The NBA‘s free agency period has been officially open since Tuesday night and a number of players have been switching teams, including some surprising stars.
Here are the five worst signings of the NBA free agency period so far.
1. Ayo Dosunmu, Minnesota Timberwolves | Five years, $112M
Ayo Dosunmu greatly helped the Minnesota Timberwolves after coming over at the trade deadline, but giving Dosunmu amount of money as a 26-year-old who has averaged 11.1 points in his five-year career seems excessive. He can make threes and handle the ball a little (3.3 assists for his career) and Dosunmu fits the Wolves’ intense defensive identity.
However, he’s only 6-foot-4, and the Wolves already have an expensive backcourt pair in Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball. With Julius Randle and Naz Reid gone, the Timberwolves are quite small at forward. It feels like an overpay based on Minnesota’s regret at letting Most Improved Player Nickeil Alexander-Walker leave last summer — for far less money.
2. Walker Kessler, Los Angeles Lakers | Four years, $130M
The Los Angeles Lakers gave soon-to-be 25-year-old Walker Kessler over $30M per year after a season where he played only five games, one year after he missed 24 games. Kessler blocks a lot of shots and may be an elite rim protector, though the Utah Jazz were the league’s worst defensive team in his last two full seasons.
The massive contract is far more expensive considering the Lakers sent two unprotected first-round picks and two pick swaps to get Kessler, which exhausted their supply of tradable picks. Los Angeles has to hope Kessler has great chemistry with Luka Doncic because they don’t have many ways to upgrade this roster.
3. Quentin Grimes, Los Angeles Lakers | Four years, $60M
Quentin Grimes averaged 13.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.3 assists with the Philadelphia 76ers last year, shooting 33.4 percent from three-point range. He’s not good enough at either part of “three-and-D” to truly earn that designation, yet the Lakers are giving him a deal worth $15M annually, plus a player option for the fourth year.
It’s a big overpay for a team that used the last of its salary flexibility for Grimes, who simply doesn’t solve the team’s defensive or shooting issues.
4. Andrew Wiggins, Miami Heat | Three years, $64M
The savings in Andrew Wiggins’ new contract come next season, as the 31-year-old will make $16.5M in 2027-28 with a player option for $17.5M in 2028-29. That doesn’t give the Miami Heat any extra flexibility now, however, as Wiggins picked up his $30.2M option for the upcoming season.
If Wiggins was going to sign an extension, the expectation would be that he would lower his cap number as a result. Instead, it’s a confusingly-timed deal that doesn’t help the Heat, down five rotation players from last season, for another 12 months.
5. Mitchell Robinson, Boston Celtics | Three years, $47.4M
There’s no question that Mitchell Robinson is one of the top offensive rebounders in the NBA, maybe even the best. He had a great postseason where he battled All-Stars Victor Wembanyama, Jarrett Allen and Joel Embiid as the backup to Karl-Anthony Towns. Robinson even played through a broken hand in the NBA Finals.
Still, $47.4M, plus a player option, is a big commitment for a player who played only 48 games from 2023-25 and might not even start for the Boston Celtics. Robinson fills a need and signing him weakens their rival New York Knicks, but it’s hard to imagine he’s going to stay healthy for his age 28-30 seasons. The Celtics also gave incumbent center Neemias Queta a four-year, $56M deal that starts in 2027-28, so Boston is all-in on the Robinson-Queta duo through 2029.
