NBA
NBA Free Agency 2026: the best signings so far
Free agency is always the busiest week of the NBA year. Players change teams, contracts are signed, and the pecking order shifts more in forty-eight hours than in the rest of the year combined. Here is what the most important moves produced.
The biggest deals
Quentin Grimes moved from the Philadelphia 76ers to the Los Angeles Lakers on four years and 60 million dollars, with a player option. That was the biggest free agent move of the Lakers summer. Grimes was a consistent presence for the Sixers with 13.4 points and 3.3 assists a game, and he has played alongside Luka Dončić before.
Sandro Mamukelashvili left Toronto for Los Angeles on four years and 52 million. He declined his option with the Raptors and was rewarded for it. At 11.2 points and 38.9 percent from three, he provides the floor spacing needed next to Walker Kessler.
Mitchell Robinson went from the New York Knicks to the Boston Celtics on three years and 47.4 million. The champions watched a starter leave directly for a rival. Robinson gives Boston the rim protection it lacked, and signals what the Celtics intend to be after Jaylen Brown’s departure.
John Collins moved from the Los Angeles Clippers to the Detroit Pistons on three years and 51 million. Collins as a scorer alongside Cade Cunningham is a serious offensive upgrade for a team that already reached the Conference Semifinals last season.
The middle of the market
Collin Sexton joined the Lakers on two years and 19 million, after a season split between Charlotte and Chicago at 15.4 points a game and 40.1 percent from three. It is his fifth team, but this feels like the most logical fit.
Marcus Smart went from the Lakers to the Houston Rockets on two years and 13 million. He brings the defensive experience and intensity Houston lacked last season. Luke Kennard also left Los Angeles, for Phoenix on two years and 13 million. He led the league in three-point percentage last season and still signed for less per year than his previous contract. Tim Hardaway Jr. moved from Denver to Miami.
What the shape of it shows
Free agency is not over, but the pecking order for next season is starting to appear. The Lakers are rebuilding around Dončić and added four players in short order. Boston replaced scoring with defence. Detroit is building on a season that was already better than expected.
What stands out is that most deals sit in the middle of the market rather than at the top. The second apron leaves teams less room to stack large contracts, which pushes the market toward players in the 13 to 20 million range who fill a defined role. That is a different market from five years ago, and it rewards teams that know exactly what they are looking for.