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Will RFAs Have More Negotiating Success In 2026 Than 2025?

There were four primary restricted free agents -- Josh Giddey, Jonathan Kuminga, Quentin Grimes and Cam Thomas -- in 2025 whose situations took several weeks or more to resolve. In part because the Nets and Bucks were the only teams with significant cap room, each of those players re-signed with his incumbent club (Chicago, Golden State, Philadelphia, and Brooklyn, respectively).

Here are the contracts each of those players signed last offseason:

Giddey: Four years, $100MM

Kuminga: Two years, $46.8MM (includes second-year team option)

Grimes: Accepted one year, $8.7MM qualifying offer

Thomas: Accepted one year, $6MM qualifying offer

Kuminga was traded to Atlanta ahead of last month's deadline, while Thomas was waived by the Nets shortly after the deadline and quickly signed with Milwaukee, which released him on Monday in order to promote Pete Nance. Grimes is on track for unrestricted free agency this summer, and Kuminga could be a UFA if his option is declined.

The 2026 RFA class is headlined by Pistons center Jalen Duren, a first-time All-Star in 2025/26, and also features intriguing young players like Peyton Watson and Walker Kessler, among others. But will this year's group of RFAs have more negotiating leverage than last year's?

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