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NBA Free Agency 2026 Grades: The Mids, Rated 0-10 (Part 2 of 3)
The middle of the NBA's 2026 offseason rankings is where my defending Champion New York Knicks live - exactly where they're supposed to be. Part 1 covered the ten franchises that lost the summer. This is Part 2: ranks 20 through 11, the teams whose offseasons weren't diabolical but rather defensible, debatable, or deliberately boring. Same format as before: every key move, the GM's-eye logic, and a 0.0–10 rating, the same scale RateGame's Sports Fans use on every game they watch.
The middle ten, ranked
#20 Oklahoma City Thunder | 5.5 🟡
- In: None
- Re-signed: iHart Radio (3yr/$75M), Kenrich Williams (1yr/$5M)
- Out: Lu Dort → Hawks (trade), Isaiah Joe → Pistons (trade), Aaron Wiggins → Hawks (trade) | all for future seconds
Why'd they do it? The second-apron bill for the 2025 champs came due. OKC shed roughly $20M in salary plus Dort's option to keep the SGA core sustainable long-term.
How'd they do? 5.5/10. Keeping Hartenstein was the one must-do and they did it. But trading three real rotation players for second-rounders made the champions measurably worse, and Sam Presti knows it.
#19 Brooklyn Nets | 5.6 🟡
- In: Julius Randle (Welcome back!...kinda) + No. 28 pick (trade), Keon Ellis (2yr/$18M), Moritz Wagner (2yr/$19M)
- Re-signed: Day'Ron Sharpe (2yr/~$20M), Josh Minott (2yr/$9M)
- Out: Nic Claxton → Bulls (trade) Joe & Clara Tsai → Free Agency (Divorced)
Why'd they do it? I'm not going to speculate but marriage is hard. I think they gave their best shot. Oh whoops haha OK back to the players...it seems the idea was to not fully surrender to (another) rebuild: absorb Randle's expiring-ish money for taking on the trade, draft Mikel Brown Jr. at No. 6, and keep ~$25M in dry powder.
How'd they do? 5.6/10. Sensible accumulation, no direction yet. The Michael Porter Jr. extension question will say more about this franchise's future than anything they did in July.
#18 Minnesota Timberwolves | 5.6 🟡
- In: LaMelo Ball + Josh Green (trade)
- Re-signed: Bones Hyland
- Out: Naz Reid → Hornets (trade), Julius Randle → Nets (trade), Mike Conley → Celtics (FA)
Why'd they do it? Anthony Edwards needed a co-star and the Wolves decided LaMelo Ball... 24 years old, $130.7M owed, suspended drivers license...was worth an unprotected 2033 first, three swaps, three seconds and Naz Reid (?!).
How'd they do? 5.7/10. If healthy LaMelo shows up, this is the steal of the summer; his last three seasons say that has the same chance as him obeying the speed limit. They also walked away with a hole at power forward and nothing but minimums to fill it. Highest variance in the league.
#17 Atlanta Hawks | 5.7 🟡
- In: Lu Dort + Ryan Nembhard (trade), Aaron Wiggins (trade), Devin Carter (trade, salary dump)
- Re-signed: CJ McCollum (1yr/$21M), Jock Landale (1yr/$14M)
- Out: Zaccharie Risacher → Mavericks (trade), Jonathan Kuminga (option declined, unsigned)
Why'd they do it? Post-Trae Atlanta is building an identity around defense and depth: Dort and Wiggins are exactly that, and Devin Carter cost a second.
How'd they do? 5.8/10. Smart accumulation of tough, cheap wings. Especially love pesky Carter. But giving up on Risacher, the No. 1 pick of 2024, two years in is the kind of decision that either looks shrewd in three years or haunts the franchise for a decade.
#16 Indiana Pacers | 5.9 🟡
- In: Kelly Oubre Jr. (2yr/$17M), Larry Nance Jr. (1yr/$4M), Braden Smith (No. 38, trade)
- Re-signed: —
- Out: Kam Jones → Bulls (trade)
Why'd they do it? Everything waits for Tyrese Haliburton's Achilles. Keep the Core Seven intact, add wing depth on short money, and treat 2026-27 as the runway back.
How'd they do? 5.9/10. Oubre at $8.5M a year is one of the better value adds of July. A patient, coherent summer where the most important transaction was rehab.
#15 New York Knicks | 6.0 🟡
- In: Andre Drummond (1yr/$3.9M)
- Re-signed: Jordan Clarkson (1yr), Landry "Habibi" Shamet (4yr/$24M), Jose "Game 4" Alvarado (3yr/$13M), Mohamed Diawara
- Out: Mitchell Robinson → Celtics (FA, 3yr/$47.4M), Ariel Hukporti → 76ers (FA)
Why'd they do it? Dolan did not mince words when asked about his intention to bring everyone back; second apron sayssss NO...sorry not sorry. And so the longest tenured Knick and a personal hero of mine, big Mitch Robinson, was sent packin. Very sad but you best believe he'll be forever mentioned in the same sentence as Brunson, KAT, and Hart as the core group that changed lives.
How'd they do? 6.0/10. Losing Mitch to the Celtics stings on principle, but saying "Thanks but no thanks!' to LeBron James...now that's the stuff of WILD DREAMS. Continuity is king and the Knicks have earned the rights to it.
#14 Phoenix Suns | 6.1 🟡
- In: Miles Bridges (trade), Luke Kennard (2yr/$13M)
- Re-signed: Mark Williams (3yr/$38M), Collin Gillespie (4yr/$48M), Jordan Goodwin (3yr/$19M)
- Out: Grayson Allen → Hornets (trade), Royce O'Neale → Hornets (trade)
Why'd they do it? Continuity with a talent swing: keep all three priority free agents, then flip two role players (plus an unprotected 2033 first) into Miles Bridges' production.
How'd they do? 6.1/10. Retaining Williams, Gillespie and Goodwin was disciplined, unglamorous work. The Bridges trade adds real scoring and real baggage, and an unprotected 2033 pick is a long time to be wrong.
#13 Boston Celtics | 6.1 🟡
- In: Paul George + 2 firsts + 2 seconds (Jaylen Brown trade), Mitchell Robinson (3yr/$47.4M), Mike Conley (1yr)
- Re-signed: Neemias Queta (4yr/$56M extension)
- Out: Jaylen Brown → 76ers (trade), Nikola Vucevic → Magic (FA)
Why'd they do it? Trading a 29-year-old Finals MVP was unthinkable and borderline illegal until he goes on Twitch after a Game 7 home loss and runs his mouth about how this season (without Tatum) was his "favorite". Then, alllll of a sudden, the math isn't mathing so great either: Brown's supermax against the second apron forced a choice, and Boston chose picks, Robinson's rim protection, and George's expiring value around Tatum.
How'd they do? 6.2/10. If Playoff P holds off that double "e", this is a masterstroke of cap judo by Brad "I could be wrong" Stevens; if it doesn't, they traded a champion for an injury report and futures. The two firsts are why this lands above water either way.
#12 Houston Rockets | 6.1 🟡
- In: Marcus Smart (2yr/$13M), Bogdan Bogdanovic (1yr min)
- Re-signed: Tari Eason (5yr/$81.5M), Jae'Sean Tate (1yr)
- Out: Dorian Finney-Smith → Hornets (trade, salary dump), Josh Okogie → Jazz (FA)
Why'd they do it? Keep the Durant window open while he poses with some candy apples: lock up Eason before his price exploded, reunite Smart with Ime Udoka, and dump Finney-Smith's money to stay flexible.
How'd they do? 6.4/10. Eason at $16M a year will look like theft by January. Attaching three seconds to move Finney-Smith hurt, but this is a top-four West roster that got its business done quietly.
#11 Chicago Bulls | 6.6 🟡
- In: Norman Powell (2yr/$45M), Nic Claxton (trade, absorbed into cap space)
- Re-signed: Zach Collins (2yr/$17M)
- Out: Collin Sexton → Lakers (FA)
Why'd they do it? The new front office finally picked a lane: use league-leading cap space to buy a starting center for free, pair No. 4 pick Caleb Wilson with a real veteran scorer, and build forward instead of sideways.
How'd they do? 6.6/10. Getting Claxton for nothing but cap room is exactly how rebuilding teams should weaponize space. For the first time in years, Chicago's moves all point the same direction.
Frequently asked questions
Did my Knicks have a good offseason in 2026?
No not really but that's on purpose. The defending champions, not exclusive to the Knicks, usually keep their entire core for a proper go at the ellusive repeat. So a re-signed Clarkson, Shamet and Alvarado, with Andre Drummond masquerading as Mitch on a one-year minimum is the type of continuity I can get mildly excited by. Hence the 6er, sorry Bron!
Who won the Jaylen Brown–Paul George trade?
Rich Paul? Philadelphia got the best player; Boston got Paul George's expiring contract, two first-round picks and two seconds while escaping the supermax-plus-second-apron squeeze. Boston's 6.2 here reflects sound logic with real injury risk.
Was the LaMelo Ball trade good for Minnesota?
It's the highest-variance move of the summer: a 24-year-old three-level scorer next to Anthony Edwards, bought with Naz Reid, an unprotected 2033 first, three swaps and three seconds...while leaving a hole at power forward.
Sources: ESPN, NBA.com, HoopsRumors, Yahoo Sports, CBS Sports, Sports Illustrated, Bleacher Report and team beat outlets; every move cross-verified against multiple reports as of July 30, 2026. Grades are RateGame's own. Argue with them the way Sports Fans argue over a 7.5 game. Part 3 crowns the winners.
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