The Bounce Newsletter | This is The Athletic’s daily NBA newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Bounce directly in your inbox.If you’re wondering when Giannis Antetokounmpo might be traded, I will be on a flight around 8:15 p.m. ET today. It’s a four-hour flight. I would put my money on the trade happening during that window.Free agencyEarly re-signings — and a trade!Even though free agency doesn’t officially begin until June 30 at 6 p.m. ET, the action has already very much begun. Currently, teams are allowed to speak to their own free agents to try to reach deals. Of course, we know that those discussions with all sorts of teams have been going on for months behind closed doors. It’s just a matter of whether the discussions worked to poach a free agent away when the window officially opens.In the meantime, the NBA Draft starts tomorrow, and teams can go wild with some trades. We’re all still waiting for a Giannis trade. To where? No clue. But we’re pretty sure something will happen! We had some news surface about some re-signings over the weekend, and a Western Conference contender made a trade. Let’s go over everything you need to know so far.Hawks expected to re-sign CJ McCollum for one year and $21 million: Excellent signing for Atlanta without any major options to replace McCollum on the free-agency market. He’ll make $9 million less than he did last year, and it’s just one year.Grade: ATeam’s remaining needs: A big man, more of a playmaking lead guard and more shooting.Suns expected to re-sign Collin Gillespie for four years and $48 million: If Gillespie continues to improve, this is more of an A grade. Securing him for four years for less than the mid-level could end up being one of the better bench player contracts in the league. No reported options on the deal.Grade: B+Team’s remaining needs: Quality big men and forwards who can score.Suns expected to re-sign Jordan Goodwin for three years and $19 million: For a guy who has bounced around a bit, this is nice security for him. For the Suns, grabbing your eighth or ninth guy for about $6 million per season is good quality. He just hasn’t quite shown enough yet to be certain he’ll stick in the rotation.Grade: A-Team’s remaining needs: Quality big men and forwards who can score.The Hawks are also reportedly trading two second-round picks to the Thunder for Aaron Wiggins:I love this pickup for the Hawks. Wiggins is a quality defender on the perimeter, has decent playoff experience and can really shoot the ball. This is a cap move for the Thunder. By shedding his $9 million salary for next season, they move down to roughly $19 million into the second apron and $32 million into the first apron. This could save the Thunder $60 million in tax penalties and opens a spot on the roster. They have the 12th, 17th and 37th picks in the draft with 14 players under contract.Grades: A for Atlanta, C- for OKCThe last 24🤯 Chaos. The NBA Draft doesn’t always go the way we think it might. So I came up with a chaos mock draft. 📈 Top 75! John Hollinger has given his top 75 prospects for the NBA Draft. Cameron Boozer is tops.🏀 Developing story. Our Law Murray is ranking the young cores for every team in the league. First up: the West.🤔 Is it possible? The Cavs and Spurs both thought they outplayed the Knicks. Why do they feel this way?Stream the NBA on Fubo (try it for free!) and catch out-of-market games on League Pass.Too big to fail?How often does a loaded draft deliver?What does a loaded draft class actually mean? What does a “can’t miss” set of players truly look like? That’s what we’ve heard and reiterated about this 2026 class, thanks to BYU’s AJ Dybantsa, Kansas’ Darryn Peterson and Duke’s Boozer. North Carolina’s Caleb Wilson emerged early in the college season as a fourth guy, but it’s been about those top three players.
The Bounce: NBA offseason moves are beginning. Plus, my draft sleepers and busts
Zach Harper catches you up on the latest NBA news in our newsletter.












