In a handful of days, every player around the NBA will officially report to work, marking the start of the 2026–27 NBA season.
It’s been quite the offseason. LeBron James is now on the East Coast. The Clippers were handed the harshest penalty in NBA history for salary cap circumvention, and Kawhi Leonard escaped basically scot-free to Toronto.
Let’s get right into it:
Which NBA team had the best offseason?
Chris Mannix: The 76ers. When you add a still capable, arguably the greatest player of all time to the roster along with a very capable All-NBA wing, you win. Period. Making it work won’t be easy—drink for every time you hear the word “sacrifice” at Philadelphia’s media day—but the Sixers got a big time talent injection this offseason.
Liam McKeone: Philadelphia, of course. At the end of the playoffs, the 76ers figured to win games going forward with Tyrese Maxey and V.J. Edgecombe, but true contention was out of reach until Paul George and Joel Embiid’s albatross contracts expired. Two months later, they flipped George’s deal for a better, younger player with more championship experience in Jaylen Brown and signed LeBron freaking James to a minimum deal to forcefully enter the championship conversation. Acquiring one (maybe two) Hall of Famers in one offseason is legitimately legendary work by team president Mike Gansey. Philly’s present and future changed completely over the summer to a degree we rarely see in one offseason.
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Blake Silverman: You know what? I like what the Bulls did. Sue me! Adding Nic Claxton for nothing and signing Norman Powell fresh off an All-Star season on a team-friendly deal is good business. If we’re counting the draft too, Caleb Wilson is right up there with AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson and Cameron Boozer as the most exciting rookie. And the Bulls took Dailyn Swain just outside of the lottery, maybe he turns into a guy. Josh Giddey was on track for an All-Star nod until an untimely injury and Matas Buzelis could take a step forward. Claxton and Powell are two veterans that take pressure off the young core. The Bulls likely won’t be in the playoff picture, but surrounding your cornerstones with high-level vets is good process.
Which NBA team’s offseason just doesn’t make sense?
Chris Mannix: Weird offseason in Detroit. They shake up the frontcourt, losing productive (and popular) regulars Tobias Harris and Isaiah Stewart. Then they continue this strange war with Jalen Duren, which reportedly includes asking for a weight clause no one seems to understand. Now the Pistons are faced with bringing a disgruntled Duren back on a new deal (or, worse, a one-year qualifying offer) that could wreak havoc with team chemistry. On the positive side, Isaiah Joe certainly helps with spacing and John Collins is a 40-ish percent three-point shooter, but Detroit’s rise may stall before it really starts.
Liam McKeone: To be totally honest, I still don’t really understand the Hornets’ decision to bail on LaMelo Ball this early in his career. It was certainly a lucrative trade for Charlotte that netted the franchise lots of assets. Those assets could turn out to be any sort of player. Even a star … like LaMelo! I see the arguments for treating the end of the Hornets’ last campaign like fool’s gold, but trading the 25-year-old point guard who served as the central fulcrum of an undeniably productive offense is hasty—and a huge bet on Charles Lee’s system, the likes of which we very rarely see for head coaches with 63 NBA wins under their belt. The other moves made by the front office were all fine but the collective strategic shift from building on this core to accumulating assets is strange to see after Charlotte’s best season in years.
Blake Silverman: Golden State. I get the Warriors missed out on Giannis Antetokounmpo and were spurned by LeBron James, but the Yaxel Lendeborg-Georges Niang-Brandon Williams offseason doesn’t move me. The Warriors are just under the second apron so there were limits in what they could do. Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green are all playing this season on expiring deals as things stand, so it makes sense to stay away from any long-term commitments. However, I can’t help but wonder whether this will be another wasted year of Curry unless a big in-season trade is made. And at that point, maybe it’s too late. Lendeborg is one of the more NBA-ready rookies, but him as your highlight acquisition isn’t enough.
What is the offseason move not enough people are talking about?
Chris Mannix: Tobias Harris in San Antonio. At 34, Harris is still a durable, productive and efficient scorer. But his value goes well beyond the numbers. His leadership in Detroit’s locker room the last two seasons helped spark a remarkable turnaround. He will bring that same veteran presence to a young Spurs team built to win.
Liam McKeone: I am a big fan of the Anfernee Simons signing for the 76ers, which has gone somewhat under the radar, what with the LeBron of it all. Philadelphia’s roster desperately needs deadeye shooting and Simons can offer that in spades, as well as the ability to explode for hot scoring stretches at any point. He’ll be relied upon heavily as a floor-spacer and will be the first choice to close games if any non-Embiid members of the starting lineup get hurt. The playoffs might prove problematic with Simons’s career-long defensive struggles, but depth is needed to make it through the 82-game regular season and the Sixers’ least-heralded offseason acquisition will prove crucial in that regard.
Blake Silverman: The Celtics signing Mitchell Robinson. Neemias Queta is great and got a four-year extension over the summer after his big year. However, the center depth of Luka Garza and Nikola Vučević wasn’t doing it for Boston. Plucking Robinson from the Knicks is a perfect fit. He immediately turns what was a questionable frontcourt into a suddenly deep position group with Queta and Garza, the latter of whom makes a fine third big. Robinson was huge to New York’s operation and played a big role in its defensive plans for the NBA Finals. He’ll still get targeted as a poor free-throw shooter, but the rebounding and rim presence is exactly what Boston needed.
What do you think of Kawhi Leonard’s fit with the Raptors?
Chris Mannix: Great fit. Toronto needed a half-court weapon. Leonard, a bona fide MVP candidate last season, checks that box. They could use another wing defender. Leonard and Scottie Barnes should be a terrifying combination on the perimeter. In L.A., Leonard often operated as an offensive hub, which should take playmaking pressure off of Immanuel Quickley. There’s plenty of risk in this deal—in the assets the Raps gave up and in the contract they handed Kawhi. But on paper, Toronto should be significantly improved.
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Liam McKeone: Big, big fan. He may not raise the floor of the offense to the degree we’re expecting given most of his scoring comes through isolation, but it’s a perfect fit otherwise. Leonard will give the Raptors another terrifying defender who can force opponents into uncomfortable positions and offer All-NBA scoring on the other end—the one piece of the championship puzzle Toronto was missing. Questions about the superstar’s ability to stay on the court are obviously valid, but you couldn’t have hand-picked a team more in need of Leonard’s talents.
Blake Silverman: I love it. Brandon Ingram struggled against the Cavaliers in the playoffs last year and the Raptors could’ve used his scoring power to get over the hump in that series. Now, Toronto adds a much better scorer to the mix. The East is really good and the playoffs will be a gauntlet. But the Raptors were right there last season against a team that made a run to the Eastern Conference finals. Kawhi could be the missing piece, and I think his gravity will only benefit Scottie Barnes.
If the NBA goes ahead with the Las Vegas expansion franchise, what should be the team nickname?
Chris Mannix: Give me the Silver. No, this isn’t a nod to the NBA commissioner. Nevada, thanks to generations of mining booms, is known as the Silver State, so why not lean into a little history? Silver connotes wealth, which makes it a nice fit for Las Vegas’s budding upscale image. And another set of silver-and-black uniforms would look pretty cool.
Liam McKeone: The Vipers seems like the combination of best and most likely. It’s not gambling-related, so it’s safe, and more or less fits the city in question. Of all the options it does seem the most capable of delivering fire merch, too. Even if they’ll never get in on the Specter Editions.
Blake Silverman: Through Tom Dierberger’s Don Draper-esque pitch on a bunch of different potential names for a Las Vegas franchise, I realized the NBA doesn’t have a team centered around marine life. O.K., maybe the desert of Las Vegas isn’t the best place to start, but I like the Tortugas. Nevada’s state reptile is the desert tortoise, so let's get crazy. The colors and branding potential are endless, just take a look at the Daytona Tortugas—a minor league affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds.
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