Global EditionASIA 中文双语Français
Sports
Home / Sports / Basketball

Deals, steals and early trades underway

Spurs, Rockets, Hawks, Magic and Mavericks among those making early moves as free agents hit the market

Updated: 2025-07-02 09:56
Share
Share - WeChat
Kevin Durant will all be launching their 2025-26 season with the Rockets, who have been busy making moves in the free agency market. AP

Victor Wembanyama has another big man to help him out in San Antonio, the Houston Rockets continued their offseason overhaul and Orlando and Atlanta made moves with eyes on contending this coming season, as the NBA's free agency period got underway on Monday.

The Spurs lured center Luke Kornet away from Boston with a four-year, $41 million deal, a person with knowledge of the agreement told reporters. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team cannot announce the deal until the league's signing moratorium for most contracts is lifted on Sunday.

Kornet was part of Boston's 2024 NBA title team and has shot 68 percent from the field in 205 games, mostly off the bench, over the last three regular seasons. He is likely to add frontcourt depth to the Spurs, who are hoping to have Wembanyama — the 2023-24 NBA Rookie of the Year and an All-Star this past season — back and ready to go after he was diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis in his shoulder back in February.

The Rockets, meanwhile, added veteran forward Dorian Finney-Smith on a four-year, $53 million deal shortly after free agency opened. ESPN first reported the deal, and a person with knowledge of the agreement confirmed the terms to reporters.

Houston becomes Finney-Smith's fourth team after stints with Dallas, Brooklyn and the Los Angeles Lakers. He'll be added to a Rockets lineup that, earlier this summer, landed Kevin Durant in a blockbuster trade with Phoenix, though that deal cannot receive formal approval from the NBA until next week.

Finney-Smith averaged 8.7 points and was a 41 percent shooter from 3-point range this past season.

ESPN also reported that the Rockets' run on free agents continued with the addition of Hawks center Clint Capela, who spent the first six years of his career in Houston, before playing the last five seasons in Atlanta. Capela agreed to a three-year deal with the Rockets, ESPN said.

Dallas, which needed some point guard help, especially because the newly re-signed Kyrie Irving — rehabbing from an ACL tear — may not be ready to play until about midseason, agreed with D'Angelo Russell on a two-year contract worth nearly $13 million.

Russell would provide backcourt depth to a club with an imposing front line that, if healthy, would include No 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg, 10-time All-Star Anthony Davis and promising young center Dereck Lively II.

1 2 3 Next   >>|

Most Popular

Highlights

What's Hot
Top
BACK TO THE TOP
English
Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

Registration Number: 130349
FOLLOW US