Mike Conley Plans To Rejoin Timberwolves
Veteran point guard Mike Conley intends to re-sign with the Timberwolves after he clears waivers, sources tell ESPN’s Shams Charania (Twitter link).
Conley was traded twice this week. Minnesota originally sent him to Chicago in a salary-dump deal on Tuesday, then the Bulls flipped him to Charlotte along with Coby White. The Hornets subsequently cut him.
NBA rules prohibit a player who is traded and then waived to immediately re-sign with the team that traded him away. However, that restriction doesn’t apply to the Timberwolves because Conley was traded twice. Once he clears waivers and becomes a free agent, he’d be ineligible to re-sign with the Bulls, the last team that traded him away, but nothing would be standing in the way of a reunion with Minnesota.
Conley, who is in his 19th NBA season, became the Wolves’ starting point guard when they acquired him at the 2023 trade deadline and maintained that role through last season. However, he ceded his starting role to Donte DiVincenzo this fall and has averaged a career-low 18.5 minutes per night in 44 outings (nine starts) so far this season. His 4.4 points and 2.9 assists per game are also career lows, as is his 32.2% field goal percentage.
Despite Conley’s declining production, there were rumblings ahead of the trade deadline that the team wasn’t eager to move the 38-year-old due to his locker room leadership. With that in mind, getting the opportunity to move off of the guard’s $10.8MM expiring contract and then bring him back on a prorated minimum-salary deal represents the best of both worlds for the Wolves.
Minnesota has two open spots on its 15-man roster following its deadline moves, so no corresponding move will be necessary to create room for Conley.
According to Charania, the two sides are working on the timing of the deal. Conley will clear waivers on Saturday afternoon, but the Wolves may not re-sign him immediately since doing so would increase their projected luxury tax penalty and move them closer to the first tax apron.
Mike Conley Waived By Hornets
The Hornets have waived Mike Conley after acquiring him on Wednesday in a trade with Chicago, the team announced (via Twitter).
The veteran point guard will be eligible to sign with any team except for the Bulls if no one claims him and his $10.8MM salary on waivers. There have been reports that he may be interested in returning to the Timberwolves, which would be permitted since he was traded twice before being released, but there’s no confirmation that will be his next move.
Minnesota is adding a guard in today’s trade with Chicago for Ayo Dosunmu, but still has two roster openings if there’s mutual interest with Conley.
Conley, 38, moved into a reserve role for the Wolves this season for the first time since being acquired from Utah at the 2023 trade deadline. He appeared in 44 games, averaging 4.4 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 18.5 minutes per night with .322/.321/.891 shooting numbers.
Conley was sent to the Bulls on Tuesday in a three-team trade that also involved Detroit. He was shipped to Charlotte a day later in the Coby White deal.
Hornets Acquire Coby White From Bulls
11:21 pm: The trade has been finalized, the Hornets announced (via Twitter).
2:01 pm: The Hornets and Bulls have agreed to a trade that will send guards Coby White and Mike Conley to Charlotte, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
In exchange, Chicago will acquire guard Collin Sexton, forward Ousmane Dieng, and three second-round picks, sources tell ESPN. Dieng is technically still a member of the Thunder, but is reportedly being traded to Charlotte in a deal involving center Mason Plumlee. Oklahoma City is sending the Hornets a second-round pick along with Dieng in that side deal, tweets Charania.
White, who will turn 26 later this month, is a talented scorer who has averaged 19.5 points per game since becoming a full-time starter at the beginning of the 2023/24 season. He has also averaged 4.8 assists and 4.1 rebounds per night over the course of 182 outings during that stretch, with a .448/.369/.859 shooting line.
Although White entered this winter as one of the Bulls’ prime trade candidates, his value has been negatively impacted by calf issues that have limited to 29 games this season, as well as his contract situation.
The veteran guard is on an expiring $12.9MM expiring deal, meaning his maximum extension with Chicago would have been worth $87MM over four years — he reportedly conveyed to the team prior to the season that he wouldn’t be signing an extension and would take his chances on earning a more lucrative payday in unrestricted free agency.
With teams viewing White as a possible rental, the Bulls were unable to extract a first-round pick for him on the trade market, but they did secure three second-rounders, which will be either the Nuggets’ or Hornets’ 2029 pick (whichever is least favorable), the Nuggets’ 2031 pick, and the Knicks’ 2031 pick, according to Zach Lowe of The Ringer (Twitter link).
The Hornets will presumably look to re-sign White, a North Carolina native who played his college ball at UNC, but Conley likely won’t spend long on Charlotte’s roster. He’s viewed as a buyout candidate, and since he’ll be traded twice this week, he would be eligible to return to the Timberwolves without running afoul of the NBA’s rule preventing a waived player to return to the team that traded him away. Jake Fischer of The Stein Line highlighted this potential outcome for Conley earlier today.
The Bulls, meanwhile, could have more moves up their sleeves in the next 24 hours, since they’ll still have a logjam in their backcourt. Sexton will join a group that features Josh Giddey, Ayo Dosunmu, Jaden Ivey, Anfernee Simons, and Tre Jones.
Grizzlies Reportedly Lower Asking Price For Ja Morant
After trading Jaren Jackson Jr. to Utah on Tuesday, the Grizzlies have lowered their asking price for point guard Ja Morant “dramatically,” rival teams tell Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link). Kelly Iko of Yahoo Sports first reported that rivals were anticipating a reduction in Memphis’ price tag on Morant, which could pave the way for the two-time All-Star to change teams this week.
Iko describes the market for Morant as “diminished,” while Chris Mannix of SI.com agrees that interest has been limited, citing “availability, attitude and diminished production” as areas of concern for potential Morant suitors. However, Iko notes that some of those would-be suitors may return to the table after balking at Memphis’ previous demands.
The Grizzlies have increasingly recognized that a Morant trade won’t net them the same sort of hauls that they got for Jackson and Desmond Bane, Iko writes, and teams like the Timberwolves and Heat will have more interest in the guard as a buy-low target than they would’ve at Memphis’ initial price point.
Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints hears that the Grizzlies want to acquire some sort of draft compensation for Morant and may be inclined to accept the first offer that features a first-round pick, though that would presumably hinge on how much salary they’re being asked to take on. Sources tell Fischer that Memphis has conveyed a willingness to take on long-term contracts if they’re attached to worthwhile draft compensation.
Here’s more on Morant:
- While the Kings have been frequently linked to Morant, sources tell Fischer that their interest continues to be “minimal,” and James Ham of The Kings Beat hears similar rumblings, writing that Sacramento isn’t actively pursuing Morant and hasn’t spoken to the Grizzlies for two or three days. That doesn’t mean Sacramento is entirely out of the picture — Siegel cites league sources who believe the Kings would consider a Morant deal if it means moving off some of their own multiyear contracts, including perhaps those of Malik Monk and/or DeMar DeRozan. Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link) also hears that Sacramento remains involved for Morant.
- Both the Timberwolves and Heat remain in the hunt for Giannis Antetokounmpo, so until there’s resolution on that front, they’ll presumably keep any potential Giannis-related trade assets off the table in talks with the Grizzlies. Miami has hoped to be able to land Morant for a Trae Young-esque return, Siegel explains. The Miami Herald has frequently mentioned Terry Rozier‘s and Simone Fontecchio‘s expiring contracts as a possible package for Morant, which would be an even lighter package than what Atlanta got for Young, but would create significant cap flexibility going forward for Memphis.
- There’s a “growing thought” that the Heat would be willing to sign Morant to the kind of contract extension he’ll be seeking beyond his current deal, sources tell Iko. Morant is under contract for two years and $87MM after this season.
- In addition to gauging the market for Morant, the Grizzlies have interest in potentially facilitating an Antetokounmpo trade and are closely monitoring that situation, according to Iko, who says Memphis explored the possibility of reacquiring Mike Conley from the Timberwolves before he was dealt to Chicago.
Trade Rumors: Bulls, Dosunmu, Allen, Missi, Rockets, Pelicans, More
There have been some “tangible” discussions this week between the Bulls and Pacers about a possible trade involving Ayo Dosunmu and Bennedict Mathurin, reports Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link). However, after Chicago agreed to trades for guards Jaden Ivey and Anfernee Simons on Tuesday, it’s unclear whether the team still has interest in Mathurin, who is also on the Pelicans‘ radar.
According to Fischer, the Bulls also explored multiple trade scenarios involving Nikola Vucevic before agreeing to a Simons trade with Boston, including offering Vucevic and a future first-round pick to the Cavaliers for Jarrett Allen. That’s a deal Cleveland wouldn’t have been able to make without ducking the second tax apron, since Vucevic’s $21.5MM cap hit comes in a little above Allen’s $20MM figure.
Whether due to the apron restrictions or simply a lack of interest, Cleveland turned down the offer, per Fischer, who adds that the Pacers are another team that has registered interest in Allen.
While the Bulls may not have a viable path to acquiring Allen, they remain very much in the mix for Pelicans center Yves Missi, reports Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints. According to Siegel, New Orleans has continued to seek a first-round pick in exchange for Missi, but no team has been willing to meet that asking price so far.
Here are a few more trade rumors from around the NBA:
- Speaking of the Bulls, it’s worth keeping an eye on whether they end up flipping Mike Conley in a separate trade after acquiring him from Minnesota on Tuesday, Fischer writes. There have been rumblings that if Conley is traded again and then waived, the Timberwolves would have interest in bringing him back on a minimum-salary deal. That wouldn’t be possible if Chicago waives Conley directly due to NBA rules about a traded player rejoining his previous team.
- The Rockets have been connected to Bulls guard Coby White, among other targets, with forward Dorian Finney-Smith viewed as a possible trade candidate, but Siegel hears that Houston likes its roster and would be content to stand pat at the trade deadline — or to make a smaller move or two involving minimum-salary or near-minimum players. Forward Tari Eason, who will be a restricted free agent in the offseason, has drawn significant interest, but the Rockets aren’t interested in moving him, Siegel adds.
- Sources tell ClutchPoints that the Pelicans have received offers that include multiple first-round picks for both Trey Murphy III and Herbert Jones, but they still haven’t seriously entertained the idea of trading either player. It remains very possible that New Orleans maintains its high asking prices for Murphy and Jones and keeps both players through the deadline, despite significant league-wide interest in them, Siegel writes.
- The Clippers continue to seek potential takers for Chris Paul and Kobe Brown, Siegel reports, since moving those players would help create breathing room under the hard cap – and room on the roster – to promote Jordan Miller and Kobe Sanders from their two-way deals to standard contracts.
- Recognizing that whether or not he’s traded this week is “something that’s out of my control,” Nets forward Michael Porter Jr. says he’s at peace with whatever happens, according to Brian Lewis of The New York Post. For what it’s worth though, Lewis writes in a separate subscriber-only story that more and more league sources believe Porter will ultimately end up remaining in Brooklyn through this Thursday’s deadline.
Bulls Notes: Conley, White, Smith, Collins, Terry
The three-team deal in which the Bulls landed Jaden Ivey from the Pistons is now official.
The Bulls also acquired another guard, Mike Conley, from the Timberwolves in that transaction, but don’t expect Conley to play at all for Chicago. According to NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter link), Conley and the Bulls will work on a “proper path to move forward.”
That means Conley could be re-routed in another trade before Thursday’s deadline or he’ll have his contract bought out so that he can try to hook on with a contender after clearing waivers.
Here’s more on the Bulls:
- They also agreed to another big deal on Tuesday, forwarding Nikola Vucevic to Boston and acquiring guard Anfernee Simons with a pair of draft picks involved. The Bulls aren’t through wheeling and dealing, according to Julia Poe of the Chicago Tribune. The front office is trying to move Coby White as a blue-chip trade asset to leverage contending teams in the Western Conference out of draft picks or young talent. White knows he could be the next player to go. “I think sometimes there’s a narrative — just in the NBA but in general — that it’s part of the business,” White said. “But we’re still human. … Vooch was a locker room leader. Seeing him go, it was kind of tough for probably a lot of guys. You’re gonna feel something, right? We’re all human. But we still got a game and we got a job to do, so we’re going to go out there and do it.”
- After getting blasted by the Heat, the undermanned Bulls were pounded on Tuesday by the Bucks, 131-115. Jalen Smith refused to offer off-court distractions as an excuse, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun Times writes. ‘‘[We lost] high-value players, players that played a lot of minutes for us, but it’s the NBA,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s the job we signed up for. We’ve got to be ready to play at any point and time. It’s a next-man-up mentality.’’
- Zach Collins could be done for the season, coach Billy Donovan told Cowley and other media members. Collins injured his toe on Dec. 27 and hasn’t played since. ‘‘That could happen,” Donovan said of shutting down the big man. “As they put him two more weeks into the boot, I think how he comes out of that is going to tell a lot. He’s going to need a ramp-up period in order to run. . . . . The whole thing right now has been trying to prevent surgery.’’ Prior to that injury, he missed the first six weeks of the season with a wrist injury.
- Dalen Terry has never carved out a major role since being drafted in the first round in 2022. He’s temporarily playing more due to all the roster upheaval. He had six points and two blocks against the Bucks. “The human in me would say it’s tough but you just have to understand that this is what you get called upon for, so I’m just doing my best to try to stay ready every time I get a chance to play, and I think I’ve done a pretty good job of that,” Terry told Cowley. ‘If you would have asked me this when I was a rookie, it would have been hard. But me being four years in, I know what it is. I don’t take anything personal, and my mindset is every time I get a chance to be on an NBA court, I’m going to show why.”
Jaden Ivey Traded To Bulls In Three-Team Trade
10:20pm: The Bulls have issued a press release confirming the three-team deal. The Pistons have also confirmed the trade (Twitter link).
3:36 pm: The Timberwolves will receive cash in the three-team deal, according to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Twitter link).
1:31 pm: The Pistons are trading fourth-year guard Jaden Ivey to the Bulls in a three-team trade that also involves the Timberwolves, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
According to Charania, Minnesota is sending veteran point guard Mike Conley to Chicago, while swingman Kevin Huerter and forward/center Dario Saric are headed from Chicago to Detroit. The Pistons will also acquire a protected 2026 first-round pick swap from the Timberwolves as part of the deal.
Ivey, who will turn 24 later this month, was the fifth overall pick in the 2022 draft and started 164 of 181 games in his first three seasons in Detroit, averaging 16.1 points and 4.4 assists per contest. However, he missed the second half of the 2024/25 season due to a broken left leg and had his debut this past fall delayed due to a right knee issue.
Ivey was playing a modest role for the East-leading Pistons this season, averaging just 8.2 PPG in 16.8 MPG in 33 outings (two starts).
With potential restricted free agency around the corner for Ivey, the Pistons apparently decided he wasn’t in their long-term plans and had begun fielding calls on him in recent weeks, per Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). The Bulls will add the former Purdue standout to an increasingly crowded backcourt that also features Josh Giddey, Coby White, Ayo Dosunmu, and Tre Jones.
While Giddey is considered a building block in Chicago, the acquisition of Ivey could set up the Bulls to trade one or more of their other guards ahead of this Thursday’s deadline. Chicago will take control of Ivey’s Bird rights, positioning the team to sign him to a new contract as a free agent this July.
With Ivey playing a diminished role in Detroit, the Pistons decided to swap him for a sharpshooter in Huerter who will immediately fill a hole on the roster. As good as the 36-12 Pistons have been this season, three-point shooting remains an area of weakness for the club, which ranks just 27th in the NBA in three-point makes per game (11.1) and 21st in three-point percentage (34.8%).
Huerter has struggled from beyond the arc this season, making just 31.4% of his outside shots, but he entered the season as a career 37.5% shooter and finished strong after a similarly slow start in 2024/25.
It’s unclear whether the Pistons intend to hang onto Saric, who has made just 21 appearances since the start of the ’24/25 season. Even if they plan to eventually waive him, they’ll first need to open up a roster spot in order to accommodate the one-for-two trade.
The pick swap Detroit is acquiring from Minnesota should put the team in position to move up at least a handful of spots in the draft this June. If the season ended today, the Pistons’ pick would be able to swap the No. 29 pick for No. 23.
The Timberwolves are essentially making a salary-dump move by sending out Conley’s $10.8MM expiring contract. The team began the day operating more than $8MM over the first tax apron and with a projected tax bill of about $24MM, but they’ll move below the first apron by roughly $2.5MM and will reduce their projected tax bill to just $3.8MM, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks.
What Minnesota ends up doing with those savings remains to be seen. The extra flexibility could come in handy in a bigger move for a player like Giannis Antetokounmpo. The newly created $10.8MM trade exception (equivalent to Conley’s outgoing salary) could also be useful to acquire more backcourt help at the deadline if the Wolves aren’t able to land Giannis. Alternately, the club might just be a single move away from ducking the tax entirely.
It’s unclear based on the terms reported so far what the Wolves will be receiving in the three-team deal, but it will likely be a very minor asset like cash, a heavily protected second-round pick, or a draft-rights player.
The Pistons will use Ivey’s outgoing $10.1MM salary to match Huerter’s incoming $18MM expiring contract while employing a portion of their $14MM trade exception to absorb Saric’s expiring $5.4MM deal. The Bulls, meanwhile, could create a trade exception equivalent to Huerter’s $18MM outgoing salary by using Saric to match Conley and taking Ivey’s salary into their unused mid-level exception, observes cap expert Yossi Gozlan (Twitter link).
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.“
Bulls More Likely To Trade White Than Dosunmu
Bulls guards Coby White, Ayo Dosunmu, and Tre Jones have all drawn interest from potential trade partners leading up to next Thursday’s deadline, according to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link). However, one of those players appears more likely to be dealt than the others.
Fischer identifies White as the Bulls guard who is the best bet to be on the move in the next eight days, while Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times agrees that White is the player the team is discussing most frequently. Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints confirms that there are indications Chicago would prefer to keep and extend Dosunmu rather than White.
As Fischer outlines, both White and Dosunmu will be eligible for unrestricted free agency this summer, but White – who previously passed on negotiating an extension that would’ve maxed out at about $87MM over four years – is expected to be seeking the larger payday of the two.
While the Bulls – with a relatively clean cap sheet and White’s Bird rights in hand – could accommodate a deal that exceeds $87MM over four years, it’s getting more difficult to envision them going too high for White after signing Josh Giddey to a four-year, $100MM contract last summer, Fischer writes. As Fischer explains, Dosunmu has proven capable of being a more complementary backcourt piece alongside Giddey, whereas White is at his best when he has the ball in his hands more frequently.
That makes Dosunmu a better fit going forward, and it helps that he’s a Chicago native, which the franchise has historically valued. Fischer also hears from sources that Dosunmu has “found good alignment” with the Bulls’ coaching staff.
As for which teams are in the mix for White, Fischer says the Timberwolves continue to be mentioned as a suitor. The Wolves are in need of a backcourt upgrade and their head of basketball operations, Tim Connelly, worked with Bulls executive VP of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas in Denver.
However, Minnesota would have some reservations about giving up much of value for White if there’s a good chance he might just be a rest-of-season rental, Fischer writes. With over $194MM in guaranteed money on their books for next season, the Wolves aren’t currently in a great position to sign White to a lucrative new contract in the offseason.
Fischer also hears that the Wolves aren’t necessarily eager to move on from respected veteran point guard Mike Conley, despite the fact that his expiring $10.8MM looks like an obvious salary-matching piece in a move for a player like White ($12.9MM). Minnesota appears more willing to deal 2024 lottery pick Rob Dillingham, Fischer adds.
Besides Minnesota, the Rockets are also in the mix for White, according to both Cowley and Siegel. Cowley suggests players like Reed Sheppard and Tari Eason have been “floated in some capacity.”
It certainly makes sense that Chicago would inquire on those youngsters, but I’m skeptical Houston would be willing to include either one in an offer for White, given his contract situation. Sheppard has emerged as a quality rotation player in his second NBA season, while one recent report suggested Eason is considered off limits in trade talks.
Siegel identifies the Clippers as another team with interest in White, though both he and Cowley suggest there are more teams beyond those three in play for the Bulls guard.
Trade Rumors: Trae, Dillingham, Wizards, Kuminga, Warriors
The Wizards have been monitoring Trae Young‘s situation in Atlanta since the Hawks opted against extending him during the offseason and have engaged in “serious” discussions about a potential trade, confirms Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link). However, Atlanta isn’t rushing into an agreement, since the front office wants to wait to see if other suitors emerge in the weeks leading up to the February 5 trade deadline.
So far, Fischer writes, it’s unclear whether any other teams have joined Washington in actively exploring a deal for Young. Fischer hears that the point guard’s camp has suggested the Timberwolves and Nets as two potential trade partners that would appeal to Young, but neither of those teams has reciprocated that interest to this point.
The Wolves, in fact, are unlikely to pursue any high-priced point guard, Fischer writes, explaining that Minnesota wants to upgrade the position but is more focused on players with more manageable cap hits.
Fischer points to Mike Conley‘s $10.8MM expiring deal and Rob Dillingham‘s rookie scale deal (which pays him $6.8MM this season) as contracts that the Wolves could use for matching purposes in that sort of trade, noting that they aren’t opposed to discussing Dillingham, who hasn’t yet developed into a reliable rotation player.
Here are a few more trade rumors from around the NBA:
- If the Wizards and Hawks do make a trade involving Young, it wouldn’t be a huge surprise if the 27-year-old and his new team agree to a contract extension that replaces his $49MM player option for 2026/27 with a lower cap hit and tacks on at least a couple new years to his deal, Fischer writes. League insiders that Fischer spoke to about that subject suggested the extension offer would likely have to be worth $100MM+ to convince Young to decline that $49MM option.
- Ben Golliver of The Washington Post lays out the cases for and against a Wizards trade for Young.
- The Warriors have had many trade conversations about forward Jonathan Kuminga, but have yet to make “substantial movement” toward a deal, league sources tell Anthony Slater of ESPN. Team sources have said recently that Golden State would be willing to hang onto the 23-year-old beyond the trade deadline if no appealing offers materialize, according to Slater, though he notes that may be posturing. The Warriors have also been unwilling to take on contracts that extend beyond the current season if they consider them to have negative value, Slater adds.
- League sources tell Slater that the Warriors have “sniffed around” the center market. If Al Horford – who has played better since Christmas than he did earlier in the season – stays healthy and continues to improve, the front office may feel less inclined to target a big man at the trade deadline, Slater notes.
- Sam Quinn of CBS Sports takes a look at the teams currently operating in luxury tax territory and considers which ones are the best bets to try to duck below the tax line at the trade deadline — and which players could be on the move in those types of trades.