The first couple of days of NBA Free Agency are in the books. The Milwaukee Bucks shook things up, as did the Brooklyn Nets by using some cap space in a huge trade.

We’re going to cover each Eastern Conference team and what they’ve reportedly agreed to, as well as taking a look at the maximum spending power they have remaining. We’ll do the same for the Western Conference in a separate article.

This article will mostly focus on established NBA players. We’ll call out draft-related moves where necessary, but this is mostly about movement for players already in the league.

(Note: Rather than clutter the article with future-based terminology (“agreed to…”), we’re going to write about agreements as if they’re done. It will just keep things cleaner. We’ll call out situations where a difference may matter.)

Atlanta Hawks

The Moves: traded for Kristaps Porzingis, signed Nickeil Alexander-Walker, signed Luke Kennard



The Analysis: The Hawks have had an outstanding start to the offseason. They added Kristaps Porzingis in a buy-low move, that cost them a couple of rotation players, but no major players. Adding Nickeil Alexander-Walker was a homerun move. And signing Luke Kennard, even a bit of an overpay, solves for the lack of bench shooting. Combine that with a terrific value trade at the Draft, and Onsi Saleh is off to one heck of a beginning as Atlanta’s GM.



Spending Power Remaining: $3 million of Non-Taxpayer MLE. The Hawks could possibly structure the Kennard addition as a sign-and-trade into the remainder of their $25.3 million TPE. If so, that would leave the full $14.1 million NTMLE open for use. Atlanta has been creative thus far with sign-and-trades, both coming in and going out.


Boston Celtics

The Moves: traded for Anfernee Simons, traded for Georges Niang, signed Luka Garza, signed Josh Minott



The Analysis: Boston’s goal going into the offseason was to get under the second apron. It cost them Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis in trades, and Luke Kornet in free agency, but the Celtics are basically there. If Anfernee Simons sticks, he’ll give Boston some much-needed shooting and scoring with Jayson Tatum likely to miss the entire season. Georges Niang is a nice backup four, considering the Celtics are light at that position. Luka Garza and Josh Minott are both good flyers on minimum deals. These are the upside shots the Celtics should be taking in a “gap year”. Things probably aren’t done yet, as Boston is still dancing around the second apron. Don’t buy those Simons or Niang jerseys just yet!



Spending Power Remaining: Minimum contracts. Boston could make further moves to put themselves in position to use the $5.7 million Taxpayer MLE. That doesn’t seem overly likely. Remember: The Celtics didn’t make difficult moves to get under the second apron to bump right back up against it.


Brooklyn Nets

The Moves: traded for Michael Porter Jr., traded for Terance Mann, re-signed Day’Ron Sharpe and Ziaire Williams



The Analysis: The Nets continued to be future-focused with their roster. In addition to drafting five players in the first round of the Draft, Brooklyn used cap space to bring in Michael Porter Jr. and Terance Mann. Both came with a first-round pick (the pick for Mann was used at this year’s Draft). Both Day’Ron Sharpe and Ziaire Williams were signed to team-friendly deals. Good work there by Brooklyn to retain two younger players.



Spending Power Remaining: $22.3 million of cap space. The Nets are still sitting on a good amount of cap space. We’re figuring that re-signing one of Sharpe or Williams will come via the Room Exception. That maximizes Brooklyn’s remaining cap space. If both of those signings come out of cap space, the Nets will have about $16.5 million to spend.


Charlotte Hornets

The Moves: traded for Collin Sexton, traded for Pat Connaughton, signed Mason Plumlee, re-signed Tre Mann



The Analysis: Charlotte came into the offseason looking to rebalance their roster and to add high-character competitors. They did well to get Collin Sexton to fill a backcourt role. He’ll be a helpful player this season. Mason Plumlee gives the team some experienced center depth around their younger options. They did a nice job getting a couple of second-round picks by flipping Vasilije Micic for Pat Connaughton. And to round things out so far, Charlotte re-signed Tre Mann on a really good value contract. Good offseason so far for the Hornets, as they continue to rebuild their roster.



Spending Power Remaining: $14.1 million of Non-Taxpayer MLE. Charlotte still has the full NTMLE to use. That would take them over the tax, however. That makes it unlikely that the Hornets will spend it this offseason, but it’s a nice tool to carry over into the regular season.


Chicago Bulls

The Moves: traded for Isaac Okoro, re-signed Tre Jones



The Analysis: The Bulls started the process of clearing out their backcourt logjam by trading Lonzo Ball for Isaac Okoro. Chicago then dipped right back into the guard pool and re-signed Tre Jones. The value for Jones is fine. He was also a really good fit in Chicago. Don’t be surprised if another trade comes though, as the Bulls backcourt is still overstuffed.



Spending Power Remaining: $14.1 million of Non-Taxpayer MLE. Chicago is still a mile from the luxury tax, but that will tighten up after the team re-signs Josh Giddey. There should still be enough room to be a player with the MLE, should they want to be. The Bulls are also linked to Jonathan Kuminga, but that would have to be a sign-and-trade. Keep an eye on Chicago. It doesn’t feel like they are done making moves.


Cleveland Cavaliers

The Moves: traded for Lonzo Ball, re-signed Sam Merrill, signed Larry Nance Jr.



The Analysis: Cleveland did a good job shuffling depth from one spot to fill a hole at another. Lonzo Ball is effectively the replacement for Ty Jerome. Once it was determined that re-signing Jerome and Sam Merrill would be too pricey, the Cavs used some of their wing depth to add Ball at guard. That was followed by re-signing Merrill. That deal is a bit rich, but the Cavaliers needed to keep his shooting in the mix. Adding Larry Nance Jr. on the minimum for frontcourt depth was a really good pickup too.



Spending Power Remaining: Minimum contracts. The Cavs are well over the second apron. That’s got them limited to the minimum to fill out their roster.


Detroit Pistons

The Moves: signed Caris LeVert, re-signed Paul Reed, signed-and-traded for Duncan Robinson



The Analysis: Considering the Pistons offseason plans were likely thrown for a loop with the reported investigation in Malik Beasley for gambling on NBA games, they’ve recovered nicely. Caris LeVert is a nice replacement for Dennis Schroder as a second-unit ballhandler/creator. Duncan Robinson will replace Beasley as the designated shooter. And don’t forget that Jaden Ivey will be back in the mix too.



Spending Power Remaining: TBD. The Pistons path is somewhat unclear. Detroit likely has the Room Exception remaining, using cap space to sign Caris LeVert and Non-Bird rights to re-sign Paul Reed. We’ll see. There is a chance they stayed over the cap, which would leave no signing exceptions remaining.


Indiana Pacers

The Moves: None



The Analysis: The Eastern Conference champs have sat out the offseason thus far, minus a couple of smaller moves at the NBA Draft. And, of course, they lost Myles Turner to the Bucks. That leaves a hole at the center position that Indiana needs to fill.



Spending Power Remaining: $14.1 million of Non-Taxpayer MLE. With Myles Turner out of the mix, the Pacers can spend the entire Non-Taxpayer MLE and still stay under the luxury tax line. They tried to sign Deandre Ayton once before. Could a re-do be in the cards?


Miami Heat

The Moves: re-signed Davion Mitchell, acquired Simone Fontecchio



The Analysis: The Heat have been pretty quiet so far. They got Davion Mitchell back in the fold for a good value. Signing-and-trade Duncan Robinson for Simone Fontecchio brought back an interesting forward to throw into the mix. The difference between the salary Robinson was supposed to be on before he opted for free agency vs the $8.3 million Fontecchio makes opened up a lot of flexibility for the Heat.



Spending Power Remaining: $5.7 million of Taxpayer MLE. The Heat could still angle to use the full Non-Taxpayer MLE, but aren’t likely to want to go into the tax or to trigger a first-apron hard cap. With a pretty full roster, Miami could pick off a value signing with the Taxpayer MLE and still stay under the tax line.


Milwaukee Bucks

The Moves: signed Myles Turner and Gary Harris, re-signed Bobby Portis, Kevin Porter Jr., Gary Trent Jr. and Tauren Prince, acquired Vasilije Micic



The Analysis: Wow! The Bucks came out of nowhere with the signing of Myles Turner. It cost Damian Lillard and $22.5 million in dead salary for each of the next five seasons, but it was a huge upgrade for Milwaukee. Turner is a younger version of Brook Lopez, meaning he should fit in just fine next to Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Bucks also re-signed four key free agents in Bobby Portis, Kevin Porter Jr., Gary Trent Jr. and Taurean Prince. In addition, they picked up Gary Harris, who gives them more backcourt depth. Next up, finding some additional point guard depth to round out the roster.



Spending Power Remaining: TBD. The Bucks are still piecing together their moves. They’ll be a cap space team, but just how much of the $8.8 million Room Exception will be left over remains to be seen. It won’t likely be much. That would leave mostly minimum contracts for Milwaukee from here on out.


New York Knicks

The Moves: signed Jordan Clarkson, signed Guerschon Yabusele



The Analysis: With limited assets, the Knicks did well to add depth. They’re adding Jordan Clarkson for the minimum when he clears waivers. That’s a great depth pickup for New York, who can use a bit more scoring off the bench. Up front, New York spent the Taxpayer MLE on Guerschon Yabusele. He’ll be a really good fit in the frontcourt mix with his versatile skillset.



Spending Power Remaining: Minimum contracts. The Knicks are working against a second-apron hard cap after using the Taxpayer MLE. They’ll figure that out with a couple more moves.


Orlando Magic

The Moves: traded for Desmond Bane, signed Tyus Jones



The Analysis: The Magic trade for Desmond Bane feels like it happened forever ago, but that doesn’t make it any less impactful. Bane solves so many issues for Orlando, and the deal didn’t significantly weaken the rotation either. Adding Tyus Jones gives the team an experienced ballhandler for the backcourt too.



Spending Power Remaining: Minimum contracts. The Magic are a touch under the luxury tax. They could still use a chunk of the Non-Taxpayer MLE, but that would trigger a first-apron hard cap. Instead, expect Orlando to focus on re-signing Moe Wagner and Caleb Houstan, while keeping the tax bill as low as possible.


Philadelphia 76ers

The Moves: signed Trendon Watford, re-signed Justin Edwards and Eric Gordon



The Analysis: Philadelphia is working around some tight margins this summer. They did a good job getting Trendon Watford for the minimum, while also re-signing Justin Edwards and Eric Gordon. They’ll likely re-sign Quentin Grimes eventually too. 



Spending Power Remaining: Minimum contracts. Philadelphia could possibly use the $5.7 million Taxpayer MLE, but that would cause a second-apron hard cap. That makes things really tight, considering Quentin Grimes is likely to re-sign for somewhere between $15 and $20 million.


Toronto Raptors

The Moves: signed Sandro Mamukelashvili, re-signed Garrett Temple



The Analysis: Toronto has mostly sat out the free agency period. Sandro Mamukelashvili was a nice flyer for the frontcourt. He has offensive talent. Re-signing Garrett Temple was a locker room vet move. The main reason for the quiet offseason is that the Raptors made a pretty big pre-agency move by trading for, then extending, Brandon Ingram last season.



Spending Power Remaining: Minimum contracts. The Raptors are actually a touch over the tax line. They likely won’t finish there, so some minor moves are probably coming to dodge the tax. The roster is also full, so don’t expect more than camp deals from here on out.


Washington Wizards

The Moves: acquired C.J. McCollum and Kelly Olynyk



The Analysis: Washington traded for a couple more vets in C.J. McCollum and Kelly Olynyk, while moving off long-term money. Those two additions have the Wizards with a pretty full roster. More trades could come, because all of Washington’s vets on expiring deals and not likely to be a part of the long-term future.



Spending Power Remaining: $14.1 million of Non-Taxpayer MLE. Washington could use the NTMLE, but they aren’t likely to. That’ll be a tool that they’ll carry into the regular season.