The 2026 offseason was defined as much by bodies as by contracts. Victor Wembanyama lost his first Finals and then signed the largest extension of his generation. Jalen Duren's standoff with Detroit is really a debate about his playoff tape. Dereck Lively II still has not been cleared after a second foot surgery in 14 months. And Atlanta lost its rookie center to a torn ACL before he ever played a regular-season game.
43Games Played in Two SeasonsDereck Lively II has appeared in just 43 games across the last two seasons. He played seven games in 2025-26 before season-ending foot surgery in December. Availability, not ability, is now his defining question.
The Names to Track Into Camp
Dallas has a plan if Lively is not ready: Daniel Gafford is the favorite to start at center, with Sorez Johnson Jr., Santi Aldama and Moussa Cisse available as depth, and Dwight Powell in camp. The Mavericks are building around reigning Rookie of the Year Cooper Flagg, and a healthy Lively — a 7-foot-1 finisher and versatile defender with career averages of 8.4 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks — would raise their ceiling considerably. He is also entering the final year of his rookie contract, which turns his availability into a business question too.
Four Storylines That Will Define 2026-27
A first Finals loss, then a $252 million extension
Wembanyama averaged 19 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks in the Game 5 clincher — and lost. His own framing afterwards was unusually clear: the series was the biggest learning moment of his career, and San Antonio was punished for its mistakes after controlling long stretches. He then signed a five-year, $252 million extension, reportedly taking less than the full supermax to preserve roster flexibility.
The contract fight is really about the playoff tape
Duren was a legitimate force in the regular season at 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds, earning his first All-Star nod and All-NBA third team. Then he averaged 10.2 points and 8.5 rebounds in 14 playoff games. Detroit's offer sits at five years and $200 million; Duren wants closer to $40 million a year against a maximum of $287 million. He skipped media day.
The Finals MVP now has to defend a title
Brunson's 45 points in Game 5 broke a Knicks franchise Finals record that had stood since Willis Reed in 1970, and tied Michael Jordan's 1998 Game 6 for most points on the road in a Finals clincher. He averaged 32.6 points for the series. The harder question is next: New York's payroll is tight, Mitchell Robinson left for Boston, and the roster around him will be thinner.
The reigning Rookie of the Year inherits the franchise
Dallas is explicitly building around Flagg, and the offseason moves reflect it: Walker Kessler was acquired via sign-and-trade, Deandre Ayton was sent to Washington, and the frontcourt was reshaped. With Lively's status uncertain and Kyrie Irving's role constrained, Flagg carries more offensive responsibility in year two than almost any sophomore in the league.
How These Injuries Change the Standings
Injuries in September rarely decide a season on their own, but they do move the ceilings. Dallas without Lively is a play-in team with a center-by-committee approach; Dallas with a healthy Lively is a top-six seed with a defensive anchor who can pass out of the short roll. The difference between those two outcomes is worth more than any trade Dallas made this summer.
Atlanta's situation is more contained but still costly. Veesaar was not projected to start, yet a 6-foot-11 shooter on a four-year rookie deal is exactly the kind of cheap depth that lets a team absorb an injury elsewhere. Losing him for the season removes a rotation option and pushes the Hawks back into the market for a minimum-contract big.
Boston's case is the one that will be watched most closely. Jayson Tatum missed the entire 2025-26 season with an Achilles rupture, and the Celtics responded by trading Jaylen Brown for Paul George and two first-round picks. If Tatum returns anywhere near his prior level, Boston's decision to convert a long-term salary commitment into draft capital looks like a reload. If he does not, it looks like the end of a window.
Three Players Who Benefit From the Vacancies
- Daniel Gafford, Dallas. If Lively misses the opener, Gafford starts and plays the biggest minutes of his career next to Cooper Flagg. He does not pass like Lively, but he finishes, protects the rim and will be on the floor in every closing lineup.
- Morez Johnson Jr., Dallas. Third on the depth chart in September, potentially in the rotation by November. A rookie big on a team with two injured centers gets auditions nobody planned for.
- Onyeka Okongwu's Atlanta successors. With Veesaar out for the year, the Hawks need minutes from minimum-contract centers. Whoever claims that role will be playing for a second contract.
This is the part of the season that does not show up in trade trackers. Every injury creates a vacancy, and every vacancy creates a player who was not in anyone's projection. The teams that survive September are usually the ones whose tenth man was ready.
What the Numbers Actually Say
- Availability is the scarcest skill. Lively has played 43 games in two seasons. Duren played 14 playoff games at a materially lower level than his regular season. Both are now the central questions for their teams, and both are in contract years.
- Playoff performance outweighs regular-season honors. Duren's All-Star and All-NBA selections did not move Detroit's offer much, because the tape that mattered was the postseason.
- Supermax eligibility creates standoffs. When a player is eligible for $287 million and a team is operating near the second apron, the gap between the two positions is enormous and neither side can easily move.
- One ACL changes a rotation plan. Atlanta had a 7-foot shooter on a four-year deal and lost him before camp. Depth charts in September are provisional.
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- Wembanyama signed the largest extension of his generation after his first Finals loss.
- Duren's standoff with Detroit is really a debate about his playoff tape.
- Every injury opens minutes for a replacement — that is where breakouts start.
NBA Injury Watch: Frequently Asked Questions
The injury and contract questions that will follow these players into the season.
Undetermined. He has not been cleared for training camp as he recovers from right foot surgery performed in December 2025, his second such surgery in 14 months. He has not suffered a setback and is ramping up slowly, but his availability for the season opener is not yet known.
A 6-foot-11 Estonian center drafted 52nd overall by Atlanta in 2026. He tore his right ACL during a September 15 workout, will have surgery in October and is expected to miss the entire 2026-27 season.
Reports place his target near $40 million per season. He is eligible for a five-year, $287 million maximum. Detroit's most recent offer was reportedly five years and $200 million, fully guaranteed, with a weight-related clause.
He finished Game 5 with 19 points, 14 rebounds and five blocked shots, but San Antonio lost 94–90 and the series 4–1. He described the defeat as the biggest learning moment of his career, and subsequently signed a five-year, $252 million extension.