We're now more than three weeks past the NBA draft, and most of the big moves of the offseason have already happened.
From AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer and Caleb Wilson being picked at the top of the draft, to Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jaylen Brown and LaMelo Ball among the big-name players changing teams via trade, it has been an eventful few weeks across the NBA.
But it's not over just yet. Here are the biggest unresolved storylines of the 2026 NBA offseason, starting with the future of LeBron James and ending with potential expansion:
How has James impacted free agency?
James' decision to leave the Los Angeles Lakers has put things in a holding pattern.
Though the trades of Antetokounmpo and Brown have been completed and the Lakers signed players to use their cap space, some teams are waiting on James' decision before they fill out their rosters.
For example, Cleveland, Denver, Golden State, Miami, Minnesota and Philadelphia -- teams interested in the four-time NBA champion and four-time MVP -- have at least two roster spots available. The Nuggets and Warriors have a combined eight openings.
The waiting game for James has also put the signings of Draymond Green and James Harden on hold. Both players are expected to return to Golden State and Cleveland, respectively, but James' decision could impact their first-year salary. Not including a new contract for Green and Harden, both teams are nearly $39 million below the second apron.
What makes James' free agency interesting is the near-equal playing field each team can offer financially.
The Nuggets, 76ers and Timberwolves all have the $3.9 million veterans minimum exception. Meanwhile, Miami could offer James $6 million of its non tax midlevel exception. Barring a trade, Green and Harden would need to sacrifice financially for Golden State and Cleveland to offer more than the veterans minimum.
Rich Paul, James' longtime agent, said on his "Game Over" podcast that happiness, not money, will be James' driving motive.
"If it's about happiness, because if it's the most money, then it's not necessarily the most happiness," Paul said.
There is no timeline for when James will make a decision on his next team.
"As you're going through this process, I'm saying to LeBron, 'You really have to think this through,'" Paul said. "Everything looks great in July. Everything looks great on paper. But you got to be very careful with that."
After James, who are the best unrestricted free agents available?
Not factoring in Harden or Green, the answer is a player that was under contract when free agency started: DeMar DeRozan.
DeRozan became a financial casualty in Sacramento despite averaging 18.4 points and shooting nearly 50% from the field last season. He turns 37 in August and has played in at least 74 games in five straight seasons.
Other notable unrestricted free agents include Bradley Beal, Bruce Brown, Russell Westbrook, Jonathan Kuminga, Matisse Thybulle, Kelly Olynyk, Nick Richards and Drew Eubanks.
As ESPN's Anthony Slater reported recently, Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka and coach JJ Redick met with Kuminga virtually to pitch him on a role next to Luka Doncic.
The Lakers used all of their cap space in free agency and have only the $2.8 million veterans minimum exception. However, because Kuminga was not waived by Atlanta -- his team option was not exercised -- the Lakers could try to orchestrate a sign-and-trade with Atlanta to give him more money.
There are complicating factors when it comes to a sign-and-trade.
The first is whether the Hawks would be willing to take back the contracts of Jarred Vanderbilt and perhaps Dalton Knecht. Vanderbilt has two years and $27 million remaining on his contract. Newly acquired Jaden Hardy can be aggregated in another trade because the Lakers acquired him with cap space. The Lakers have no tradeable first-round picks, except for a swap in 2032. They do have three second-rounders.
The second complicating factor is that a sign-and-trade would require Kuminga to commit a minimum of three seasons, not including a player or team option.
What about restricted free agents Jalen Duren and Peyton Watson?
Before free agency started on June 30, 29 players including Duren, Watson, Walker Kessler, Tari Eason and Bennedict Mathurin were tendered a one-year qualifying offer.
Since then, 17 restricted free agents, including Eason and Kessler, have either signed contracts with their current team or signed with a new team. Kessler and Quinten Post changed teams through a a sign-and-trade with Los Angeles and an unmatched offer sheet by Memphis, respectively.
Duren and Watson, meanwhile, have a decision to make about whether to compromise on their next contract, prolong free agency throughout the summer with the goal of getting a more lucrative offer closer to training camp or look to explore sign-and-trade options. There is also the scenario of them signing a one-year qualifying offer and becoming an unrestricted free agent next offseason.
The Detroit Pistons and Nuggets are on different spectrums when it comes to finances.
Detroit cleared out salary by trading Isaiah Stewart, Caris LeVert and Marcus Sasser. The Pistons are $48 million below the luxury tax and can offer Duren a near-max salary and still remain under the tax.
The Nuggets are over the luxury tax and first apron and are $7.4 million below the second apron.
Because they are projected to be in the luxury tax for a fourth time in five seasons, they are considered a repeater tax team and will pay a higher penalty.
Even with waiving-and-stretching the $2 million salary owed to Jonas Valanciunas over the next three seasons, Denver's tax bill could stand at nearly $200 million. This takes into account Watson's starting salary around $25 million and veterans exceptions for the remaining roster spots.
Unless Watson gets an extension, his $6.5 million qualifying offer expires on Oct. 1.
Is there a resolution in sight with the Aspiration investigation?
Commissioner Adam Silver said before Game 1 of the NBA Finals that there was hope the investigation into whether Kawhi Leonard's deal with Aspiration constituted salary cap circumvention would be wrapped up soon.
"I think we're close to the point now where I think we need to wrap this up because you also need finality," Silver said. "Their team has to understand what the situation is they're going to be operating under, and so do the other 29 teams."
The investigation has now impacted the agreed-upon trade that would send Leonard to the Raptors.
Leonard was initially traded to Toronto on June 30 by the LA Clippers for Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, two unprotected first-round picks (2031 and 2033), a 2027 first-round swap and two second-round picks.
The trade was supposed to be finalized after the moratorium was lifted on July 6.
Both teams issued statements Thursday, saying the trade can only be finalized if the Raptors ownership group assumes the risk of penalties related to Leonard's contract that could theoretically stem from the ongoing investigation. As a result, the trade will not be finalized until the NBA investigation into the Clippers is over.
If the Clippers are found guilty of any wrongdoing, building out their roster could be difficult. Penalties could include the loss of draft picks, significant fines and suspensions of team executives, including owner Steve Ballmer.
There is no timetable for the conclusion of the NBA's probe, which is being performed by outside counsel, but an NBA spokesperson told ESPN on Thursday that the league expected the firm "to finalize its work in the coming weeks."
After Donovan Mitchell extended, who will be the next All-Star to commit long term?
The Mitchell extension continues a trend of players prioritizing guaranteed money at the expense of free agency.
The All-NBA guard signed a four-year, $273 million extension with Cleveland. Had he waited until next summer, the offer could have reached $360 million over five seasons.
Since this collective bargaining agreement started in the 2023 offseason, 66 players have extended their contract. The total salaries equal a record $6.5 billion in extensions.
Leonard could be the next All-Star to sign an extension.
As ESPN's Shams Charania reported, Toronto and Leonard are expected to start extension talks once the trade from the Clippers is finalized. Leonard has one year left on his current contract and is eligible to sign up to a two-year, $124 million extension.
Other notable players who are extension eligible include Karl-Anthony Towns, Stephen Curry (as of Aug. 29), Anthony Davis (as of Aug. 6), Jaylen Brown (as of July 26), Pascal Siakam, Miles Bridges and Dillon Brooks.
Because Antetokounmpo was traded, he must wait until Jan. 6 to sign a three- or four-year maximum extension with Miami.
Though the Cavaliers received assurances with Mitchell, Denver probably will need to wait when it comes to Nikola Jokic.
"My idea and desire is to stay in Denver. I'll probably sign next year," Jokic told reporters in Serbian following a FIBA World Cup qualifying game Monday. "My desire is to play the rest of my life in Denver."
Jokic is under contract for two seasons (the last year is a player option) and has been eligible since June 14 to negotiate a four-year, $278 million max extension. But by waiting until next offseason, Jokic will be eligible to sign a five-year, $359.5 million contract. That would be the largest deal in NBA history and would see his career on-court earnings reach $724 million.
What about the rookie extension candidates?
None have signed just yet.
There are 23 players in the Class of 2023 eligible to extend through the last day of the offseason in October, including Victor Wembanyama, Amen Thompson, Ausar Thompson and Brandon Miller.
Wembanyama is eligible to negotiate a five-year, $252 million rookie extension -- the largest in San Antonio Spurs history. Because he was ineligible for league honors in 2024-25, he is not yet eligible for 30% of the salary cap in Year 1 of the extension, even with him winning 2026 NBA Defensive Player of the Year. The extension probably will exceed $300 million if he is named All-NBA, MVP or Defensive Player of the Year.
A change in the CBA allowing players to extend for five seasons despite not signing a maximum extension has seen an increase in extensions and total dollars.
There have been 34 players and a total of $4.5 billion committed in rookie extensions since the 2023 offseason.
Other notable rookie extension candidates: Cason Wallace, Anthony Black, Scoot Henderson, Keyonte George, Brandin Podziemski, Jaime Jaquez Jr and Dereck Lively II.
What teams still have work to do with their roster?
The DeRozan waiver was an indication of how teams have to balance their finances under the current CBA. If DeRozan was not waived, Sacramento would not have been allowed to sign Precious Achiuwa to the $5.5 million biannual exception.
With Sacramento dodging the second apron and now out of the luxury tax, the focus shifts to the Raptors.
When the Leonard trade becomes official, Toronto will be $2.3 million below the first apron hard cap with two roster spots available. The veterans minimum exception is $2.4 million and Toronto is not allowed to carry fewer than 14 players for a period of 28 days during the regular season.
The six-team trade involving Memphis now has the Grizzlies with the maximum 20 players on their roster. But No. 3 pick Cameron Boozer and Karim Lopez remain unsigned and Memphis has not finalized the trade for Stewart with Detroit.
The maximum players allowed in the offseason is 21.
Who are the teams with roster spots and money available?
The current CBA continues to teach us that roster retention is a priority.
Out of the 421 players currently under contract (not including two-ways), 315 were on their current roster at the end of the 2025-26 season. In total, only 29 players have switched teams in free agency and an additional 40 in trades.
Teams prioritizing their own players either in free agency or an extension have created a shortage of roster openings, leading to less money available.
There are no teams with cap space, and the majority of teams that do have multiple roster spots open have only the veterans minimum exception.
Who is the next team affected by the apron rules?
The apron restrictions continue to be a hot topic of discussion, evident by New York Knicks owner James Dolan's comments after the NBA Finals.
"I don't know if we'll be able to," Dolan told WFAN. "We're willing to stretch, but there's certain things in the NBA that you'd have to be suicidal to do. One of them is the second apron."
The Knicks avoided entering the second apron while managing to return the same starting five that won an NBA championship and reserves Jordan Clarkson, Miles McBride, Jose Alvarado, Landry Shamet and Mohamed Diawara. Mitchell Robinson signed with Boston and was replaced by Andre Drummond on a less expensive contract.
Possible extensions for Karl-Anthony Towns and Josh Hart this summer, as well as Jalen Brunson next offseason, will test New York as it relates to the second apron in future seasons.
Towns is eligible this offseason to sign a four-year, $272 million extension. Brunson, meanwhile, can extend for four years and $254 million the following year. If he waits and becomes a free agent in 2028, he would then be eligible to sign a five-year, $371 million contract.
The Oklahoma City Thunder managed to shrink their payroll from a projected $557 million to $360 million and still retained the rotation that went 132-32 in the past two regular seasons and won an NBA championship in 2025. They also added first-rounders Aday Mara and Bennett Stirtz and picked up four second-round picks in two separate trades.
They are the only team over the second apron this season and projected to be over next season.
Cason Wallace is eligible to sign a rookie extension and the first year of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's supermax extension is set to begin in 2027-28.
Barring a trade, it is likely Denver joins Oklahoma City as a second apron team. Not including restricted free agent Peyton Watson, the Nuggets are $7.4 million above the threshold and have five roster spots open.
Will we learn more about expansion this offseason?
Expect expansion, both in the NBA and abroad, to be a topic of discussion at the NBA board of governors meeting in Las Vegas next week.
As reported in late March, the board of governors approved a vote for the league to explore bids and applicants for expansion teams exclusively in Las Vegas and Seattle.
"So, if we expand, at least we're thinking [the 2028-29 NBA season]," Silver said in late June. "The only two cities, at the moment, we're looking at are Las Vegas and Seattle. We haven't had a vote on it. It's not a foregone conclusion. But we're in the process of talking to groups that are interested in getting an expansion team in those two cities."
As for expansion overseas, deputy commissioner Mark Tatum told CNBC that the new European league remains on pace to debut in October 2027.
"We're on a very, very quick timeline here," Tatum said. "We're going to identify the right partners in the right cities, and we're going to take as much time as we need to identify those right partners. We're not only talking about existing basketball teams in the ecosystem, but we're talking to soccer teams that currently don't have basketball teams that are interested, and we're also talking to individuals and other entities who don't have a basketball team but want to invest in a basketball team."