As the 2025-26 NBA season draws closer, most of the teams are putting the finishing touches on their rosters. However, a few free agents remain available — some in gridlock over their deals, while others are in limbo regarding which team they’ll play for when the season starts.
Jonathan Kuminga, Josh Giddey and Russell Westbrook are among those looking to finalize their futures.
Our NBA insiders break down the seven most important players remaining in free agency, where they stand in their negotiations and how limited cap space is impacting the landscape of the league.
Russell Westbrook
It appears that Westbrook, who spent the first 11 years of his career with the Oklahoma City Thunder, will play for his sixth franchise in seven seasons. He won’t be returning to the Denver Nuggets after a roller coaster season in which Westbrook finished seventh in the Sixth Man of the Year voting. The all-time leader in triple-doubles won’t continue the trend of storybook homecomings for future Hall of Fame point guards, a la Damian Lillard and Chris Paul. The Thunder will hang Westbrook’s No. 0 in the rafters after he retires, but the defending champions don’t have room on the roster, much less the rotation, or the desire to tinker with the chemistry from their title run.
League sources consider the Sacramento Kings the most likely destination for Westbrook, who will turn 37 during the first month of the season. If that’s the case, Westbrook would likely come off the bench again and share ballhandling duties with free agency addition Dennis Schroder. — Tim MacMahon
Jonathan Kuminga
Nothing substantial has changed on the Kuminga front in the last two weeks, sources said.
Kuminga recently made a trip to his home country, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and returned to Miami (his current offseason workout spot) with the same opinion about the Golden State Warriors’ two-year, $45 million offer.
The Warriors initially presented it to Kuminga’s representation as a tradeable deal that could ultimately appease the long-term wishes of both sides when he’s eligible to be moved again in January, sources said. It’s why Golden State wants a team option in the second season and requested Kuminga waive his inherent no-trade clause.
But that’s also why Kuminga has continued to shut it down. He doesn’t want such a team-friendly deal, sources said, and the idea of signing up to be more easily traded midseason is unappealing to him.
Kuminga set out this summer in search of a contract that would signify a commitment to him as a future building block for the Warriors or elsewhere, sources said. His representation presented a three-year, $82 million deal, which the Warriors resisted. As of this past weekend, there had been no movement toward a compromise.
So, everything sits in the same spot it did 10 days ago. The Warriors have not upped their offer, and Kuminga has indicated to those close to him that the $7.9 million qualifying offer is more appealing to him than the Warriors’ current pitch. Something has to give before the Oct. 1 deadline. — Anthony Slater
Simmons is in a numbers crunch.
He is one of the nearly 75 players who finished the regular season on a roster but are still without a home for next season.
The primary reason?
It starts with the 41 players selected in the draft who signed first- and second-round contracts. Those players have replaced veterans, including Simmons, on rosters for next season.
Also, teams other than Golden State, for the most part, have completed their rosters for next season or cannot sign a player due to the apron. For example, the Lakers have an open roster spot but cannot sign a player until Jan. 18.
Out of the 442 players under contract for next season, 393 are on guaranteed contracts (an average of 13.1 per team). — Bobby Marks
Those around the league continue to ticket Horford to the Warriors when the free agency dust ultimately settles. The Kuminga situation continues to hold up business for them, keeping Horford in a holding pattern.
But Horford is comfortable waiting. Retirement remains on the table, sources said, though the Warriors appear to be operating as if he is a firm part of their plan next season.
Horford would slide in as the presumed starting center, lessening the regular-season load on Draymond Green, which is a priority. Horford’s ability to pass and defend fits well into the Warriors’ system. His ability to shoot from the center spot is something they’ve been sorely lacking.
Horford is 39. He hasn’t been playing both sides of back-to-backs. The Warriors can’t rely on him to be an every-night 25-minute option. But the desire is to have him in the lineup when it matters and open up space for five-man combinations, which would especially benefit a downhill driver like Kuminga. — Slater
Of the four prominent players in restricted free agency this summer, Thomas is most likely to be on his qualifying offer next season.
The 23-year-old scoring guard’s contract value has been difficult to peg since he slipped to late in the first round in 2022. He averaged 24 points last season, but it remains unclear what kinds of offers he is receiving, which is also impacting fellow restricted free agents Kuminga, Grimes and Giddey this summer.
If a deal gets done with Brooklyn, expect it to look, at least in structure, like the ones the Nets signed with center Day’Ron Sharpe and forward Ziaire Williams earlier this offseason: one-year deals with team options on the second. — Tim Bontemps
Josh Giddey
Contract negotiations between Josh Giddey and the Chicago Bulls have dragged on for months, but both sides are almost certain to come to an agreement before the end of the summer. Giddey remains a part of the team’s long-term plans after he was acquired from the Thunder in for Alex Caruso last summer. Giddey got off to a slow start, but the Bulls got a glimpse of his effectiveness as a lead initiator in the second half when he averaged 21 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists after the All-Star break.
Giddey has been seeking a deal in the $30 million range annually, and the team hasn’t agreed to that price. With cap space scarce across the league, especially for restricted free agents, the Bulls have benefited from holding out for a more team-friendly deal. — Jamal Collier
Grimes is in the same situation as Kuminga in Golden State, Giddey in Chicago and Thomas in Brooklyn. He’s a talented player who should be generating offers. But he’s a restricted free agent and hardly any teams have cap space to pursue him, leaving him in a difficult position to negotiate.
Grimes would also be in a battle for playing time on the Philadelphia 76ers’ roster. The team’s past two first-round picks — Jared McCain, who was the leading candidate for Rookie of the Year last season before he had season-ending meniscus surgery, and VJ Edgecombe, this year’s third pick — play the same position. The 76ers are building around another guard, Tyrese Maxey, moving forward.
There’s also uncertainty about Joel Embiid’s and Paul George’s health issues. If Grimes accepts the qualifying offer from Philadelphia — rather than paying him a long-term, eight-figure annual contract — the 76ers could enter the season a few million dollars into the luxury tax, allowing them to potentially dip under it if this season goes like last season. — Bontemps
