Eastern Notes: George, Kuzma, Valanciunas, Ingram, Butler, Wiggins
Paul George thought he’d be competing for a championship this season when he signed with the Sixers. Instead, the star forward has spent his first season in Philadelphia battling injuries. He has been sidelined by knee, groin, ankle and finger injuries that have limited him to 31 games.
“It’s super frustrating,” George told Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. “Super frustrating, especially, coming in with big goals and what I wanted to accomplish and what the team wants to accomplish, and then to always have these setbacks. It’s super frustrating, I for sure feel it. But you know all the bad luck, something has to change. That’s all I can kind of weigh on is, things will change. There are positives in all of it. I just got to weather the storm.”
We have more from the Eastern Conference:
- Trading away Kyle Kuzma and Jonas Valanciunas continues the Wizards’ necessary strategy in a tear-down rebuild, Josh Robbins of The Athletic writes. The roster has been almost completely made over since president Michael Winger and general manager Will Dawkins took over the top front office jobs. Those trades continue the Wizards’ aim of accumulating draft picks and providing young players with heavy minutes.
- Trading for Brandon Ingram is an unusual step for a seemingly rebuilding team like the Raptors, Eric Koreen of The Athletic writes. While Ingram is a mid-range ace, his overall game is flawed and the Raptors gave up valuable assets for him, according to Koreen, who believes it’s likely they’ll make a strong offer, probably at least $35MM per season, to retain him when he enters free agency this offseason.
- As Sportsnet’s Michael Grange details, the Raptors were looking for a significant piece to pair with franchise player Scottie Barnes and wouldn’t have had the cap space necessary this summer to get a top free agent like Barnes. In the big picture, the Raptors believe Ingram can help them be competitive next season and beyond.
- With the Jimmy Butler standoff finally in the rear mirror, Heat players expressed not only relief but also excitement that Andrew Wiggins was part of the package from Golden State, according to Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. “I think it’s going to take a huge weight off everybody’s shoulders once we can move forward from everything, once it’s over with,” Terry Rozier said. “Who we got and we can move forward with that, and try to put it together and get ready for the playoffs. I think it’s a huge lift for everybody, just clarity… Obviously, we’ve been the talk of the town for probably the last month. I think it’s going to be huge for our locker room just knowing what we got going out there. It’s going to be a huge help for us.”
Celtics Trade Jaden Springer, Second-Round Pick To Rockets
FEBRUARY 6: The trade is official, the Celtics and Rockets announced today. In addition to the terms outlined below, Houston is also receiving a protected 2027 second-round pick.
Based on the draft assets Boston controlled, per RealGM, that ’27 second-rounder figures to be either the Trail Blazers’ or Pelicans’ pick (whichever is least favorable; top-55 protected). In other words, the Rockets will only get that pick if either Portland or New Orleans is among the NBA’s top five teams in 2026/27.
FEBRUARY 5: The Celtics have agreed to trade guard Jaden Springer and a 2030 second-round pick to the Rockets in a cost-cutting move, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
According to Charania, the two teams will also swap heavily-protected second-rounders. Kelly Iko of The Athletic reports (via Twitter) that Houston will send Boston a top-55 protected 2031 second-round selection.
A salary-dump deal involving Springer had long been anticipated for the defending champions, who had been operating well beyond the luxury tax line and had a projected end-of-season tax bill of about $65.6MM prior to this trade, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link).
Moving off Springer’s expiring $4.02MM contract will reduce that projected tax payment to approximately $50.2MM, per Marks, while also opening up a second spot on Boston’s 15-man roster. It doesn’t impact their tax apron position — they remain over the second apron.
Teams can’t carry fewer than 14 players for more than 14 days at a time, so the Celtics will have up to two weeks to re-add a 14th man once their deal with the Rockets is official. Signing a replacement for Springer will bump the team’s tax bill back up a little, but the newcomer figures to be on a prorated minimum-salary deal and will have a far more modest cap hit than Springer did, so the accompanying tax penalty won’t be substantial.
As for the Rockets, they entered the day with more than $10MM in breathing room below the luxury tax line, so absorbing Springer’s $4.02MM salary doesn’t materially change their cap situation. They also have an open spot on their 15-man roster, meaning no one will have to be waived to finalize the deal.
Houston doesn’t have any trade exceptions available, but they can use a portion of their mid-level exception to take on Springer’s salary without sending out a player for matching purposes.
Springer was the 28th overall pick in the 2021 draft, but never developed into a reliable rotation player for the Sixers and was traded to the Celtics at last season’s deadline. The 22-year-old played sparingly in Boston too, appearing in just 43 games over the past year and averaging 1.9 points and 1.0 rebound in 6.3 minutes per contest.
Although Springer will be eligible for restricted free agency at the end of his contract, he’s not expected to receive a qualifying offer. In fact, he may reach unrestricted free agency before season’s end — if the Rockets want to use their 15th roster spot on another player, he’ll likely be the odd man out.
Raptors Trading Davion Mitchell To Heat For P.J. Tucker, Second-Rounder, Cash
The Raptors appear to be getting involved in the multi-team Jimmy Butler blockbuster after all.
Initially thought to be involved in the deal as a facilitator to take on Kyle Anderson, Toronto is instead acquiring veteran forward P.J. Tucker, who was being sent from Utah to Miami as part of the Butler trade, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
According to Charania, the Raptors will also get a second-round pick and cash from the Heat in the swap, which will send guard Davion Mitchell to Miami. The second-rounder is the Lakers’ 2026 pick, per Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link).
While Charania doesn’t explicitly say so, this agreement will likely be folded in the larger framework of the Butler trade, with Tucker going directly from the Jazz to Toronto in the multi-team deal.
It’s a financially motivated maneuver for the Heat, who will take on Mitchell’s $6.45MM expiring contract instead of Tucker’s $11.54MM expiring deal. That will allow them to duck below the first tax apron by about $1.96MM, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, who adds (via Twitter) that Miami remains above the luxury tax line by approximately $2.8MM.
It remains to be seen if the Heat will hang onto Mitchell or if they have additional moves to come. The former ninth overall pick is a talented point-of-attack defender who has a limited offensive game. In 44 games (22 starts) for the Raptors this season, he averaged 6.3 points and 4.6 assists in 24.5 minutes per night, with a .434/.359/.676 shooting line.
Mitchell will be eligible for restricted free agency at season’s end, though he seems unlikely to receive a qualifying offer.
Tucker has some history in Toronto — he was drafted by the franchise in 2006 and spent his rookie season with the Raptors, then was traded back to the team in 2017. However, his third stint with the organization will likely be a brief one, as he’s a virtual lock to be bought out or released outright.
Toronto still had a fair amount of breathing room below the luxury tax line after agreeing to acquire Brandon Ingram from New Orleans, which is why the club is willing to accommodating a salary dump. The second-round pick and cash they’re getting in the deal incentivized the Raptors to swap out Mitchell for Tucker and his pricier contract.
The Raptors could use Mitchell’s salary for matching purposes to complete the trade or could utilize its untouched mid-level exception to absorb Tucker’s incoming salary. In the latter scenario, the team would create a new trade exception worth Mitchell’s outgoing $6.45MM salary.
Pistons Guard Jaden Ivey Progressing, Out At Least One More Month
Pistons All-Star guard Cade Cunningham will have wait at least another month for his backcourt partner to return.
Jaden Ivey is making progress from the broken left fibula he suffered on New Year’s Day against Orlando but it’s still uncertain whether he’ll return this season. He has transitioned to a walking boot and has begun light weight-bearing activity, according to a team press release posted by the PR department (Twitter link).
His progress will be updated in another four weeks as weight-bearing and basketball activities continue to evolve during the rehabilitation process, the statement adds.
Ivey underwent surgery the day after the injury, which occurred when Ivey and Magic guard Cole Anthony were battling for a loose ball and Anthony fell on the Pistons guard’s leg.
The No. 5 overall pick in the 2022 draft, Ivey had been enjoying his best season as a pro, establishing new career highs in points (17.6) and rebounds (4.1) per game, as well as field goal percentage (46.0%) and 3-point percentage (40.9%). He has started all 30 games he has played, averaging 29.9 minutes per night.
Detroit has already picked up its $10.1MM option on Ivey’s contract for next season. He’s eligible for a rookie scale extension during the offseason.
The Pistons have been using Tim Hardaway Jr. and Ausar Thompson at the wing positions since Ivey was sidelined. They have missed his ball-handling and creative skills with Cunningham taking even greater responsibility in his absence. However, the surprising Pistons have gone 10-8 in the games Ivey has already missed.
Trade Rumors: Durant, Heat, Hunter, Hornets, Celtics
Before the Heat agreed to trade Jimmy Butler to the Warriors, those two teams and the Suns had the framework in place for a potential deal that would have sent Butler to Phoenix and Kevin Durant to Golden State, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said during a Thursday appearance on Get Up (YouTube link).
When it became clear that Durant wasn’t interested in reuniting with the Warriors, the three teams pivoted. The Heat and Warriors got together to finalize a Butler deal, while Durant now appears likely to remain in Phoenix through the deadline
According to Windhorst, there was a window after the Warriors’ talks for Durant fell through for the Heat to make a play for the Suns’ superstar forward, but Phoenix sought several additional assets that Miami didn’t want to give up.
“I do think there was some interest on both sides, but in the cursory discussions, from what I understand, Phoenix was looking for a massive return for Kevin Durant,” Windhorst said. “The Heat weren’t really into that game. They had gotten comfortable with acquiring Andrew Wiggins. That was a deal they had kind of agreed to the day before.”
Here are a few more trade rumors from around the NBA:
- Hawks forward De’Andre Hunter is a name to watch ahead of the deadline, says Chris Mannix of SI.com (Twitter link). Previous reporting indicated that the Cavaliers are talking to Atlanta about Hunter, and Mannix confirms that Cleveland is considered the frontrunner, though he suggests other teams have also called about the 27-year-old.
- Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link) has heard that the Hornets are “very open” to moving Miles Bridges, Cody Martin, and Vasilije Micic. Of those three players, Martin, who has an $8.12MM pseudo-expiring contract (next season’s salary is non-guaranteed) would likely be the easiest to move. Bridges has a pricey contract that runs through 2026/27, while Martin has more on-court value than Micic, who is on a $7.7MM de facto expiring deal.
- Having agreed to trade away Jaden Springer, the Celtics are on the lookout for a reserve wing player whom head coach Joe Mazzulla could trust more, sources tell Brian Robb of MassLive.com. Boston will likely target that sort of player on the buyout market if no trade options emerge today.
Pacific Notes: LaVine, Monk, Booker, Mills, Eubanks, Lue
Zach LaVine expressed excitement about playing in Sacramento after the Bulls dealt him to the Kings, Antonio Ray Harvey of The Associated Press writes. LaVine nearly played in Sacramento earlier in his career — he signed a four-year, $78MM offer sheet with the Kings in 2018, but Chicago matched it.
“I’ve been a fan of (the Kings) for a long time,” LaVine said. “I thought I was going to sign here six years ago. I’ve had a good relationship with a lot of guys who played here and I understand the culture here from me being from the West Coast.”
LaVine was held to 13 points in 31 minutes during a loss to Orlando in his Sacramento debut on Wednesday.
We have more from the Pacific Division:
- Former sixth man Malik Monk has moved into the role of starting point guard for the Kings in the aftermath of the De’Aaron Fox trade. Monk has struggled in his first two starts with almost as many turnovers (seven) as assists (eight). “Oh, yeah, it’s definitely a new opportunity and stage,” Monk told Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee. “Starting at point guard is a big opportunity, and it’s a big thing to feel in this league for sure, especially what Fox did for the organization, for the city of Sac, so I’m just trying to pick up where he left off.”
- Devin Booker was humbled when he became the Suns’ all-time leading scorer. He surpassed Walter Davis on Monday. “It means everything,” Booker told Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic. “Just being drafted to a franchise that believed in me, taking a chance on me as an 18-year-old kid and going through a rebuild phase and just sticking with it. Keeping my head down. The love and support has always been there. I don’t take it from granted. I take it seriously putting Phoenix across my chest.”
- New Clippers Patty Mills and Drew Eubanks, acquired in a weekend trade with Utah, are looking forward to contributing to their playoff push, Janis Carr of the Orange County Register writes. Eubanks, in particular, could play a key role as the backup center. “There’s a lot of familiar faces around this team and locker room and staff that I think will give me the confidence to be the veteran leader that I am and be vocal in that standpoint as well,” Mills said. “But as I said, once I get a feel for how things work and how I can make an impact, that will be it.”
- The Lakers blew out the Clippers by 25 points on Tuesday, infuriating head coach Tyronn Lue, according to Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. The Clippers lost to Toronto and narrowly earned a win against the woeful Hornets in their previous two contests. “We’ve got to be better. We’ve got to look at ourselves in the mirror and think about do we want to win or not,” Lue said. “That’s got to be our mentality. And so three games in a row we come out with not a great defensive performance and it’s just not putting enough into the game. Even on the offensive end, not putting a lot into the game. And so when that happens you get blown out like we did.”
Wizards Waive Sidy Cissoko
The Wizards have requested waivers on forward Sidy Cissoko, the team announced today (via Twitter).
It has been an eventful week for Cissoko, who was traded from the Spurs to the Kings in the De’Aaron Fox/Zach LaVine multi-team blockbuster, then was flipped to Washington in Wednesday’s Jonas Valanciunas deal. Now, assuming he clears waivers on Saturday without being claimed, he’ll be seeking a new home.
Cissoko, 20, was the 44th overall pick in the 2023 draft. Although he signed a three-year contract that included two guaranteed seasons, the French forward played an extremely limited role during his season-and-a-half with the Spurs, appearing in just 29 NBA games, averaging 2.3 points and 1.1 rebounds in 6.7 minutes per night.
Cissoko saw more action in the G League with the Austin Spurs, San Antonio’s affiliate. He made 34 total appearances for the club last season and 11 more in 2024/25. In those 11 games this season, he averaged 16.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per contest, with a shooting line of .489/.264/.595.
It’s unclear if Cissoko will catch on with a new NBA team or if a return to Europe, where he began his professional career, could be in the cards. He’s still just 20 years old (21 in April) and is eligible to sign a two-way contract, so I’d expect some NBA clubs to have some level of interest in him.’
Because the Kings were the last team to trade Cissoko before he was cut, Sacramento won’t be eligible to re-sign him, but San Antonio would be.
The Wizards, meanwhile, will open up a spot on their 15-man roster as a result of the move, which could come in handy if they have any additional pre-deadline moves on tap. They still need to officially finalize their Kyle Kuzma/Khris Middleton deal with Milwaukee today.
And-Ones: Fernandez, Kerr, NBA Europe, Rising Stars, Shumate
Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez is stepping down from his post as head coach of the Canadian senior men’s national basketball team, Sportsnet’s Michael Grange reports.
Fernandez replaced Sixers coach Nick Nurse as Canada’s head coach in 2023 and led the team to a bronze medal in the 2023 FIBA World Cup. Canada was knocked out of the Paris Olympic tournament in the quarterfinals.
Fernandez had indicated as recently as last month that he planned to remain Canada’s head coach. When asked about his status, Fernandez replied, “In fairness to Canada Basketball, I want them to make the announcement. And then once they do, I’ll be able to answer all your questions.”
Canada Basketball confirmed the news on Thursday morning, announcing that Fernandez is stepping away to focus on his job with the Nets and to spend more time with his family.
We have more from the around the international basketball world:
- With the Warriors finalizing a trade for Jimmy Butler on Wednesday, they had to deal with the consequences as they prepared to face Utah. Coach Steve Kerr had to scrap his gameplan, since Andrew Wiggins and Dennis Schröder are part of the multi-team trade. Kerr suggested that the trade deadline should be pushed to the All-Star break, so that type of uneasy situation might not occur. “I think the league should consider making the trade deadline at the All-Star break just so you don’t have to face these games where guys are getting traded half an hour before a game and you’re trying to process the emotions and trying to win a game,” Kerr said, per Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. “I don’t know if it’s possible.” It should be noted the trade deadline used to occur during the All-Star break and sometimes overshadowed the All-Star festivities, plus trades can happen any time before the deadline.
- The NBA plans to create a new league in Europe would have to overcome major obstacles and The Athletic’s Joe Vardon details one of them. Paris, one of the prime spots for an NBA Europe team, might be off-limits because Paris Basketball has exclusive rights for play in both of the major arenas in the city.
- Tim Hardaway Sr., Jeremy Lin, Chris Mullin and Mitch Richmond were named the honorary coaches for the All-Star Rising Stars event, the NBA announced (Twitter link). The quartet all played for the host Warriors. Hardaway, Mullin, and Richmond drafted their seven-player teams for the competition, while Lin will coach a group of G League standouts. The rosters can be found here. The winner of the Rising Stars event on Feb. 14 will compete in a four-team tournament against the NBA All-Star teams two days later.
- Former Suns player John Shumate passed away this week at the age of 72, John Gambadoro of 98.7 Phoenix tweets. He was the No. 4 overall pick in the 1974 draft by Phoenix and worked for the Suns organization for 25 years.
Thunder’s Chet Holmgren Set To Return On Friday
Even if the Thunder don’t complete any more trades before Thursday’s deadline, they’re set to make a major addition to their lineup this week.
Big man Chet Holmgren, who has been sidelined for nearly three months due to a right iliac wing fracture, is no longer on the team’s injury report and is expected to make his return on Friday vs. Toronto, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
Holmgren suffered the injury, a form of pelvic fracture, on November 10 when he fell awkwardly on his side after trying to contest an Andrew Wiggins shot at the rim. Oklahoma City announced the following day that he would be reevaluated in eight-to-10 weeks.
The Thunder followed up in mid-January to say Holmgren’s next exam would come in approximately three-to-five weeks. Exactly three weeks after the team made that announcement, the 2024 Rookie of the Year runner-up will reportedly be back on the court on Friday.
Holmgren averaged 16.5 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks in 29.4 minutes per game across 82 starts in his first full NBA season in 2023/24 after he missed his entire ’22/23 rookie year due to a foot injury.
He had gotten off to an even better start this fall, averaging 18.2 PPG, 9.2 RPG, and 2.9 BPG in 28.9 MPG across nine healthy outings, with a .519/.400/.776 shooting line.
Although the Thunder, who hold a league-best 40-9 record, hardly needed additional reinforcements, Holmgren’s return is an exciting development for the club, which still hasn’t gotten a chance to see the 22-year-old play alongside fellow big man Isaiah Hartenstein, OKC’s big free agent addition of the 2024 offseason. Hartenstein was recovering from an injury of his own at the start of the season when Holmgren was healthy.
Begley’s Latest: Magic, White, Vucevic, Smart, Knicks
The Magic are among the teams that were talking to the Bulls about guard Coby White earlier this week, sources familiar with the situation tell Ian Begley of SNY.tv. It’s unclear if the two sides remain engaged in conversations.
White, who turns 25 later this month, has developed into a reliable backcourt scorer over the last couple seasons and is averaging 18.5 points, 4.6 assists, and 3.3 rebounds per game for Chicago in 2024/25. He’s also a solid three-point shooter, having made at least 37.2% of his attempts from beyond the arc in each of the past four seasons. That would appeal to an Orlando team that ranks last in the NBA in three-point makes and three-point percentage.
As K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network tweets, the Bulls have a crowded backcourt and may be looking to trade one or more of their guards either before Thursday’s deadline or during the offseason. None of them are on long-term deals, but White, Ayo Dosunmu, Dalen Terry, and newly extended Lonzo Ball are all under contract for next season, while Jevon Carter will likely pick up his player option and Josh Giddey will be controllable as a restricted free agent.
Here’s more from Begley ahead of today’s deadline:
- As of Wednesday, the Bulls maintained a high asking price for Nikola Vucevic. Begley reports that Chicago wants a first-round pick that isn’t too heavily protected and wouldn’t turn into second-rounders if it doesn’t convey.
- Several teams have spoken to the Grizzlies about possible Marcus Smart trades, according to Begley, who notes that moving off of Smart’s $21.6MM guaranteed salary for 2025/26 would put Memphis in better position to re-sign restricted free agent Santi Aldama and potentially to extend star big man Jaren Jackson Jr.
- The Knicks still hadn’t engaged in substantial Mitchell Robinson trade talks as of Wednesday night, Begley writes. If they don’t make any additional details beyond their Jericho Sims/Delon Wright swap, the Knicks would remain on track to add a 15th man under the hard cap as of March 1. In that scenario, Begley expects G League standouts T.J. Warren and Chuma Okeke to receive consideration.