The NBA teams are hard at work as free agency officially got underway on Monday evening, and several teams have already landed top free agent players. However, according to top NBA insider Shams Charania, two particular teams, the Atlanta Hawks and the Houston Rockets, are “cooking” and emerging as the early winners of this offseason.
Atlanta Hawks and Houston Rockets Making Splashes Early in the 2025 NBA Offseason
The biggest move of the offseason so far came from the Houston Rockets as the franchise acquired Kevin Durant in a blockbuster trade from the Phoenix Suns for Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, and No. 10 pick Khaman Maluach. The Atlanta Hawks are closely following by trading for Kristaps Porzingis and drafting Asa Newell before reaching a series of free agent signings tonight.
We are still only a few hours into free agency, and several more moves are coming from these teams. The rival executives believe these two teams have placed themselves ahead of the others.
“When I talk to people in the league, they see the Hawks and the Rockets are cooking,” Charania reported on the ESPN broadcast.
Shams: “When I talk to people around the league, they say the Hawks and the Rockets are cooking” pic.twitter.com/F6sejFwYon
— Oh No He Didn’t (@ohnohedidnt24) July 1, 2025
Following the blockbuster trade for Durant, the Rockets are doing everything they can to surround the two-time Finals MVP with elite talent. They agreed to a four-year, $53 million contract with forward Dorian Finney-Smith and a three-year, $21.5 million deal with veteran center Clint Capela.
Houston also extended Jabari Smith Jr. to a five-year, $122 million deal and re-signed three of its veterans: Jae’Sean Tate, Jeff Green, and Aaron Holiday. Alongside, All-Star point guard Fred VanVleet has agreed to a two-year, $50 million deal.
On the other side, the Hawks agreed to a four-year, $62 million deal with Minnesota Timberwolves guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker and a one-year, $11 million deal with free agent guard Luke Kennard. In a draft-night trade, Atlanta also received a potential lottery pick from the New Orleans Pelicans.
The Hawks have a new general manager in charge in Onsi Saleh, and the fans are impressed with his moves in the offseason so far.
“been awhile since i found myself feeling this positive about a hawks offseason. onsi saleh i wasn’t familiar with your game,” a fan wrote.
Senior NBA analyst Bill Simmons was equally impressed with the Hawks’ moves and highlighted their chances of winning the Eastern Conference, which had shot up dramatically following the free agency moves.
“We talked on Wednesday night’s draft pod about how much we liked the Hawks as a dark horse in the East — they were 33-1 on @FDSportsbook that night. Now they’re +900, tied for 4th-best odds in the East. With good trade assets too. The Hawks!” he wrote
We talked on Wednesday night’s draft pod about how much we liked the Hawks as a dark horse in the East — they were 33-1 on @FDSportsbook that night. Now they’re +900, tied for 4th best odds in the East. With good trade assets too. The Hawks!
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) July 1, 2025
The Rockets’ general manager, Rafael Stone, is receiving equal praise from fans, acknowledging he has been “cooking” this offseason, as Charania put it.
“For as patient as Rafael Stone has been throughout this rebuild, the moment he had an opportunity to launch this team into contention, he didn’t waste any time,” wrote one fan.
For as patient as Rafael Stone has been throughout this rebuild, the moment he had an opportunity to launch this team into contention he didn’t waste any time.
— Chancellor Johnson (@ChancellorTV) June 30, 2025
Teams like Los Angeles Clippers and the Detroit Pistons have also been quite active in the offseason so far, and with still a plenty of trades and signings to take place, it remains to be seen if the Rockets and the Hawks turn out to have the best offseason.
