season.
Here are the teams that made the best and worst moves.
NBA free agency winners
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Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers
Leonard was a top-five player last season, carrying the Clippers to mediocrity. The team didn't seem all that interested in paying him beyond his age 35 season. It can be hard to extract value for players with one year left on their deal, but they found a solution that keeps both themselves and Leonard very happy.
The Raptors were willing to make a huge gamble in order to acquire Leonard, trading two unprotected first-round picks far enough into the future that they have a chance to be very good when they convey. They also included a 2027 pick swap that will very likely convey and some second-round picks.
Toronto will be very good next year if Kawhi is able to play for most of the season. That is a huge if, and one that I would not have been willing to bet on.
MORE: Raptors earn a B-, Clippers earn an A- for Kawhi Leonard trade
Lakers
The Lakers lost LeBron James on Tuesday. That may not be the end of the world for them.
Last year's Lakers squad was an odd assortment of pieces that didn't fit particularly well together. In losing LeBron, they opened up cap space to reshape their team.
They've already moved on from Luke Kennard, who signed with Phoenix, and Marcus Smart, who reunited with Ime Udoka in Houston. They're in the running for much better fits with Quentin Grimes and Sandro Mamukelashvili, who are two guys that can spread the floor for Luka Doncic.
The Lakers are going to have worse overall talent this season but more wins. It will be a more balanced roster that JJ Redick should get the most out of.
MORE: Ranking every team's chances at landing LeBron James
Warriors
The Warriors didn't appear to have much of an opportunity to build an interesting roster around Stephen Curry. They got creative and found a way to make things happen.
Kristaps Porzingis played well for Golden State last season, and they got him to return on a two-year, $40 million extension with only $3 million guaranteed in Year Two. That gives the team an easy exit strategy if Porzingis is hurt again, and it is immediately tradeable.
The Warriors also created a pathway to sign LeBron with their $15 million mid-level exception by getting Draymond Green to unexpectedly opt out of his guaranteed $27.7 million next season. There is a very real chance that LeBron goes there, which couldn't be said a week ago.
MORE: How Draymond Green's opt out opens the door for LeBron James and Anthony Davis in Golden State
Blazers
I had mixed feelings about the trade for Ja Morant. The price was extremely low, but the fit is odd and Morant is not the player he once was.
Putting that aside, Portland very quietly made one of the best signings of free agency in bringing back Robert Williams III on a team-friendly deal.
Williams has fallen off the national radar after injuries have ruined his past several seasons. He had a good campaign last year though and managed to play in 59 games. He's a starting-caliber center that was signed on a reasonable guaranteed $14 million for this upcoming season, with only $5 million guaranteed in Year Two and a non-guarantee in Year Three. That gives the Blazers great protection in the event that Williams' injury problems come back and immediately makes him a positive trade asset.
MORE: Blazers and Grizzlies earn B grades in Ja Morant trade
Sixers
The Sixers are going to probably lose Grimes in free agency, but they replaced him with a better fit in Dean Wade. He signed a reasonable four-year, $39 million contract with a partial guarantee in Year Four.
Acquiring a player who was only on the floor for about 20 minutes per game and averaged under 6 points per game might not sound like a big deal, and you'd be partially right for assuming that. But Wade is a tough defender with size who can hit wide open 3's. Every team could use a role player like that.
NBA free agency losers
Bulls
The Bulls came into the summer with over $50 million in cap space to spend and four draft picks to use. They nailed the first round, grabbing Caleb Wilson and Dailyn Swain. Their other moves have been uninspiring at best.
Chicago sold its two second-round picks for cash and used the rest of its cap space on acquiring Norman Powell, Nic Claxton and extending Zach Collins.
Powell has a chance to be the best free agent that changes teams this summer. He's coming off an All-Star season and fills a huge need as someone that can actually create his own shot and shoot 3's. The Bulls needed a guy like him to try and avoid the relegation zone. He doesn't make sense at all on the team's timeline but on a two-year deal for fair market value, he is tradeable. He should be useful while he is on the roster.
Claxton is a below-average starting center with back issues, and Collins isn't reliable at this point in his career either. He has played in just 38 games over the past two seasons. The Bulls also burned a million in cap space by trading for Kam Jones, who they waived a week later.
None of these moves are worth getting worked up over individually. Collins' contract structure makes it so he can easily be flipped, which I would guess is the plan. Claxton does fill a need at starting center. And Powell will get butts in seats at the United Center.
Collectively though, it's been a mildly disappointing cycle. Rebuilding teams should use their cap space in order to acquire future assets. Instead, the Bulls are down two picks from where they started, adding placeholders instead of pieces for the future.
Jalen Duren
The All-Star still hasn't come to terms on a deal, and it looks like his poor postseason is dragging his value down. It's still too early to call him a loser in this free agency cycle, but it's not the Day One max contract that it looked like he could have gotten back in March.
The Lakers do have interest in Duren, and the Pistons have indicated that they are planning on trying to keep him. He also has interest from the Kings. He's going to find a landing spot and get a decent payday. It's still up in the air where exactly that ends up.
Kings
The Kings won 22 games last season, yet they are still projected to be in the luxury tax. That is a big woof. Zach LaVine made the most predictable move of the offseason by opting into his $49 million guaranteed this season. It's going to be tough to get off that money.
Sacramento did shed some salary earlier in the week in order to get under the second apron, trading former 2024 lottery pick Devin Carter to the Hawks without receiving a player back. They had to attach a second-round pick in order to move Carter's $5.1 million salary. It was a somewhat puzzling move given that they could have chosen not to extend his option with better foresight, thus preventing the need to lose that pick.
The Kings will continue to shed salary. DeMar DeRozan is a good candidate to get stretched and waived. Sacramento is still deep in course correction mode for its previous mistakes.
MORE:Tracking the latest free agency movement across the NBA
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