NBA free agency opens after waves of player movement in recent days

The Houston Rockets continued their offseason improvements Monday, adding veteran forward Dorian Finney-Smith on a four-year, $53 million deal shortly after the NBA’s free agency window officially opened.

ESPN first reported the deal, and a person with knowledge of the agreement confirmed the terms to The Associated Press.

Houston becomes Finney-Smith’s fourth team after stints with Dallas, Brooklyn and the Los Angeles Lakers. He’ll be added to a Rockets club that earlier this summer landed Kevin Durant in a blockbuster trade with Phoenix, though that deal cannot receive formal approval from the NBA until next week.

Finney-Smith averaged 8.7 points and was a 41% shooter from 3-point range this past season.

The NBA’s free agency period officially opened at 6 p.m. Eastern time on Monday, but in actuality, was rolling long before that.

LeBron James has already opted in to a $52.6 million deal with the Los Angeles Lakers for this coming season, the Rockets traded for Durant – not a free agency move, obviously – and the Los Angeles Clippers saw James Harden decline his option in return for a new deal and a raise. There was even a surprise addition to free agency, with Portland announcing it has bought out the contract of former No. 1 pick Deandre Ayton – making him able to sign with any team he chooses.

And on Monday, even before the shopping window officially started, more deals: Nicolas Batum will come back to the Clippers, his agency said, on a two-year deal, while Joe Ingles agreed to return to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Deals like those could get done before the official start time because teams are allowed to negotiate with their own free agents once the NBA Finals are finished.

The NBA announced Monday that it has set the salary cap for the coming season at $154.647 million, the maximum allowed 10% increase over the level for this past season.

The tax level for the 2025-26 season is $187.895 million, the league said.

In very specific situations, teams can announce signings when completed. But in most situations, and this even applies to some draft-related trades (such as the one involving Durant going to Houston), teams won’t be able to announce those until at least July 6.