Trade Rumors: Young, LaVine, Brooks, Deadline, AD, More
Sam Amick and Josh Robbins of The Athletic have confirmed Shams Charania’s report that the Hawks are working with Trae Young and his representatives to find the 27-year-old point guard a new team.
As Amick reported last week, Atlanta has been increasingly willing to discuss Young trades for weeks or even months after the Hawks showed no interest in pursuing an extension, but the market for the four-time All-Star seems to be limited. According to Amick and Robbins, Young is searching for a new deal “commensurate with a star player.”
To illustrate the point about teams being wary of acquiring the diminutive point guard, Amick and Robbins cite a team source who says the Kings — long viewed as a potential landing spot for last season’s assists leader — have “no interest” in trading for Young. Zach LaVine, whose contract is very similar to Young’s, is “known” to have interest in joining the Hawks, the authors add.
Regarding Marc Stein’s report about the Hawks discussing a trade that would potentially send Young to Washington and CJ McCollum to Atlanta, Amick and Robbins note that Young doesn’t fit the archetype favored by the Wizards‘ top front office executives, and speculate that Washington might want either draft compensation or a young player to take on his contract, which includes a $49MM player option for next season.
Young missed his fifth straight game Monday due to a right quad contusion.
Here are a few more trade-related rumors and notes from around the NBA:
- Don’t expect Suns small forward Dillon Brooks to be on the move in the next month. Gerald Bourguet of Suns After Dark reported (via Twitter) on Monday that Phoenix isn’t interested in moving the veteran wing due to both his on- and off-court contributions. Suns owner Mat Ishbia essentially confirmed as much just a few minutes later. On FanDuel TV’s Run It Back show (Twitter video link), former NBA big man DeMarcus Cousins said he if were running the Lakers, he would trade Austin Reaves for Brooks “in a heartbeat.” Ishbia’s response? “Don’t bother calling… Suns aren’t interested. Dillon’s not going anywhere,” he wrote (Twitter link).
- Amick, Josh Robbins and John Hollinger of The Athletic discuss the biggest storylines and questions ahead of the February 5 trade deadline, noting that Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s situation with the Bucks is the one that holds the most intrigue around the league. All three think Antetokounmpo is more likely than not to stay put during the season, though that would depend on whether the two-time MVP requests a trade. Other topics include whether Anthony Davis will be traded by the Mavericks and role players who could appeal to contending teams. Hollinger lists Wizards forward Justin Champagnie as an example of a player on a team-friendly contract who could be a valuable in-season addition.
- Speaking of Davis, he and Kyrie Irving wanted to play together for years before it finally came to fruition last February, writes Christian Clark of The Athletic. However, the Mavericks duo only played two-and-a-half quarters together prior to Davis suffering a left adductor strain. Less than a month later, Irving tore his ACL, and there’s no timeline for his return. Whether they’ll be able to team up again before the season ends is an open question with Dallas expected to listen to offers for Davis, Clark adds.
Jalen Brunson, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Win Player Of The Month Awards
A pair of star point guards and MVP candidates have been named the NBA’s Players of the Month for December, with Jalen Brunson of the Knicks winning the award in the East and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Thunder claiming it in the West, per the league (Twitter link).
Brunson was named Player of the Week twice in December and led the Knicks to an NBA Cup championship. He averaged 30.6 points, 7.1 assists, and 3.2 rebounds per contest in 13 December outings, posting a strong shooting line of .475/.405/.826 and leading his team to a 10-3 record in the games he played.
Those stats don’t include the NBA Cup final, which doesn’t count toward the regular season, but he was excellent in that game too, racking up 25 points and eight assists as the Knicks toppled the Spurs.
Gilgeous-Alexander, meanwhile, continued to strengthen his case for a second consecutive Most Valuable Player award in 12 December appearances, with averages of 31.4 points, 6.1 assists, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.7 steals per game, and a scorching-hot .594/.436/.882 shooting line.
Gilgeous-Alexander now ranks second in the NBA in scoring (32.1 PPG), while his Thunder – following a 9-4 December – hold the league’s best record at 29-5.
It’s the third time Brunson has won a Player of the Month award and the fifth time Gilgeous-Alexander has earned the honor. Pistons guard Cade Cunningham and Nuggets center Nikola Jokic were the NBA’s first Players of the Month this season, for games played in October and November.
Cunningham was also nominated for the Eastern Conference award in December, along with Celtics wing Jaylen Brown, Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey, Raptors forward Brandon Ingram, Hawks forward, Jalen Johnson, Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell, Nets forward Michael Porter Jr., and Brunson’s teammate Karl-Anthony Towns, according to the NBA (Twitter link).
The other Western Conference nominees were Jokic, Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard, Warriors guard Stephen Curry, Rockets forward Kevin Durant, Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox, Jazz guard Keyonte George, Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg, Trail Blazers teammates Deni Avdija and Shaedon Sharpe, Timberwolves teammates Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle, and Lakers teammates Luka Doncic, LeBron James, and Austin Reaves.
Lakers Notes: Hachimura, LeBron, Identity, TPEs
After missing two games last week due to right groin soreness, Lakers forward Rui Hachimura sat out on Tuesday vs. Detroit as a result of right calf soreness. The team is optimistic that it won’t be a long-term issue, writes Khobi Price of The Orange County Register.
“He’ll miss a couple games,” head coach JJ Redick said. “Then we’ll get him ramped up and, hopefully, he’s playing again in the next week.”
According to Dave McMenamin of ESPN (Twitter link), the expectation is that Hachimura will miss games on Friday and Sunday vs. Memphis. The Lakers will play a back-to-back set in New Orleans and San Antonio next Tuesday and Wednesday, so presumably the hope is that Hachimura will return for one or both of those games.
We have more on the Lakers:
- While LeBron James‘ performance on or around his birthdays have often served as reminders of his unprecedented longevity as an NBA star, he looked mortal in a loss to the Pistons on Tuesday, writes Dan Woike of The Athletic. Celebrating his 41st birthday, James made just 6-of-17 shots from the floor for 17 points and committed five turnovers, while the Lakers were outscored by 16 points during his 32 minutes.
- Mark Medina of RG.org spoke to an NBA assistant coach and a pair of scouts about what the Lakers can expect from a 41-year-old version of James, as well as his fit alongside standout guards Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. “When all three of them are out there, it’s hard to watch LeBron,” the assistant said. “He’s not completely uninvolved. But it’s just weird not to see him touch the ball so much. It’s odd watching him out there. When it’s just him and one of them, (head coach) JJ (Redick) is able to find a way to keep LeBron involved and run ATOs for him and utilize his passing out of the post through different actions. But when it’s all three of them, it doesn’t seem like there is enough of a pie to split up.”
- Although the Lakers have a 20-11 record, they’ve allowed more points than they’ve scored this season, and they had the NBA’s No. 29 defense in December. They’re still searching for an identity, writes Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times.
- James cited injuries as one reason for the Lakers’ recent struggles, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “We haven’t had a full team all year,” James said. “We got some very important guys out right now. And obviously I started the year being out. And having our All-Star two guard (Reaves) out, and Rui is now out. And Gabe (Vincent has) been out for a minute. Jaxson (Hayes) just came back. There’s been a lot of in and out. So that’s very hard to get a rhythm of chemistry on the floor with guys that you know you’re going to play with every night. … But still no excuse. We still got to go out and execute.”
- A pair of Lakers trade exceptions expired earlier this week following the one-year anniversary of the deal that sent Maxwell Lewis and D’Angelo Russell to Brooklyn. Neither exception was significant though — the larger of the two was worth just $1.9MM.
Lakers’ Reaves Out At Least Four Weeks With Grade 2 Calf Strain
Lakers guard Austin Reaves has been diagnosed with a grade 2 left gastrocnemius strain and will miss at least four weeks, which is the next time he’ll be reevaluated, the team announced on Friday (Twitter link via Dan Woike of The Athletic).
The gastrocnemius is the largest and most powerful muscle in the calf.
Reaves suffered a mild left calf strain on December 8 and returned to action on December 23. He experienced soreness in his calf in yesterday’s game against Houston, forcing him to leave the eventual loss at halftime. An MRI confirmed the strain.
While the grade 2 gastrocnemius strain seems likely to be connected to the initial injury Reaves suffered earlier this month, it’s technically a different part of his calf, team and league sources tell Woike. The calf is comprised of the gastrocnemius, soleus and plantaris muscles, per the Cleveland Clinic.
Reaves told fellow guard Luka Doncic on Thursday that he wasn’t sure how severe the injury was, according to Woike.
“Just hoping. I just say, ‘If you need something to help with, I know how it is to go to a calf injury.’ It’s not fun at all,” said Doncic, who suffered a calf strain last Christmas in his final game with Dallas. “Just be there to support him. Take your time. Calves are dangerous.”
It’s a tough blow for Reaves, who is playing for his next contract. He’ll almost certainly turn down his $14.9MM player option for 2026/27 and sign a new deal as an unrestricted free agent next summer.
The 27-year-old was in the midst of a breakout fifth season for Los Angeles, averaging 26.6 points, 6.3 assists, 5.2 rebounds and 1.0 steal on .502/.365/.873 shooting in 23 games (35.3 minutes per contest). He was a strong candidate to make his first All-Star appearance this season and likely would have been in the Most Improved Player conversation as well, but his latest injury will make him ineligible for the award, as he has already missed six games and will be out at least 14 more.
It’s also rough timing for the Lakers, who started out 15-4 but have lost six of their past 10 games, including three straight. Head coach JJ Redick was highly critical of the team’s professionalism and commitment to winning following Thursday’s loss, as we relayed this morning.
JJ Redick: ‘I’m Not Doing Another 53 Games Like This’
Lakers coach JJ Redick questioned his team’s professionalism and commitment to winning after Thursday’s 23-point loss to Houston, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN. The Rockets took control of the game early, building a 14-point lead in the first quarter and sustaining a double-digit advantage throughout the second half.
“We don’t care enough right now,” Redick said. “And that’s the part that bothers you a lot. We don’t care enough to do the things that are necessary. We don’t care enough to be a professional.”
Redick made similar comments after watching his team lose by 24 points to Phoenix on Tuesday. The Lakers have lost dropped three straight games and six of their last 10 and are now just three games away from falling into play-in tournament territory. Redick cited “effort and execution” as the difference on Thursday as Houston dominated the boards by a 48-25 margin and pulled down 17 offensive rebounds.
“Saturday’s practice — I told the guys — it’s going to be uncomfortable,” Redick said. “The meeting is going to be uncomfortable. I’m not doing another 53 games like this.”
Luka Doncic was able to return after leaving Saturday’s game with a lower left leg contusion, but he didn’t provide much of a spark. McMenamin notes that he turned the ball over three times in the first 2:11 and finished with six giveaways for the night. Rui Hachimura also returned after missing two games with a groin strain, but Austin Reaves experienced calf soreness and didn’t play after halftime. He’s set to undergo an MRI today.
“I don’t know what has to change, but definitely something needs to change,” Doncic said. “Think we (were) blown out the last three games. It definitely looks, like, terrible. We got to figure out, that’s the thing we have (to do). … We just got to talk about it. Everybody got to talk about it. I know JJ said it’s going to be uncomfortable (for everybody). As they should be. … Everybody has got to give better effort, starting with me.”
LeBron James also had a rough night as L.A. was outscored by 33 points in the 32:26 he was on the court. According to McMenamin, it was James’ worst plus-minus rating since joining the Lakers and the third-worst of his career.
Jarred Vanderbilt, who came off the bench to contribute 11 points and five rebounds, also recognizes that changes need to happen before Sunday’s game against Sacramento.
“Ultimately, certain stuff just needs to be said and certain stuff needs to be done and we got to be able to communicate with each other and be receptive of it, whether it’s criticism or, we got to have them hard conversations,” Vanderbilt said. “JJ [was] alluding to that, that you got to have these conversations. We don’t want this to keep lingering. And right now it’s three in a row, but we don’t want it to keep going the wrong direction.”
Austin Reaves Has Calf Soreness, Will Undergo MRI Friday
9:35 pm: Reaves will undergo an MRI on Friday, a source tells Woike (Twitter link).
8:51 pm: Austin Reaves has been ruled out for the second half of the Christmas Day matchup against Houston due to left calf soreness, according to the Lakers (Twitter link via Dan Woike of The Athletic).
The 27-year-old guard recorded 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting in just under 15 minutes prior to the announcement. Marcus Smart started the second half with Reaves out, tweets Jovan Buha.
It’s a worrisome development for the Lakers, as Reaves just returned to action on Tuesday after missing nearly two weeks with a left calf strain. The team referred to that initial strain as “mild.”
Reaves was off to a terrific start to his fifth season prior to sustaining the calf strain. In his first 21 games (all starts), he averaged 27.8 points, 6.7 assists, and 5.6 rebounds in 36.9 minutes per night, with a .503/.369/.875 shooting line.
Reaves came off the bench in Tuesday’s blowout loss in Phoenix, finishing with 17 points (on 6-of-11 shooting), two rebounds and two assists in 22 minutes. He also had three turnovers and the Lakers were outscored by 17 points when he was on the court (they lost by 24).
Los Angeles opened the season with an impressive 15-4 record but has looked shaky lately, especially defensively. The team will likely drop its third straight game on Thursday to fall to 19-10 — the Lakers currently trail the Rockets by 17 points with 8:16 left in the fourth quarter.
Lakers Notes: Doncic, Hayes, Reaves, Hachimura, Vincent, Defense
Good news for Lakers and NBA fans in general today: Luka Doncic is expected to play in the fourth of five games on the Christmas slate, the Lakers’ home game against the Rockets, according to Shams Charania of ESPN (video link).
Doncic suffered a lower left leg contusion in Saturday’s loss to the Clippers. He subsequently missed the team’s 24-point loss to the Suns. The Most Valuable Player candidate is averaging 34.1 points, 8.8 assists and 8.6 rebounds per game.
Doncic has officially been upgraded to probable, Dave McMenamin of ESPN tweets, while big man Jaxson Hayes has been ruled out due to an ankle ailment.
[Update: Both Doncic and Hachimura have been upgraded to available, tweets Marc Stein].
Here’s more on the Lakers:
- Head coach JJ Redick believes Austin Reaves will be an All-Star this season (Twitter video link via McMenamin). “I would imagine it would mean a lot to him—a whole lot. He and I have had discussions about how surreal it is for him to be playing at this level and in this position. I absolutely think he’ll be an All-Star this year,” Redick said. “You always have to be careful as an athlete to stop and smell the roses. With the nature of competition, particularly over 82 games, there’s really no time to take your foot off the gas. That’s the opposite of who he is. He’s the type of player who consistently wants to get better, wants more, is willing to put in the work, and is willing to go out on the court and play hard enough to go for more. He’s proven that over and over again.”
- Doncic and Reaves have developed a “bromance,” which McMenamin chronicles for ESPN.com. “We act like we’re probably 10-year old best friends,” Reaves said. “You have a deeper care for one another than just basketball. And then that bleeds into basketball, because you don’t want to let that person down. … You don’t want to not give it your all.” Doncic signed a contract extension with the Lakers over the summer, while Reaves figures to sign his next contract in July of 2026.
- Rui Hachimura (groin) could also return to action today, but guard Gabe Vincent, one of the team’s top perimeter defenders, will miss his fourth game with lower back soreness, according to the Los Angeles Times’ Thuc Nhi Nguyen. The Lakers are ranked 28th defensively over the last 14 games and Redick says his team can’t take possessions off, as we detailed on Wednesday.
Austin Reaves Cleared To Return For Lakers
Lakers guard Austin Reaves has been upgraded to available for Tuesday’s game against Phoenix, the team confirmed in its latest injury report.
Reaves hasn’t played since December 10 due to a left calf strain. Although his absence has spanned nearly two weeks, the standout guard has only missed three games during that time, with the Lakers playing a very light schedule in mid-December. The team went 2-1 during his absence.
Reaves, 27, is in the midst of a career year. In his first 21 games (all starts), he averaged 27.8 points, 6.7 assists, and 5.6 rebounds in 36.9 minutes per night, with an excellent .503/.369/.875 shooting line. He and Luka Doncic, who is averaging a league-best 34.1 points per game, have been the NBA’s most productive backcourt when healthy, though Doncic isn’t currently healthy, having been ruled out for Tuesday’s game due to a lower left leg contusion.
Although he has had a pair of three-game injury absences so far in 2025/26, Reaves is still well positioned to reach the 65-game requirement for end-of-season award eligibility, and it’s not out of the question that he could earn consideration for certain honors – including Most Improved Player – if he continues to perform like he has in the first two months of the season.
Reaves is also playing for his next contract. He’ll almost certainly turn down his $14.9MM player option for 2026/27 and sign a new deal as an unrestricted free agent next summer. Our Rory Maher explored what that contract might look like in the latest edition of the Hoops Rumors mailbag.
Injury Notes: Lakers, Knicks, Daniels, Watson, McConnell
Lakers head coach JJ Redick provided encouraging updates on injured guards Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves on Monday, tweets Khobi Price of The Southern California News Group.
Doncic, who didn’t play in the second half of Saturday’s loss to the Clippers, has a lower left leg contusion and is considered day-to-day. The 26-year-old had the bruised area taped during the portion of Monday’s practice that was open to the media, Price notes.
Reaves was able to go through portions of Monday’s practice and is also considered day-to-day, Redick said. The fifth-year guard has missed the past three games with a left calf strain the team described as mild.
[UPDATE: Doncic is out Tuesday at Phoenix, but Reaves has been upgraded to questionable, the Lakers announced (Twitter link via ESPN’s Dave McMenamin).]
Starting center Deandre Ayton should return to action on Tuesday, according to Price. Ayton won’t be listed on the team’s injury report after sitting out the past two contests due to a sore left elbow.
Here are a few more injury updates from around the NBA:
- The Knicks will be shorthanded on Tuesday, as Eastern Conference Player of the Week Jalen Brunson (right ankle injury management), defensive ace OG Anunoby (left ankle soreness) and backup big man Guerschon Yabusele (illness) have all been ruled out ahead of the contest at Minnesota, per Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link). Brunson missed a couple of games in mid-November due to a right ankle sprain.
- Reigning Most Improved Player Dyson Daniels has been ruled out of the Hawks‘ rematch with Chicago on Tuesday due to right hip inflammation, according to Brad Rowland of Locked on Hawks (Twitter link). It will be Daniels’ first absence of the 2025/26 campaign. Reserve forward/center Mouhamed Gueye is also on the injury report, having been listed as questionable with a right shoulder sprain.
- Nuggets forward Peyton Watson, who was kneed in between the hip and rib areas last Monday, had a minor setback in terms of the pain he’s experiencing from the injury, head coach David Adelman said ahead of Saturday’s loss to Houston (Twitter link via Vinny Benedetto of The Denver Gazette). While Watson has been out most of the past three games with the right trunk contusion, it doesn’t sound like a long-term issue — Adelman said the former first-round pick had a 50% chance to play Saturday before he was ruled out.
- Veteran Pacers guard T.J. McConnell will be sidelined for Monday’s game vs. Boston due to left knee soreness, as Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files relays (via Twitter). McConnell missed the first 10 games of the season with a strained hamstring, but had been active for the past 18 contests heading into Monday.
Luka Doncic Leaves Game With Left Leg Contusion
The short-handed Lakers suffered another significant loss Saturday night when Luka Doncic didn’t return to the game after halftime due to a contusion on his left leg, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN.
Doncic entered the contest as the NBA’s leading scorer at 35.2 points per game, but he was noticeably off during the first half. He shot just 4-of-13 from the field and 1-of-6 from beyond the arc, finishing with 12 points, five rebounds, two assists and four turnovers in 19:34.
“I saw him hobbling towards the end of the first half. He came to me at halftime and said he couldn’t go,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “… I don’t have any other information.”
Doncic left the arena without talking to reporters, and Redick declined to speculate how much time he might miss. A source familiar with the injury told McMenamin it occurred in a collision with Clippers guard Bogdan Bogdanovic.
Durability concerns were among the reasons Dallas decided to trade Doncic last February, but he has been mostly healthy in his first full season with the Lakers, appearing in 21 of the team’s first 27 games. McMenamin notes that he missed three games in late October with a lower left leg contusion, but there doesn’t appear to be any connection between that injury and the latest one.
The Lakers were already missing three starters coming into the game, with Austin Reaves out due to a left calf strain, Deandre Ayton dealing with left elbow pain and Rui Hachimura suffering soreness in his groin. All the injuries appear to be short-term, as Redick indicated that Reaves and Ayton could be available for Tuesday’s game at Phoenix, while Hachimura might be sidelined for three-to-five days.
Second-year forward Dalton Knecht started the second half in place of Doncic and finished with two points and four rebounds in 13:29 as the Lakers dropped a 15-point decision to their crosstown rivals. LeBron James scored a season-high 36 points to keep the game competitive, but the rest of the team shot 19-of-60 (31.7%) from the field and 3-of-31 (9.7%) from three-point range.
“No matter what the circumstances are, it’s still next man up,” James said of the injuries. “We’re all professionals. We all got to stay ready. So, obviously it’s very challenging circumstances for our ball club tonight, but I think we played extremely hard, we followed our keys. We just came up short.”