Trade & FA 2025-26: Free Agency Starts 5pm CST/6pm EST

[DanSchwartzgan]

@ShamsCharania
BREAKING: The Cleveland Cavaliers are trading De'Andre Hunter to the Sacramento Kings for Dennis Schroder and Keon Ellis, sources tell ESPN. The three-team deal includes the Chicago Bulls acquiring Kings forward Dario Saric and two future second-round picks.

I'm stealing this from Tyler on Discord...Scotto had this deal Saturday morning.  He's the same guy who said Milwaukee could take on D'Lo as part of a larger deal.  That provides some hope since Scotto was right about the Clev/Sac deal.

If you look at the Buck's roster for the returning salary, you'll notice they have a ton of guys with PO's at smaller dollars than Russel next season.  Greg Anthony is expiring, but that doesn't work straight up (but could depending on the rest of the Buck's deal with a third team.  My (unrealistic) hope is we actually pay something to do D'Lo for Ryan Rollins.  I want Cooper to get good fitting teammates for next year and beyond more than I want future draft capital.

The other possibility is Dallas takes on a salary from the team that is getting Giannis.  There's no point hunting down small expiring contracts from all of the teams trying to get Giannis.  I will mention one that is in the same vein as my Rollins idea.  Kasparas Jakucionis is a Jaku of all trades.  He's a 6'5" 19 year old PG with a good wing span.  He hits his 3's, is a decent playmaker and a good positional rebounder.  He probably won't ever have the athleticism to be a big time self-creator, but he's young.  If he's going to a team in Milwaukee that already has Rollins, maybe there is a world where the D'Lo swap plus an asset lands him.  It doesn't have to be the Lakers 2029.  Maybe it is an asset we get in a Gafford deal or a Naji deal.  

My biggest hope for the next few days is we get another youngster to go along with Flagg, Lively, Christie and our own 2026 pick.  I don't really care which outgoing lands that.