Atlantic Notes: Nelson, Sharpe, Edgecombe, Embiid
Rookie forward Grant Nelson has returned to the Nets‘ G League affiliate in Long Island, reports Brian Lewis of The New York Post (via Twitter).
However, Nelson won’t play for the Long Island Nets again this season, according to Lewis, who says the 24-year-old has patellar tendinitis, colloquially known as jumper’s knee.
Nelson’s injury likely explains why Brooklyn decided not to re-sign him to a second 10-day contract earlier this week after he played pretty well during his first 10-day deal with the Nets, Lewis notes.
Here’s more from around the Atlantic Division:
- Nets center Day’Ron Sharpe was diagnosed with a torn ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his left thumb on Thursday and requires season-ending surgery. Head coach Jordi Fernandez was pleased with the strides Sharpe made during his fifth NBA season, as Lewis tweets. “I’m very happy with what I’ve seen from Day’Ron, the hard work he put in and how much better he’s gotten,” Fernandez said. “Obviously we wouldn’t want to see that (injury); but we know it’s fixable. And we’ll go and do surgery, then we’ll have a timetable.” Sharpe could be a free agent this summer if the Nets decline his $6.25MM team option.
- Philadelphia was missing six players (Joel Embiid, Paul George, Tyrese Maxey, Kelly Oubre Jr., Andre Drummond and Adem Bona) who account for approximately $160MM in payroll on Thursday. The team predictably lost to the top-seeded Pistons in Detroit. As Tony Jones of The Athletic writes, VJ Edgecombe has flashed star-level upside as a rookie, but the Sixers need last year’s No. 3 overall pick to become a primary offensive option in the next few weeks if they hope to make the playoffs. A week ago, the 76ers were the No. 6 seed in the East, but they’ve fallen to No. 9 with the Magic (six straight wins), Heat (seven straight) and Hawks (eight straight) surging past them in the standings. “I just want to win, and I just want to do the things that allow my team to win,” Edgecombe told The Athletic. “If that means my team needs me to take more shots, I’m ready for that. But, mainly, I just need to do the things that my team needs me to do.”
- Embiid (oblique strain), who has missed seven consecutive games, is set to be reevaluated on Friday. While the Sixers haven’t issued a formal update yet, the former league MVP has already been ruled out of Saturday’s game vs. Brooklyn, per Jones (Twitter link).
Nets’ Day’Ron Sharpe To Undergo Season-Ending Thumb Surgery
Nets center Day’Ron Sharpe has been diagnosed with a torn ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his left thumb and will undergo season-ending surgery, the team announced in a press release (Twitter link).
A North Carolina native who played one year of college basketball at UNC prior to being selected 29th overall in the 2021 draft, Sharpe had a productive fifth season for the Nets. The 6’10” big man averaged career highs in several categories in 2025/26, including points (8.7), rebounds (6.7) assists (2.3), steals (1.1), and minutes (18.7) per game.
Sharpe appeared in a career-best 62 games this season, shooting a career-high 60.1% from the field and 67.8% from the free throw line. He primarily came off the bench behind Nic Claxton, though he made seven starts when Claxton was injured.
This is the third straight season in which the Nets have been better when Sharpe is on the court than when he’s not playing. During Sharpe’s minutes, Brooklyn held a net rating of -4.3, which is the top mark on the team among rotation regulars. When the 24-year-old wasn’t playing, the team’s net rating plummeted to -11.4.
The Nets hold a $6.25MM team option on Sharpe for next season. If they exercise it, he will be an unrestricted free agent in 2027.
If Brooklyn declines the option to try to work out a long-term contract, the Nets would have an exclusive negotiating window with Sharpe before other teams would be able to talk to him on June 30. That window would open the day after the NBA Finals end — it could start anywhere from June 10-20, depending on how long the series lasts.
Atlantic Notes: Embiid, Grimes, Ingram, Sharpe
Sixers center Joel Embiid will miss the team’s final game before the All-Star break, as first reported by ESPN’s Tim Bontemps (Twitter link). Embiid has been ruled out for Wednesday’s matchup with New York due to right knee injury management.
Embiid said he felt some soreness in that knee after Philadelphia’s win in Phoenix on Saturday, then sat out Monday’s loss in Portland. Although that soreness has decreased in recent days, per Bontemps, the 76ers will play it safe with the former MVP — he’ll continue to receive treatment in the coming days and will be reevaluated after the All-Star break (Twitter link).
We have more from across the Atlantic:
- While Quentin Grimes probably would’ve preferred to secure a lucrative long-term deal in restricted free agency last summer, accepting his one-year qualifying offer gave the Sixers guard a de facto no-trade clause this season, which he appreciated at the trade deadline. “That made it a little easier to go to bed at night and knowing that I’m not going to wake up and find out that I’m somewhere that I don’t want to be,” Grimes told Mark Medina of EssentiallySports. “That was a good thing about it, for sure. It eased my mind a little bit. I’m knowing that my agent can call me and relay a proposal from another team that I have to give an OK toward, so it was a little bit of a win-win for me.”
- Brandon Ingram‘s All-Star berth is a major win for the Raptors, who faced criticism last season for trading for and extending a player who had battled injuries during his last few years in New Orleans, writes Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. Ingram has led Toronto in scoring while appearing in 52 of 54 games so far. “I think that from the moment he came to our team, the amount of work and preparation (he put in), he had a really hard summer with lot of recovery, lot of like, boring exercises and stuff to get him healthy, to get him on the floor,” head coach Darko Rajakovic said. “And that he has (missed just two games) is just testament to all the amount of work that he put in.”
- Day’Ron Sharpe has the highest net rating among Nets regulars and ranks among the NBA’s top 10 in offensive rebounds and steals per 100 possessions, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post (subscription required). While Brooklyn holds a $6.5MM option on Sharpe for 2026/27, Lewis suggests it might make sense for the team to try to work out a longer-term deal with the 24-year-old center. That would require the Nets to turn down the option and make Sharpe an unrestricted free agent, but the two sides would have a window to negotiate a new contract before the team officially makes a decision on the option.
Raptors Notes: Kessler, Jackson-Davis, CP3, Martin, Poeltl
The Raptors were connected to several notable big men ahead of the trade deadline, but Anthony Davis went to Washington, Domantas Sabonis stayed put in Sacramento, and the cost of acquiring a mid-priced big like Day’Ron Sharpe of the Nets or Goga Bitadze of the Magic was described by sources as “unrealistically high,” according to Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca.
“I think, at this point, with this group, we didn’t want to chase,” general manager Bobby Webster said of the Raptors’ approach to the trade deadline. “We didn’t want to be in a situation where you felt like you were overpaying. We’re still on the upward climb … we’ve had a pretty positive start; the group is coming together. There will be a time where we’re gonna push in and consolidate and add some picks, but we just felt the prices at this point were a little high for us.”
Given how many centers the Raptors were linked to in the weeks leading up to the trade deadline, it was all the more fascinating that Webster dropped the following tidbit during an appearance on Sportsnet 590 The Fan (Twitter audio link) after the deadline passed: “I’d probably say the one big thing we went after wasn’t even reported.”
What might that “big thing” have been? According to Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints (Twitter links), there were some rumblings that Toronto made a push for fourth-year center Walker Kessler, whom the Jazz haven’t been interested in moving. If Kessler is a legitimate Raptors target, they could pursue him again when he reaches restricted free agency this summer, but their limited cap flexibility would make that challenging.
Here’s more on the Raptors:
- Toronto did make one addition to its frontcourt at the deadline, sending a second-round pick to Golden State for big man Trayce Jackson-Davis. He was a player the club had on its radar for a while, according to Webster. “We’ve always had our eye on him in the past, but timing matters too,” the Raptors’ general manager said, per Grange. “We called on him before, but Golden State got another big (Kristaps Porzingis) and I think it was sort of time for him to be free. So, when we did the Ochai (Agbaji) deal (to get below the tax), we had the ability. We didn’t have a lot of money to spend, but we looked at anyone under $3MM that we could bring in and he quickly rose to the top of the list.”
- In a separate story for Sportsnet.ca, Grange passes along quotes from Jackson-Davis, who expressed enthusiasm about his new NBA home and said he learned a lot in Golden State playing alongside veterans like Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and Chris Paul over the past two-and-a-half seasons. Head coach Darko Rajakovic said Jackson-Davis made “really good first impressions” in his first practice in Toronto. “You can see that he’s a very smart player,” Rajakovic said. “He’s picking up things very quickly. … We’re going to allow him to get incorporated into the team and to show us who he is and how best I can use him.”
- The Raptors also acquired Chris Paul at the trade deadline as part of their Agbaji trade, but the veteran point guard won’t suit up for Toronto. He’ll be waived “at the appropriate time,” Webster said on Thursday. Unless Paul has a post-waiver destination lined up, there will likely be no urgency for Toronto to make that move until the team needs its 15th roster spot, notes Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca (all Twitter links). Grange suggested that last roster spot could eventually go to two-way player Alijah Martin.
- Raptors starting center Jakob Poeltl, who has been out since December 21 due to back issues that have bothered him all season, is listed as questionable to play on Sunday after practicing on Saturday, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca. “We saw a lot of doctors about it. To be honest, I don’t want to get into too much details about it,” Poeltl said when asked about his back injury, according to Grange. “The point is I’m feeling better now. I did a couple different treatment options. So, yeah, I’m glad to be feeling better.” The veteran big man added that he wasn’t bothered by the fact that his name kept popping up in trade rumors leading up to Thursday’s deadline, tweets Ryan Wolstat of The Toronto Sun.
Warriors Trade Trayce Jackson-Davis To Raptors
February 5: The trade is official, the Warriors confirmed (via Twitter).
February 4: The Warriors will send backup center Trayce Jackson-Davis to the Raptors in exchange for a 2026 second-round pick that originally belonged to the Lakers, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania (Twitter link).
Jackson-Davis, 25, saw rotation minutes during his first two seasons, but his role has been reduced this year. He has appeared in just 36 games and is averaging 4.2 points and 3.1 rebounds in 11.4 minutes per night.
He makes $2.2MM this season and his contract includes a $2.4MM team option for 2026/27.
Charania notes that Toronto adds some size to its frontcourt by using the space created by trading Ochai Agbaji earlier in the day while managing to stay out of tax territory.
The Raptors explored several options for another big man, including the Pelicans‘ Yves Missi, the Nets‘ Day’Ron Sharpe and the Magic’s Goga Bitadze, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports. However, it would have taken a first-round pick to land any of them and the Raptors were comfortable picking up Jackson-Davis while parting with the second-rounder they acquired when they sent Davion Mitchell to Miami a year ago.
The Jackson-Davis trade, coupled with the deal that sends Jonathan Kuminga and Buddy Hield to Atlanta, gives the Warriors enough roster flexibility to convert two-way guard Pat Spencer to a standard deal, notes Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Twitter link). Spencer is just one game away from reaching his limit of 50 active games.
Lakers Rumors: Wing Targets, DiVincenzo, Knecht, Sharpe
Although the Lakers remain active on the trade market, their limited assets and their desire to retain as much 2026 cap room as possible are complicating factors as they look to upgrade their roster, writes Dan Woike of The Athletic.
Some rival executives believe the Lakers are willing to trade their 2031 or 2032 first-round pick for the right wing, Woike writes, but the sort of player they’d be targeting with that pick either isn’t available at that price or isn’t available at all — that group includes Pelicans forwards Herbert Jones and Trey Murphy III.
A league source tells Woike that the Lakers have been linked to practically every defensive-minded wing on the market, including Isaac Okoro of the Bulls and Derrick Jones Jr. of the Clippers. But it seems unlikely Los Angeles would give up its lone tradable first-round pick for a player of that caliber, especially since guys like Okoro and Jones are owed guaranteed money for 2026/27 and would eat into the club’s projected cap space.
As previously reported, the Lakers could emerge as a viable Giannis Antetokounmpo suitor this summer if the Bucks don’t move him at the deadline, but for now, any potential L.A. involvement in a Giannis deal would likely be as a facilitator.
Woike identifies Timberwolves wing Donte DiVincenzo and Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen as a couple players from potential Antetokounmpo suitors who might appeal to the Lakers, and Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints hears that L.A. has expressed interest in DiVincenzo.
Those talks haven’t gained traction though, Siegel writes, and Minnesota would likely only move DiVincenzo if it was necessary to land Giannis. Even in that scenario, it’s unclear whether the Lakers would be the Wolves’ most obvious trade partner or if there’s another team more likely to give up valuable draft capital for DiVincenzo.
Dalton Knecht, the Lakers’ 2024 first-round pick, hasn’t requested a trade, but wouldn’t object to a change of scenery, Woike writes, so he’s a player to keep an eye on if the team does make a deal.
The Lakers are also considering potential non-wing trade targets — sources tell The Athletic that Nets center Day’Ron Sharpe has fans within the organization.
Still, Woike believes that any meaningful changes to the Lakers’ roster are probably more likely to happen this summer than this week.
Kings Rumors: Sabonis, Hunter, Kuminga, Morant, LaVine
The Kings haven’t ruled out the possibility of trading Domantas Sabonis this week, per Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link), and the Raptors‘ interest in the veteran center is very real, according to Sam Amick of The Athletic. Most sources with knowledge of the situation view Toronto as the most viable Sabonis suitor at this time, Fischer writes.
While Fischer gets the sense that Keon Ellis no longer be in play shouldn’t have any material impact on talks between the Raptors and Kings, he acknowledges that Toronto is also looking elsewhere for frontcourt upgrades. Daniel Gafford of the Mavericks and Day’Ron Sharpe of the Nets continue to be possibilities, and some members of Anthony Davis‘ camp still think the Raptors will pursue the 10-time All-Star, Fischer writes.
However, Jakob Poeltl and his long-term contract (he’s owed nearly $104MM over four seasons after this one) will complicate any Raptors deal for Sabonis. Team and league sources who spoke to Amick think Toronto would need to find a new home for Poeltl in order to acquire Sabonis, and Sacramento is known to have no interest in taking him back.
Given the potential roadblocks, Amick suggests he wouldn’t be surprised if nothing happens with Sabonis this week and the two teams renew their discussions in the offseason.
Here’s more on the Kings:
- Although Hunter fills a roster need, the trade the Kings made with Cleveland and Chicago shows a lack of foresight and vision from the front office, contends John Hollinger of The Athletic. Trading for Dario Saric in a cost-cutting move and then using the extra breathing room under the tax to sign Dennis Schröder to a three-year deal were two of the first moves general manager Scott Perry made on the job last summer, and he essentially sold both players at a loss just seven months later. Hunter’s 2026/27 salary also pushes the Kings over the projected luxury tax line for next season, Hollinger notes.
- While the trade sending Ellis to Cleveland and Hunter to Sacramento shouldn’t have an impact on the Raptors’ talks for Sabonis, that deal probably reduces the odds of Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga being dealt to the Kings, Fischer writes. Ellis was a potential target for Golden State, and Sacramento’s desire to add a forward has presumably lessened after its acquisition of Hunter.
- Perry has expressed a desire to build the Kings’ roster around players who can impact the game on both ends of the court — Hunter fits that bill, but Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant doesn’t, according to Fischer, who says he’s skeptical Sacramento will pursue Morant in the coming days. Fischer has heard that Morant would be reluctant to sign a contract extension with the Kings and that Sacramento is aware of that fact.
- A league source tells Sam Amick of The Athletic that Zach LaVine is expected to pick up the $49MM player option on his contract for 2026/27. That comes as no surprise, given that LaVine would almost certainly have to accept a significant pay cut if he were to opt out in favor of free agency. That $49MM cap hit for next season is the primary reason why the Kings appear unlikely to find a taker for the high-scoring guard this week.
Northwest Notes: McDaniels, Thunder, Jazz, Conley
Jaden McDaniels‘ name has popped up in rumors surrounding the Timberwolves‘ pursuit of Giannis Antetokounmpo, but on Thursday night’s win over the Thunder, he showed just how valuable he is to Minnesota in his own right, writes Jon Krawczynski for The Athletic.
The sixth-year wing is averaging career-highs in points (14.9) and assists (2.9) per game, as well as three-point percentage (44.5%), free throw attempts per game (2.5) and free throw percentage (84.9%). He has also missed just two games this season after playing all 82 last year, and has only made fewer than 70 appearances once in his career (in a COVID-shortened season).
Most importantly, McDaniels has the support of the team around him.
“He’s my favorite player in the league,” star Anthony Edwards said about him. “I love everything about Jaden, everything that he does on the court, defensively, offensively, for us as a team, on the bench, he’s always cheering his teammates on no matter how the game goes for him.”
Both Edwards and head coach Chris Finch have discussed how hard he grinds to fix the holes in his game and the business-like approach he takes to his career.
“He’s an incredible worker,” Finch said. “He’s like a machine every day.”
Krawczynski writes that any Antetokounmpo deal for the Wolves would likely require McDaniels to be moved, either to the Bucks or to a third team, but should no deal come to pass, McDaniels has become the piece the Wolves need him to be at exactly the right time.
We have more from the Northwest Division:
- The Thunder are unlikely to make a major shake-up move at the trade deadline, with most reports indicating that 22-year-old wing Ousmane Dieng is the most likely player on the team to be moved. That said, the team could still use some frontcourt insurance depth, especially with Isaiah Hartenstein in and out of the lineup with injuries, Rylan Stiles writes for Sports Illustrated. In his breakdown of seven potential trade targets, Stiles primarily focuses on depth big men who are unlikely to be overly coveted by their team. Kevin Love (Jazz), Nick Richards (Suns), Bobby Portis (Bucks), and Jock Landale (Grizzlies) are three veterans he believes could be acquired for little more than Dieng and second-round picks, of which the team is loaded. He also looks at the Nets‘ Day’Ron Sharpe, a productive per-minute big man whom Stiles notes could fit into Oklahoma City’s non-taxpayer mid-level exception before the club decides what to do with his team option in the summer. As a more ambitious target, Stiles notes that Trey Murphy III (Pelicans) would make an excellent stylistic fit, but the cost to acquire him would likely be more than the Thunder are willing to pay in-season.
- The Jazz are also not expected to make any major moves by the deadline, Andy Larson writes for the Salt Lake City Tribune. Notably, that means that unless Utah is blown away by a godfather offer, Lauri Markkanen is expected to remain a part of the team’s core moving forward. While Jusuf Nurkic was considered a clear trade candidate coming into the year, his solid play within coach Will Hardy‘s system has the team trying to figure out how he can fit into the team’s outlook moving forward rather than gauging what they can get for him in a deal, Larson reports. Nurkic is averaging a career-high 5.0 assists per game, along with his 11.2 points per game, his best mark since the 2022/23 season. Larson notes that Love and Kyle Anderson could be moved in deals, as both have been in and out of the rotation, and that rather than acting as sellers, the Jazz could be in a position to take bad money in order to add more assets to their substantial draft pick collection. He lists D’Angelo Russell of the Mavericks and Maxi Kleber of the Lakers as two such players they could receive draft compensation to take on.
- Timberwolves point guard Mike Conley wants to keep playing past this season, but doesn’t know if he’ll be able to do so, according to Dane Moore (Twitter video link). “Honestly, every game I play from here on out I think about, ‘Is this my last game?‘” Conley said. “I know I want to play more years, but you just never know how things work… I’m just gonna go out there and have fun and not take things for granted.“
Trade Rumors: Jones, Smith, Bulls, Kings, Cavs, Sharpe
The Bulls have been receiving interest in point guard Tre Jones and forward/center Jalen Smith over the past few weeks, writes Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune. While Jones seems to be available, Poe suggests the Bulls are unlikely to trade Smith unless they get an appealing offer.
Both Jones and Smith have guaranteed contracts for next season. Jones’ deal also features a $8MM team option for 2027/28.
According to Poe, any of Chicago’s players on expiring contracts could be on the move prior to the deadline if the Bulls receive a “reasonable return.” The Bulls already showed a willingness to take on unwanted salary when they agreed to acquire Dario Saric for a pair of second-round picks (they’re waiving Jevon Carter to make roster space).
However, that doesn’t mean the Bulls are going to make trades just for the sake of it, particularly one that involves a player like Coby White, multiple sources tell Poe.
Most of the players on Chicago’s roster are in their mid-20s and have been in the league for several years. Head coach Billy Donovan says the team is focused on acquiring more young talent.
“We have to keep building out with younger people,” Donovan said, per Poe. “I don’t think there’s any question about that from a roster standpoint. … If you’re just talking about the guys that are here that are going to be under contract, they’re going to need more. So however those conversations take place, whether it’s in July or whether it’s at the trade deadline, I think the front office is looking to try to build it out as best they can.”
Here are a few more trade rumors from around the NBA:
- The Kings had opportunities to trade Keon Ellis for multiple second-round picks, but they wanted to unload Dennis Schröder‘s contract and value De’Andre Hunter‘s size and length, viewing him as a better positional fit moving forward, sources tell Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints. As Siegel reported a few days ago, the Lakers also had interest in Hunter, but they were leery of taking on the $24.9MM he’s owed next season without receiving draft compensation in return, so they backed out of conversations with the Cavaliers.
- According to Siegel, the Kings are viewed as the “biggest sellers” at the deadline, and they have been making trade calls involving Domantas Sabonis, DeMar DeRozan and Malik Monk. Of the three players, Sacramento is most motivated to move Monk, Siegel adds (via Twitter). A “few” teams — most notably the Raptors — have some interest in Sabonis, but there doesn’t seem to be much of a market for DeRozan or Monk, per Siegel.
- The Cavaliers continue to dangle Lonzo Ball in trade talks, according to Siegel (Twitter link). The veteran guard has had a disappointing first season in Cleveland and earns $10MM this season, with a $10MM team option for ’26/27.
- As Siegel observes, if the Cavaliers decide to retain Ellis long term (he will be extension-eligible on Feb. 9), that could have an impact on the futures of Sam Merrill and Max Strus. While I’m skeptical the Cavs would move Merrill given how well he’s played this season when healthy, Strus has yet to play in ’25/26 due offseason foot surgery and ’26/27 is the final year of his contract. Siegel suggests those sorts of conversations would likely wait until the summer and may depend on what happens with Ellis.
- The Nets appear to be reluctant to trade Day’Ron Sharpe, but the backup center has drawn interest from the Lakers, Raptors, Celtics and Pacers, Siegel reports.
Cavs’ De’Andre Hunter Likely To Be Traded?
After reporting on Wednesday that the Cavaliers‘ front office was hesitant to trade De’Andre Hunter for less than it gave up to acquire him a year ago (Caris LeVert, Georges Niang, three second-round picks, and two pick swaps), Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints now hears the veteran forward is likely to be moved prior to the February 5 deadline (Twitter links).
The Lakers and a “couple other” teams have been speaking to the Cavs about Hunter, league sources tell ClutchPoints. The Los Angeles Times previously cited Hunter as a possible Lakers target.
The Nets have emerged as a team willing to help facilitate a deal, according to Siegel, and L.A. has shown interest in Haywood Highsmith and Day’Ron Sharpe. Siegel doesn’t state it outright, but that construct implies Brooklyn would likely take on unwanted Lakers salaries in exchange for draft assets.
As Siegel writes, some members of Cleveland’s front office support the idea of moving off Hunter’s contract, with second-year Lakers forward Dalton Knecht heading back to Cleveland. That suggests the Cavaliers, who are the only NBA team over the second tax apron and are projected to have a massive luxury tax bill, view a potential deal as a salary dump.
Still, Siegel cautions that talks have been ongoing, so that three-team construct is merely one of multiple possibilities.
Hunter is converting a career-worst 30.9% of his three-point attempts this season after making a career-high 40.5% of his outside looks in 2024/25. For context, his career percentage is in the middle of those two figures (36.5%).
Hunter, 28, is owed $23.3MM in ’25/26 and $24.9MM in ’26/27. In 42 games this season, he has averaged 13.9 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 26.2 minutes per contest.