NBA OffseasonliveUpdated 6m agoNBA free agency doesn't officially begin until June 30, but the offseason is already in high gear thanks to some big trades.The Athletic NBA StaffJune 26, 2026 at 1:20 PM EDTLaMelo Ball and Anthony Edwards are now teammates Sam Sharpe / Imagn ImagesNBA offseason — the latestWelcome to The Athletic's coverage of the NBA offseason, which is off to a fast start.Free agency does not officially begin until June 30 at 6 p.m. ET, but teams are already making big moves. We've already seen two blockbuster trades, with Giannis Antetokounmpo heading to the Miami Heat and LaMelo Ball going to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Several other stars, including Jaylen Brown and Kawhi Leonard, have been involved in trade talk over the past week. And what is the future of LeBron James, who is set to become a free agent if he does not elect to retire?Stay tuned as our reporters fill you in with the latest news and analysis from this busy period of the NBA calendar.In this video, I describe the legacy Giannis Antetokounmpo leaves behind in Milwaukee following the blockbuster trade that sent him to the Miami Heat.ICYMI: Giannis traded to Miami Stacy Revere / Getty ImagesThe Milwaukee Bucks agreed to trade Giannis Antetokounmpo, the most accomplished player in franchise history, to the Miami Heat just before the team’s self-imposed deadline of Tuesday's 2026 NBA Draft, league sources confirmed to The Athletic.The Bucks will receive Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakučionis, three first-round picks (No. 13 in 2026, 2031, 2033), a 2030 first-round pick swap and a 2033 second-round pick, while also sending Bobby Portis to Miami.ESPN was the first to report the deal, though it remains to be seen whether it expands in the coming weeks, as it can’t be finalized until July 6 and could evolve. More specifically, league sources say there is strong interest in Herro, and the Bucks will consider sending him elsewhere. The Bucks, per a team source, are also considering keeping Herro (he has one season left on his $33 million deal).While this live blog just launched, NBA teams have already begun to make moves. We'll summarize the big ones shortly, in case you missed them.My top 25 free agents David Reginek / ImagnHere is my list of this summer’s top 25 free agents, many of whom have already agreed to terms. I developed a player valuation system called BORD$ (short for “Big Old Rating Dollars”) that uses analytics and playing time data from the last two seasons, projects values for the coming season based on a player’s age and performance and then converts the projected performance and playing time into a salary estimate based on the projected cap in 2026-27 of $165 million. (More on the methodology from this story five years ago.)My BORD$ formula values 24 free agents as being worth at least more than the non-taxpayer midlevel exception, projected to be $15 million next season. It doesn’t mean that’s what they’ll get, but it’s a nice starting point for figuring out what might be “fair” in a more even market.Why NBA free agency isn't what it once was Luiza Moraes / Getty ImagesHello? Anyone here?NBA free agency starts at 6 p.m. Eastern on June 30, but in the last decade, the prominence of this date has taken a serious nosedive.The reason: Nobody good changes teams this way anymore. Rule changes on unrestricted free agency have incentivized both teams and players to agree to extensions long before they hit the open market, while on the demand side, operating as a cap space team is an increasingly onerous way to live compared to the advantages of using Bird rights and the non-taxpayer midlevel exception (NTMLE). Those two detriments to high-impact player movement are so hard-wired into the league that we barely have time left over to blame the tax aprons.When does free agency begin? Jason Miller / Getty ImagesNBA free agency does not officially begin until June 30 at 6 p.m. ET. However, that time is misleading for a few reasons. One is that teams can (and have) agreed to deals with their own free agents before then. The Lakers, for example, agreed to re-sign Austin Reaves on a four-year deal for a projected $185 million earlier this week, fending off potential interest from the Detroit Pistons and Brooklyn Nets. Also, teams can agree to trades involving players under contract and simply make them official once the free-agent moratorium ends in the first week of July. That's how the Bucks can trade Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Hornets can deal LaMelo Ball without officially announcing the transactions. Finally, the idea that teams simply wait until the starting gun at 6 p.m. ET to actually negotiate with free agents is, let's say, not reality in practice. In truth, so-called tampering is rampant because it is impossible to fully police. That's how the Lakers even knew they would have competition for Reaves' services if they couldn't agree to a deal this week.Free agency, then, has already begun in practice, even if not officially.