NBA summer storylines we're still watching, including the Kuminga saga at Golden State
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Tim Bontemps
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Tim Bontemps
ESPN Senior Writer
- Tim Bontemps is a senior NBA writer for ESPN.com who covers the league and what’s impacting it on and off the court, including trade deadline intel, expansion and his MVP Straw Polls. You can find Tim alongside Brian Windhorst and Tim MacMahon on The Hoop Collective podcast.
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Bobby Marks
Exactly one month since the 2025 NBA draft, some of the biggest moves of the summer have already unfolded.
From Cooper Flagg and Dylan Harper being selected at the top of the draft by the Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs, respectively, to superstar players such as Kevin Durant, Desmond Bane, Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday and Myles Turner changing teams via trade and free agency, it has been an eventful few weeks across the association.
But that doesn’t mean everything has been determined. So, with that in mind, here’s a look at some of the biggest unresolved extension and restricted free agency decisions of the 2025 offseason, beginning with a superstar extension candidate on the league’s biggest stage:
Will Luka Doncic sign an extension in August?
Arguably, the biggest story hanging over the league is the looming Aug. 2 date when Doncic, who arrived in Los Angeles almost six months ago in one of the most shocking trades in NBA history, can sign an extension to remain a Laker past next summer.
If Doncic chooses not to extend, he can become an unrestricted free agent next July — that would immediately make him the most impactful player to hit the open market since Kawhi Leonard in 2019. The Lakers, naturally, would not want to see a repeat of that situation when Leonard left the Toronto Raptors — fresh off winning Finals MVP and leading Toronto to its only NBA championship — to join the LA Clippers.
How could Doncic’s situation play out? If he chooses to sign an extension, he will be eligible for a four-year, $222 million contract that would tie him to the Lakers through the end of the decade.
But the best financial path for Doncic would be to sign a short-term deal — probably a three-year, $160 million extension with a player option for the 2028-29 season. By signing for two more years, Doncic could potentially sign a deal in 2028 for 35% of the salary cap — a deal that, at that time, could be a five-year, $369 million contract.
And for any Lakers fans uneasy about Doncic’s level of investment in Los Angeles, just take a look at what Marcus Smart said about how he wound up signing with the franchise.
“When you get a guy like Luka calling … checking on you, trying to see where you’re at, to see if you want to come join something special that he’s trying to cook up over here,” Smart said this week. “For him to say that he can really use my help, that meant a lot.”
What’s next for lingering restricted free agents?
There is a reason 25 players signed rookie extensions over the past two years, including 11 in 2024: Restricted free agency is no place to be.
It’s why Josh Giddey, Quentin Grimes, Jonathan Kuminga and Cam Thomas continue to sit in a holding pattern.
All four players have been affected by the lack of cap space across the league. No team (other than the Brooklyn Nets, Thomas’ former team) has more than $14.1 million of the non-tax midlevel exception to spend. That has left this quartet of restricted free agents with a choice: compromise on their next contract or continue to wait.
Kuminga’s options are limited by the lack of overall spending and the reality that the Golden State Warriors could be hard-capped at the first-apron if he is sign-and-traded. The Warriors are currently $25 million below the first apron and have taken a back seat to free agency until the Kuminga situation is resolved. They currently have six open roster spots.
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Grimes is in a similar position. The best available shooting guard continues to be without a home largely because of the Philadelphia 76ers’ finances. Although they have made minimum signings this offseason (Trendon Watford, Eric Gordon, Kyle Lowry and Justin Edwards), Philadelphia has held off using the $5.7 million tax midlevel exception because of second apron concerns. If Philadelphia used the exception, it would then hard cap itself at the second apron. The team is $19.5 million below without Grimes.
If a compromise is not reached, the fallback is to sign the one-year qualifying offer. Giddey ($11.1 million), Grimes ($8.5 million), Kuminga ($8 million) and Thomas ($6 million) have until Oct. 1 to sign their contracts. If they don’t, the contract is no longer valid (unless it is extended), and each player remains a restricted free agent.
There is a double-edged sword to signing the qualifying offer. While they would be unrestricted free agents in the 2026 offseason, each player loses Bird rights if they approve a trade to a new team during the season. (The last time a player signed the qualifying offer was Miles Bridges in 2023.)
What other key veteran extension decisions are out there?
Doncic’s situation merits attention, but he’s far from the only veteran facing the possibility of extending this summer.
The biggest name involved in extension discussions is Durant, who was traded to the Houston Rockets last month after spending the past 2½ years with the Phoenix Suns. Durant can sign a two-year extension for a maximum of $118 million. If Durant doesn’t agree to one, he, like Doncic, can become an unrestricted free agent next summer.
There are two other notable point guards to monitor in extension discussions. The first is De’Aaron Fox — who, like Doncic, changed teams in February when he was traded from the Sacramento Kings to the Spurs. Also like Doncic, Fox will become eligible for a four-year, $222 million extension on Aug. 3. Then there’s Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young, who has one year left on his contract before he can become a free agent. (He has a $48.9 million player option for the 2026-27 season.)
Atlanta has had an excellent summer and has a chance at a top-four seed in the Eastern Conference next season. But is there an extension to be done with Young that makes sense? The Hawks have been smart in spreading around their future financial commitments and probably would want to do the same with Young, the franchise’s best player since Hall of Famer Dominique Wilkins.
Other interesting players to watch include Mikal Bridges, who has one year left on his contract, and Karl-Anthony Towns, who has two, and could be extended by the New York Knicks. The same goes for P.J. Washington in Dallas, who could sign a four-year deal for up to $89 million. Tyler Herro, who has two years left on his contract, is eligible to extend with the Miami Heat starting Oct. 1. Toumani Camara of the Portland Trail Blazers is also a candidate, though extending him would make it more difficult for the Blazers to create significant cap room next summer. Another low-priced extension to watch is Milwaukee’s AJ Green, as general manager Jon Horst has talked publicly about wanting to get a deal done to keep the guard in a Bucks uniform.
What are the rookie extensions to watch?
So far, four players from the 2022 draft — Paolo Banchero, Chet Holmgren, Jabari Smith Jr. and Jalen Williams — have signed long-term extensions. Over the next couple of months, the focus will shift to the remaining 17 extension-eligible players from that class.
But if the past two years are an indicator, expect a quiet August and September.
Out of the 25 players who signed rookie extensions in the previous two offseasons, 16 were signed in October, with 14 coming just before the regular season began. As one Eastern Conference executive told ESPN: “The combination of players faced with a deadline and the lure of guaranteed money usually results in a compromise.”
There are several interesting names to monitor, including Hawks guard Dyson Daniels, Denver Nuggets guard Christian Braun, Rockets forward Tari Eason, Indiana Pacers guard Bennedict Mathurin, Suns center Mark Williams, Trail Blazers guard Shaedon Sharpe, Kings forward Keegan Murray and Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler.
The Nuggets trading Michael Porter Jr. and Indiana not re-signing Myles Turner have opened the financial flexibility to sign Braun and Mathurin to long-term deals.
The Pacers have been aggressive in signing their own players to extensions the past two seasons but have done so within budget. Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith and T.J. McConnell have signed new contracts. Haliburton is the only player of the four with a starting salary over $20 million.
Prominent veterans are available late in free agency every year, and this time is no exception. Players such as Ben Simmons, Malcolm Brogdon, Chris Boucher and Gary Payton II remain unsigned. But the biggest name is Westbrook, a former MVP.
After spending his first 11 seasons with the Thunder, Westbrook has now played on five teams in the past six seasons: the Rockets, Washington Wizards, Lakers, Clippers and most recently the Nuggets. And, after opting out of his player option for next season, the expectation was that Westbrook would have a team by now.
Westbrook remains a talented and productive player even as he approaches his 37th birthday, averaging 13.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 6.1 assists in almost 28 minutes last season. But his need to play on the ball and his struggles as a shooter make him an awkward fit on most contending rosters. It’s hard to imagine Westbrook off an NBA roster next season, and plenty of veterans sign minimum deals in August. But until the future Hall of Famer lands somewhere, the league will be watching.
