Kings Expected To Entertain Trading De’Aaron Fox
3:29pm: Fox’s preferred landing spot is believed to be San Antonio, reports James Ham of The Kings Beat (Twitter link).
However, agent Rich Paul of Klutch Sports remains open about where his client might land and is expected to talk to interested teams ahead of the Feb. 6 trade deadline, according to Amick, who says Paul told the Kings it might be in their best interests to move Fox sooner rather than later.
2:41pm: The Kings are expected to open up discussions about the possibility of moving De’Aaron Fox ahead of next Thursday’s trade deadline, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
According to Charania, there will likely be many teams with interest in Fox, though there’s a belief that the star guard – who can become a free agent in 2026 – is targeting a specific destination.
Sam Amick of The Athletic (Twitter link) confirms that piece of intel, adding that Fox has “continued to signal a lack of interest” in signing a contract extension with Sacramento. NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter link) also hears that the 27-year-old is “zeroed in” on a specific team and says other potential suitors will be discouraged from acquiring him.
The timing of the news is interesting, given that the Kings have played their best basketball of the season over the past month, following the dismissal of head coach Mike Brown. Sacramento had a 13-19 record as of December 30, but has since climbed to 24-22 by winning 11 of its past 14 games under new coach Doug Christie.
Still, Fox’s contract situation in Sacramento is tenuous. He turned down a three-year, maximum-salary extension offer during the 2024 offseason, ostensibly because he’d have the opportunity to earn a more lucrative deal during the summer of 2025 — at that time, he’d be eligible for a four-year max deal or, if he earns All-NBA honors this season, a five-year super-max extension.
Fox subsequently spoke in both October and December about not wanting to commit long-term to Sacramento unless he was sure the team was able to “compete at a high level” and wasn’t just “fighting for a playoff spot.” Even after their recent surge, the Kings fall into that latter category. They currently hold the No. 10 seed in the Western Conference.
Reports in recent weeks have indicated that the Kings continue to seek out upgrades for their roster in the hopes of improving their playoff chances. Players like Brooklyn forward Cameron Johnson and Utah big man John Collins have been most frequently mentioned as potential targets.
However, the Kings may be reluctant to give up future assets for supplemental pieces if they’re not confident about their ability to retain Fox beyond his current contract and uncertain whether those potential additions would help convince him to stay.
A report last month indicated that the Spurs were positioning themselves to pursue Fox if he were made available.
The Rockets, who reportedly had interest in Donovan Mitchell last year, are also viewed as a logical suitor, with Fred VanVleet‘s maximum-salary contract only guaranteed through this season, notes Chris Mannix of SI.com (Twitter link). However, NBA insider Marc Stein (Twitter link) hears that Houston remains reluctant to make a major in-season move.
Sources tell Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link) that the Nets are among the teams with Fox on their radar and are monitoring the situation. Amick said earlier this month that the Heat and Lakers are frequently discussed by people around the league as possible Fox suitors, with the Magic also believed to be considering the idea of going after him.
Of course, we don’t yet know the identity of the team Fox reportedly has his eye on, which figures to have a substantial impact on how the Kings’ trade talks play out.
For what it’s worth, opposing executives who have spoken to Begley (Twitter link) believe San Antonio is among the teams Fox would like to play for. During an NBA Today appearance on Tuesday afternoon (Twitter video link), Charania said the Lakers aren’t Fox’s destination of choice.
As Bobby Marks of ESPN notes (via Twitter), if Fox’s preferred destination has cap room in 2026, that team could sign him outright at that point. But if Fox gets dealt to that team – along with his Bird rights – prior to 2026, he could sign a far more lucrative contract, worth up to a projected $296MM over five years instead of $219MM over four.
Because Fox is under contract for one more season beyond this one, the Kings aren’t necessarily under the gun to make a decision on his future by February 6. If he remains in Sacramento through the trade deadline, the team could revisit its trade options during the 2025 offseason.
NBA Announces Player Pool For 2025 Rising Stars Event
The NBA has officially revealed the 10 rookies, 11 sophomores, and seven G League players who have been selected to take part in the 2025 Rising Stars event at All-Star weekend in San Francisco next month.
The following players made the cut, as voted on by NBA assistant coaches (rookies and sophomores) and selected by the league office (G Leaguers):
Rookies
- Carlton Carrington (Wizards)
- Stephon Castle (Spurs)
- Tristan Da Silva (Magic)
- Zach Edey (Grizzlies)
- Dalton Knecht (Lakers)
- Jared McCain (Sixers)
- Yves Missi (Pelicans)
- Zaccharie Risacher (Hawks)
- Alex Sarr (Wizards)
- Jaylen Wells (Grizzlies)
Sophomores
- Bilal Coulibaly (Wizards)
- Gradey Dick (Raptors)
- Keyonte George (Jazz)
- Scoot Henderson (Trail Blazers)
- Trayce Jackson-Davis (Warriors)
- Jaime Jaquez (Heat)
- Dereck Lively II (Mavericks)
- Brandon Miller (Hornets)
- Amen Thompson (Rockets)
- Cason Wallace (Thunder)
- Victor Wembanyama (Spurs)
G League Players
- JD Davison (Maine Celtics) *
- Mac McClung (Osceola Magic) *
- Bryce McGowens (Rip City Remix) *
- Leonard Miller (Iowa Wolves) *
- Dink Pate (Mexico City Capitanes)
- Reed Sheppard (Rio Grande Valley Vipers) *
- Pat Spencer (Santa Cruz Warriors) *
* Note: Players marked with asterisks are on standard or two-way contracts with NBA teams.
As usual, the Rising Stars event will consist of four teams and three games. The seven G League players will comprise one team, while the other 21 players will be drafted to three squads on February 4.
The four teams will be split into two first-round matchups and the winners of those two games will face one another for the Rising Stars championship. The two semifinals will be played to a target score of 40 points, while the final will be played to a target score of 25 points.
All three contests will take place on Friday, February 14 as part of All-Star weekend’s opening night. The winning team will compete on Sunday in a similar four-team tournament, with the three other rosters made up of NBA All-Stars.
A handful of injury replacements will be necessary, with McCain, Lively, and Brandon Miller among the players who won’t be available to suit up. Additionally, since players selected as All-Stars won’t play in the Rising Stars event, Wembanyama will almost certainly need to be replaced.
NBA To Stick With Two-Day Draft In 2025
After splitting its draft into two days for the first time in 2024, the NBA confirmed today (via Twitter) that it will use the same format for its 2025 event.
According to the league, the dates for the 2025 NBA draft are as follows:
- Wednesday, June 25 (8:00 pm ET): Round one
- Thursday, June 26 (8:00 pm ET): Round two
As usual, the event will take place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
After long having held the draft on a single night, the NBA and NBPA decided last year to make it a two-day affair in order to give its teams, broadcast partners, and incoming players more time – and a bigger spotlight – in the second round.
During single-night drafts, that second round typically began late in the evening on the East Coast, then flew by because teams only had two minutes to make their picks — each year, a number of those picks were made while ESPN’s broadcast was on a commercial break. It was also often difficult to track which teams owned which picks, with teams trading second-rounders more frequently than first-rounders.
In the new format, teams have four minutes per pick in the second round, only slightly less than the five minutes per pick in round one.
Warriors Sign Jackson Rowe To Two-Way Contract
The Warriors have filled their open two-way slot, announcing today in a press release that they’ve signed forward Jackson Rowe to a two-way deal (Twitter link).
Rowe, who played his college ball at Cal State Fullerton from 2016-20, bounced around various international leagues during his first few professional seasons, playing in France, Sweden, Canada, and Germany before catching on with the Santa Cruz Warriors – Golden State’s G League affiliate – last season.
Rowe established himself as a rotation player for Santa Cruz in 2023/24 and returned to the team this season after also playing for the Warriors in Summer League and during the NBA preseason.
The 6’7″ forward has averaged 14.8 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.1 steals per game for the G League team through 23 Tip-Off Tournament and regular season outings this season, posting a shooting line of .500/.373/.680.
Golden State has had a two-way opening since trading Reece Beekman to Brooklyn last month, so no corresponding move is necessary to bring Rowe aboard. He joins Pat Spencer and Quinten Post in filling out the Warriors’ two-way slots.
Rowe will be eligible to appear in as many as 22 NBA games for the Warriors, a prorated portion of the usual 50-game limit. As long as the team continues to leave its 15th standard roster spot open, he, Spencer, and Post will be restricted to a combined total of 90 active NBA games.
Stein: Raptors A Team To Watch For Brandon Ingram
The Raptors have emerged as a team to watch as a potential suitor for Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram, according to Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Substack link).
Stein’s report doesn’t indicate that the two sides have gained any momentum toward a deal, but he writes that “the mere suggestion of potential Raptors interest” is the most noteworthy development on the Ingram front for several weeks.
Bruce Brown, Chris Boucher, and Davion Mitchell, all of whom are on expiring contracts, have frequently been mentioned as Raptors trade candidates leading up to next Thursday’s deadline, as has big man Kelly Olynyk, who has one more guaranteed year left on his own deal.
As Stein observes, most recent Raptors-related rumors have connected Toronto to a potential multi-team Jimmy Butler blockbuster as a facilitator. But Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca cited a front office source last week who said the Raptors are also believed to be on the lookout for a “significant piece” to pair with All-Star forward Scottie Barnes.
While it remains to be seen if Toronto’s front office views Ingram as that “significant piece,” the 27-year-old forward is a former All-Star who is very much available via trade as he plays out his $36MM expiring contract. He and the Pelicans have been unable to agree to terms on an extension, creating uncertainty about his future in New Orleans beyond this season.
Unfortunately, Ingram hasn’t had much of an opportunity to boost his stock this season as he nears unrestricted free agency. Injuries, including a badly sprained left ankle that has sidelined him since December 7, have limited him to 18 outings for the 12-35 Pelicans, who have endured a nightmare season so far.
In those 18 contests, Ingram has averaged 22.2 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 5.2 assists per game with a shooting line of .465/.374/.855.
Cavs’ Isaac Okoro Not Close To Returning
The Cavaliers confirmed on Tuesday (via Twitter) that forward Dean Wade has been diagnosed with a right knee bone bruise and will be out for at least the next two weeks, as Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com reported earlier. According to Fedor (subscription required), it’s possible another Cavs forward Isaac Okoro, will face a similar injury recovery timeline to Wade.
As Fedor writes, Okoro missed eight games in late December and early January due to sprained AC joint in his right shoulder. He returned to action on Jan. 8 and appeared in five consecutive contests, but aggravated the injury in a Jan. 16 matchup with Oklahoma City and has been unavailable for Cleveland’s past six games.
Okoro hasn’t done much on-court work yet and the Cavs are committed to taking it slow with him in order to get him fully healthy for the home stretch of the season, Fedor writes.
“Shoulders are tricky — as the complete amateur I am,” head coach Kenny Atkinson said recently. “He will never say this, but you could see that he was feeling it even before he got hit again. A lot of these guys aren’t 100 percent. But a shoulder is tricky. It’s like a pitcher. That is what you’re shooting with. Any kind of discomfort there … we’re going to figure that one out. I told him, ‘We need you as close to 100 percent as possible. You don’t have to rush this thing.’ I want him thinking long term. We need him down the road.”
The banged-up Cavs have also been down another wing, with Caris LeVert having missed five straight games due to a sprained right wrist. While LeVert appears to be trending toward a return, he continues to feel pain in that wrist when he tests it out, most recently in an on-court shooting session on Monday, per Fedor.
“I think that’s more day-to-day,” Atkinson said. “That’s my feel with it. Still not feeling right. These are sensitive things when it comes to shooting the ball. If a guy is not feeling it, we err on the side of caution.”
Max Strus, who didn’t make his season debut until December 20 due to health issues of his own, came off the bench in his first 13 appearances of 2024/25, but has started each of Cleveland’s past five games and figures to remain in that role for the foreseeable future with most of the team’s other small forwards battling injuries, Fedor writes.
NBA Reschedules Two Postponed Games, Moves Seven Others
The NBA has announced a series of changes to its game schedule, issuing a press release on Tuesday (via Twitter) stating that two postponed games have been rescheduled and seven others have been moved around as a result of the changes.
The two postponed games are the Spurs/Lakers contest from Saturday, January 11 that wasn’t played due to the Los Angeles wildfires and a Jan. 22 matchup between the Bucks and Pelicans that was postponed due to severe winter weather in New Orleans. According to the league, the new dates for those games are as follows:
- San Antonio Spurs at Los Angeles Lakers: Monday, March 17.
- Milwaukee Bucks at New Orleans Pelicans: Sunday, April 6.
The NBA also announced the following seven schedule changes to accommodate the rescheduled games:
- Chicago Bulls at Orlando Magic: Moved from March 12 to March 6.
- Orlando Magic at San Antonio Spurs: Moved from March 17 to April 1.
- Milwaukee Bucks at Los Angeles Lakers; Moved from March 18 to March 20.
- Toronto Raptors at Golden State Warriors: Moved from March 19 to March 20.
- Milwaukee Bucks at Golden State Warriors: Moved from March 20 to March 18.
- Orlando Magic at New Orleans Pelicans: Moved from April 6 to March 13.
- New Orleans Pelicans at Milwaukee Bucks: Moved from April 9 to April 10.
In addition to the four teams affected by the original postponements, the Bulls, Magic, Raptors, and Warriors also had games affected as a result of today’s announcement.
It’s the second time this month that the league has made a series of changes to its schedule to accommodate postponed games — the NBA announced on January 15 that nine games had been rescheduled.
There are no more postponed games still requiring new dates, so if no additional postponements take place for the rest of this season, this should be the last schedule adjustment the league needs to make.
Raptors Re-Sign Orlando Robinson To Second 10-Day Deal
Orlando Robinson‘s first 10-day contract with the Raptors expired overnight on Monday, but he wasn’t a free agent for long. According to a press release from the team, Robinson has officially signed a second 10-day deal with Toronto.
A seven-foot center who opened the season with the Kings before being waived earlier this month, Robinson appeared in three games during his first 10 days with Toronto. He saw just 1:26 of garbage time last Tuesday vs. Orlando, but had four points, six rebounds, and a pair of blocks in 21 minutes in a Saturday win over Atlanta, then registered four points and a rebound in 11 minutes in Monday’s victory over New Orleans.
Ahead of Monday’s game, head coach Darko Rajakovic told reporters that Robinson had picked up on the Raptors’ schemes on both ends of the court very quickly and strongly suggested he’d like to have the big man back once his first 10-day contract expired, notes Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link).
After earning $119,972 on his first 10-day contract with Toronto, Robinson will earn the same amount for the next 10 days. His deal will cover the Raptors’ next five games, running through February 6.
Since Toronto doesn’t play next Thursday, it’s possible Robinson’s contract will be terminated a day early if the club needs an open roster spot at the trade deadline, but he’d still earn his full salary in that scenario.
If the Raptors want to retain Robinson beyond the end his second 10-day contract, they’d need to sign him for the rest of the season, since a player isn’t permitted to sign three 10-day deals with the same team in a season.
As our 10-day contract tracker shows, Toronto is one of just two teams – along with Oklahoma City – to complete one or more 10-day signings so far this season.
Scotto’s Latest: Clippers, Boucher, Brown, Nurkic
The Clippers are currently operating about $2.5MM above the luxury tax threshold and would like to duck below that line at the trade deadline, league sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.
That’s not surprising, given that the Clippers were a taxpayer in each of the previous four seasons and are now subject to repeater taxpayer penalties. Getting out of tax territory wouldn’t just save them from paying repeater rates in 2024/25 — it would also be the first step toward resetting the repeater clock for future seasons.
Clippers forward P.J. Tucker and guard Bones Hyland are the team’s two most obvious trade chips in any cost-cutting deal. Both players are on expiring contracts, with Tucker – who has been away from the team – earning $11.5MM, while Hyland – who has had a very limited role – making $4.2MM. Scotto classifies both players as “available,” which feels like an understatement. i don’t expect either player could be moved without a sweetener.
According to Scotto, a best-case scenario for the Clippers would be to duck the tax while also adding a backup big man to fortify their depth chart. If they’re able to create an open spot on their 15-man roster and have enough room below the tax, second-year forward Jordan Miller remains a candidate to be promoted from his two-way deal, as Scotto previously reported.
Scotto adds that the Clippers are looking to avoid taking on any contracts that run beyond 2025/26, since they’re prioritizing cap flexibility for the summer of ’26.
Here’s more from Scotto:
- The Nuggets, Clippers, and Knicks are among the teams to register some level of interest in Raptors big man Chris Boucher, Scotto reports. Boucher is on an expiring $10.8MM contract.
- Scotto confirms that Raptors wing Bruce Brown, who has a $23MM expiring contract, is a candidate to be included in a multi-team Jimmy Butler trade, as has been previously reported. There are a number of playoff-caliber teams hoping that Brown ends up being bought out after the deadline instead, Scotto adds.
- The Suns are exploring the possibility of attaching one of their newly acquired first-round picks to center Jusuf Nurkic in order to land a quality rotation player via trade, sources tell HoopsHype. Scotto says Phoenix doesn’t view Nurkic as a salary dump and believes he’ll have more value on the trade market in the summer as he enters the final year of his contract. While I agree he may be easier to move in the summer, it’s hard to imagine Nurkic having positive or even neutral trade value at that point due to his $19.4MM cap hit for 2025/26.
Heat ‘Cautiously Optimistic’ About Moving Butler By Deadline
10:32am: The Warriors, viewed near the start of the month as an unlikely suitor for Butler, are one of the teams back in the mix now that the Heat have lowered their asking price, reports Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).
Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel hears from a source that the Heat would be satisfied to receive a “potential contributing” player on a one- or two-year contract, expiring salary, and a pair of draft picks in exchange for Butler.
9:48am: The Heat are “cautiously optimistic” about the possibility of making a Jimmy Butler trade before the February 6 deadline, according to Barry Jackson and Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald, who report that Miami has been engaging “several” teams besides the Suns.
While Phoenix has long been viewed as Butler’s preferred landing spot and the team most willing to give the 35-year-old the maximum-salary contract he’s seeking, the Suns haven’t had much luck finding a trade structure that works, per The Herald.
Bradley Beal would have to be sent to a third team in order for the Suns to acquire Butler, since Phoenix can’t aggregate contracts and Miami isn’t interested in the veteran guard, who has two more years and nearly $111MM left on his contract after this season.
Finding a taker for Beal has been a challenge, especially since he has the ability to veto any deal using his no-trade clause. While Beal is reportedly open to waiving that clause to join a contending team, ideally one in a warm-weather city, he also seems to be comfortable with the idea of remaining in Phoenix, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.
Appearing on ESPN (Twitter video links), NBA insider Brian Windhorst backed up the notion that the Heat are talking to teams besides the Suns about Butler and said Miami is “really, really trying to make this happen,” adding that the team’s asking price on Butler has dropped a little from where it was earlier in the month.
“Obviously, the Phoenix Suns have tried to get this done for weeks,” Windhorst said on SportsCenter. “They have tried three-, four-, five-team machinations. They have not been able to overcome the fact that what they’ve really got to trade is Bradley Beal, who has a no-trade clause and not a very big market. So now I do believe this is going to bring in some other teams. We could see some surprising moves in this little battle in the next couple of days.
“… I am not saying for sure this is going to happen. I’m not predicting what’s going to happen. But I do think some teams that thought they were out of this are coming back in because it doesn’t look like the Suns and Heat are going to be able to consummate a deal. I think we might see a team swoop in here and get Jimmy Butler at a cheap price. A guy who can be the best player in a playoff series at a bargain price.”
Windhorst went a step further during an appearance on ESPN’s First Take on Tuesday morning (Twitter video link).
“Jimmy Butler’s going to get traded,” he predicted. “I wasn’t sure about that maybe seven to 10 days ago. I really am more sure than ever that that’s going to happen.”
The Heat announced on Monday that they’ve suspended Butler for a third time. Following a five-game suspension earlier this month and a two-game suspension that just concluded on Saturday, the latest suspension is an indefinite one and was said to be for “withholding services.” That means it will cost Butler 1/91.6th of his $48.8MM salary for each game he misses — the previous suspensions for conduct detrimental for the team cost him 1/145th of his salary per game.
Since word of Butler’s desire to be traded first broke last month, reports have indicated that the Heat are willing to hang onto the six-time All-Star through this season and revisit trade talks in the summer if they don’t get the sort of return they want by February 6. The club is said to be prioritizing win-now players with contracts that don’t extend beyond 2025/26.
However, with the standoff between the two sides continuing to escalate, it appears increasingly untenable for Butler to remain on the roster for several more months, which is why the front office is more motivated than ever to find a viable deal.
As Jackson and Chiang point out, while Butler’s camp has long conveyed that he intends to decline his 2025/26 player option in favor of free agency, the veteran forward could make life difficult on the Heat by picking up that option in June and essentially putting Miami back in the same situation it’s in now — with a disgruntled star on a maximum-salary deal, hamstringing the team’s ability to improve the roster around him.
Additionally, while the Heat are theoretically saving some money as a result of Butler’s suspensions, team-imposed suspensions don’t affect a team’s tax bill, and based on existing precedents, it’s very possible Butler will regain a chunk of his lost salary through the appeal process. In other words, the financial incentives to continue suspending him are minimal.
Neither Windhorst nor the duo of Jackson and Chiang named specific teams outside of Phoenix that might be exploring a deal for Butler. Previous reporting has indicated that the Grizzlies have kicked the tires on the possibility, despite being warned against it, while Marc Stein said on Monday that rival clubs continue to wonder if the Bucks will get involved.