Ranking the 10 worst NBA free agent contracts of the 2026 offseason so far

Now that the majority of free agency is over with, and Summer League wrapped up, the NBA is about to enter its lull. It feels like a good time to review free agency, particularly which were the worst free agency deals signed this summer.

To be clear, before beginning, this list will include players who signed as free agents, players who signed extensions, and players who were acquired as part of a sign-and-trade. Players who were just traded will be excluded.

Kenrich Williams is the longest-tenured player on the Oklahoma City Thunder and was released this offseason in order save cap space money. Considering that Williams only played in 56 games, started in two of them, while only averaging 15.3 minutes a game, it seemed more than likely that if they were going to bring him back, it would be on a minimum contract. Especially only averaging 6.5 points and 3.3 rebounds, while converting 38.8 percent from the 3-point line.

Instead, the Thunder re-signed him for a one-year $5 million contract per Chris Haynes of Yahoo, which is way more than the minimum. Now, let's be clear: he's a locker room guy for the Thunder, but paying for more than the minimum feels like an overpay.

On the surface, the Golden State Warriors extending Kristaps Porziņģis to a two-year deal worth $40 million per Shams Charania of ESPN, seems like fair value for the former All-Star. Last season, he averaged 16.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks for the Atlanta Hawks and the Golden State Warriors. In his rookie year, he averaged fewer points, rebounds, and blocks than this past season. Getting him on this deal is a solid pickup for the Warriors, who needed a productive center.

The problem with this contract is that, due to Porziņģis dealing with health issues over the past two seasons, he's been playing fewer and fewer games. Paying him roughly $20 million a year, with the second year having a player option, seems like a poor decision for the Warriors' front office.

Let's be clear, just because a player is on this list doesn't mean that they are a bad player. That's certainly the case for Ayo Dosunmu, who made a real name for himself after being traded from the Chicago Bulls to the Minnesota Timberwolves this past season. He was essential to most of the postseason success the T-wolves experienced last season. In which during the postseason, he scored 43 points in a decisive win against the Denver Nuggets in the postseason.

However, there's a reason he's on this list. Last season, he averaged 14.8 points during the regular season and 15.6 points in the playoffs. Let's be clear, he's a good defender and shoots with solid efficiency, but to get a five-year deal worth $ 112 million, per Shams Charania, seems a bit of an overpay for a guy who's a high-end role player. The full mid-level expectation, or possibly slightly above, is what his realistic value should have been on the free agent market.

Once upon a time, DeAndre Jordan's free agency was at the center of the NBA universe. Now he's just a veteran mentor for a young team. However, the reason why he's on this list isn't the amount of money he was paid, but rather the number of years he was given. According to NBA reporter Jake Fisher, Jordan is receiving a two-year, $7.9 million contract to return to the New Orleans Pelicans. It's a two-year minimum, fully guaranteed contract.

Which, on the surface, isn't terrible for a big man who played in just 12 games and averaged 4.4 points and 6.3 rebounds. The problem is that having a fully guaranteed deal for a center entering his 19th season, who will be 38 next year, seems like bad business. Rory Maher of Hoops Rumors also broke down how the two-year deal hurts the Pelicans on the salary cap aspect.

If Quentin Grimes were an unrestricted free agent last offseason, the four-year $60 million deal that he signed with the Los Angeles Lakers this offseason, reported by Shams Charania of ESPN, would have been an underpay. However, this past year with the Philadelphia 76ers was underwhelming. He averaged 13.4 points on 33.4 percent from the 3-point line. For a player who averaged 21.9 points after being acquired by the Sixers during the season the year before.

On top of that, he was essentially a non-factor for Philly during the playoffs. He only averaged 6.7 points during the postseason, which isn't good enough for any sixth man. Now with the Lakers, he's got a strong chance to be a starter day one and will have to be a role player yet again behind their dynamic duo of Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.

Few defensive guards have had better careers than Marcus Smart. However, all good things must come to an end, and last season looked like it was the beginning of the end for the former Defensive Player of the Year. With the Los Angeles Lakers, Smart averaged 9.3 points, 3.0 assists, and 1.4 steals, while shooting 33.1 from downtown.

On the surface, compared to his career, those aren't terrible numbers, however, the advanced numbers show he's not the defensive player he used to be.

With that in mind, it was surprising he was able to receive more than a minimum contract on the free agent market. Shams Charania of ESPN reported that the Houston Rockets signed Smart to a two-year, $13 million deal, with the second year being a player option. For a 32-year-old guard on the decline of his career, this isn't a good deal for the Rockets.

Despite not even being a starter, Bulls big man Zach Collins is in the upper half of these rankings. However, there's good reason why Collins is on this list. Firstly, he was given a two-year extension worth $17 million before the start of free agency, per Shams Charania of ESPN.

He's already had two seasons where he was so injured that he only played 11 or fewer games, including last season. That's not to mention his fourth year in the NBA, when he missed the whole season. While it's true that Collins had a very efficient 10 games with Chicago last year, the injury history should have made the Bulls more cautious about giving the stretch big man more than the minimum contract. The only redeeming factor to this deal is that there's a player option, according to K.C. Johnson of Chicago Sports Network.

While Gary Trent Jr. might not be the worst deal on this list, it's certainly the most controversial. After signing a minimum deal last offseason and a down year in production, the 27-year-old shooting guard signed a four-year, $64 million deal with the Milwaukee Bucks reported by Shams Charania of ESPN.

Considering that Trent Jr. only averaged 8.1 points on 36.0 percent shooting from beyond the arc last season, this is a big overpay. So much so that the NBA is investigating the deal, per Charania. Depending on what the league finds, this list might need to be revised for this deal to be ranked first.

Despite picking first in the 2026 NBA Draft, the Washington Wizards are primed to have a big leap this upcoming season. One of the reasons is that they have their floor general, Trae Young, signed to an extension this offseason. According to Shams Charania of ESPN, Young signed a four-year extension worth $212 million with a player option for the last year.

Let's be clear: the former All-Star is certainly worth a lot; however, with an average annual salary of $53 million per season is a bit of an overpay for a player whose former team traded him for pennies on the dollar. Last season he averaged career lows of 17.9 points and 8.0 assists. If the 27-year-old point guard can't have a bounce-back season with the Wizards, his contract will quickly become one of the worst in the NBA.

The Los Angeles Lakers are the only team that have two players on this list. Let's be clear, this could end up being a solid gamble for the Lakers. They did a sign-and-trade for Walker Kessler, per Shams Charania of ESPN, who, when healthy, is a very productive center. Despite only playing five games last year before a season-ending injury, Kessler averaged 14.4 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.8 blocks.

Despite the sample size, that production warrants the 24-year-old center receiving a four-year, $130 million deal. The reason why this is a good deal is that the Utah Jazz fleeced the Lakers in this sign-and-trade. The trade included two unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033, as well as two first-round pick swaps in 2028 and 2030. With first-round picks being a premium in today's NBA, this might end up being a big loss for the Lakers.

Now this list might need to be revised based on the few remaining free agent moves, such as the signing of LeBron James, James Harden, Jalen Duran, and Jonathan Kuminga. However, based on the current deals done, these are the worst deals of the current offseason.

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