Kings Reportedly Among Teams Monitoring Darius Garland
The Cavaliers have reportedly shut down trade inquiries on Darius Garland to this point, but that doesn’t mean rival teams aren’t monitoring his situation in case that stance changes. League sources tell Grant Afseth of DallasHoopsJournal.com that the Kings are among the teams that have been keeping tabs on the two-time All-Star.
It has been reported for months that Sacramento has been looking for a long-term solution at point guard, and Afseth has heard the same. The Timberwolves are another team known to be in the market for a lead ball-handler, Afseth states.
However, it would be difficult for either club to put together a package that would entice Cleveland to part with Garland, per Afseth. It would be particularly tricky for Minnesota and Cleveland to make a deal since both teams are restricted in terms of the moves they can make due to the tax aprons.
According to Afseth, some rival teams have gotten the impression that Garland may prefer to take on a larger role rather than being a secondary or even tertiary offensive option playing alongside Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley. Afseth hears opposing teams view Garland as the least risky of the high-profile point guards (Ja Morant, LaMelo Ball, Trae Young) who have popped up in trade rumors in 2025/26.
“Darius is the safest option on the trade market for a team seeking a point guard upgrade,” a source told Afseth. “There are teams who think he can handle more being put on his plate.”
The 25-year-old missed the first seven games of the season following offseason toe surgery and aggravated the turf toe injury shortly after he returned to action, causing him to miss another five contests. He didn’t play anything close to his normal level over his first 12 appearances and seemed to be visibly bothered by the toe issue eight days ago.
Although the Cavs dropped their third straight game on Saturday, Garland had his best performance of the season, erupting for 35 points (on 14-of-27 shooting) and eight assists with Mitchell out due to an illness, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscriber link). Garland has been frustrated by the nagging injury, but he thinks he may have turned a corner.
“I’m getting healthy,” Garland said. “Trying to find my groove. … It’s trying to switch my mind to letting me actually do the things I’m used to doing. It felt good for the first time a couple games ago and tonight see the result.”
Garland had another big game on Monday and was more efficient with Mitchell back in action. In the win over Charlotte, Garland finished with 27 points (on 9-of-15 shooting), 10 assists, five rebounds and two steals in 30 minutes.
On the Wine and Gold Talk podcast following Saturday’s loss (YouTube link), Fedor expressed skepticism about the Cavaliers potentially trading Garland ahead of the February 5 deadline for multiple reasons. Not only does Cleveland appear to value Garland more than other teams, Fedor explained, but the Cavs would likely receive underwhelming offers for him because of his injury and down season to this point.
Malik Monk ‘One Thousand Percent’ Confused About Benching
Malik Monk made a brief appearance in the second half of Sunday night’s win over Houston, but the Kings guard told Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee that he’s still not sure why he was pulled from the rotation.
Monk, who was kept on the bench for the previous two games, was inserted for a nearly five-minute stretch. He made his only shot from the field, but missed a pair of free throws and finished with two points and a minus-3 rating.
Monk, who wasn’t expecting to play at all, talked to Anderson before the game began and admitted being confused by the demotion.
“One thousand percent,” he said. “But it’s not my job to try to figure out why I’m not playing because I deem myself more than the whole, so I’ll just be ready when my name is called.”
Monk added that he had a private conversation with head coach Doug Christie and listened to Christie’s public explanation about the move, but he still doesn’t fully understand it.
“He just told me he’s trying something new,” Monk said. “That’s basically it, and I said, ‘Yeah, OK, I’ll be ready whenever my name is called.’”
Monk has been a valuable part of the Kings’ offense since signing with Sacramento in the summer of 2022. He was a high-scoring reserve for his first two seasons, finishing sixth and second in the Sixth Man of the Year balloting, before being used mostly as a starter last year.
Christie decided to switch Monk back to a bench role this season, and his numbers have fallen across the board as his playing time has decreased. Through 24 games, he’s averaging 12.5 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 23.1 minutes per night while shooting 43.7% from the field and a career-best 41.1% from three-point range.
Monk’s reduced status comes as Christie has been sorting through his options in a crowded backcourt. He was criticized earlier in the season for not playing defensive specialist Keon Ellis, who was given 32 minutes against Portland on Thursday, which was the first game that Monk received a DNP-CD. However, Ellis has been experiencing soreness in his right wrist and was listed as questionable for Sunday. He wound up playing nine minutes, but he fouled Reed Sheppard on a three-point attempt just before the halftime buzzer and wasn’t used in the second half.
Christie, who has called Monk the “odd man out” in a “numbers game,” received numerous questions about his guard rotation in his pregame meeting with reporters, Anderson adds.
“There’s a lot of challenges,” Christie said. “You can’t play everybody. It’s just the nature of what it is. This isn’t participation. It’s professional sports, and right now we have a logjam, but everyone is in play. If someone isn’t playing great, there’s a really good chance someone else is going to play. If someone isn’t playing to our standard of competitiveness, of all the different things that we value, then obviously there’s a strong possibility that they’re going to come out of the game.”
Monk, who’s making $18.8MM, is under contract for $20.2MM next season and holds a $21.6MM player option for 2027/28, so his situation may not be resolved soon unless he gets traded. He told Anderson that he doesn’t let “this stuff get to me,” but he added, “Everybody knows I want to be out there, especially playing in front of this crowd in Sac, but there ain’t s–t I can do about it.”
Stein’s Latest: Atkinson, Harden, Sabonis, White
There have been “rumbles in coaching circles” that Kenny Atkinson’s job is becoming less safe amid the Cavaliers‘ recent stumbles and their disappointing 15-14 record, Marc Stein of The Stein Line states in his latest Substack column (subscription required). Atkinson led the Cavs to the best record in the East a year ago in his first season with the team, but a second-round playoff ouster and this season’s shaky start have built up frustrations in Cleveland.
A report that owner Dan Gilbert is “very unhappy” with the team’s recent play provides another reason to be concerned about Atkinson’s job security. The Cavaliers headed into the season expecting to challenge New York for the top spot in the East, but they’re currently in play-in territory after dropping eight of their last 11 games, with several losses coming against teams near the bottom of the standings.
However, a source tells Stein that Gilbert’s anger is unlikely to result in a quick coaching change. He points out that Gilbert was one of Atkinson’s strongest supporters during the hiring process, preferring him over James Borrego, who’s now the interim head coach in New Orleans.
Stein shares more inside information from around the league:
- After speculating in a recent column that the struggling Clippers might listen to offers for James Harden before the deadline, Stein heard from a rival front office member who’s expecting Harden to be made available in trade talks. Stein points out that as a one-year Bird Rights signee who remained with his team, Harden has the ability to veto any trade he doesn’t like. Harden’s new contract technically covers two seasons, but it contains a player option with a partial guarantee.
- With Domantas Sabonis projected to miss at least four-to-five more weeks while recovering from a partially torn meniscus in his left knee, Stein points out that there’s a chance he might not return to the court by the February 5 trade deadline, which is roughly six-and-a-half weeks away. Stein states that it’s unclear if the Kings are willing to listen to trade offers for the former All-Star center, as they prefer to part with DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine. However, there’s sure to be league-wide interest in Sabonis if the front office commits to a full rebuilding project.
- Stein hears that rival teams are getting the impression that the Bulls are more willing to consider trading Coby White than they’ve been in the past. White has an expiring $12.9MM contract this season and is headed for unrestricted free agency next summer. Stein notes that White’s modest salary complicates Chicago’s effort to get back equivalent value in a deal, since he’s unlikely to sign an extension before reaching unrestricted free agency next summer.
Maxime Raynaud Will Get Long Run As Kings' Starting Center
- Rookie center Maxime Raynaud will be the Kings‘ starting center “for the foreseeable future” after Friday’s announcement that Domantas Sabonis will miss at least four-to-five more weeks, writes Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee (subscription required). The French big man, who was taken with the 42nd pick in this year’s draft, has been productive since moving into the starting lineup, averaging 15.4 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists over the past five games while shooting 53.4% from the field and 33.3% from beyond the arc. Coach Doug Christie juggled his starting lineup on Thursday, Anderson adds, moving Keegan Murray from power forward to small forward, which the organization views as his “future” position.
Western Notes: Monk, Ellis, Brooks, Nuggets, Jokic, Mitchell
Kings guard Malik Monk was a DNP-CD for the first time since the 2022/23 season on Thursday, not getting off the bench at all during the team’s 134-133 overtime loss in Portland. Explaining the decision after the game, head coach Doug Christie described Monk as the “odd man out” in the backcourt rotation as he sought to give Keon Ellis a larger role for defensive purposes.
“We were going with defense, but it’s a logjam,” Christie said, per Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. “We’ve got a lot of guards, so whenever it was Keon being the odd man out, then it was Keon being out. Tonight, we were playing Keon, so Malik was out.”
With the Kings off to a 6-21 start this season, Christie acknowledged that he’s still searching for answers and is willing to experiment with the rotation in the hopes of turning things around. He also made it clear that “nothing is permanent,” though he added that he liked what he saw from Ellis, who played a season-high 32 minutes vs. Portland.
“We’ll give Keon a run and allow him to continue to develop with those guys,” Christie said. “He came in off the bench, I thought, and played fantastic with that bench unit. They did a really good job in the third quarter. It just kind of got away from us. We got stalled out a little bit, but they came back with the starters and Keon was a part of that group. … I thought those guys did a great job.”
We have more from around the Western Conference:
- The NBA has rescinded the technical foul assessed to Suns forward Dillon Brooks in the second quarter of Thursday’s game vs. Golden State, the league announced (Twitter link). Brooks appeared to get the technical for something he said after making a layup and stumbling to the floor (video link via NBA.com). He’s still the league leader with eight technicals this season.
- The Nuggets aren’t especially well positioned to be aggressive at this season’s trade deadline, writes Bennett Durando of The Denver Post (subscription required). Denver is hovering right around the luxury tax line, has few tradable draft picks, and lacks an obvious salary-matching candidate making mid-level money or more. Zeke Nnaji ($8.2MM) is the most expendable of the Nuggets’ players earning more than $5MM, but his contract – which has two more years left on it after this season – would have negative value.
- Nuggets star Nikola Jokic passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on Thursday for the most career assists by an NBA center, Durando writes in another Denver Post story. Abdul-Jabbar compiled 5,660 assists across 20 NBA seasons; Jokic surpassed him in his 11th season, at age 30. “This is a time that I can be able to look back and appreciate all the years I’ve had to play this game with him,” teammate Jamal Murray said of Jokic. “It’s special. Passing Kareem in anything is pretty cool. So I think it just speaks to his greatness and how unselfish he is.”
- Thunder wing Ajay Mitchell spoke to Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints about the experience of winning a championship as an NBA rookie, whether he has thought about vying for the Most Improved Player award, and why he views the toe injury that cost him three months last season as a positive. “I know it sounds crazy, but this was my first major injury ever, and looking back on everything we went through, it made me realize how special being a part of this organization truly is,” Mitchell said, explaining that general manager Sam Presti was with him “every step of the way before and after surgery.”
Kings’ Domantas Sabonis Out At Least 4-5 More Weeks
Kings center Domantas Sabonis, who has missed a little over a month with a partially torn meniscus in his left knee, continues to make progress in his recovery. However, he will be out at least four-to-five more weeks, which is the next time he’ll be reevaluated, the team announced in a press release (Twitter link via Brenden Nunes of Sactown Sports 1140).
Sabonis experienced knee soreness after a November 16 game at San Antonio and subsequently underwent an MRI, which revealed the meniscus tear. The Kings confirmed a few days later that Sabonis would be checked out again in three-to-four weeks; it has been just over four weeks since that initial announcement.
While Sabonis was unlikely to be selected to his third All-NBA team in 2025/26 anyway with the Kings holding one of the worst records in the NBA (they’re currently 6-21), today’s update will officially make him ineligible, as he has already missed 16 games and will not be able to meet the 65-game requirement for major postseason awards.
The Lithuanian big man, 29, has led the league in rebounds per game each of the past three seasons, earning one of his three All-Star nods and both of his All-NBA berths during that span. In 11 games this season, Sabonis averaged 17.2 points, 12.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.2 steals in 33.2 minutes per contest.
Sabonis’ name has popped up in several trade rumors in ’25/26. But an in-season move appears increasingly unlikely, given that, even in a best-case scenario, he wouldn’t be back until January 16, about three weeks before the February 5 deadline, notes Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints (via Twitter).
With both Sabonis and backup center Drew Eubanks (thumb fracture) out, the Kings have been leaning heavily on rookie second-round pick Maxime Raynaud to man the middle. The French big man has filled in admirably of late, recording career highs of 29 points and 11 rebounds in Thursday’s overtime loss to Portland.
Evaluators Split On Keon Ellis’ Value
Within a look at potential Lakers trade targets, Dan Woike of The Athletic reports that league sources believe the current asking price for Kings guard Keon Ellis is a protected first-round pick.
Ellis, who will turn 26 next month, has a reputation as a solid defender, is a career 41.8% three-point shooter, and is earning just $2.3MM in 2025/26, making him an appealing option for teams not well positioned from a cap perspective to acquire a player on a larger contract.
However, there’s not a consensus on Ellis’ value, according to Woike.
One league source who spoke to The Athletic referred to the fourth-year guard as “maybe the most divisive player in the league,” pointing out that rival scouts are high on him but neither Mike Brown nor Doug Christie has been comfortable leaning on him consistently in Sacramento. After starting 28 games and averaging 24.4 minutes per game last season, Ellis has made two starts and averaged 17.6 MPG in 2025/26.
As Woike explains, some skeptics believe Ellis’ defensive skill set is more suited to generating turnovers than to actually slowing down opposing offensive offensive players, while others have reservations about his size and ability to hold his own against bigger guards.
It’s also worth noting that Ellis will reach unrestricted free agency in July if he doesn’t sign an extension before then (he’ll become eligible on February 9), so a team acquiring him would risk losing him for nothing during the 2026 offseason.
Still, Woike believes Ellis is one of the possibilities being considered by the Lakers, who could badly use another defensive-minded player in their rotation. Pelicans forward Herbert Jones, Heat forward Andrew Wiggins, Clippers forward Derrick Jones Jr., Nets guard Terance Mann, Hornets wing Josh Green, and Bulls guard Ayo Dosunmu are among the other potential targets Woike mentions, though he cautions that not all of them will be available, especially for a price the Lakers would be comfortable meeting.
Los Angeles only has one tradable first-round pick (in either 2031 or 2032) and one movable second-rounder (2032). The team could also offer a handful of first-round pick swaps. The trade value of Dalton Knecht, a 2024 first-rounder, has slipped since last season, as he has fallen out of JJ Redick‘s regular rotation this fall.
Trade Rumors: Castle, Suns, Raptors, Davis, Kings
There’s reportedly a sense that the Spurs won’t seriously pursue a Giannis Antetokounmpo trade even if the Bucks make the two-time MVP available this season. While San Antonio seemingly has the assets necessary to make a compelling offer for a star-level trade candidate like Antetokounmpo, the team is very high on its young core and isn’t eager to break it up to go all-in on an older player, writes Kurt Helin of NBC Sports.
Victor Wembanyama is obviously untouchable and reports have indicated that the Spurs have never shown any interest in moving rookie Dylan Harper, dating back to lottery night when they won the No. 2 overall pick and the right to draft him. The team’s unwillingness to discuss trades involving its rising young stars also extends to reigning Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said this week during an appearance on The Ryen Russillo Show (YouTube link).
“I cannot tell you how much the Spurs loved Castle when they got him,” Windhorst said (hat tip to HoopsHype). “Like, right out of the gate they were like, ‘Oh my god, do we love this guy.’ They are convinced that he is the perfect guy to have with Victor. … They love everything about his make-up. They love everything about the way he competes. They love everything about his willingness to improve. They love Stephon Castle.”
While Windhorst acknowledged that very few players in the NBA are absolutely untouchable, he stressed that the Spurs are extremely unlikely to move Castle anytime soon.
“I would be stunned if they gave Castle away for almost anything,” he said.
Here are a few more trade-related notes and rumors from around the NBA:
- Gerald Bourguet of Suns After Dark confirms that the Suns and Raptors spoke about a possible trade that would send Nick Richards to Toronto in exchange for Ochai Agbaji and a second-round pick, but says Phoenix isn’t looking to make a deal quite yet, doesn’t have a ton of interest in Agbaji, and didn’t love the quality of the second-rounder the Raptors were willing to offer. While it’s unclear which pick Toronto put on the table, neither of the 2026 second-rounders the team controls would be very valuable if the season ended today — the Raptors’ own pick would be No. 52, while the Lakers’ second-rounder Toronto owns would be in the 56-58 range.
- Mavericks big man Anthony Davis sits atop the trade deadline “big board” published today by Sam Vecenie of The Athletic, who ranks potential trade candidates based on a combination of their potential impact and their likelihood of being moved. If Antetokounmpo doesn’t get traded this season, Davis is considered the one player on the market who could “swing the title race the most if he were dealt to the right situation,” Vecenie writes.
- Earlier this week, Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron (Substack link) published the first installment of his comprehensive guide to the 2026 NBA trade deadline, identifying possible trade candidates and potential goals for all 30 teams. For instance, in examining the Kings, Gozlan classifies Keon Ellis and Dennis Schröder as likely to be traded, Russell Westbrook, Malik Monk, and DeMar DeRozan as “very possible” to be moved, and Zach LaVine and Domantas Sabonis as more likely to stay put due to their sizable contracts.
Stein’s Latest: Kings, Harden, Kessler, Rozier, Jones, Payton
If executives around the NBA were asked which team is viewed as the most likely seller ahead of this season’s trade deadline, many would name the Kings first, according to Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Substack link).
“Active is the word I would use to describe them,” one exec said of Sacramento.
Few players on the Kings’ roster are off limits, with the team seemingly open to inquiries on anyone outside of fourth-year forward Keegan Murray and rookie Nique Clifford, Stein writes.
Sacramento has “certainly” made veterans Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan available, Stein continues, though the club is reportedly telling teams that it has no intention of attaching draft assets – or highly regarded guard Keon Ellis – to any of its higher-paid vets in order to accommodate a deal.
Stein has more to share from around the NBA:
- A number of teams are keeping a close eye on Clippers guard James Harden, a source tells Stein. Given L.A.’s disappointing record, Harden’s age (36), and his contract situation (he holds a partially guaranteed player option for 2026/27), the former MVP would make an intriguing trade candidate if the Clippers are open to moving him. Stein points out that the Timberwolves are among the teams seeking a play-maker on the trade market.
- Echoing recent reporting from Grant Afseth, Stein says the Pacers have registered interest in Walker Kessler, though he adds that the Jazz have shown no signs that they want to trade the big man ahead of his restricted free agency.
- Commissioner Adam Silver and the NBA haven’t confirmed one way or another whether the Heat would be permitted to trade Terry Rozier while he remains on leave following his arrest in connection to a federal gambling investigation. However, Stein hears that the Heat are “quietly confident” that the league wouldn’t block them from making a deal that includes Rozier’s $26MM+ expiring contract for salary-matching purposes.
- Nuggets two-way forward Spencer Jones is being viewed as a near lock to have his contract converted into a standard deal later in the season, Stein reports. Denver has an open spot on its 15-man roster but is navigating the luxury tax line. Still, the club seems likely to promote Jones, who has been active for all 25 Nuggets games so far and has averaged 8.2 points and 3.9 rebounds per game on .564/.448/.682 shooting in 10 games since entering the starting lineup.
- Like big man Christian Koloko, veteran guard Elfrid Payton has also recently joined the Spurs‘ G League affiliate in the hopes of making an impression on NBA evaluators at this weekend’s NBAGL Showcase, Stein notes.
Scotto’s Latest: Markkanen, Hornets, Murphy, Walker, Kuminga, More
Utah will send its 2026 first-round pick to Oklahoma City if it lands outside the top eight, and if the season ended today, the 10-15 Jazz would have the NBA’s 10th-worst record, making their first-rounder likely to change hands. Given that context, executives around the league are wondering if Utah’s front office will be active on the trade market in the hopes of weakening the roster in the short term and ensuring the club keeps that pick, writes Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.
However, according to Scotto, the Jazz continue to signal that they want to build around forward Lauri Markkanen, despite trade interest in the star forward. In the past, rival execs have viewed the Pistons, Spurs, and Grizzlies as potential suitors for Markkanen if he’s made available, Scotto notes.
As for Utah’s plans beyond this season, the team hopes to use its 2026 cap room to improve its roster, either via free agency or the trade market, Scotto writes. Retaining Walker Kessler still appears to be a priority too — the Jazz turned down a trade offer for Kessler from the Lakers similar to the one L.A. made for Mark Williams, sources tell HoopsHype. The Jazz could carry a cap hold of about $14.6MM for Kessler next summer before going over the cap to re-sign him at a starting salary higher than that.
Here’s more from Scotto:
- The Hornets are hoping to get an extended look at their roster with LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller, Kon Knueppel, and Miles Bridges all healthy and available. Still, Scotto hears that Miller’s inconsistent availability has executives around the NBA wondering if the former No. 2 overall pick might not be as untouchable in trade discussions as he once was.
- The Warriors and Trail Blazers are among the teams who are high on Pelicans wing Trey Murphy III, but rival executives believe Golden State would prioritize making a run at Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo before giving up significant assets to land Murphy, Scotto writes. There’s also still plenty of skepticism that New Orleans would part with Murphy at all, with some execs speculating that it might take a package similar to what Memphis got for Desmond Bane.
- Following up on his previous report stating that the Pacers are among the teams with interest in Keon Ellis, Scotto notes that Indiana forward Jarace Walker came up in trade discussions with the Kings. However, Scotto cautions that it’s unclear which team brought up Walker’s name in those talks that he describes as “exploratory.”
- Checking in on Jonathan Kuminga, Scotto says the Kings continue to monitor the Warriors forward, but confirms that the Suns‘ interest level has decreased and that the Nets were never all that interested. The Pelicans have also been linked to Kuminga in the past, but it’s unclear whether they have interest now, Scotto adds.
- Partizan Belgrade, the Serbian team recently linked to Malik Beasley, has also expressed interest in free agent point guard Cameron Payne, sources tell HoopsHype. As for Beasley, he has also drawn interest from Real Madrid and Bayern Munich in the EuroLeague, as well as the Chinese Basketball Association teams Liaoning, Guangdong, and Shanxi, per Scotto.