The Oklahoma City Thunder just won the NBA championship, but the other 29 teams don’t have time to celebrate. The NBA offseason is already in full swing, with two significant trades already taking place ahead of the 2025 NBA Draft.
Kevin Durant and Jrue Holiday may find themselves with new teams, but they won’t be the only players wearing new jerseys next season. Here are the latest moves, rumors and trades ahead of the 2025 NBA Draft.
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June 23: Celtics reportedly trading Jrue Holiday to Trail Blazers for Anfernee Simons, draft picks
The Trail Blazers struck a deal with the Boston Celtics on Monday night to acquire Holiday, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. In exchange, Portland is sending Boston Anfernee Simons and a pair of future second-round draft picks.
The deal, according to Charania, is only the beginning for the Celtics this offseason. The team is still engaged in trade talks “surrounding multiple key players on the roster,” though further specifics are not yet known. The team has significant work to do to avoid the luxury tax altogether, and it’s likely that Holiday is simply the first player to go.
June 23: Khris Middleton reportedly picks up $33.3 million option to remain with Wizards next season
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Middleton picked up his $33.3 million player option for the 2025-26 campaign on Monday, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. That is part of the initial three-year, $93 million deal he first signed with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2023.
The Bucks dealt Middleton to the Wizards ahead of the deadline last season in a move that sent Kyle Kuzma to Milwaukee. Middleton ended up playing in just 14 games for the Wizards, who went 18-64 and missed the playoffs for a fourth consecutive year, while dealing with a knee injury. In total, Middleton averaged 11.9 points and 3.7 rebounds per game last season, his lowest numbers since his rookie campaign.
June 22: Suns trade Kevin Durant to Houston Rockets for Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, draft picks
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The Phoenix Suns traded Durant to the Houston Rockets, in exchange for Green and Brooks. Phoenix also received the No. 10 pick in the 2025 draft and five second-round picks as part of the trade.
The deal will not officially go through until July 6, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks, due to a restriction in Green’s rookie extension, which he signed last October. The second-round picks in the trade will stretch to 2032, per NBA insider Jake Fischer.
Durant will join an emerging Rockets team that is anchored by rising stars Amen Thompson and Alperen Şengün, as starters Green and Brooks are sent to Phoenix. The Rockets made the playoffs this season for the first time since 2020 as the No. 2 seed in the West. They lost in the first round to the Golden State Warriors.
June 21: Pat Connaughton picks up option, returns to Bucks
Pat Connaughton is comfortable in Milwaukee. The veteran guard reportedly picked up his player option to return to the team, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Saturday.
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Connaughton had until Tuesday to make a decision on his $9.4 million option. The 32-year-old averaged 5.3 points and 2.7 rebounds with the team last season.
After starting his career with the Portland Trail Blazers, Connaughton has spent the past seven seasons in Milwaukee. He’s mostly served in a backup role with the team, though is occasionally pushing into a starting spot. After averaging 22.3 minutes per game in his first six seasons with the Bucks, Connaughton saw that number drop to 14.7 minutes per game last season.
With Connaughton on board, the Bucks project to sit below the first apron. The team should still be “able to sign a player to the $14.1 million midlevel exception,” per ESPN.
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