NBA Rumors: Trade Deadline, Bridges, Mavs, Luka, Lakers
While the grand majority of in-season trades occur during the week of the deadline, this season has been unusually slow as far as deal-making goes. For instance, at this time last year, we had already seen five in-season trades — to this point in 2025/26, we’ve only had one. So why haven’t we seen more action?
ESPN’s Bobby Marks recently spoke to NBA front office executives to get a better understanding of the answer to that question. There are four main reasons for the relative lack of activity to this point, Marks writes.
The first and most important factor holding up the market, per Marks, is that rival teams are waiting to see if Giannis Antetokounmpo requests a trade or if the Bucks decide to listen to offers for the two-time MVP.
Second, a few teams who were viewed as potential deadline sellers entering the season — including the Celtics, Sixers and Suns — are instead vying for home court advantage in the postseason. As Marks observes, Philadelphia made multiple deals last year to dip below the luxury tax line, but that’s unlikely to occur again in ’25/26.
Third, the Mavericks and Grizzlies will likely get underwhelming offers for Anthony Davis and Ja Morant, respectively, leading up to the deadline with their values at low points, so they may not be moved prior to February 5. Davis is out several weeks due to ligament damage in his left hand, while Morant, who has missed extended time this season with calf issues, has been diagnosed with a UCL sprain in his left elbow and was ruled out of Friday’s loss at New Orleans (Twitter link via the Grizzlies).
The final factor for the slow-moving market, according to Marks, is that teams seem more willing to retain their own expiring contracts to maintain financial flexibility in the summer rather than take on multiyear salaries that could disrupt future plans. Multiple teams, including the Lakers, Bulls and Jazz, have long lists of players who could hit free agency in 2026, Marks notes.
Here are a few more rumors from around the NBA:
- Confirming a report from Sam Amick of The Athletic, John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter link) says the Suns are indeed fans of Miles Bridges. However, the Hornets reportedly want at least one first-round pick for the veteran forward, and Gambadoro points out that Phoenix lacks moveable first-rounders to include in such a deal. Gambadoro also confirms the Suns are reluctant to risk upsetting their positive chemistry by making a significant in-season move, and suggests a minor trade is more likely.
- Ahead of Luka Doncic‘s second game in Dallas since he was shockingly traded to Los Angeles last February, Christian Clark and Dan Woike of The Athletic share several sourced notes on both the Mavericks and the Lakers. According to the authors, part of the reason the Mavs — led at the time by head of basketball operations Nico Harrison, who has since been dismissed — moved Doncic is because they believed he had poor habits related to conditioning and were concerned about the calf strain he sustained in late December 2024 and possible future injuries. One source in the Mavericks’ organization compared Doncic to Elvis Presley and claimed the trade helped him develop better habits and get in better shape. “They got skinny Elvis,” the team source told The Athletic.
- People close to Doncic dispute that characterization, however, and say that line of thinking is a factor in why the Slovenian star is no longer on the Mavericks. According to Clark and Woike, Doncic’s camp believed whether he was traded or not, he “was on a path to improving his diet and conditioning as he matured.” Doncic and those around him have been focused on the present and future and not the past, per the report.
- It took multiple seasons for the Mavericks to surround Doncic with sort of complementary players that led to a trip to the NBA Finals in 2024, and it will take time for the Lakers to reshape their roster around the 26-year-old guard as well, sources in L.A. tell The Athletic. Those same sources noted that the Lakers need to upgrade their athleticism, defense and shooting, and some people around the organization think the any significant roster changes will occur in the offseason, not ahead of the deadline.
- The Mavericks have started the process of vetting candidates to replace Harrison on a permanent basis, per Clark and Woike, but are unlikely to hire anyone until at least the spring. The Athletic’s duo point out that Harrison, a longtime Nike executive, had no previous experience running an NBA team when he was hired in 2021. That won’t be the case for his replacement. “(They) are going to over-index on the safety aspect of it,” a league source told The Athletic.
Suns’ Jalen Green Exits Friday’s Game With Hamstring Tightness
Suns guard Jalen Green checked out of Friday’s game in Atlanta after just four minutes of playing time, writes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Green left Phoenix’s bench and headed back to the locker room, with the Suns later ruling him out for the remainder of the contest with what they called “precautionary right hamstring tightness.”
It’s a discouraging setback for Green and for the Suns, as the 23-year-old has repeatedly dealt with right hamstring issues over the past four-plus months.
Green just returned to action on Tuesday after missing 33 consecutive games, scoring 12 points in 20 minutes off the bench in a win at Philadelphia. Friday marked his second game back since November 8.
Strangely, Green’s latest setback closely mirrors what happened in early November, when he played 23 minutes in his season debut on Nov. 6 and then re-injured his hamstring a couple days later just seven minutes into his second game of the 2025/26 campaign.
The former No. 2 overall pick initially strained the hamstring during training camp, then aggravated it during his ramp-up process in mid-October, delaying his ’25/26 debut. He has only played in four of Phoenix’s 45 games to this point, and obviously two of those appearances were very brief.
Head coach Jordan Ott said earlier this week that Green did not aggravate his hamstring strain during his 33-game absence, explaining that the team was just being cautious with the 6’4″ shooting guard. He had come off the bench the past two contests and was on a minutes restriction.
We’ll have to wait for further updates on Green to see if he’ll miss additional time as a result of the tightness he experienced on Friday.
Warriors Notes: Curry, Butler, Kuminga, Wiggins, Green, More
The Warriors had been delighted by the play of Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler, which is a significant factor in why the franchise has taken the news of Butler’s season-ending torn ACL so hard, reports Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Substack link).
As Stein writes, Curry declined to speak to the media after Tuesday’s loss to Toronto because he was still processing the ramifications of the injury, and head coach Steve Kerr admitted the superstar guard was “crushed” by the news following Thursday’s defeat to the Mavs in Dallas.
“It’s obviously a tough situation. First and foremost, you think about [Butler] and his recovery and his spirits, just trying to be there for him as a friend and teammate,” Curry said after Thursday’s game. “But basketball-wise, we have to make the necessary adjustments to try to keep a semblance of our identity that we were forming with him as a part of that push.
“These last two games have been difficult in making that adjustment, but I think emotionally we have to try and move on as fast as possible to not let things spiral the wrong direction. … It’s no secret this is difficult for everybody, trying to accept the reality of what’s going on.”
Golden State’s front office has given Butler “strong assurances” that the team wants him back next season as soon as he has recovered from the major knee injury, according to Stein, who reiterates that trading the 36-year-old forward is not currently part of the Warriors’ plans.
Here are a few more notes and rumors on the Warriors:
- As for what moves the Warriors will look to make ahead of the February 5 deadline, trying to find a workable Jonathan Kuminga trade is a high priority, sources tell Stein, but the team also continues to signal it’s OK with keeping him for the rest of the season if necessary in an attempt to rebuild his market value ahead of the offseason. Before Kuminga injured his ankle and knee in Thursday’s game, Stein hears the Warriors planned to increase his minutes in the lead-up to the deadline. The 23-year-old forward will miss Saturday’s game in Minnesota due to left knee soreness, tweets ESPN’s Anthony Slater.
- According to Stein, the Warriors are interested in a reunion with Andrew Wiggins and will explore the possibility of sending Kuminga to Miami in exchange for the former No. 1 overall pick. It’s worth noting that Wiggins ($28.2MM) makes more money than Kuminga ($22.5MM) and the Warriors are right up against their second-apron hard cap, so they’d have to add more salary to the deal to make it a legal framework.
- The Warriors would be “negligent” not to make a pre-deadline deal to give Curry more help, contends Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area.
- On his podcast (YouTube link), forward/center Draymond Green offered a reserved take on GM Mike Dunleavy Jr.‘s eyebrow-raising comments about Kuminga’s trade demand, as Tristi Rodriguez of NBC Sports Bay Area relays.
- While Curry is frustrated and disappointed by Butler’s injury, he says his belief in his ability to lead the team to victories hasn’t been shaken, per Nick Friedell of The Athletic. “As long as I’m out there, I’m always confident we can win,” Curry said. “It’s how I play. It’s how we want to play, and until proven otherwise, you have to carry that mentality.”
Bulls’ Tre Jones Out At Least Two Weeks With Hamstring Strain
Head coach Billy Donovan will be without a key member of his rotation until after the trade deadline, according to the Bulls, who announced in a press release (via Twitter) that point guard Tre Jones has been diagnosed with a strained left hamstring and will be reevaluated in two weeks.
A former second-round pick (41st overall in the 2020 draft), Jones has been productive in his first full season with Chicago, averaging 12.4 points, 5.8 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game across 38 appearances, including 20 starts (26.8 minutes).
While the 26-year-old isn’t much of a threat from behind the arc, shooting just 32.8% from three-point range on 1.7 attempts, he’s been highly efficient on twos (a career-high 60.9% on 6.3 attempts) and at the charity stripe (84.8% on 3.6 attempts). Jones is known for having a steady hand in the backcourt — his assist-to-turnover ratio is an excellent 4.3-to-1.
Jones has played an important role in Chicago’s three-game winning streak, including Thursday’s victory at Minnesota. Although it wasn’t explicitly stated, he likely got injured in that win over the Wolves.
The Bulls have gone just 2-4 without Jones thus far in 2025/26, notes Joel Lorenzi of The Athletic (Twitter link). The sixth-year guard will miss at least eight games, and seems likely to be out through the All-Star break, which would increase that total to 11, tweets K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network.
Bulls guard Josh Giddey just returned to action on Thursday after missing 11 games with his own left hamstring strain. He’s Chicago’s primary candidate for increased play-making duties with Jones sidelined.
Giannis’ Frustration Reportedly At ‘All-Time High’
Appearing on the Pat McAfee Show (YouTube link), Shams Charania of ESPN reported that Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s camp has remained in regular conversation with the Bucks regarding the superstar forward’s future and whether the team is capable of competing at the level he desires.
“Giannis and the Bucks have been having ongoing conversations about his future,” Charania said (hat tip to RealGM). “Even going back to May. Those conversations… every single passing week, every single passing month since May when I first reported he was exploring his best fits outside of Milwaukee, for really the first time. And really getting down to which team he would want to go to. Where he would want to be.
“Those conversations have only grown with every passing week and month since May. And recently, the Bucks and Giannis’ conversations have intensified in nature.”
Charania pointed out that Antetokounmpo uncharacteristically criticized the team’s “selfish” play following Wednesday’s blowout loss to Oklahoma City, which was missing several rotation regulars. It was the Bucks’ fourth loss in their past five games, and the past three defeats have all been lopsided.
“The frustration that Giannis Antetokounmpo has is at an all-time high,” Charania said. “He’s frustrated with the losing, he’s frustrated with the situation. And I will say this: I’ve spoken to about a dozen sources on and off for weeks now.
“The tension that is in the air within that organization, in that locker room is at an all-time high. There’s somewhat of a splintering environment that we’re seeing going on there.
“Because when a player of Giannis’ caliber maybe has a wandering eye, or maybe doesn’t know what his future holds there, and is having these intense conversations with the organization about what that looks like, there’s going to be such high levels and degrees of uncertainty within that organization.”
According to Charania, Milwaukee’s leadership met with Antetokounmpo in July and tried to pitch him on the idea that they had a roster worthy of contending for a championship, but the 31-year-old wasn’t convinced that was the case, leading to trade conversations with New York that reportedly never went anywhere.
The Bucks are currently 18-25, Charania notes, one-and-a-half games behind Atlanta for the No. 10 seed and the final play-in spot in the Eastern Conference. Antetokounmpo has missed 14 games this season due to injuries, with Milwaukee going just 3-11 in those contests. But even when he’s been healthy, the team is a mediocre 15-14. Obviously, none of those marks lend much credence to the notion that the Bucks are a contender.
Several teams have reportedly been hanging onto their top trade assets in the hopes that Antetokounmpo will end up on the trade block, but the Bucks star has said on the record that he never intends to request a trade out of Milwaukee and there has been no indication the front office would proactively look to move him.
Reports throughout the season have indicated that the Bucks are looking to buy, not sell, to upgrade the roster around Giannis. Still, many people around the NBA believe it’s only a matter of time until the two sides split, and with Milwaukee struggling to keep pace in the playoff race, it will be interesting whether the front office doubles down on that aggressive approach or reconsiders it during the next two weeks.
Examining The NBA Trade Market: Big Men
Many of the prominent players involved in trade rumors this season have been big men. That list includes stars like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Anthony Davis, Domantas Sabonis and Karl-Anthony Towns.
In addition to those four players, we'll take a look today at several other power forwards and centers who are candidates to be on the move ahead of the February 5 trade deadline. Let's dive in...
Pacific Notes: Reaves, Timme, Wiggins, Warriors, Ellis
Injured guard Austin Reaves is “progressing well” from his Grade 2 left gastrocnemius (calf) strain and is on track to return to action at some point during the Lakers‘ road trip, head coach JJ Redick told reporters on Tuesday (Twitter link via Dan Woike of The Athletic).
As Mike Trudell of Spectrum SportsNet notes (via Twitter), Los Angeles’ eight-game road trip began on Tuesday in Denver and concludes on February 3 in Brooklyn.
Reaves, who suffered the injury in a Christmas Day loss to Houston, was in the midst of a breakout fifth season for the Lakers prior to the injury, 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).
Here’s more from around the Pacific:
- Drew Timme, who is on a two-way contract with the Lakers, received unexpected rotation minutes on Saturday due to injuries affecting Deandre Ayton and Jaxson Hayes and responded with a career-high 21 points on 9-of-12 shooting, writes Janis Carr of The Orange County Register. Redick indicated that Timme would likely be part of the rotation for the time being as long as he keeps playing well. The 25-year-old big man went undrafted in 2023 after starring in college at Gonzaga, but didn’t sign his first NBA contract until March 28, 2025. He says he’s fueled by his doubters. “In college and since I’ve left, it’s been you can’t do this, you can’t do that, you’re not good enough for this and that. All these things that I can’t do. And I see it, and it’s fuel,” Timme said. “At the end of the day, I’m a good player. I believe in myself and my abilities, and I believe that I can impact the game at any level, anywhere. To be able to have this opportunity and to be able to help the team, it’s great.”
- Veteran forward Andrew Wiggins received a warm reception from the Warriors and their fans on Monday in his first game back at Chase Center since he was traded to Miami last February as part of the Jimmy Butler blockbuster, according to Janie McCauley of The Associated Press. The team played a video tribute for Wiggins, who spent five years with the Warriors and helped them win the NBA Finals in 2022. “Wiggs is just such a great human being and beloved in our locker room. Had so much success here and helped us turn things around from that two-year stretch when we didn’t make the playoffs,” head coach Steve Kerr said. “He was just a joy to coach every single day. When you get a guy like that on your team and you go through a lot together, both on and off the court, then you make a trade, it’s just like that. It’s just crazy, this league, how this business operates. You have to just deal with it but it is sad when your relationships like that are all of a sudden — I mean you still have a relationship but you don’t see each other.”
- Kings guard Keon Ellis, who has been involved in several trade rumors this season, was available for Tuesday’s contest vs. Miami after missing two games with a sore knee, tweets James Ham of TheKingsBeat.com. Ellis will be an unrestricted free agent in the offseason if he doesn’t sign an extension before then.
Warriors’ Dunleavy, Kerr Discuss Butler, Kuminga
Speaking to the media prior to Tuesday’s game against Toronto, Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. said he doesn’t expect to trade Jimmy Butler in the wake of his season-ending torn right ACL, per Anthony Slater of ESPN (Twitter video link).
“I don’t envision that, but now that you’ve brought it up, I guess I’d say what I envision for him is kind of give us a boost next year the same way he did last year when he arrived,” Dunleavy said. “And so, at some point during the (2026/27) season he’ll be returning.
“And being the player he’s been — I mean, at his age, what he’s doing this year, to have the year he’s had is impressive. I think he’s got the style of game that can play for a long time with his skill, his physicality, his mind for the game. So I guess my vision for him is him returning at some point between now and this time next year.”
Dunleavy added that he was “crushed” for Butler and it was “tough to say” how his injury will impact the decisions the front office makes ahead of the February 5 trade deadline, tweets Nick Friedell of The Athletic.
“We hate it for him but the beat goes on,” Dunleavy said.
Golden State’s top basketball executive also discussed fifth-year forward Jonathan Kuminga, who demanded a trade on Jan. 15, the first day he was eligible to be moved. Dunleavy was surprisingly transparent about Kuminga’s market value, or lack thereof.
“As far as the demand, I’m aware of that,” Dunleavy said (Twitter video link via Slater). “In terms of demands, when there’s a demand, there needs to be a demand on the market. So we’ll see how that unfolds.”
Dunleavy said he was fine with working with Kuminga or any other player who wants a change of scenery, “but we’ve got to do what’s best for our organization and that’s what we’ll do.” He added that he would take the next couple of weeks to evaluate where the team stands following Butler’s devastating injury.
“I’m disappointed it hasn’t worked out better,” Dunleavy said, per Slater (Twitter link). “But it is what it is…I know a trade has been requested. But nothing is imminent. Things in this league can change in a heartbeat, as they did last night. So he’s gotta be ready.”
Here’s more on Butler, Kuminga and the Warriors:
- Dunleavy also talked about the possibility of trading future first-round picks, Slater adds (via Twitter). “If we’re talking about trading draft picks that will be going out when Steph (Curry) isn’t here, it’s going to have to be a player that we think we’ll be getting back that is going to be here when those picks are going out.”
- As Friedell writes for The Athletic, head coach Steve Kerr also discussed both players ahead of Tuesday’s contest. “Most of all just disappointed for Jimmy,” Kerr said. “He’s having a great year. I felt, like the last couple weeks, he was really at the top of his game. So, for him, and for us, obviously, but for him individually in the middle of a really great season with a lot of possibilities … I just feel terrible for him that he’s gonna miss the rest of the year. It’s part of the game. Injuries are part of it, but it hurts for sure.”
- Kerr said while the team will obviously miss Butler’s contributions, he’s confident the Warriors will remain competitive without the star forward, noting they have a “really good rhythm” after winning six of their past seven games.
- As for Kuminga, Kerr said he believes the 23-year-old wants to play for the Warriors and receive rotation minutes. But Kerr was noncommittal when asked if Kuminga would reenter the rotation, Friedell notes. The 6’7″ forward has only played 10 minutes since December 7. “He could be, yeah,” Kerr said. “He obviously hasn’t played in a while, but at this point, we have to experiment a little bit with rotations, see where we are, and he’s definitely a part of that talk, that conversation.”
- As Slater tweets, Kuminga is set to enter Tuesday’s game at the start of the second quarter with the Warriors trailing by 13 points. Slater reported earlier on Tuesday that the former lottery pick was open to playing for Golden State again, though his “long-term desires” and “feelings about the organization” haven’t changed. (Twitter video link via NBA Today).
NBA Europe Notes: P. Gasol, Investors, Manchester, More
Hall of Fame big man Pau Gasol is being considered for a “prominent role” in the NBA’s proposed European league, reports Joe Vardon of The Athletic. Gasol was one of the featured speakers at a meeting commissioner Adam Silver hosted on Monday in London regarding the project, which is tentatively titled NBA Europe.
“This is a very unique opportunity,” Gasol told the crowd. “It’s all about learning from each other. It’s all about creating this new venture together. Yes, we’re talking about (the) league, but this goes far beyond. It is about the ecosystem, it’s about the grassroots, it’s about the domestic leagues and it’s about the impact on the children. … There’s so much at stake, and that’s why I think this is so important and so impactful, and why I’m so excited to be a part of it too.”
According to Vardon, representatives from several EuroLeague teams and executives of soccer clubs that do not have basketball teams were present at the meeting. Many other potential sponsors and investors attended as well.
We have more on the NBA’s European project, which would theoretically tip off in 2027/28:
- Silver has been eyeing wealthy investors from the Middle East to start the new league, write Vardon and Eduardo Tansley of The Athletic. Sovereign wealth funds can currently control a maximum of 20 percent of NBA teams, but that rule won’t apply to the European venture. “We’re talking to families that currently invest in sports,” Silver said. “In addition to talking to wealth funds, there’s more traditional investment funds that have had some experience investing in sports and then some just more traditional, home private equity funds that see sports as an asset class. So just to be clear, we are open to different forms of capital.”
- Silver says he has talked to English soccer giants Manchester City and Manchester United about potentially joining the league, but neither club intends to have a team, per Jonty Colman of BBC Sport (hat tip to BasketNews). “We’re having conversations with everyone, and it’s part of why this process has gone on so long,” Silver told BBC Sport. The cities of London and Manchester are expected to have teams if the league comes to fruition, Colman notes.
- Aris Barkas of Eurohoops shares the six EuroLeague teams that attended Monday’s private meeting, including Spanish powerhouses FC Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Injury Notes: Giddey, Reid, H. Jones, Whitmore
Bulls guard Josh Giddey was upgraded to questionable ahead of Tuesday’s contest against the Clippers before being ruled out (Twitter links via K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network). Giddey, who is working his way back from a strained left hamstring, could return to action on Thursday in Minnesota, head coach Billy Donovan said.
Forward Patrick Williams is dealing with a right ankle sprain and will also be out Tuesday. He’s considered day-to-day, per Johnson.
Here are some more injury updates from around the NBA:
- Timberwolves big man Naz Reid was forced to exit Saturday’s loss at San Antonio after just five minutes due to soreness in his left shoulder. However, the injury doesn’t appear to be serious — he was initially questionable for Tuesday’s game in Utah but has been upgraded to available, per the league’s injury report.
- Defensive stalwart Herbert Jones has been upgraded to questionable ahead of Wednesday’s game vs. Detroit, the Pelicans announced in a press release. Jones, who has popped up in several rumors this season but has reportedly been made unavailable in trade talks, has missed 14 of New Orleans’ last 15 games with a right ankle sprain.
- While Wizards forward Cam Whitmore will miss the remainder of the 2025/26 season due to a blood clot in his right shoulder, he joined the team on the bench during Monday’s loss to the Clippers, which is a good sign for his long-term health, tweets Josh Robbins of The Athletic. The former first-round pick will be eligible for an extension in the offseason and will make $5.46MM in ’26/27, which is the final season of his rookie scale contract.