Details On Warriors’ Pursuit Of Kevin Durant
Appearing on NBA Today (Twitter video link), Shams Charania of ESPN provided some interesting details on the Warriors‘ “aggressive” pursuit of Suns star Kevin Durant, which included several different offers.
According to Charania, one three-team framework involving the Heat would have seen Phoenix acquire Jimmy Butler from Miami, plus Jonathan Kuminga, first-round picks, second-round picks and pick swaps from Golden State. However, once Durant made it clear that he wasn’t interested in returning to the Warriors, they instead pivoted and acquired Butler themselves.
The Heat had an opportunity to acquire Durant as well, Charania reports, but the Suns declined their offer of Butler and Josh Richardson.
Charania confirms the Timberwolves were among the teams who made offers for Durant after Golden State’s failed pursuit. ESPN’s Bob Myers said yesterday that the Grizzlies were in that group as well, though Durant also wasn’t interested in playing in Memphis.
Speaking to reporters today, including Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial appeal (Twitter link), Grizzlies head of basketball operations Zach Kleiman said none of the stars that the team made offers for were moved prior to Thursday’s deadline. Kleiman also said Memphis wasn’t in on the Butler sweepstakes, Cole adds (via Twitter).
“I’m not sure why we were pulled into that in the first place,” Kleiman said.
Charania once again reiterated that Durant did not expect nor want his name to be involved in trade rumors this season. Plugged-in local reporter John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 reported on Thursday that Phoenix would likely revisit Durant trade talks this summer, while ESPN’s Brian Windhorst speculated on his podcast that Durant may be seeking a new destination this offseason.
NBA Announces Three-Point Contest, Skills Challenge Participants
The NBA has officially announced the participants for the All-Star Saturday festivities in San Francisco on February 15, revealing today (via Twitter) which players will compete in the three-point contest and the skills challenge. Here are the details:
Three-Point Contest:
- Jalen Brunson (Knicks)
- Cade Cunningham (Pistons)
- Darius Garland (Cavaliers)
- Tyler Herro (Heat)
- Buddy Hield (Warriors)
- Cameron Johnson (Nets)
- Damian Lillard (Bucks)
- Norman Powell (Clippers)
Among this year’s participants, Powell (43.1%), Garland (42.9%), and Johnson (41.7%) have been the most accurate three-point shooters so far this season, while Herro (39.3% on 9.7 attempts per game) has been the most prolific.
Lillard won the event in both 2023 and 2024 and will be looking to become the first player since Craig Hodges in 1992 to claim the three-point title for a third consecutive year. Larry Bird was also a three-time winner, having achieved the feat in the first three years the NBA held the event (1986-88).
Hield is the only other player in this year’s field to have won the contest before, having done so in 2020. The Warriors wing will be the home team’s representative next Saturday.
Skills Challenge:
- Team Cavs: Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley
- Team Rooks: Zaccharie Risacher (Hawks) and Alex Sarr (Wizards)
- Team Spurs: Chris Paul and Victor Wembanyama
- Team Warriors: Draymond Green and Moses Moody
It appears the NBA will be tweaking the format of the skills challenge again in 2025, with the event set to feature four teams of two players apiece instead of three players per team.
Mobley was part of the Cavs team that won the event in 2022, along with Jarrett Allen and Garland. He’ll be teaming up with Mitchell this time around.
The NBA also officially confirmed the participants of the dunk contest earlier this week (Twitter link). Those four players, who had been previously reported, are Bulls rookie Matas Buzelis, Spurs rookie Stephon Castle, Bucks guard Andre Jackson, and Magic two-way guard Mac McClung.
Like Lillard in the three-point contest, McClung will be looking to three-peat in his event next Saturday night.
Clippers Trade Kevin Porter Jr. To Bucks For MarJon Beauchamp
February 7: The swap is now official, according to press releases from the Clippers and Bucks. This was the last deadline-day trade to be processed, so all of this week’s deals have now been formally finalized.
February 6: The Clippers are trading guard Kevin Porter Jr. to the Bucks for forward MarJon Beauchamp, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
Porter is a former first-round pick who played in Greece last season after multiple off-court incidents, including reaching a plea agreement for misdemeanor assault and harassment in January 2024 after allegedly attacking his girlfriend in September 2023. The Clippers gave him another NBA opportunity in July when they signed him to a two-year, minimum-salary contract. He holds a $2.55MM player option for 2025/26.
Porter is still under a league investigation for that September 2023 incident involving former WNBA player Kysre Gondrezick, according to Law Murray of The Athletic (Twitter link).
While the 24-year-old has been a rotation regular for Los Angeles, averaging 9.3 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.0 steal in 45 games (19.6 minutes), he has struggled with offensive efficiency (.423/.245/.645 shooting line) and turnovers (1.9 per game). The Clips have also been much better when he’s off the court (+5.4 points per 100 possessions) than when he’s on it (-1.4).
As ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets, Porter will earn a trade bonus of $129,245 as a result of the deal.
Beauchamp is another former first-round pick who has seen his minutes steadily decline over the course of his three NBA seasons, making just 26 appearances in ’24/25 for an average of 4.7 minutes per contest. The Bucks declined their rookie scale team option on the 24-year-old wing last fall, so he’ll be an unrestricted free agent in the summer. He’s making $2.7MM this season.
Hornets Sign Elfrid Payton To 10-Day Deal
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.
Vasilije Micic Eyeing Return To Europe This Summer?
Much like fellow former EuroLeague Most Valuable Player Sasha Vezenkov, Vasilije Micic‘s career hasn’t gone the way he was hoping for since he decided to sign his first NBA contract in the summer of 2023.
After a long and highly successful career in Europe, Micic was ineffective in a limited role with Oklahoma City last season, and wound up being traded to Charlotte last February.
While the 31-year-old guard had some positive moments for the Hornets to conclude 2023/24, he was largely outside of their rotation to open ’24/25 before injuries gave him an opportunity for playing time.
He hasn’t played particularly well this season either though, averaging just 7.5 points, 3.5 assists (vs. 2.1 turnovers) and 2.4 rebounds on .348/.360/.829 shooting in 36 games (21.2 minutes per contest).
In addition to his inefficient and underwhelming offensive numbers, Micic often looks like the least athletic player on an NBA court — he has recorded zero blocks and only 15 steals in 764 minutes this season, per Basketball-Reference.
Charlotte ended up trading Micic to the Suns prior to yesterday’s deadline. He’s expected to be the third-string point guard in Phoenix, behind Tyus Jones and Monte Morris.
Micic is earning $7.72MM in ’24/25. The Suns hold a $8.81MM team option on his contract for ’25/26, but unless they use it for trade purposes, it seems very unlikely to be exercised.
With his NBA future seemingly up in the air, the Serbian guard has already contacted Anadolu Efes (Turkey) and Panathinaikos (Greece) about a potential return to Europe, according to Aris Barkas of Eurohoops.net.
Barkas clarifies that Micic has not begun formal contract negotiations, but he has made it clear that if he does return overseas, he wants to become the highest-paid player in Europe — that title currently belongs to Vezenkov.
There have been rumors that Micic has also contacted Crvena Zvezda of his native Serbia, but Barkas could not corroborate those reports. Still, he expects Micic to be highly in-demand amongst EuroLeague clubs if he becomes a free agent this offseason.
Jazz Waive Jalen Hood-Schifino
The Jazz have requested waivers on second-year guard Jalen Hood-Schifino, the team announced in a press release.
Utah acquired Hood-Schifino a few days ago in the Luka Doncic blockbuster, but obviously he wasn’t in the team’s plans. The news of him being released was first reported on Thursday. Veteran guard Josh Richardson is also expected to be cut by the Jazz.
Still just 21 years old, Hood-Schifino was selected No. 17 overall in the 2023 draft. He spent his first season-and-a-half with the Lakers, who decided not to pick up their 2025/26 team option on his rookie scale contract last fall after the former Indiana standout was limited to just 21 NBA games during his rookie campaign.
Hood-Schifino only appeared in two games this season with Los Angeles for a total of 14 minutes. He had been listed as out for the last two months due to a left hamstring strain.
While his NBA role was extremely limited, Hood-Schifino did put up some solid numbers in the G League last season, averaging 22.0 points, 5.3 assists and 4.7 rebounds on .473/.432/.800 shooting in 15 games (35.4 minutes).
Assuming he clears waivers, which seems likely, the Jazz will carry a $3.88MM dead-money cap hit for Hood-Schifino and he will become an unrestricted free agent in a couple days.
Since he’s only in his second season, it’s worth noting that Hood-Schifino is eligible to sign a two-way contract in addition to standard 10-day and rest-of-season deals. However, he’s not eligible to return to the Lakers this season.
Trade Deadline Observations: Jazz, Re-Swaps, MLEs, Hard Caps, More
As we detailed late last night, it was a wild week leading up to the NBA trade deadline, with 25 teams completing 21 trades involving 63 players.
As the dust settles and we look forward to several impact players debuting with their new teams in the coming days, we want to dig a little deeper on this week's deals, taking a closer look at certain trends, below-the-radar details, and cap-related minutiae that caught our attention.
Let's dive in...
Suns Rumors: Durant, Booker, Deadline, Buyout Market, More
Several teams reportedly made “last-ditch efforts” to trade for Suns star Kevin Durant after a deal with the Warriors fell through when the former league MVP made it clear he wasn’t interested in returning to Golden State. Phoenix and Miami also reportedly discussed swapping Durant and Jimmy Butler before the Heat wound up trading the disgruntled star to the Warriors.
Where does that leave Durant’s future with the Suns? ESPN’s Brian Windhorst discussed that topic on the latest Hoop Collective podcast, suggesting that Durant could be the one seeking an exit this summer after being caught off guard by seeing his name pop up in rumors.
“The prevailing thing from the trade deadline day was what didn’t happen, which was Kevin Durant stayed put,” Windhorst said (hat tip to RealGM). “He was not happy he was put into trade talks.
“I think it’s unpredictable what will happen for the next few months because it’s the nature of the sport, but I think right now it is reasonable to forecast that Durant will be breaking up with the Suns in the summer. He didn’t break up with them today, but it doesn’t look good for the long-term forecast because he was really frustrated.
“I spent a long time today on the phone with people involved with this situation. People from Miami. People from Golden State. People from Phoenix. Other people. I would just say that the biggest thing Kevin Durant was upset about, I think, not knowing he was involved in trade talks. … Generically, a star player of his level likes to be involved in trade talks. That was an issue. The thing about it was the Suns ended up not getting anything (besides a salary-dump trade).”
For what it’s worth, a Suns source who spoke to Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports pushed back on how available Durant really was on the trade market, even though multiple other sources confirmed to Bourguet that the Warriors deal was very close to being finalized.
Here’s more on the Suns:
- After his ESPN colleagues Tim Bontemps and Tim MacMahon advocated for Phoenix to trade Devin Booker to fully remake the roster in the summer, Windhorst said the four-time All-Star has a strong desire to remain with the Suns. “I have to say, I don’t think they’re going to trade Devin Booker,” Windhorst said. “Devin Booker wants to be there. … Devin Booker wants to be there his whole career.”
- Doug Haller of The Athletic examines Phoenix’s trade deadline and path forward, writing that a Durant trade and roster reconstruction seem all but inevitable after the current group has failed to meet expectations.
- According to Bourguet, the Suns aren’t enthusiastic about any of their current options on the buyout market (Twitter link). Phoenix is unable to sign any buyout candidate who earns more than the non-taxpayer mid-level exception because the team is over the second tax apron.
- On the same Hoop Collective podcast, Windhorst, Bontemps and MacMahon all expressed surprise that Phoenix traded its unprotected 2031 first-round pick to Utah for three lower-value first-rounders without having a specific move lined up afterward. In a full story for ESPN.com (Insider link), a Western Conference scout told Bontemps he was just as confused by that trade. “The Phoenix piece is just fascinating,” the scout said. “They made that trade with the draft pick and didn’t have anything [ready] to do with it?“
- Appearing on NBA Today (Twitter video link), ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne described the Suns’ locker room as “toxic” and said Wednesday’s shootaround in Oklahoma City was “very awkward, very weird” as players were unsure who would still be around past the deadline.
Nets Finalizing Buyout With Ben Simmons
February 7: After being listed as away from the team as he progressed toward a buyout (Twitter link via Brian Lewis of The New York Post), Charania and Windhorst report (via Twitter) that Simmons is finalizing a buyout with the Nets. He will meet with the Cavaliers and Clippers on Friday, per ESPN’s duo.
Sources tell NBA insider Chris Haynes that Simmons will also meet with the Rockets (Twitter link). According to Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Twitter link), Simmons will finalize his buyout once he has a new team lined up.
February 6: The Nets are working on a buyout agreement with forward/guard Ben Simmons, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
The Cavaliers and the Clippers are among the teams to watch for the former All-Star, Charania reports. The Athletic’s Law Murray confirmed the Clippers’ interest on Thursday (Twitter link).
On Thursday’s trade deadline NBA Today show (YouTube link), Brian Windhorst of ESPN named the Rockets as a potential suitor as well.
Simmons is in the final year of a five-year maximum-salary contract he signed with Philadelphia that began in 2020. He’s owed $40.34MM this year, but it’s unclear at this juncture how much of that he’ll give up in his buyout with the team.
He was originally traded to the Nets at the 2022 deadline in the deal that landed James Harden with Philadelphia. However, after holding out for part of the season and dealing with a back injury, Simmons ultimately didn’t suit up for the Nets until the 2022/23 season.
He didn’t end up playing much for Brooklyn over the following three seasons, appearing in a total of 90 games (69 starts) and averaging 6.5 points, 6.2 rebounds and 6.3 assists while only attempting 5.3 shots per game.
While Simmons isn’t the same level of defender as he was when he finished no lower than fourth in Defensive Player of the Year voting in consecutive seasons from 2019-21, he still provides some intrigue on that end. Both the Cavaliers and Clippers have at least one open roster spot, so they wouldn’t need to clear the way to sign him. The Rockets don’t have a roster spot open but could waive Cody Zeller once their series of trade deadline moves is completed.
Due to apron rules, the Celtics, Nuggets, Lakers, Bucks, Timberwolves, Knicks and Suns are the teams ineligible to sign Simmons once he hits free agency, Bobby Marks of ESPN notes (Twitter link). Those seven teams are either in the first or second apron and are thus not allowed to sign players who make more than the mid-level exception, which is $12.8MM.
As for the Nets, parting ways with Simmons allows the team to open a roster spot. They could see if any interesting young players worth taking fliers on hit waivers or they could opt to convert one of their two-way players to a standard deal if they so chose. Two-way players Tosan Evbuomwan and Tyrese Martin have both been contributors in Brooklyn.
Chuma Okeke Joins Sixers On 10-Day Contract
February 7: Okeke’s 10-day contract is now official, the 76ers announced in a press release.
February 6: The Sixers will sign Chuma Okeke to a 10-day contract, according to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
The 26-year-old forward is currently playing with the G League’s Westchester Knicks, where he’s averaging 17.3 points, 7.8 rebounds and 4.9 assists in 16 regular season games.
He was in training camp with New York on an Exhibit 10 contract, but was waived before the start of the season.
Okeke was taken by Orlando with the 16th pick in the 2019 draft and spent four seasons with the Magic. He appeared in 189 games, made 55 starts and averaged 6.3 points and 3.7 rebounds in 20.3 minutes per night.
If Okeke’s signing is finalized in time for Friday’s contest at Detroit, he will be eligible for four games before next week’s All-Star break. He will be able to sign a second 10-day deal with Philadelphia when this one expires.
The Sixers will have multiple open roster spots after their series of deadline deals are official, so no corresponding move will be necessary to bring Okeke aboard.