Grades for every free agent signing, extension: We...

Grades for every free agent signing, extension: Wemby, Trent and morePhoenix Suns15hZach KramWhat six teams can offer LeBron James: The money, on-court fit and intangiblesMiami Heat2dBobby Marks and Brian WindhorstPsych, that's the wrong number! Ja Morant signs old Memphis number on Blazers jerseyPortland Trail Blazers17hBen GolliverDybantsa vs. Peterson, Round 1: Biggest takeaways and highlights from Las Vegas debutWashington Wizards2dZach Kram and Ben GolliverSpurs' Luke Kornet makes his pitch to LeBron JamesSan Antonio Spurs2dESPN staffplayShams: Lakers sign Quentin Grimes, Collin Sexton (2:25)Zach KramJul 11, 2026, 06:15 PM ETCloseZach Kram is a national NBA writer for ESPN.

com, specializing in short- and long-term trends across the league's analytics landscape. He previously worked at The Ringer covering the NBA and MLB. You can follow Zach on X via @zachkram.

Multiple AuthorsEmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsThe NBA offseason is here, and teams across the league have been busy making moves. Free agency officially began June 30.I'm grading every free agent signing and the most impactful extensions this offseason, breaking down the ramifications for all teams and players involved.

To determine each grade, I'm looking at multiple factors, including the player's on-court impact and age, the contract's financial implications and the context of the team's short- and long-term outlooks. How risky or certain is the move? And how much does it help or hurt the team's chance to win a championship, next season or beyond?

Let's get into the latest moves:Quick links: Trade grades | Latest buzz | Trade machine Depth charts | Trade tracker | More coverageJuly 11: Bucks bring back Trent on big dealGary Trent Jr. terms: Four years, $64 millionGrade: D-Half a decade ago, Trent signed a three-year, $54 million contract with Toronto. It made sense at the time: Trent was 22 years old and coming off a breakout season, during which he was traded for Norman Powell.

He looked like a strong 3-and-D prospect.On Saturday, Trent agreed to similar terms on a new deal: four years, $64 million to stay with the Bucks. But there's only one problem: He has declined significantly since his early 20s.

Trent was arguably the least valuable veteran rotation player in the entire NBA last season. He averaged only 8.1 points, 1.

2 assists and 1.0 rebounds per game, and his 3-point percentage fell to a league-average 36%.Out of 279 players with at least 1,000 minutes, Trent ranked 276th in both box plus/minus and player efficiency rating, and every player below him was 21 or younger.

Trent, conversely, was an eight-year veteran in his age-27 season.Given the combination of that decline and the Bucks' overabundance of young guards who need playing time -- after the draft and the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade -- it makes little sense for Milwaukee to lavish Trent with a new contract with so many dollars and so many years. Still in his 20s, he has time to bounce back, but for the moment, he profiles more like a minimum-salary player than one who deserves eight figures per year.

Coincidentally, Trent played on minimum or near-minimum deals for Milwaukee in each of the past two seasons, despite coming off much better performances in both years. Last summer, he signed a two year, $7.5 million deal with a second-year player option, which he declined, despite his woeful 2025-26 campaign, to secure a much larger payday this summer.

July 10: Wemby, Spurs agree on rookie extensionVictor Wembanyama terms: Five years, $252 millionGrade: A+This might be the easiest transaction I'll ever grade.Before last season, 83% of the NBA's general managers chose Wembanyama as the player they'd most like to build a franchise around. And that number has probably risen since, as Wembanyama was the unanimous Defensive Player of the Year, finished third in MVP voting and was the best player on a Finals team in 2025-26.

The Spurs would have received an "A" grade for extending Wembanyama no matter the contract details. He could have received the max, a player option and "Rose rule" salary escalator language, and Spurs brass would have been thrilled.But in the end, he did not take every possible bell and whistle allowed for a player of his experience level, which boosts this grade to an "A+" for the Spurs.

According to ESPN's Shams Charania, Wembanyama is locking himself into a 25% maximum contract. He could have chosen an extension that would rise to 30% of the cap if he received postseason honors next year -- which seems like a virtual lock if Wembanyama reaches the 65-game minimum for awards consideration again.Many other young stars have opted for that latter route in recent years, and they deserve no blame for maximizing their earnings.

Evan Mobley, for instance, landed a 30% supermax before winning Defensive Player of the Year in 2025.But Wembanyama has evidently taken a lesson from the star guard who beat the Spurs in the Finals last month, after the Knicks' title run was aided in