Raptors Rumors: Poeltl, Davis, Gafford, Bitadze, Sabonis, More
The Raptors have signaled to potential trade partners that they’re interested in upgrading their frontcourt, but they’re not looking to part with current center Jakob Poeltl in a potential deal, reports Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link).
Poeltl, who signed an extension in the offseason and will become trade-eligible on January 7, has struggled to perform at his usual level this fall — his 10.1 points and 8.0 rebounds per game are his lowest marks since 2020/21, and his on/off numbers haven’t been nearly as strong as in the past. He has been battling a nagging back issue, according to Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca (Twitter video link), who confirmed during a TV appearance that Toronto would ideally like to add more frontcourt depth while hanging onto Poeltl.
Whether the Raptors look to add a minor depth piece or are prepared to roll the dice on a higher-impact (and higher-salary) player could come down to how they perform in the coming weeks, leading up to the February 5 trade deadline, Fischer writes.
According to Fischer, the Raptors and Hawks are viewed as the teams that have had the most interest in Mavericks big man Anthony Davis, with Atlanta viewed as a longer shot due to the fact that Dallas likely wouldn’t have much interest in Trae Young or Kristaps Porzingis as the centerpiece of a deal. The Hawks also have “zero intention” of including their valuable 2026 first-round pick (the most favorable of the Bucks’ and Pelicans’ selections) in an offer, Fischer adds.
While that could open up the door for the Raptors to become the frontrunner for Davis, Lewenberg – echoing earlier reporting from Michael Grange – suggests Toronto may have more interest in another Mavs big man, Daniel Gafford, and have “already checked in” on Gafford. Like Grange, Lewenberg also mentions Magic center Goga Bitadze as a possible target for the Raptors.
If the Raptors do aim higher, Davis isn’t their only potential target. Fischer hears from sources with knowledge of the team’s thinking that Toronto also has some interest in Kings center Domantas Sabonis, and adds that the Raptors would likely be among the teams inquiring on Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo if he ends up on the trade block.
Here’s more on the Raptors:
- According to Lewenberg, the odds of the Raptors making an in-season deal are “pretty high.” Besides seeking frontcourt help, the team would also like to avoid being a taxpayer, Lewenberg explains. Toronto is currently operating over the tax line by less than $1MM.
- If the Raptors make a “smaller-scale type of deal,” swingmen like Ochai Agbaji and Gradey Dick would be probable trade candidates, per Lewenberg, who notes that the club has a logjam on the wing.
- Lewenberg also points out that the Raptors have all their future first-round picks available if they decide to take a bigger swing on the trade market. The only future pick Toronto has traded away is its 2031 second-rounder (the club also owes its 2026 second-rounder to Indiana, but it’s top-55 protected, so it’s unlikely to change hands).
Disconnect Between Doug Christie, Kings Players?
It has been a disappointing season so far in Sacramento, where the Kings are off to a 6-20 start and are expected to explore the possibility of moving several of their veteran players ahead of the February 5 deadline, writes Marc J. Spears of Andscape.
While the Kings have been playing poorly for most of the year, they’ve especially struggled in recent weeks, having lost 15 of their last 18 games and seven of their past eight. Amid that extended slump, sources tell Spears that there’s a “disconnect” between some of the players on the roster and head coach Doug Christie and his coaching staff.
Christie, who took over as the Kings’ head coach midway through the 2024/25 season after Mike Brown was fired, led the team to a 27-24 record to close out the year. Although Sacramento was quickly dispatched in the play-in round and overhauled its front office in the spring, Christie was retained and given the head coaching job on a permanent basis under new general manager Scott Perry.
After one stretch of losses in early November, Christie ripped into his team for what he referred to as a “shameful” effort. He has eased off on that sort of public criticism of his players in recent weeks despite a lack of improvement in the standings, presumably opting to take a different tack as he attempts to get the most out of his roster.
Perry told Sam Amick of The Athletic a few weeks ago that he has “complete confidence” in Christie to “lead this team into better times,” suggesting that management isn’t considering a coaching change. And even if Christie isn’t seeing eye-to-eye with some of his players, the trade rumors constantly circulating around the team suggest that the head coach could end up sticking around Sacramento longer than some of those players will.
Still, the Kings didn’t exactly make a lucrative, long-term commitment to Christie when they named him their permanent coach in the spring. Amick reported in October that Christie’s new contract is only guaranteed for two seasons and he’s only making about $2MM annually during those two years, which is well below the average salary for an NBA head coach. In other words, if Sacramento does want to make another coaching change before Christie’s contract is up, the financial penalty wouldn’t be significant.
Injury Notes: Morant, Clarke, Gafford, LaVine, Green
It was another case of one step forward, one step back on Monday for the injury-plagued Grizzlies, who recently had star point guard Ja Morant return from a calf injury at the same time center Zach Edey was ruled out for four weeks due to an ankle issue.
The Grizzlies registered an impressive 18-point road win over the Clippers on Monday, but Morant exited the game with less than four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter after turning his left ankle on a drive to the basket (video links). According to Mark Medina (Twitter link), head coach Tuomas Iisalo said after the game that Morant “tweaked” his ankle and would undergo further evaluation, adding that he’s hopeful that the injury isn’t significant.
While the Grizzlies and their fans await an update on Morant, there’s positive news on another injured player. Big man Brandon Clarke, who has yet to play this season after undergoing an arthroscopic procedure on his right knee in September, was initially upgraded to doubtful for Monday’s game before being ruled out. Clarke is trending toward making his return as soon as Wednesday in Minnesota, tweets Michael Wallace of Grind City Media.
Here are a few more injury-related notes from around the NBA:
- With Dereck Lively II out for the season, the Mavericks figure to lean more heavily on center Daniel Gafford, but Gafford has been dealing with an injury of his own, having repeatedly aggravated a right ankle sprain, writes Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News. Gafford was able to play on Monday after a three-game absence, but was limited to 13 minutes in an overtime loss for a Mavs team also missing Anthony Davis (left calf contusion). “It’s a bit of a balanced scale,” Gafford said before returning on Monday. “I want to be out there on the floor as much as I can. But at the same time, you have to listen to your body, especially through the course of a season. I just want to come back and be able to do the things I’m able to do out there on the floor and make an impact. I don’t want to be out there being a liability and hurting the team more than helping them.”
- After missing last Thursday’s game vs. Denver due to a thumb injury, Kings guard Zach LaVine returned on Sunday in Minnesota, but played just 16 minutes before injuring his left ankle and exiting the game. As Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee writes, LaVine came out onto the court during halftime warmups after sustaining the injury in the second quarter, but hobbled off the floor and was ruled out for the rest of the night shortly thereafter. It’s unclear if the banged-up guard will miss additional time.
- Suns head coach Jordan Ott admitted that the team is playing it “pretty safe” with Jalen Green‘s right hamstring strain after he aggravated the injury in early November, two games into his season. “We’ve got to be in the mindset that this is a young athlete that is super valuable,” Ott said, per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. “We’re going to take it day-by-day, week-by-week, but he has made really, really good progress.” Green has been doing some on-court work, according to Ott. A previous report indicated the Suns guard is trending toward a return shortly after Christmas.
Stein’s Latest: Antetokounmpo, Lakers, Porzingis, Johnson, Spencer
Not much has changed on the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade front, Marc Stein writes in his latest article for the Stein Line (Substack link). However, according to Stein, there have been some indications which teams would – and wouldn’t – become players for Antetokounmpo should the Bucks, who lost by 45 points to the Nets on Sunday, make him available.
Teams are waiting for signals from the Bucks that they are open for business, but those signals have yet to come, according to Stein, who hears there have actually been whispers that Milwaukee will actually go the opposite way and look to reinforce the roster around its superstar forward.
If Antetokounmpo does end up on the trade block, some of the teams best positioned to pursue him may not enter the mix. Stein suggests there’s a “growing belief” that the Spurs, Rockets, and Thunder are happy with their current cores and won’t be looking to break them up to try to land the two-time MVP.
We have more from Stein:
- The Lakers‘ loss to the Victor Wembanyama-less Spurs in the NBA Cup quarterfinals helped emphasize L.A.’s dire need for perimeter on-ball defenders, Stein writes. “I think being able to contain the basketball is probably the most difficult thing for our team right now,” Lakers head coach JJ Redick said after that game. According to Stein’s sources, the Lakers are hoping to target three-and-D players at the trade deadline, but the player pool – beyond Kings guard Keon Ellis – is relatively limited for now. Stein also notes that Los Angeles’ preferences in any deal would be to bring in a player on a similar age timeline as Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, who are 26 and 27, respectively.
- Any major moves made by the Hawks during this trade deadline are expected to include Kristaps Porzingis‘ $30.7MM expiring deal, Stein reports. However, he notes the recent announcement that Porzingis would miss the next two weeks due to an unspecified illness could complicate a potential deal, given the similar health problems that limited the Latvian big man during the 2025 playoffs.
- Jalen Johnson is expected to be off-limits in any trade talks for the Hawks. Johnson posted his fourth-straight triple-double on Sunday night, which Stein notes (via Twitter) ties Nikola Jokic for the longest streak this season. Johnson has been instrumental in keeping Atlanta competitive with Trae Young having been limited to just five games this season due to a knee injury. The Hawks have posted a 12-9 record without Young, and Johnson has averaged 23.8 points, 11.2 rebounds, and 8.8 assists per game in that span.
- Warriors guard Pat Spencer is viewed as a near lock to have his two-way contract converted to a guaranteed deal, Stein writes. Entering Sunday, Spencer has been active for all 26 Golden State games, meaning he’s over halfway to his 50-game limit. The third-year guard is posting career-highs across the board, averaging 7.7 points, 3.3 assists, and 2.6 rebounds in 16.4 minutes per game on .457/.424/.900 shooting splits. The Warriors currently have a full 15-man roster and are only operating about $264K below their hard cap, so they’ll need to make another move before they’re able to convert Spencer.
Kings’ Drew Eubanks To Miss At Least Three Weeks With Thumb Fracture
Kings center Drew Eubanks has an avulsion fracture in his left thumb and will be reevaluated in three weeks, according to Sean Cunningham of KCRA News in Sacramento (Twitter link).
The injury occurred during Thursday’s loss to Denver, as Eubanks was forced to leave the game after playing just four minutes. He underwent an MRI on Saturday that revealed the damage.
Eubanks was inserted into the starting lineup after center Domantas Sabonis was sidelined with a torn meniscus in mid-November. However, rookie big man Maxime Raynaud has been more productive lately and has taken over that role in the past three games, averaging 13.3 points and 9.0 rebounds during that stretch.
Eubanks, 28, is in his first season with the Kings after signing a one-year, minimum-salary contract over the summer. He has appeared in 25 games, making 11 starts and averaging 5.3 points and 2.8 rebounds in 14.4 minutes per night while shooting 61.5% from the field.
Sacramento is the sixth team in eight seasons for Eubanks, who was traded from the Jazz to the Clippers at last year’s deadline. He became a free agent when L.A, waived him in July to avoid paying his $4.5MM non-guaranteed salary.
With Eubanks out of action until at least January, Precious Achiuwa and Dario Saric could see an increase in playing time until Sabonis returns.
Afseth’s Latest: Mavs, AD, Klay, Giannis, Morant, Kessler, More
Although Dallas’ front office is open to listening to offers on Anthony Davis, Klay Thompson, Daniel Gafford and D’Angelo Russell, the Mavericks aren’t “aggressively shopping” any of those four veterans, sources tell Grant Afseth of DallasHoopsJournal.com.
As Afseth details, rival teams have gotten the impression that the Mavericks are currently evaluating not only their play to this point in the season but also their options on the trade market. They’re viewed as being “opportunistic” instead of a seller, Afseth writes, and whatever moves Dallas makes will be geared toward improving the team’s “long-term outlook.”
According to Afseth, the Mavs want to see Kyrie Irving play alongside Cooper Flagg and believe the star guard can complement the rookie forward and assist in Flagg’s development. Irving’s name is notably not among the aforementioned group.
While the Pistons, Hawks and Raptors are reportedly expected to among the suitors for Davis, sources who spoke to Afseth expressed skepticism about Davis’ fit in Detroit and Atlanta, with Toronto viewed as the best on-court landing spot of the group. Still, as Marc Stein recently reported and Afseth confirms, a Davis trade shouldn’t be viewed as an inevitability.
“The Mavericks are going to want to see how this team looks with AD and Kyrie,” one source told Afseth. “There is no sense in trying to just get rid of AD. The market has to be where they want to make a deal. If there isn’t a good enough deal on the table, I don’t see a deal getting done. They’d get another look at the trade market or evaluate an extension in the summer.”
Here are a few more highlights from Afseth’s rumor round-up:
- While Thompson’s on-court contributions have been up and down during his time in Dallas, he has remained a “positive” presence despite the organizational turmoil following the Luka Doncic trade, Afseth reports. If Dallas does end up having serious discussions about Thompson, the team is expected to be “considerate” of Thompson’s desire to play for a contender, Afseth adds.
- The future of Giannis Antetokounmpo is the biggest storyline on the trade market, but Afseth hears there haven’t been any new developments on that front. Some rival executives still view the Knicks as the favorites to land Antetokounmpo if he’s made available, but the Heat and Spurs are among the other potential suitors for the two-time MVP.
- Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant, who returned from a 10-game absence on Friday, is not currently available on the trade market, per Afseth. Should that change, the Heat are not viewed as being a strong fit for the two-time All-Star, Afseth continues.
- The Rockets, Timberwolves and Kings are among the teams keeping an eye on point guards ahead of the February 5 deadline, according to Afseth.
- The Pacers have done background work on Jazz center Walker Kessler, according to Afseth, who says Tyrese Haliburton is a fan of the fourth-year big man. Kessler, who is out for the year following shoulder surgery, was seeking $120MM+ on a long-term rookie scale extension before the season began, Afseth reports. Kessler will be a restricted free agent next offseason.
Concerns About Aprons, Depth Making Teams Warier Of Highly Paid Vets
As teams around the NBA weigh potential trades or signings that would add a maximum-salary (or near-max) veteran to their roster, they’ve become increasingly wary of navigating the tax aprons, as well as maintaining enough flexibility to build a deep roster, according to executives who spoke to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst and Tim Bontemps.
“There are two major shifts happening,” a Western Conference general manager explained to Windhorst. “We have everyone being very mindful of the aprons and carefully slotting their players to fit. Then you have the nature of the game, where you need deep rosters to play this volume of games at the speed the league is playing.”
Stars are still considered vital to building a championship-caliber roster, Windhorst writes, but front offices are more concerned than ever about the potential availability of a player who will be earning upwards of 30-35% of the salary cap, as well as the cost of acquiring and retaining that player, in terms of either salary, draft picks, or both.
“The max-level guys who make tons of money can’t play as many minutes as they could before, so they become less valuable,” an Eastern Conference executive told Bontemps. “You can’t be committing that much of your money to guys who won’t play at all or cannot sustain the same number of games and minutes.”
“You just can’t paper over a guy on your roster that isn’t delivering value at the highest levels,” another Eastern exec added, per Bontemps. “You can manage missing the lower-end guys, but the long-term salaries making $30, $40, $50 million? There’s no getting over that. Those guys bury you in this system.”
Windhorst recently broached this topic in an episode of The Hoop Collective podcast, expressing some skepticism that there will be teams willing to make massive offers for Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo. However, in today’s ESPN article, Windhorst acknowledges that Antetokounmpo – a two-time MVP who is on the wrong side of 30, is on a super-max contract, and will likely warrant another huge extension in the near future – is among the potential exceptions, writing that the “old rules” still apply to a player of that caliber.
“I don’t think you’d see 29 teams make an offer like if, say, Victor (Wembanyama) was available, but there would be plenty of interest (in Antetokounmpo) and probably two to three teams would be willing to go all-in right now,” an East executive told ESPN. “Every player has risk, and he’d have some risk, but this is one you don’t have to work too hard to talk yourself into.”
Conversely, Mavericks big man Anthony Davis, whose 2025/26 salary is identical to Antetokounmpo’s and who is a year-and-a-half older, is the sort of player whose market would be less robust due to concerns about his availability and the percentage of a team’s cap he’d take up, says Bontemps.
“For a guy like Anthony Davis,” a Western Conference executive said, “it’s hard to justify them getting a 35 percent max when they aren’t playing a ton of minutes and games.”
Execs around the NBA may view Philadelphia as a cautionary tale. The Sixers are paying Joel Embiid and Paul George a combined $107MM this season — they’ve appeared in nine and eight games, respectively, and haven’t performed at their usual level.
Bontemps also points to Kings center Domantas Sabonis, Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr., and Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen as examples of players whose recent pay raises might make some teams less inclined to give up significant hauls for them if they were available. Sabonis will make $94MM in the two seasons after this one; Jackson has a four-year, $205MM extension starting in 2026; and Markkanen will make nearly $50MM annually through 2028/29.
“On their last contracts, they had good value,” an executive said of that trio. “(Now) they are all at a whole new threshold, where you look at them totally differently.”
While front offices may be proceeding with an abundance of caution on certain trade targets, that doesn’t mean that every star who ends up on the trade block will be available at a discount. Even for players with red flags, there could always be one team willing to make a more aggressive offer than what 28 others would consider rational. Still, Windhorst and Bontemps suggest this evolving league-wide sentiment is a factor that could impact the NBA’s trade market going forward.
“The aprons are causing people to think and act differently,” a scout told ESPN. “But there will always be teams that decide to strike while the irons are hot. … It’s an even bigger risk-reward calculation than it has ever been.”
Western Rumors: Kings, Wolves, White, Mavs, Murphy, Kuminga
Moving Zach LaVine‘s maximum-salary contract without attaching a draft pick as a sweetener could be a challenge for the Kings, according to Sam Amick of The Athletic, who suggests that Sacramento general manager Scott Perry views the team’s draft assets as a valuable part of a potential rebuild and isn’t inclined to move them.
With that in mind, Amick suggests there’s a “very real chance” that LaVine and other Kings veteran trade candidates, including Domantas Sabonis and DeMar DeRozan, stay in Sacramento beyond this season’s trade deadline. As Amick points out, Perry has preached patience as he attempts to turn the Kings’ roster into one capable of contending.
League sources tell The Athletic that Sabonis has “heeded that call” for patience and is prepared to remain in Sacramento for the foreseeable future. The Wizards, Suns, and Bulls are among the teams that have had interest in Sabonis in the past and could still be suitors, according to Amick, but like LaVine, the veteran center won’t be easy to move due in part to his sizable contract.
Outside of the Kings’ veteran stars, guard Keon Ellis continues to be the trade candidate who holds the most intrigue around the NBA, but the team hasn’t ruled out the possibility of hanging onto Ellis and working out an extension when he becomes eligible for one later this season, Amick writes. While that may be the case, I have to think that Ellis would have a more consistent role in Sacramento’s rotation if that path is really the team’s preferred outcome.
Here are several more trade-related items of interest from around the Western Conference:
- A team source confirmed to The Athletic that the Timberwolves have interest in Bulls guard Coby White, as was reported on Thursday. However, because White will likely be in line for a significant raise in the offseason, the Wolves may view him as a potential rental, which would make them less inclined to give up the sort of return Chicago would be seeking, Amick explains.
- While many NBA observers were anticipating a fire sale in Dallas following the Mavericks‘ slow start, one league source who spoke to Amick said there have been some indications that the Mavs are still mulling the possibility of pursuing upgrades on the current core this season rather than becoming a deadline seller. As Amick points out, Dallas is technically in a play-in spot right now at No. 10 in the West, so if the team expects to get Kyrie Irving back from his ACL tear in the coming months, the idea of making a postseason push isn’t outlandish.
- While the Warriors have long had interest wing Trey Murphy III, Amick has gotten “mixed” feedback on what the Pelicans think of Jonathan Kuminga, who would likely be a salary-matching piece in any Golden State offer for Murphy.
- Meanwhile, while Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area tweeted earlier this week that the Suns are still a potential suitor for Kuminga, John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 reports (via Twitter) that Phoenix’s level of interest in the Warriors forward has dropped since the offseason. Part of what appealed to the Suns when they considered Kuminga during the offseason was the idea of getting him on a four-year contract, Gambadoro explains, so acquiring him on his current short-term deal holds less appeal.
LaVine Out, Schröder Doubtful For Thursday
- The Kings have ruled Zach LaVine out for Thursday’s game against Denver due to soreness in his right thumb, relays Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee (Twitter link). Dennis Schröder is doubtful with a strained right hip flexor.
And-Ones: Front Offices, I. Mobley, NBA Europe, Quaintance
The Thunder are coming off a championship and are just the third team in NBA history to open a season with at least 23 wins in their first 24 games, so it comes as no surprise that general manager Sam Presti came out on top in The Athletic’s annual poll on the league’s best front offices.
A group of The Athletic’s NBA writers asked 36 executives around the NBA to rank their top five front offices, and Oklahoma City received an overwhelming 31 first-place votes.
The rest of the top five wasn’t simply made up of the teams at the top of the NBA’s standings. Brad Stevens and the Celtics placed second, followed by Rafael Stone and the Rockets at No. 3, Pat Riley and the Heat fourth, and Kevin Pritchard and the Pacers rounding out the top five. Each of those front offices received at least one first-place vote.
The Cavaliers, Timberwolves, Knicks, Spurs, and Warriors finished in the top 10, with another 15 teams cited at least once, either as a top-five front office or as a group considered to be “on the rise” and earning an honorable mention. According to The Athletic, the five clubs not to be mentioned at all were the Mavericks, Kings, Pelicans, Suns, and Bulls.
Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Isaiah Mobley, the older brother of reigning NBA Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley, is in the process of finalizing an agreement with Hapoel Jerusalem, sources tell Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com (Twitter link). Mobley, a 2022 second-round pick who spent parts of three seasons in the NBA with Cleveland and Philadelphia from 2022-25, has been playing this fall with Manisa Basket in Turkey.
- The fall of 2027 continues to be viewed as a “realistic target” for the launch of the NBA’s European league, according to FIBA secretary general Andreas Zagklis. Joe Vardon of The Athletic passes along some of the other comments Zagklis made about the prospective league during a news conference on Tuesday, including the fact that the goal is to give more teams across Europe a pathway to qualifying for the NBA’s league than can currently qualify for the EuroLeague.
- Kentucky’s Jayden Quaintance has cracked the top five in the latest 2026 NBA mock draft from Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report, behind the usual suspects at the top. The 6’10” sophomore forward is making his way back from an ACL tear he sustained while playing for Arizona State last season.