We have already provided you with the six worst contracts of 2026 NBA free agency, so what kind of monsters would we be if we didn’t also give you the summer’s six best deals?
Front offices are savvier than ever before, mostly because they have to be, since the second apron acts as a hard salary cap, and any mistake under it could become crippling.
Advertisement
Bargains must be found wherever they can. Persuade a superstar to take less than his maximum salary. Sign one of the greatest players of all time for a salary-cap exception. Lure a key cog away from a defending champion that can’t afford to keep him. Leverage the team-centric advantages of restricted free agency. This summer will feature it all.
For those reasons and more these are your six best deals of 2026 NBA free agency:
Contract: 5 years, $252.3 million
Victor Wembanyama is the NBA’s unanimous Defensive Player of the Year, and the 22-year-old finished third in this past season’s MVP race. If he plays 65 games next year, he is all but guaranteed to make the All-NBA roster, which would make him eligible for 30% of the salary cap — or a little over $300 million from the 2027-28 campaign through 2031-32.
Advertisement
Instead, he committed to 25% of the salary cap, or roughly $250 million over those same five seasons, saving the San Antonio Spurs about $10 million annually. That is the kind of wiggle room they will need to build a roster that can continue to make return trips to the NBA Finals as Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper also come due on high-priced contracts.
“Whatever it takes,” Wembanyama tweeted on Friday.
There has been some pushback from new National Basketball Players Association executive director David Kelly, who told reporters at his introductory press availability, “The system should not require a player to carry all that burden.” But Wemby insisted.
“Accumulating money has never really been a goal,” he has said.
Advertisement
And because the NBA’s second apron acts as a de facto salary cap, the efficiency of every dollar spent matters more now than ever. Misallocated funds do not a champion make. So, 5% of the salary cap matters. A lot. And it might inspire more to do the same.
Case in point: Julian Champagnie accepted a below-market deal (3 years, $45 million) to return to the defending Western Conference champion Spurs instead of pursuing more security (a higher annual salary and more guaranteed years) elsewhere. Wembanyama’s sacrifice allowed the Spurs to fit this exact kind of contract more easily onto their books.
Contract: ???
Advertisement
Come on, man, it’s LeBron James, and he’s about to sign with someone for something like the midlevel exception, a massive pay cut from the max salaries he hauled in for decades.
He may turn 42 years old in December, but he’s still capable of averaging a 21-6-7, still capable of playing at an All-Star level, still capable of being the NBA’s best third option — still capable, when the Los Angeles Lakers needed him, of winning a playoff series alone.
That’s right. When Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves went down, James reinserted himself into a leading role, carrying the Lakers to a first-round win against the Houston Rockets. The hobbled Lakers stood no chance in the second round vs. the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Advertisement
But James will presumably return to his role as a tertiary option wherever he lands. Whether it is the Golden State Warriors, Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat or somewhere else, his on-court presence can transform any rotation into a more serious competitor.
Does James turn anyone into an actual contender? The Cavs reached last season’s Eastern Conference finals, and simply adding James to a mix of Donovan Mitchell, James Harden, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen would be a scary proposition. Does anyone want to see James with Stephen Curry or Giannis Antetokounmpo in any single playoff series?
Whether James can survive four rounds of the playoffs at age 42 is another matter, but as long as he is on the court, he gives any of those team’s a puncher’s chance in each round, and that is all a team can ask. Maybe he could string together an entire playoff run en route to another title. Just the opportunity to watch him try is worth his next contract.
Contract: 3 years, $47.4 million
Advertisement
It’s not so much the contract, though a non-taxpaying midlevel exception, especially for three years, is a fair deal for Robinson, one of the NBA’s foremost offensive rebounders.
It’s that the Boston Celtics stole him away from the New York Knicks. The defending NBA champions did not want to spend into the second apron, and Robinson’s contract would have taken them into that space, so they let go an invaluable member of their playoff run.
That he walked to a division rival is no small concession. Celtics executive Brad Stevens made clear at the end of last season that his team needed to add pressure on the rim, so they scored Robinson, who made the rim his own on both ends through the NBA Finals.
Advertisement
Now, paired with a below-market extension for Neemias Queta (4 years, $56 million), the Celtics can field 48 minutes of possession-maxing centers who end plays on defense and create them on offense. All for less than the Lakers committed to pay Walker Kessler.
Contract: 4 years, $24 million
The defending champions opted not to re-sign Robinson, not to spend into the second apron, and will instead employ Andre Drummond as their reserve center. Will that make the difference between a championship repeat and an earlier playoff exit? Time will tell.
That decision aside, though, the Knicks did extremely well to retain the remaining members of their championship core on affordable and tradable contracts, re-signing Shamet, Jose Alvarado (3 years, $14.4 million) and Mo Diawara (4 years, $11.3 million)
Advertisement
Shamet, in particular, represents great value. He shot 51.1% on catch-and-shoot 3-pointers in the playoffs, using his length and wherewithal to contend on defense, too.
Consider this: Shamet was better through four rounds of the playoffs for the Knicks than Gary Trent Jr. was in the regular season for the 32-win Milwaukee Bucks, and Shamet will make a fraction of the (stunning) four-year, $64 million deal Trent just got from the Bucks.
Contract: 5 years, $81.5 million
Even Eason seemed surprised at the discounted rate he gave the Rockets.
After all, Denver Nuggets wing Christian Braun — selected four spots behind Eason in the 2022 NBA Draft — signed a five-year, $125 million extension prior to this past season.
Advertisement
Houston dared Eason to find a comparable deal in restricted free agency and won that gamble, essentially signing him through his 20s for the non-taxpayer midlevel exception.
That’s good work for a 6-foot-8 3-and-D wing who has contributed to back-to-back playoff appearances in his third and fourth seasons in the league. There is still room for growth in his game, too, so the value of this deal could look even better if he develops.
And signing Marcus Smart (2 years, $12.4 million) was more solid business in Houston.
Contract: 2 years, $12.3 million
Simons has a chance to be one of the league’s most explosive bench scorers, which could make him a Sixth Man of the Year candidate, and that is a great deal for $6 million.
Advertisement
The 27-year-old averaged 20.7 points per game (on 43/37/90 shooting splits) over three straight seasons in Portland, albeit for a Trail Blazers team that couldn’t make the playoffs.
He joined the Celtics last season, when he assumed a reserve role, and he was great at it, scoring an efficient 14.2 points in 24.5 minutes a night. Boston felt his absence as a third guard when it traded Simons in the cost-cutting move for Nikola Vučević at the deadline.
The Sixers will welcome that dynamic in Philadelphia, where Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe are the lead guards. Adding Simons as a layer of creation behind them gives the 76ers a consistent level of playmaking that few teams can match for all 48 minutes.
Advertisement
Add Jaylen Brown to the mix, along with what is left of Joel Embiid, and the Sixers have a chance to be really good. They’re also cash-strapped, since Brown, Embiid and Maxey make so much money, so they needed a bargain, and they scored one in Simons, who played the last four seasons on a four-year, $100 million contract that wasn’t such a deal.
