Central Division 2026-2027 preview: Haliburton's comeback, a post-Giannis Bucks and a Cavaliers payroll bet

Five teams, five very different offseasons. The Central Division enters the new season with Milwaukee in a full rebuild after trading Antetokounmpo to the Miami Heat this summer, Cleveland committing more than $540 million combined to Mitchell and Mobley, Detroit bringing back most of the core that won 60 games, Indiana banking on Haliburton's return, and Chicago starting over around Josh Giddey. Here's where each team stands heading into training camp.

Milwaukee tears it down: the Giannis trade remakes the roster

The biggest move in the division happened in Milwaukee. The Bucks sent Giannis Antetokounmpo to the Miami Heat this summer, according to ESPN's September 7 season preview, in "a trade package headlined by guard Tyler Herro and a haul of draft picks." The full return, confirmed through the official trade announcement on June 30, included Herro, Kel'el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Kasparas Jakucionis, along with several unprotected first-round picks and a second-rounder.

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Yahoo Sports summed up the new direction bluntly on October 3: "The Bucks are fully in their rebuilding era after trading Giannis Antetokounmpo earlier in the offseason and receiving a haul in return." Milwaukee's 2026-2027 roster now runs through Herro and Ryan Rollins, with Kyle Kuzma, Myles Turner, Ware, Gary Trent Jr., Jaquez, Jakucionis and Caris LeVert also on the roster. There is no trace of Antetokounmpo anywhere on the depth chart.

Two of those additions came from division rivals. Turner left Indiana in free agency to sign with Milwaukee, while LeVert arrived from Detroit as part of a six-team trade finalized July 7-8 that also sent Isaiah Stewart to Memphis and Marcus Sasser to Dallas. It's a roster built for the long haul rather than this season, and a Bucks team without Antetokounmpo for the first time.

Cleveland's expensive bet: Mitchell, Mobley and a trip to the East finals

Cleveland's 2025-2026 season was a story of two halves. The Cavaliers finished 52-30 under Kenny Atkinson, good for fourth in the East but a step down from the 64-18 mark the year before, according to Basketball-Reference. They still knocked off the No. 1-seeded Detroit Pistons in a seven-game conference semifinal, closing it out with a 125-94 Game 7 win that sent Cleveland to its first conference finals since 2018, per News 5 Cleveland. The run ended there: the New York Knicks swept the Cavaliers 4-0 in the East finals.

In between, Cleveland reshaped its backcourt. In early February 2026, the Cavaliers sent Darius Garland and a 2026 second-round pick to the Clippers for James Harden, whose contract carries a 15% trade bonus, according to ESPN. The move came roughly eight months after Garland's left big toe surgery in June 2025.

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The real financial commitment came this July. Donovan Mitchell signed a four-year, $273 million extension on July 7, including a $76 million player option for 2030-2031, per NBA.com and ESPN. Evan Mobley's rookie-max extension already sits around $269 million after his 2024-2025 Defensive Player of the Year award triggered an escalator that bumped his cap percentage from 25% to 30%.

The projected starting five is Harden, Mitchell, Max Strus, Mobley and Jarrett Allen, with Peyton Watson and Dennis Schröder added at the February deadline. The cost of all that is real: Cleveland sits above the second apron, roughly $3.86 million over the $221.686 million threshold as of a June tracker, and the Cavaliers won't have a first-round pick until 2028. Atkinson, the 2024-2025 Coach of the Year, returns for his third season with a 116-48 regular-season record.

Detroit stays the course after a 60-win season

No team in the division enters the season with more continuity than Detroit. The Pistons went 60-22 in 2025-2026, the third-best record in franchise history and their first 60-win season in twenty years. They led the standings for 157 days, trailing only the 64-win 2005-2006 club, according to Pistons.com. Detroit entered the playoffs as the East's No. 1 seed, needed seven games and a 24-point Game 6 comeback to get past Orlando, then lost a conference semifinal to Cleveland 4-3 despite winning the first two games, 111-101 and 107-97.

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J.B. Bickerstaff is back, and so is Cade Cunningham, who signed a five-year, $269 million max extension after making All-NBA Third Team in May 2025. He averaged 24.4 points, 9.4 assists and 5.4 rebounds last season on 45.5% shooting and 35.5% from 3-points.

Detroit's frontcourt looks different. A February 3 three-team trade sent Jaden Ivey to Chicago and brought back Kevin Huerter, Dario Saric and a protected 2026 first-round swap; Huerter then re-signed for three years and $27 million just before free agency opened. A separate six-team deal in July sent Isaiah Stewart to Memphis and landed John Collins, Taurean Prince and Gary Harris. At the draft, Detroit traded up from No. 21 to No. 17 to take Stanford guard Ebuka Okorie.

The projected starting five — Cunningham, Duncan Robinson, Ausar Thompson, Collins and Jalen Duren — is mostly the group that won 60 games. The one loose thread is Duren himself, still an unresolved restricted free agent as camp opens; The Athletic reported on August 20 there's "no plausible outcome" for a rival offer sheet given the lack of cap space elsewhere in the league. Oddsmakers like Detroit's floor: Yahoo Sports set the team's market win total at 49.5 in late July, and BetMGM recommended the over.

Indiana's costly swing for Ivica Zubac — and the wait for Haliburton

Indiana's season hinges on one player's health. Tyrese Haliburton tore his right Achilles in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals, an injury Yahoo Sports said "triggered a shift in Indiana from a title contender to one of the worst teams in basketball." Without him, the Pacers finished with the NBA's second-worst record in 2025-2026, giving them a 14% shot at the No. 1 pick and a 52% shot at a top-four selection.

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Turner's departure to Milwaukee forced Indiana's hand at center. On February 5, the Clippers sent Ivica Zubac and Kobe Brown to Indiana in exchange for Bennedict Mathurin, Isaiah Jackson, a 2029 pick, a future second-rounder and Indiana's own 2026 first-round pick, protected only through the top four. That protection didn't hold. At the May 10 lottery, the Pacers fell to No. 5, sending the pick to the Clippers. President Kevin Pritchard apologized publicly that day: "I'm really sorry to all our fans. I own taking this risk. Surprised it came up 5th after this year. I thought we were due some luck. But please remember — this team deserved a starting center to compete with the best teams next year. We have always been resilient."

The projected lineup is Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Pascal Siakam and Zubac, with Kelly Oubre Jr. (two years, $16.5 million via the mid-level exception) and Larry Nance Jr. (one-year veteran minimum) added as depth. Haliburton himself sounds ready. "If the season was today, I'd be ready," he told IndyStar. The market isn't convinced either way — Yahoo Sports set Indiana's win total at under 43.5, while BetMGM countered with over 44.5, and ESPN lists the Pacers at +4000 to win the title.

Chicago rebuilds around Giddey under new coach Tiago Splitter

Chicago enters the season with a new coach and a young core still finding its shape. Tiago Splitter takes over as head coach after a season in Portland, inheriting a roster built around point guard Josh Giddey. Giddey signed a four-year, $100 million extension with Chicago, confirmed by Spotrac, and carries a $25 million cap hit in 2026-2027 with a maximum guarantee of $75 million. He averaged 15.3 points, 7.5 rebounds and 8.2 assists in 28.9 minutes across 60 games last season, shooting 44.8% from the field and 36.4% from 3-points.

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The Bulls also absorbed Nic Claxton this summer, using $23.1 million of cap space to bring him in and dropping their available room from roughly $54 million to about $30.9 million. Claxton started 68 of 73 games last season, putting up 11.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.1 blocks on 57.2% shooting, though his jumper remains a work in progress at 15.8% from 3-points and 61.6% at the free-throw line.

The rest of the roster has its own questions. Norman Powell scored 21.8 points in just 22.1 minutes across 77 games, shooting 47.3% from the field and 38.2% from deep, and he's set to earn $21.5 million in 2026-2027. Matas Buzelis broke out as a 79-of-80 starter last season, averaging 16.3 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.1 blocks at 46.4% shooting and 34.9% from 3-points. Patrick Williams went the other way, managing just 6.8 points on 37.2% shooting across 74 games with only six starts, an uneasy fit for a player owed $18 million in both 2026-2027 and 2027-2028.

Chicago leaned on the draft to restock. North Carolina forward Caleb Wilson went No. 4 overall, becoming the third top-10 pick out of North Carolina in Bulls history after Michael Jordan (No. 3 in 1984) and Coby White (No. 7 in 2019); Wilson averaged 19.8 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.4 blocks in 31.3 minutes across 24 games last season, shooting 57.8% overall but just 25.9% from 3-points. Texas wing Dailyn Swain went at No. 15 after averaging 17.3 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.6 steals across 36 starts, shooting 54.2% from the field and 34.4% from 3-points.

The front office also kept reshaping the roster during the season. On February 3, 2026, the Bulls sent Nikola Vucevic to the Boston Celtics as part of a larger trade, bringing back Jaden Ivey from Detroit. Between a new coach, a retooled frontcourt and a pair of rookies still adjusting to the NBA, Chicago's identity is still a work in progress.

Predicted Central Division standings for 2026-2027

Detroit tops the division. The Pistons bring back most of a 60-win roster, keep the same coach in Bickerstaff and the same centerpiece in Cunningham, with Duren's restricted free agency the only real loose end. Cleveland slots in second: the Cavaliers reached the East finals before New York swept them, but they now operate above the second apron and won't pick in the first round again until 2028.

Indiana is the division's true wildcard. Everything hinges on how Haliburton's Achilles holds up and how quickly Zubac meshes with a roster that gave up real draft capital to acquire him — the betting markets themselves can't agree, with lines split between under 43.5 and over 44.5 wins. Milwaukee comes next, openly rebuilding after shipping out Antetokounmpo and building for seasons down the road rather than this one. Chicago rounds out the group at the bottom of the division, a young core still forming under first-year coach Tiago Splitter, with lingering questions around Patrick Williams and Claxton's limited scoring punch.

The Central had its own earthquake this offseason with the Giannis trade, but the rest of the division looks far steadier than the Pacific, where BeBasket has already detailed a Clippers cap-circumvention scandal that cost the team a $30 million fine and multiple draft picks, a Kawhi Leonard trade to Toronto in the middle of a federal investigation, and LeBron James leaving the Lakers for Philadelphia. Extensions, not scandals, defined the Central's summer — and that contrast may matter as much as any roster move once the season tips off.