NBA free agency 2025: Live updates, news, rumors as Damian Lillard reportedly returns to Portland, Bradley Beal joins Clippers

Marcus Smart and the Washington Wizards have agreed to a buyout, with Smart planning to sign a two-year, $11 million deal with the Lakers once he clears waivers, ESPN's Shams Charania reported on Saturday.

Per Charania, Luka Dončić contacted Smart and "made it clear" he wanted to play with him.

After 10 years in Boston, Smart spent the 2023-24 season and part of last season in Memphis before a trade to the Wizards.

Damian Lillard is in discussions with the Portland Trail Blazers about possibly returning to the team with whom he played his first 11 NBA seasons, reports The Oregonian's Bill Oram.

Lillard, 35, is finalizing a three-year, $42 million contract with the team, according to ESPN's Shams Charania. The deal will include a player option for the 2027-28 season and a no-trade clause.

The 13-year veteran was waived by the Milwaukee Bucks after the season with the team deciding to stretch the remaining two years and $113 million left on his contract over a five-year span. Lillard ruptured his left Achilles tendon during the Bucks' first-round playoff series versus the Indiana Pacers and would have missed most, if not all of the upcoming season.

Between what he'll get from the Bucks and his new contract with the Trail Blazers, Lillard will now get $70 million for the 2025-26 season, even though he's not expected to play. During the next two seasons, he'll earn $141 million before making a decision on that player option.

Lillard averaged 25.2 points and 6.7 assists per game, shooting 37% on 3-pointers, during his 11 seasons with Portland. After being traded to Milwaukee, he scored 24.6 points with seven assists and 36% 3-point shooting per game for two seasons.

Read more from Yahoo Sports here.

Bradley Beal is the latest member of the Phoenix Suns who's on his way out. Beal reportedly agreed to a buy out with the franchise, and plans to join the Los Angeles Clippers on a two-year, $11 million deal, according to ESPN's Shams Charania.

Beal leaves the Suns after spending the last two seasons with the franchise. He averaged 17.6 points and 4.3 assists with the team.

Beal was reportedly looking for the best situation, and ultimately opted to sign with the Clippers, where he'll play alongside James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, Ivica Zubac and Derrick Jones Jr.

Beal is far from the only big name to leave the Suns this offseason. In June, the team traded superstar Kevin Durant to the Houston Rockets.

Cam Spencer and the Memphis Grizzlies are sticking together for four more years. Spencer restructured his deal with the team. After initially signing for two seasons, Spencer will now spend the next four with the franchise, per ESPN's Shams Charania.

Spencer, 25, spent 25 games with the team last season. He averaged 4.2 points and 1.4 assists in limited time.

Spencer initially agreed to return to Memphis on a two-year, $4.5 million deal in June. The team and Spencer's representatives reworked that agreement to instead make it a four-year, $10.5 million deal. Three of those years are guaranteed, per Charania.

Cole Anthony reached a contract buyout with the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday afternoon, according to ESPN's Shams Charania. Once he clears waivers, Anthony will sign a one-year deal with the Milwaukee Bucks.

Anthony, the No. 15 overall pick in 2020, averaged 9.4 points and three rebounds per game last season in Memphis.

Chris Paul is attracting interest from several teams in free agency. But the veteran point guard reportedly prefers to play close to his Los Angeles home for what he's said will be his final NBA season.

The Hornets wanted to sign the North Carolina native, but he rejected those overtures, according to reporters Marc Stein and Jake Fischer. The Bucks are another team that has shown interest in Paul, but that's presumably too far from where he wants to be.

Last season for the Spurs, the 40-year-old Paul averaged 8.8 points and 7.4 assists while shooting 38% on 371 3-point attempts. He played in all 82 games for the first time in 10 seasons, last doing so for the Clippers in 2014-15.

The Clippers and Suns are reportedly the two teams currently trying to decide if Paul is a good fit for their respective rosters.

Isaiah Jackson is staying with the Indiana Pacers. The 23-year-old center will be returning to the Pacers on a three-year, $21 million deal, per ESPN's Shams Charania.

Jackson missed the majority of the 2024-25 season after tearing his Achilles tendon on Nov. 1. He only played in five games last season before the injury.

Jackson became a free agent this offseason after choosing not to sign a rookie extension last fall. His new deal keeps him in Indiana through the 2027-28 season.

Herb Jones has agreed to a three-year, $68 million extension with the New Orleans Pelicans, ESPN's Shams Charania reported Thursday.

Jones now has five years and $97 million on his deal, per Charania, who noted that the forward has a player option in 2029-30.

The Pelicans drafted Jones out of Alabama with the No. 35 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. Jones, 26, has started 231 of his 240 games with the organization. Shoulder injuries cost Jones significant time this past season, though, as he made just 20 appearances, averaging 10.3 points on 43.6% shooting along the way.

He's made a name for himself with his defense, even earning a spot on the NBA All-Defensive First Team in 2023-24.

Just a few months after being traded by the Washington Wizards, Marvin Bagley III is coming back to Washington. The 26-year-old forward has agreed to re-join the Wizards on a one-year deal, per ESPN's Shams Charania.

Bagley was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies in February, after a calendar year in Washington. He averaged 4.4 points, 2.7 rebounds and 8:33 minutes in very limited play this season, across both teams.

Bagley was traded to the Wizards halfway through the 2023-24 season, and spent a year playing for Washington off the bench. But he had some difficulties with injuries in the 2024-25 season: Between his time with the Wizards and the Grizzlies, Bagley only played in 31 games.

Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry may have just hinted at an acquisition. Curry was asked Thursday about the idea of free agent forward/center Al Horford joining the Warriors.

"He's a champion, great player," Curry said of the 39-year-old five-time NBA All-Star, according to The Athletic's Anthony Slater. "When...if, when all that stuff happens, I'll talk about it."

Horford has spent the last four seasons, and seven total, with the Boston Celtics, a stretch that featured a championship in 2024.

The Warriors could use some help in the frontcourt after losing veteran center Kevon Looney earlier in free agency.

The Oklahoma City Thunder won't rest after winning their first NBA championship. The team continued with its flurry of offseason moves Thursday, signing Jalen Williams to a max contract that could be worth $287 million, per ESPN's Shams Charania.

Williams, 24, is coming off a breakout year, in which he put up 21.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game.

With the move, the Thunder have now signed Williams, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren to long-term extensions, keeping their young core intact after winning it all.

Devin Booker is signing a two-year, $145 million contract extension with the Phoenix Suns, the most valuable contract extension in NBA history by average annual salary ($72.5 million), ESPN's Shams Charania reports.

The contract keeps Booker under Suns control through the 2029-30 season.

For more, read here.

The Oklahoma City Thunder won their first NBA championship in June. Now, the team will focus on running it back.

The Thunder took a massive step toward that goal Wednesday, when they reportedly signed standout center Chet Holmgren to a five-year max contract, according to Shams Charania of ESPN.

The deal could reach up to $250 million.

Holmgren, 23, averaged 15 points and 8 rebounds in 32 games with the team during the regular season. He improved on those numbers during the team's playoff run, averaging 15.2 points and 8.7 rebounds in 23 postseason games. He notched seven double-doubles over that period.

When healthy, Holmgren has lived up to the promise he displayed at Gonzaga before the Thunder selected him with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. Over his NBA career, Holmgren has averaged 16.1 points and 7.9 rebounds.

The San Antonio Spurs are adding more depth behind Victor Wembanyama.

Per ESPN's Shams Charania, the Spurs have traded Malaki Branham, Blake Wesley and a 2026 second-round pick to the Washington Wizards in exchange for stretch center Kelly Olynyk. In Olynyk, the Spurs add another depth piece behind Wembanyama days after signing former Celtics center Luke Kornet.

For more, read here.

Three-time MVP Nikola Jokic is eligible for a three-year, $212 million extension this offseason.

But he won't sign it, according to multiple reports. But there's no need for panic in Denver. The decision was expected as Jokic is eligible to secure significantly more guaranteed money if he waits until next offseason.

For more, read here.

Bradley Beal's buyout with the Suns isn't complete yet, but the Los Angeles Clippers are apparently the favorites to sign the veteran guard, according to The Athletic. The Clippers could offer Beal up to $5.3 million in salary next season.

Beal's buyout w Phoenix is expected in the near future.

The Denver Nuggets had a standout offseason with multiple transactions that filled needs on a roster that fell just short of toppling the eventual champion Oklahoma City Thunder in a seven-game playoff series.

A centerpiece of that offseason was a trade for Jonas Valančiūnas, who would provide three-time MVP center Nikola Jokić with a legitimate backup for the first time in years.

As of Tuesday, it remains unclear if Valančiūnas will actually suit up for the Nuggets. Valančiūnas is under contract with Denver on the second year of a three-year, $30.3 million deal. He offered no insight Tuesday on whether he intends to honor that contract amid reports that he wants to play elsewhere.

Valančiūnas addressed the subject publicly for the first time since the trade while granting an interview to local media from the B8 Basketball Summit in his home country of Lithuania. The interview was conducted in Lithuanian, so the nuances of his answer are a bit muddled in translation.

But here's the gist of his stance, per Google translate, when he was asked if he'll play for the Nuggets next season:

"We will find out only when the first game is played," Valančiūnas said. "Everything will be clear."

The deal that brings Jonas Valančiūnas to Denver is "on course to be made official" later this week, according to NBA insider Marc Stein. Before the Nuggets can complete that deal, however, they must first complete the Michael Porter-for-Cam Johnson trade with the Brooklyn Nets.

Valančiūnas has drawn interest from Greek powerhouse Panathinaikos, but the Nuggets have been clear that they want him to finish his contract with them.