2026 NBA Offseason

[Dolfan in NYC]

Memphis has announced the unexpected death of Brandon Clarke.  He was 29

 

 

[Dolfan in NYC]

Current reports are Clarke's death is being investigated as a drug overdose.

[Zimbra]

Damn, Jason Collins too.  Age 47 from brain cancer.

[Brian Fowler]

5 hours ago, Zimbra said:

Damn, Jason Collins too.  Age 47 from brain cancer.

As my friend put it, RIP to the bravest motherfucker in NBA history

[blitzkrieg]

On a more positive note, the Portland Fire got their first win over a (not 100%) Liberty team at home and had to be one of the loudest reactions I've ever heard. It's really cool that the W is getting to have so many moments like this.

[RIPPA]

The Sixers fired Daryl Morey

Nick Nurse will remain the HC

[RIPPA]

New Orleans is hiring Jamahl Mosley as HC

[Brian Fowler]

On 5/18/2026 at 11:26 AM, RIPPA said:

New Orleans is hiring Jamahl Mosley as HC

Kinda makes sense. Rebuild specialist known for building good defenses, and Joe Dumars always wants his teams to be defense first. 

Joey D's executive career is one of the strangest. For a few years, every trade and free agent move he made came up gold, won a title... And seemingly lost the ability to make good decisions as soon as that team broke up. Drafted well in the late first and in the second round, but badly botched premium picks.

[Cobra Commander]

Mavs firing Jason Kidd

[RandomAct]

I kinda saw this one coming after Masai was hired. Kidd just isn't a great coach, and got lucky to get a couple of years of peak Luka.

[Brian Fowler]

I legit have no idea what to make of Jason Kidd as a head coach. He always starts strong. It's hard to blame him for the team collapsing with first Luka getting hurt and then the dumbest trade in NBA history. But his teams seem like a whole new team every year. They bounce up and down both in overall record and in things like defense, pace, style. Like he's just starting over from scratch every season. 

He did some important work in development Giannis as a balance ball handler and unleashed the full power of Luka, so that's good at least.

[RandomAct]

A lot of people in the circle of Mavs fans give Sean Sweeney a TON of credit for the Finals run, as he was seen as the true architect of that defense. However Kidd deserves a ton of credit for unlocking Luka like Brian said, and finding a way to make the Kyrie pairing work. He also maximized Derrick Jones Jr and Naji Marshall. But along the way there were so many boneheaded late game decisions and weird lineup choices.

I'm mostly curious to see who Masai goes after.

[Dolfan in NYC]

On 5/6/2026 at 11:28 AM, Dolfan in NYC said:

Apparently HC Jason Kidd wanted the bump up to Team President but "knew for months" that wasn't going to happen.  And  that the power structure has been made clear Ujiri is the boss.  

 

...so when Kidd gets fired or quits, try to look surprised.

[Dolfan in NYC]

I think I'd mentioned there was like a 5% chance that MSG would have to move a year or so ago.  This is because Penn Station, which is in desperate need of repair and refurbishment, is directly underneath the arena.  

Well, it looks like MSG isn't going anywhere and Penn Station is getting refurbished.

 

This (ugly, UGLY) rendering is showing that the entire plaza around the arena is going to be enclosed, or more likely gone.  Plus, there's an at least 40% chance this all falls apart when *he* says to get the Federal money, the newly refurbished station has to be named after him.   

So, we'll see.  

[supremebve]

The new Portland Trailblazers owner who wants you to know that he's not cheap despite all evidence to the contrary, has fired 70 team employees.  

[Brian Fowler]

7 hours ago, supremebve said:

The new Portland Trailblazers owner who wants you to know that he's not cheap despite all evidence to the contrary, has fired 70 team employees.  

Hey not bringing two-way players to the playoff games was just an innocent mistake! He didn't know better (and apparently neither did... Uh any of the employees of the team?)

[RandomAct]

Maybe he's trying to create a Major League situation and the Blazers win THE. WHOLE. FUCKIN. THING.

[hammerva]

So relegation in the NBA will begin as the teams with the 3 worse records face penalties when it comes to the NBA draft. 

Not sure I liked this.  I have no problems with relegation but I feel it should punish you from things like playoffs not trying to get better.  Also worries that they will take that punishment on bad teams and help the bubble teams instead of teams 4 through 6

Edited May 28 by hammerva

[Brian Fowler]

The biggest potential issue right now is that somebody (and the most likely somebody by far right now is Memphis) is going to get screwed by the new rules when it comes to picks they traded for under the old rules. 

In particular, Memphis has Utah's number one next year. They traded for it as part of the Jackson trade under the old rules knowing they were looking at a potential very high pick if Utah doesn't turn a corner next year. Because the "no three straight top five picks" rule is retroactive, it means suddenly Memphis can't get anything higher than the 6th pick. Gotta wonder if that would've changed their math when they agreed to deal back in February.

[Brian Fowler]

Looking like Orlando is going to hire Sean Sweeney 

On one hand, Sweeney is due for a shot at the big chair. Was, at mentioned in here the other day, an architect of that Dallas defense that worked around Luka to get them to the finals in 24, and has had the (admittedly much easier) job of building an elite defense around Wemby in San Antonio 

On the other hand, I thought for sure Orlando would go for a coach known for offensive production and not another defensive guy, given that they played pretty good defense and couldn't score.

[RandomAct]

The elephant in the room with this new lottery reform, is how dumb the play-in is, and the new rules highlight it. Oh, let me see, do I bust my ass to get dad dicked by OKC? Or do I drop a spot since I'll have just as good a shot at a top 4 pick as anyone else?  

[Dolfan in NYC]

Looks like Chet is going to be the one thrown under the bus

 

 

[Brian Fowler]

I think there are two equally true things about him right now; 

1.) he's a 24 year old who just made all-NBA, first team all-defense, finished second for DPOY, and is a good floor spacer. Those are the kind of guys every team would love to have, even at a max contract.

2.) in the biggest games of the season, he looked borderline unpayable against the Spurs. They are clearly terrified of the idea of him trying to guard Wemby to the point where they won't ever go with on the court without another big, and they likely would've benched him by the middle of the series if they had been fully healthy. His utter disappearance in Game 7 was the final nail in that. They are going to have to make tough financial decisions with the roster eventually, and right now he looks like the most expensive big money guy, especially if the Spurs are going to be the biggest obstacle between OKC and another title or two. Wemby talking Chet's very existence as a personal affront doesn't help.

[RandomAct]

Here is the thing, why would any contending team take a chance on a Chet trade when you know you're gonna have to go through Wemby for the next 10 years?

[RIPPA]

Rick Adelman has passed away at the age of 79