The free agency floodgates are officially open. Monday night, teams could begin negotiations with other pending free agents as the NBA officially set its salary cap at $154.647 million for the 2025-26 season. That's up 10% from last season, which was the expected jump.
It took about an hour for things to get going when free agency kicked off on Monday evening, but before long, news broke that Jaren Jackson Jr. and the Grizzlies are expected to agree on a five-year, $240 million max extension, according to ESPN's Shams Charania. Shortly after, Charania reported the Nuggets are trading Michael Porter Jr. to the Nets in exchange for Cam Johnson.
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Other deals Monday night included Dorian Finney-Smith agreeing to a four-year, $53 million contract with the Rockets, Ty Jerome and the Grizzlies agreeing to a three-year, $28 million contract and the Mavericks striking a two-year, $13 million deal with point guard D’Angelo Russell.
About 12 hours later, reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander signed a four-year, $285 million supermax extension with the Oklahoma City Thunder, according to ESPN's Shams Charania. Shortly after, former Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner reportedly agreed to a four-year, $107 million deal with the Milwaukee Bucks — the top-ranked center on Yahoo Sports' free agent big board, now off the table. With Turner in the fold, the Bucks waived Damian Lillard, using the stretch provision in the CBA to wipe the final three years and $113 million of his contract off of their balance sheet
Things began shifting last weekend, with the Phoenix Suns trading superstar Kevin Durant to the Houston Rockets for Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks and the 10th pick (Khaman Maluach) in the 2025 NBA Draft. The Boston Celtics also began a refresh by trading Jrue Holiday to the Portland Trailblazers and Kristaps Porziņģis to the Atlanta Hawks.
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Plenty of players will stay put with their current teams for now, though. On Sunday, LeBron James reportedly picked up his $52.6 million option for the 2025-26 season, stating his hopes of competing for a championship while the Lakers build for the future. James Harden will also stick in Los Angeles, signing a new two-year, $81 million deal after declining his player option for next season. Julius Randle will remain in Minnesota after reportedly agreeing to a three-year, $100 million contract with the Timberwolves.
Other notable potential free agents include DeAndre Ayton, Jonathan Kuminga and more (check out Yahoo Sports' NBA free agent big board here). Find all of this year's free agency deals here.
Free-agent position rankings: Point guards | Shooting guards | Small Forwards | Power forwards | Centers
Follow along with Yahoo Sports for live updates, highlights and more as 2025-26 NBA free agency heats up:
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