Follow live free-agency news and analysis from our entire NBA staff as the calendar turns to July, and sign up for The Bounce to get basketball content delivered straight to your inbox.Night 1 of NBA free agency is in the books, but much of the major business was completed in the days prior. Still, we got two pretty noteworthy decisions Tuesday, with LeBron James leaving the Los Angeles Lakers and Kawhi Leonard being traded back to Toronto.In addition to those, we’re analyzing the big moves, expected re-sign agreements, head-scratchers, things we’re on the fence about and a lot more below (and if we forgot one, please excuse us; it’s a busy time!). Remember: Most deals only become official on July 6 when the negotiation period is over. But before we dive into those confirmed and reported deals (through midnight ET at least)…Trades are definitely the new free agencyDraymond Green was right when he told us free agency is kind of dead. It’s not, but you’re not going to see a ton of moving and shaking with the biggest players in the world. The biggest and best role players? Maybe. Certain restricted free agents? It might happen. But with the biggest stars? Paul George to Philadelphia a couple of years ago might be the last time for a long time that we see a major free agent (quibble if you want) outright sign with a brand new team.For years, teams were looking to the summer of 2026 to be the next big free-agency endeavor. But guys like Luka Dončić and Trae Young never actually hit the market. Players have just ended up extending their contracts to make sure they’re maximizing earning potential before they try finding their way to a new home. That happens via trade. And they utilize the threat of not signing that extension to get the deal done long before they have to think about hitting free agency. Even aging stars who are in their late 30s are pulling this off. (See: Jimmy Butler working his way to Golden State, and James Harden working his way to Cleveland, with an extension likely coming soon.) Teams wouldn’t dare risk losing these guys for nothing in free agency, so they move them and get what they can.The second-apron payroll threshold also deserves credit for this uptick in major trades happening around the league. Between the end of the NBA Finals and the publishing of this column, we’ve seen: