Charlotte Hornets Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Mark Williams Trade To Lakers Rescinded

February 8th, 2025 at 8:09pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Lakers say their deal to acquire Mark Williams from the Hornets has been rescinded, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN (Twitter link). L.A. is claiming that Charlotte failed to satisfy one of the conditions of the trade.

Sources tell Charania that Williams failed his physical with the Lakers due to “multiple issues” (Twitter link). He adds that none of the concerns involve problems with Williams’ back, which caused him to miss most of last season.

With L.A. looking for help in the middle after sending Anthony Davis to Dallas in the Luka Doncic deal, the Hornets agreed to part with Williams in exchange for rookie wing Dalton Knecht, forward Cam Reddish, the Lakers’ unprotected 2031 first-round pick and a 2030 first-round pick swap.

Although both teams announced the trade on Thursday, it remained conditional on Williams and Knecht reporting to their new teams and passing physicals, notes Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link).

If the trade deadline hadn’t passed, the two teams could have gone back to the negotiating table, as the Sixers and Mavericks did after Dallas didn’t like Caleb Martin‘s physical. However, after the deadline, a trade can only be accepted or voided, not amended, so Williams will go back to Charlotte and Knecht and Reddish will return to L.A. along with the draft assets.

That means instead of having an opening, the Lakers now have a full 15-man roster and are $1.6MM below the second apron. The Hornets will have 14 players on standard contracts, along with Elfrid Payton, who signed a 10-day deal on Friday via the hardship exception.

Although the Lakers are 3-0 since giving up Davis, there are concerns about how the team will get by without a proven center who can rebound and protect the basket.

Jaxson Hayes has moved into the starting lineup over the past five games, and he had another solid outing today with nine points and 12 rebounds in 29 minutes in a victory over Indiana. Trey Jemison, who joined the team on a two-way contract last month, logged nearly 12 minutes off the bench and may see regular playing time for the rest of the season.

General manager Rob Pelinka thought he solved that problem when he reached the deal with Charlotte, valuing Williams highly enough to part with his last available first-round pick when there were more affordable centers on the market. Finding a long-term answer in the middle will likely be a top priority for Pelinka this offseason.

The Williams deal is the first NBA trade to be rescinded since the Pistons voided a deal with the Nuggets ahead of the 2022 trade deadline due to concerns about Bol Bol‘s physical.

Hornets Sign Elfrid Payton To 10-Day Deal

February 7th, 2025 at 12:50pm CST by Rory Maher

12:50pm: Payton’s 10-day contract is now official, according to the Hornets. He was signed via the hardship exception, confirms Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer (Twitter link).

7:46am: The Hornets have agreed to sign free agent guard Elfrid Payton to a 10-day contract, agent Darrell Comer tells Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

Payton, who had been out of the NBA since the 2021/22 season, caught on with the Pelicans in November on a non-guaranteed contract and was one of the feel-good stories of the fall.

The Louisiana native, who played in Puerto Rico and the G League while trying to make his NBA comeback, immediately jumped into the starting lineup for his hometown team and posted a 14-point, 21-assist, seven-rebound line in his third game back.

However, the former lottery pick (10th overall in 2014) was cut loose by the Pelicans in early December after the team started to get a little healthier. New Orleans was also concerned about its proximity to the luxury tax, which the franchise has never paid and wound up dipping below prior to yesterday’s trade deadline.

Payton, who turns 31 years old later this month, averaged 6.7 points, 6.9 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 1.4 steals in seven games with the Pels (20.3 minutes per contest), shooting 50.0% from the floor in his time with the team.

Payton also appeared in 14 NBA G League games this season with New Orleans’ affiliate, the Birmingham Squadron, averaging 7.6 points, 4.6 assists, 4.1 rebounds and 1.1 steals in 21.0 minutes. His shooting slash line was just .380/.190/.250.

While Payton has been a solid rebounder and play-maker throughout his NBA, he’s never been much of a shooter, with career marks of 28.7% from three-point range and 62.3% from the charity stripe. But the Hornets have a need for a backup point guard — they traded Vasilije Micic to Phoenix, and LaMelo Ball (ankle) and Tre Mann (back) are currently injured.

The Hornets were involved in multiple trades leading up to the deadline, but they did not create any roster openings, as their 15-man standard roster is currently full.

Charlotte shouldn’t need to release anyone to add Payton though — he could be signed using the hardship exception. Brandon Miller (shoulder surgery) and Grant Williams (torn ACL) are out for the season, Mann hasn’t played since November, and Josh Okogie is out at least a couple more weeks due to a hamstring strain.

Lakers Trade Knecht, Draft Assets To Hornets For Mark Williams

February 6th, 2025 at 11:49pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

FEBRUARY 6: The trade is official, the Lakers and Hornets have announced in a pair of press releases.

FEBRUARY 5: The Lakers have reportedly found their Anthony Davis replacement.

According to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link), Los Angeles is acquiring Hornets center Mark Williams in exchange for rookie wing Dalton Knecht, forward Cam Reddish, the Lakers’ unprotected 2031 first-round pick, and a 2030 first-round pick swap.

The Lakers shook the basketball world when they landed five-time All-NBA superstar guard Luka Doncic from the Mavericks over the weekend along with big men Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris. Adding the reigning Western Conference Finals MVP cost the Lakers All-NBA Second Team center Davis, however.

With Kleber out indefinitely due to a broken foot, Los Angeles found itself badly in need of center depth to complement fill-in starter Jaxson Hayes.

While comments made this week by general manager Rob Pelinka suggested the Lakers may seek out a stop-gap option for the rest of the season and take a bigger swing in the summer, the front office instead took that swing now, surrendering a promising rookie in Knecht and two valuable future draft assets in order to land Williams.

The seven-footer out of Duke had been enjoying a breakout season with Charlotte in 2024/25. Williams is averaging 16.0 points, 9.8 boards, 2.5 dimes, 1.2 blocks and 0.7 steals per game in 22 healthy contests.

Williams has dealt with some health issues early in his career, including a back injury and a small fracture in his left foot, sources tell Dave McMenamin of ESPN (Twitter link), but the Lakers are confident about the 23-year-old’s medicals.

As McMenamin and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN outline (Twitter links), in his initial conversations with the Lakers, Doncic impressed upon their decision-makers how much it benefited him in Dallas to play with vertical lob threats like Dereck Lively and Daniel Gafford, prompting the Lakers to more aggressively pursue a young, athletic center rather than some of the older, slower bigs that had been on the club’s radar.

Lakers head coach J.J. Redick also has a connection to Williams, Shelburne notes (via Twitter), having done some mentoring of him at his alma mater of Duke.

Williams will be eligible for a rookie scale extension during the 2025 offseason. If he and the Lakers don’t agree to a deal at that point, he’d be a restricted free agent in 2026.

As Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets, the two-for-one deal will open up a standard roster spot for Los Angeles. The Lakers have several movable contracts still on their roster, though they no longer have any tradable first-round draft picks on hand. The team could end up using that open roster spot to go shopping on the buyout market, McMenamin suggests (via Twitter).

Knecht, meanwhile, has slowed down since a hot start to the season, but the 6’6″ Tennessee alum is having a solid rookie season and looks capable of developing into a regular rotation piece on the wing in Charlotte. He’s averaging 9.4 points per game on .465/.358/.825 shooting splits in 48 outings so far this season.

Reddish, whose inclusion was necessary for salary-matching purposes, is on an expiring minimum-salary contract. The former 10th overall pick is a solid defender, but has a limited offensive game. He’s averaging career lows in points (3.3) and minutes (18.1) per game in 31 appearances (eight starts) for the Lakers this season.

The Hornets will need to trade or waive a player from their 15-man roster in order to open up a spot for the extra incoming player. They’ve now moved both of their top two centers in recent weeks, having also sent Nick Richards to the Suns last month for a package primarily made up of future second-round picks.

Luke Adams contributed to this report.

Community Shootaround: Trade Deadline Winners, Losers

February 6th, 2025 at 10:07pm CST by Earnest Marshall

This year’s NBA trade deadline will go down in the history books as one of the wildest in North American sports history, if not the most chaotic.

This is, of course, mostly due to the shocking late Saturday transaction that saw Luka Doncic join the Lakers. Still, we saw an NBA record 63 players moved ahead of the deadline, with players like De’Aaron Fox, Jimmy Butler, Khris Middleton, Brandon Ingram, De’Andre Hunter, Kyle Kuzma and Andrew Wiggins among those changing hands.

Only the Magic, Trail Blazers, Timberwolves and Nuggets didn’t make an in-season trade. The Nets wound up staying out of the days leading up to the deadline after completing their major moves earlier in the season. Cameron Johnson is one notable player who was the subject of trade rumors for most of the season but ended up staying in place.

[RELATED: 2024/25 In-Season Trades]

Outside of that, the Celtics, Pacers and Rockets were among teams who made minor moves on the fringes of their roster.

The five-team deal that saw Butler join the Warriors and Wiggins go to the Heat was one of the biggest moves at the deadline. According to ESPN’s Tim Bontemps, Butler’s teammates were sad to see him go, but were happy that he ultimately got what he wanted with a new destination and contract.

While Miami briefly explored trying to acquire Kevin Durant, they pivoted to Wiggins and are happy to have him. Bontemps writes that rival executives like the addition of Wiggins in Miami. Additionally, several of Bontemps’ sources were impressed not only by the return the Heat were able to extract, but also that they were able to stick together through a tumultuous season.

Butler was also a big winner in the eyes of execs after getting his two-year, maximum-salary extension, but Bontemps writes the Warriors have more work to do in terms of spacing the floor. However, at a relatively modest trade price, the Warriors get to bet on their stars meshing and making a deep playoff run as a lower seed, like the Heat have done in the past.

The Warriors winning the Butler sweepstakes ultimately meant that Phoenix missed out on him. For about a month, it was widely reported that there was strong mutual interest between the 35-year-old and the Suns, but Bradley Beal‘s no-trade clause meant a deal was impossible.

That led to the Suns actually taking calls on Durant, though they ultimately kept their three highest-paid players together. The Suns were able to offload Jusuf Nurkic and add two potential rotation guys in Cody Martin and Vasilije Micic, but executives were confused about where Phoenix will go next, according to Bontemps.

After acquiring Doncic ahead of the deadline, the Lakers went all in on adding a big man, sending a first-round pick, a pick swap, and Dalton Knecht to the Hornets for Mark Williams. Los Angeles is taking a massive bet on Williams staying healthy, as they now only have swaps in 2026 and 2028 to send out in trades.

On the other hand, in the wake of the Doncic deal, the Mavericks had a relatively quiet rest of the deadline, acquiring Caleb Martin and sending out Quentin Grimes. “I thought they had more up their sleeve,” a West executive said, per Bontemps.

Both Toronto and Cleveland took big swings in acquiring Ingram and Hunter, respectively. Although the two teams are in much different positions in the conference, those moves showed they both have faith in what they’re building.

The Raptors are likely to try to re-sign Ingram to a multi-year extension, which would add significantly to a payroll that already includes sizable deals for Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett, Scottie Barnes, and Jakob Poeltl. The Cavaliers have the second-best record in the league, so giving anything of value in their rotation is a risk to chemistry. But adding Hunter, who’s in the middle of a breakout season, is a bold move to push the team over the top.

For my money, I like how the Jazz and Pistons operated in the Butler trade. The Jazz were able to acquire two second-rounders and take back less expiring money than P.J. Tucker‘s $11.4MM contract, rerouting Dennis Schröder to Detroit, who bought him as an asset in the same Miami-Golden State five-team deal.

As for the Pistons, while they maybe could have gotten Schröder for a lower price if they’d negotiated with the Heat, they netted two second-round picks, added a viable contributor in Schröder and added a bench shooter in Lindy Waters III for simply having cap space as an asset.

Additionally, I think the Hornets did well to acquire Knecht and valuable picks by sending out Williams, Martin and Micic. The Wizards also intrigued me by adding several veterans in Middleton, Marcus Smart and Alex Len, and picking up two fliers in AJ Johnson and Colby Jones, if they stick. Washington essentially consolidated picks, added a 2024 first-rounder in Johnson and other assets in exchange for players who weren’t in their future.

We want to hear from you. Which teams do you think ended up as the biggest winners after deadline day? Were there any teams that should have done more, or did too much? Who lost the deadline? Which teams had the most underrated moves?

Head to the comments section below to let us know!

Suns Trade Jusuf Nurkic To Hornets In Three-Player Deal

February 6th, 2025 at 10:05pm CST by Arthur Hill

10:05 pm: The trade is official, according to a press release from the Hornets.

12:28 pm: The Suns will send Jusuf Nurkic and a 2026 first-round pick to the Hornets in exchange for Cody Martin, Vasilije Micic and a second-rounder in 2026, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

Phoenix has been searching for a taker for Nurkic, who was removed from the starting lineup in early January and hasn’t played at all since January 7. The recent trade for Nick Richards and the emergence of rookie big man Oso Ighodaro made Nurkic expendable.

The 30-year-old center has one season left on his contract at $19.375MM. He expressed skepticism last month that the Suns would be able to move him, but they found a willing trade partner in Charlotte, which was low on centers after agreeing to send Mark Williams to the Lakers late Wednesday night.

The Hornets and Suns discussed Nurkic before finalizing the Richards deal, but they opted to keep him out of the original trade.

Today’s deal provides future flexibility for Phoenix, as Martin’s $8.68MM salary for next season is non-guaranteed and Micic has a team option worth $8.1MM. The Suns have a roster opening, so they can complete the two-for-one trade without another move.

The 2026 first-rounder will include “least favorable” language. If the Wizards’ pick lands in the top eight, they’ll have the opportunity to swap first-rounders with the Suns. The Magic would subsequently have an opportunity to swap their first-rounder for whichever pick Phoenix holds, with the Grizzlies then given the chance to swap their first-rounder for the pick the Suns are left with. Whichever pick is remaining at the end of that series of swaps is the one headed to Charlotte.

The 2026 second-round pick that Phoenix will receive is the least favorable between the Warriors’ and Nuggets’ second-rounders, according to Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link).

Trade Rumors: Durant, Heat, Hunter, Hornets, Celtics

February 6th, 2025 at 10:02am CST by Luke Adams

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.

Cavaliers, Hawks Have Discussed Hunter, LeVert

February 5th, 2025 at 8:39am CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers have expressed interest in Hawks forward De’Andre Hunter, multiple sources tell Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscriber link), confirming a report from HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto. According to Fedor, the Cavs’ talks with Atlanta have centered around swingman Caris LeVert.

Due to the difference between Hunter’s current cap hit ($21.7MM) and LeVert’s ($16.6MM), Cleveland would have to send out at least one more player in any deal involving the Hawks forward to avoid surpassing the first tax apron, according to Fedor, who suggests that rookie Jaylon Tyson ($3.3MM) would be one possibility. Atlanta may also seek draft assets — Cleveland controls its 2031 first-round pick, along with a few second-rounders.

According to Fedor, the Cavaliers have had Hunter on their radar for years, dating back to the 2019 draft when he went fourth overall to Atlanta, one pick ahead of Cleveland at No. 5. Sources tell Cleveland.com that the Cavs have done “extensive” homework on the 27-year-old, frequently inquiring over the years about his availability and what it would take to acquire him.

Hunter is having the best year of his career in 2024/25, averaging 18.9 points per game on .459/.386/.858 shooting through 36 outings (28.5 MPG). He’s also the sort of long, athletic wing that the Cavaliers have long been seeking and is close friends with guard Ty Jerome dating back to their days at the University of Virginia, Fedor notes, so Cleveland would be confident about his fit.

As Fedor reports, the Cavs have also checked in on several other possible trade candidates, such as Cameron Johnson (Nets), Jerami Grant (Trail Blazers), Javonte Green (Pelicans), Cody Martin (Hornets), Chris Boucher (Raptors), Julian Champagnie (Spurs), Obi Toppin (Pacers), and Royce O’Neale (Suns). However, the front office is wary about messing with the chemistry of a team that sits atop the Eastern Conference with a 40-10 record.

Cavs players and head coach Kenny Atkinson discussed that aspect of the trade deadline on Tuesday, per Fedor.

“You have to listen,” Atkinson said. “You’d be really not smart if you didn’t listen and talk about how you can get better. It’s the business we’re in. We’re really good, obviously, but it could always be something out there that gets us to the next level. My one thing to [president of basketball operations] Koby [Altman] is we have great chemistry right now and a great culture, great locker room culture. That’s super important to me. If it is a trade, if it is a buyout, it’s got to be the right fit.”

“If you take away somebody, especially somebody in the locker room, a locker room presence, it’s gonna disrupt it,” center Jarrett Allen said. “At the end of the day, we’re all close to each other. But as you know, that’s how things go.”

Both Allen and Donovan Mitchell said on Tuesday that they believe the Cavaliers have enough to be a title contender. Still, the front office is keeping an eye out for ways to make upgrades. Sources tell Fedor that Cleveland is also considering the idea of making a small trade or two around the margins, with another big man among the possibilities the club is weighing.

If the Cavs don’t make a move at the trade deadline, they’ll likely take a look at the buyout market, according to Fedor, who points to Lonzo Ball as a player to watch, though a Tuesday report suggested the Bulls won’t be eager to buy out Ball if they hang onto him through the deadline. Torrey Craig, who was waived by Chicago earlier this week, is another player to monitor, Fedor adds.

Nuggets Trade Talks: Nnaji, Saric, Martin, Yabusele, Watson, Strawther, Braun

February 4th, 2025 at 8:01pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Nuggets are gauging the trade market on Zeke Nnaji and Dario Saric, HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto reports.

Denver doesn’t appear to be looking for any blockbuster-type moves. Rather, the Nuggets’ front office is seeking to upgrade the bench prior to Thursday’s trade deadline, according to Scotto and The Denver Post’s Bennett Durando.

The Nuggets, Scotto hears, have expressed interest in Hornets wing Cody Martin and Sixers big man Guerschon Yabusele. Martin has one worth a non-guaranteed $8.68MM remaining on his contract after this season, while Yabusele has an expiring minimum-salary deal.

With Denver owing 10 future draft picks to various teams, potential suitors have been inquiring about young rotation players such as Peyton Watson and Julian Strawther, according to Scotto. The Nuggets have even heard from teams wondering if they’d give up Christian Braun, but Denver’s front office has brushed them off.

Nnaji has three more years left on his deal, while Saric possesses a $5.4MM player option on next season’s contract. As Durando notes, the Nuggets are a first apron team and can’t acquire more salary than they send out. The only tradable first-round pick they have is in 2031 but it’s devalued by protections on the 2025, 2027 and 2029 first-rounders they’ve already dealt — due to the seven-year rule, it can’t be pushed back to 2032 if any of those picks fail to convey.

Nuggets head coach Michael Malone declared on Monday that forward Michael Porter Jr. won’t be traded. Porter previously came up in reported trade talks regarding Zach LaVine, who was just dealt to Sacramento. Chicago, however, was reluctant to take Nnaji’s contract and there were also internal questions about whether LaVine and Jamal Murray could’ve coexisted effectively on both sides of the ball, Scotto adds.

Scotto’s Latest: Bucks, Vucevic, Ball, Martin, Sims, Hunter

February 4th, 2025 at 4:51pm CST by Luke Adams

The Bucks‘ conversations on the trade market leading up to the February 6 deadline have centered around Khris Middleton, Bobby Portis, Pat Connaughton, and MarJon Beauchamp, along with their 2031 first-round pick, league sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

Middleton, Portis, and Connaughton hold player options for the 2025/26 season worth $34MM, $13.4MM, and $9.4MM, respectively. The expectation, Scotto writes, is that Middleton and Connaughton will pick up their options, locking in those cap hits for next season. Portis’ intentions aren’t known, per Scotto, but if he opts out, he’d presumably do so in search of a raise.

With Middleton having battled injuries, Portis potentially a free agent this summer, Connaughton having a down year, and Beauchamp not in the rotation, the value of the Bucks’ top trade candidates is limited, but that 2031 first-rounder would certainly be coveted on the trade market.

According to Scotto, in the two weeks since the Suns traded their 2031 first-round pick for three less valuable first-rounders, a handful of NBA executives have expressed interest in trying to work out a similar deal with the Bucks.

Here are a few more rumors of interest from Scotto:

Scotto checks in on Bulls trade candidates Nikola Vucevic and Lonzo Ball, writing that there’s a “growing sense” that Vucevic could be on the move this week, with the Warriors and Lakers among his rumored suitors.
As for Ball, the Grizzlies, Pistons, and Timberwolves are among the teams with interest, Scotto writes. Minnesota, a second-apron team, likely doesn’t have a realistic path to acquiring Ball in a trade, and Scotto does note that some clubs are monitoring the situation to see whether the Bulls guard could end up on the buyout market. Marc Stein and Jake Fischer reported earlier today that Chicago is resistant to the idea of buying out Ball.
In general, Scotto says, the Bulls want to avoid taking on long-term salary in trades as they look to create more cap flexibility in the coming years.
Besides Milwaukee, whose interest was reported earlier today, the Lakers and the Nuggets are among the teams with some trade interest in Hornets wing Cody Martin, league sources tell Scotto.
Meanwhile, the Lakers, Clippers, and Bucks are among the teams to register some level of interest in Knicks center Jericho Sims, while Hawks forward De’Andre Hunter has drawn interest from the Cavaliers, Scotto reports.

Trade Rumors: Warriors, Ingram, Durant, Hawks, Bucks, Raptors, TPEs

February 4th, 2025 at 11:12am CST by Luke Adams

Count Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram among the star players the Warriors have checked in on, league sources tell Marc Stein and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link).

While it doesn’t sound like Ingram is at the top of Golden State’s wish list as the front office seeks an impact player, the club has explored what it would take to land the former All-Star, according to Stein and Fischer, who say that the Warriors could pivot to Ingram if they’re not able to gain traction on any of their higher-profile targets.

One of those higher-profile targets is Suns forward Kevin Durant. Exploring the possibility of a Warriors trade for Durant, Stein and Fischer echo a point made by Anthony Slater of The Athletic, writing that even if Phoenix is willing to move the former MVP (a big if), there’s a “measure of concern” in Golden State about how eager Durant would be for another go-round with the Warriors.

Durant doesn’t have the ability to veto a trade, but given that the Warriors would have to put together a substantial package to convince the Suns to part with him, they’d presumably like to be confident that he wanted to be there.

Here are a few more trade rumors from around the NBA, with this year’s deadline just two days away:

There’s still an expectation that the Hawks will make a deal involving Bogdan Bogdanovic this week, according to Stein and Fischer, who say that Atlanta continues for now to explore “more ambitious” trade scenarios, including one possibility that would feature Ingram.
The Bucks continue to consider trades involving Pat Connaughton and his $9.4MM salary, either to shed his contract to duck below the second tax apron or to use his deal as a matching piece to bring back a more reliable wing. Stein and Fischer hear from sources that Sixers forward Caleb Martin and his twin brother Cody Martin of the Hornets are among the players Milwaukee has looked at in a potential deal for Connaughton. Both players are earning about $8.1MM this season.
Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca takes an in-depth look at the Raptors‘ trade options in the coming days, examining what it would take to get them to part with Jakob Poeltl, whether their reported interest in Ingram is legit, and why players like Bogdanovic and Andrew Wiggins may not fit the timeline of Toronto’s roster.
Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report (Twitter links) shares some details on how the Kings and Bulls completed the three-team trade involving De’Aaron Fox and Zach LaVine. Chicago took Kevin Huerter into an existing traded player exception, creating a new $17.1MM TPE for LaVine, while Sacramento used a portion of an existing TPE to take on Sidy Cissoko, generating a new exception worth $16.8MM (Huerter’s outgoing salary). The Kings were unable to acquire LaVine and Cissoko by aggregating the outgoing salaries of Fox and Jordan McLaughlin because LaVine received a portion ($3MM) of his trade bonus, increasing his cap hits for this season and next season by $1.5MM apiece.