ONE is calling it the summer that changed the league, and it is hard to argue. In the space of a few chaotic weeks the NBA has torn up its old hierarchy, with three separate superstars switching teams and a fourth trade still frozen by a league investigation.
The biggest shock arrived when LeBron James, at 41, agreed to join the Philadelphia 76ers on a two-year, $8 million contract — a fraction of the roughly $52 million he earned last season with the Lakers. James called it his "last decision" after publicly weighing retirement, and he now lines up alongside Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey in a frontcourt built to win now.
Philadelphia did not stop there. The Sixers also landed Jaylen Brown from Boston, sending Paul George and four draft picks the other way in a trade that gutted the core which won the Celtics a championship in 2024. Brown, still only 29, joins James, Embiid and Maxey to give Philadelphia arguably the most star-studded roster it has fielded in a generation.
Even that was overshadowed by Milwaukee's decision to finally grant Giannis Antetokounmpo his wish to leave. The two-time MVP, who delivered the Bucks' first title in half a century in 2021, was traded to Miami along with Bobby Portis. In return the Bucks received Tyler Herro, Kel'el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., guard Kasparas Jakučionis and draft compensation, in one of the most lopsided-looking centrepiece trades of the offseason.
Out West, Minnesota moved to give Anthony Edwards a genuine co-star, acquiring LaMelo Ball from Charlotte after the Timberwolves fell short of the Western Conference finals for the first time in three years. The Wolves parted with Naz Reid and a stack of future picks to pair Ball's playmaking with Edwards' scoring.
Portland made its own bold play for Ja Morant, sending Jerami Grant and Kris Murray to Memphis for the two-time All-Star at what several NBA outlets described as a bargain price. The move complicates life for Israeli forward Deni Avdija, who just made his first All-Star team as Portland's primary ball-handler; how the Blazers now share the offense between Morant and Avdija — and whether the added payroll affects Avdija's next contract before he reaches free agency in 2028 — is one of the more closely watched subplots of the new season.
Not every blockbuster is finished business. The trade sending Kawhi Leonard from the Clippers to Toronto for Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick and multiple first-round picks has been on hold for weeks, frozen by an NBA investigation into whether the Clippers circumvented the salary cap through Leonard's $28 million endorsement deal with the now-bankrupt company Aspiration. Owner Steve Ballmer has denied any knowledge of the arrangement, and there is no timetable for when the league's probe, being handled by outside counsel, will conclude.
ONE's rundown of the summer also lists a string of smaller but still significant moves reshaping rosters across the league, including Walker Kessler heading to the Lakers, John Collins to Detroit, Mitchell Robinson to Boston, Anfernee Simons to Philadelphia, Tobias Harris to San Antonio and Norman Powell to Chicago.
Taken together, several American outlets have echoed ONE's framing that this is the most chaotic offseason since 2019, when Kawhi Leonard, Anthony Davis, Paul George, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving all changed teams in one summer. This time, though, the reshuffling has hit even deeper into the league's established contenders — and left Milwaukee, Boston and the Clippers all rebuilding around what they gave up rather than what they gained.
