Once again, it’s time to pass judgement prematurely. After all, I would have my basketball writer card revoked were I to not evaluate before the dust has fully settled: that’s why they pay me the modestly-sized bucks, I’m told. So, without further ado, the Winners and Losers of week one of 2026 NBA free agency.
The winners
Philadelphia 76ers It must feel strange for Sixers fans to be on the right side of one of these incredibly lopsided, head-scratching transactions. But here we are: Philadelphia may end up as the biggest winners of the week after somehow (!) landing 2026 MVP candidate, 2024 NBA finals MVP and bona fide second-team All-NBA wing Jaylen Brown in exchange for just two first-round picks, two second-rounders and Paul George – whose contract is widely regarded as one of the league’s worst. The 36-year-old, injury-prone former superstar is still owed roughly $110m over the next two seasons. At the time of writing, the Sixers remain in the LeBron James sweepstakes, but even if they strike out, they’re in terrific shape. A George-for-Brown swap gives them far more insurance against the inevitable Joel Embiid absences during the regular season, while adding a battle-tested champion to help shepherd Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe through the postseason and show them what it takes to reach the mountaintop. Additionally, after being unceremoniously dumped on a division rival for the basketball equivalent of a bag of chips, Brown will arrive about as motivated as possible heading into the 2026-27 campaign. Hats off to the Sixers’ brass for pulling off what looks like the biggest heist since Nico Harrison since Nico Harrison was employed.
Los Angeles Clippers Self-awareness is a virtue. The Clippers were going nowhere in a hurry, and as heartening as last season’s late push was, the Kawhi Leonard era had, by any reasonable measure, been an abject failure. The reckoning actually began before the offseason. At the trade deadline, the Clippers cut bait on James Harden, landing the much younger Darius Garland while adding draft capital. They also dealt longtime center Ivica Zubac for a package that ultimately yielded fifth overall pick Keaton Wagler. The housecleaning continued this summer when they sent Leonard back to his old home in Toronto, receiving a respectable haul of picks along with two intriguing younger pieces in Brandon Ingram and Gradey Dick. They even poached three-point sniper Rui Hachimura from the neighboring rival Lakers. In all likelihood, the Clippers won’t be very good next season. But now, what was once an empty cupboard of future assets has been restocked, the foundations of a genuine rebuild are finally in place, and, a year after watching former Clipper-turned-trade-chip Shai Gilgeous-Alexander lift the Larry O’Brien Trophy, the franchise can at last start moving forward. That is, until tree-planting-gate is fully adjudicated.
LeBron James It is absolutely preposterous that the hottest commodity on the free-agent market is a man who turns 42 this December, whose beard now contains more grey than not. But that’s the reality LeBron James has created. As of this writing, he is still a man uncommitted, and once again the news cycle is being consumed by breathless speculation over his next move. For anyone else his age, merely making an NBA roster would be remarkable, never mind serving as a key contributor to a title contender. But James, one year removed from a sixth-place MVP finish and a few months off a first-round playoff series victory he all but willed into existence, has never been anyone else. His time with the LA Lakers had clearly run its course. In some ways, it probably would’ve been simpler if he’d declined on a more conventional timeline and quietly finished his career in Los Angeles a year or two ago, as so many expected. But James is quite simply still too good to retire. So, for what can only reasonably be the final time, he once again finds himself the belle of the free-agency ball.
The losers
Boston Celtics For every winner in a blockbuster trade, there’s an equally clear loser. This time, it might just be the Celtics, who left the basketball commentariat scratching their heads by shipping homegrown NBA finals MVP Jaylen Brown to Philadelphia for a return that can only be described as underwhelming (see the Philadelphia 76ers above). It’s widely accepted that Paul George’s contract was so burdensome the Sixers would’ve had to attach draft compensation just to move it. Viewed through that lens, Boston essentially turned Jaylen Brown into one first-round pick, two second-rounders and a negative-value contract. Even worse, Boston are hardly in a rebuild: they were the No 2 seed last year, even with their franchise cornerstone Jayson Tatum on the mend from an achilles tendon rupture, and they’re only two years removed from a championship. Yes, the relationship with Brown appeared beyond repair after reports emerged that Boston (unsuccessfully) tried to package him for Giannis Antetokounmpo. But unless there’s another shoe still waiting to drop, the Celtics look markedly worse than they did a few months ago — and with precious little to show for it. Not great, Bob!
Detroit Pistons The Pistons had a truly remarkable turnaround last year, going from setting records for historical ineptitude just two seasons earlier to sitting pretty atop the Eastern Conference. The regular season was an unambiguous success. The playoffs, however, exposed a fundamental flaw in the roster: outside of MVP candidate Cade Cunningham, there simply wasn’t enough secondary playmaking. Not only has that glaring need gone unaddressed, you could argue the team has actually gotten worse. Tobias Harris, a key contributor to last year’s resurgence, set sail for the Western Conference champion Spurs. Isaiah Stewart, an important defensive piece and culture-setter, was shipped to Memphis. And there remains reported disharmony in negotiations with restricted free-agent All-Star center Jalen Duren, who, at the time of writing, has yet to agree to a new deal. They did sign John Collins as a would-be Harris replacement, but that’s hardly the sort of move that gets the blood pumping. Instead of building on a 60-win season, the Pistons look to be doing little more than maintaining the status quo … or, even worse, taking a step backwards.
Los Angeles Lakers Let’s get the good out of the way: the Lakers landed their guy this summer, signing-and-trading with Utah for their longtime white whale (no pun intended), 24-year-old Rudy Gobert-esque defensive wunderkind Walker Kessler. The bad? Where to begin? Let’s start with the price. The Lakers surrendered two unprotected future first-round picks and two potentially valuable first-round swaps – assets that could become especially painful if they convey after Luka Dončić’s prime or, even worse, after his Lakers tenure. They then handed Kessler a four-year, $130m extension. That’s not an outrageous AAV for a potential franchise cornerstone, but it’s still a massive bet on a player who, for all his talent, remains relatively unproven. Even after emptying the cupboard for Kessler, the Lakers failed to dump any of their undesirable contracts, leaving themselves in a salary-cap crunch. Retaining Austin Reaves was ostensibly a success, but it required a four-year max worth $46m annually to keep him from testing the market. Quentin Grimes, Sandro Mamukelashvili and Collin Sexton are perfectly reasonable additions, but with the possible exception of Sexton, all were signed to long-term deals that feel a touch rich and don’t obviously project as long-term fits. For reasons known only to Rob Pelinka, every single one of those deals also includes a player option. Meanwhile, key contributors Rui Hachimura, Jaxson Hayes and Marcus Smart all walked out the door, with Smart taking the team’s defensive identity and emotional heartbeat with him. Throw in the apparent divorce from LeBron James, and it’s difficult to see how a Lakers team squarely in Luka’s championship window hasn’t taken a significant step backward. And with the draft cupboard now almost completely bare, it’s even harder to see a path back.
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