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Four-Team Kyle Kuzma/Khris Middleton Trade Officially Completed

February 6th, 2025 at 10:42pm CST by Luke Adams

The four-team trade that sends Kyle Kuzma to the Bucks and Khris Middleton to the Wizards has been formally completed, the Knicks announced in a press release (via Twitter). Washington confirmed the finalized agreement in a press release as well.

The terms of the deal, which also includes the Spurs, are as follows:

Bucks acquire Kuzma, Jericho Sims, either the Pistons’, Suns’, or Warriors’ 2025 second-round pick (whichever is second-most favorable; from Wizards), and a protected second-round pick (from Spurs).
Wizards acquire Middleton, AJ Johnson, the draft rights to Mathias Lessort (from Knicks), the right to swap their own 2028 first-round pick for the Bucks’ 2028 first-round pick or the Trail Blazers’ 2028 first-round pick (whichever is least favorable), and cash ($1MM; from Bucks).
Knicks acquire Delon Wright, the draft rights to Hugo Besson (from Bucks), and cash ($2MM; from Bucks).
Spurs acquire Patrick Baldwin Jr. and cash ($4.13MM; from Bucks).
Note: If the Trail Blazers haven’t conveyed their lottery-protected 2025 first-round pick by 2027 and it lands outside the lottery in 2028, it would be ineligible to be swapped; in that scenario, the Wizards would simply have the right to swap their own 2028 first-round pick for the Bucks’ 2028 first-round pick.

The Kuzma/Middleton agreement between the Bucks and Spurs was initially reported on Wednesday morning. Our full story on that original deal can be found right here.

Milwaukee later expanded the trade by working out a side deal with New York involving Sims and a second side deal with San Antonio for Baldwin.

The transaction allows the Bucks to shed enough salary move below the second tax apron, which is why they’re permitted to send out cash in the deal — Fred Katz of The Athletic reported the details on the cash going to each team earlier today.

The only other changes from the terms previously reported are that the draft rights to Lessort are headed from New York to Washington instead of Milwaukee and the Spurs are sending the Bucks a protected second-round pick. Details on that second-rounder are TBD.

Suns Trade Jusuf Nurkic To Hornets In Three-Player Deal

February 6th, 2025 at 10:05pm CST by Arthur Hill

10:05 pm: The trade is official, according to a press release from the Hornets.

12:28 pm: The Suns will send Jusuf Nurkic and a 2026 first-round pick to the Hornets in exchange for Cody Martin, Vasilije Micic and a second-rounder in 2026, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

Phoenix has been searching for a taker for Nurkic, who was removed from the starting lineup in early January and hasn’t played at all since January 7. The recent trade for Nick Richards and the emergence of rookie big man Oso Ighodaro made Nurkic expendable.

The 30-year-old center has one season left on his contract at $19.375MM. He expressed skepticism last month that the Suns would be able to move him, but they found a willing trade partner in Charlotte, which was low on centers after agreeing to send Mark Williams to the Lakers late Wednesday night.

The Hornets and Suns discussed Nurkic before finalizing the Richards deal, but they opted to keep him out of the original trade.

Today’s deal provides future flexibility for Phoenix, as Martin’s $8.68MM salary for next season is non-guaranteed and Micic has a team option worth $8.1MM. The Suns have a roster opening, so they can complete the two-for-one trade without another move.

The 2026 first-rounder will include “least favorable” language. If the Wizards’ pick lands in the top eight, they’ll have the opportunity to swap first-rounders with the Suns. The Magic would subsequently have an opportunity to swap their first-rounder for whichever pick Phoenix holds, with the Grizzlies then given the chance to swap their first-rounder for the pick the Suns are left with. Whichever pick is remaining at the end of that series of swaps is the one headed to Charlotte.

The 2026 second-round pick that Phoenix will receive is the least favorable between the Warriors’ and Nuggets’ second-rounders, according to Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link).

Raptors Acquire, Waive James Wiseman

February 6th, 2025 at 10:03pm CST by Earnest Marshall

10:03 pm: The Raptors have issued a press release confirming their deal with the Pacers and announcing that Wiseman has been waived. That’s a clear signal that the trade was just about the cash for Toronto, which still has an open spot on its 15-man roster and will have a second opening when Orlando Robinson‘s 10-day deal expires tonight.

2:16 pm: The Pacers are trading James Wiseman and cash to the Raptors, according to a report from ESPN’s Shams Charania (Twitter link). Wiseman is currently out for the season due to a torn Achilles after signing a two-year, minimum-salary deal last offseason.

In return, the Pacers are getting a top-55 protected second-round pick from the Raptors, according to IndyStar’s Dustin Dopirak (Twitter links). That pick is for the 2026 draft.

The former No. 2 overall pick only appeared in one game this season due to his injury. Prior to that he had stints with the Warriors (where he was drafted in 2020) and Pistons. In 148 career games (55 starts) he holds averages of 9.1 points and 5.6 rebounds.

Wiseman has a team option worth $2.5MM for next season. If the Raptors opt to exercise that option, they could take a flier on a former highly rated recruit who is still only 23 years old and matches up with Toronto’s timeline. They could also turn down the option in favor of extra flexibility.

Toronto will have a full 15-man roster after the move, if no other changes to reported deals involving Brandon Ingram or P.J. Tucker occur.

As for the Pacers, they gain a bit more of a cushion under the luxury tax and open up a roster spot, which could help them be players on the buyout market. Specifically, as ESPN’s Bobby Marks points out (Twitter link), the Pacers will move from being $147K below the tax to about $2.3MM below it.

Raptors Acquire Brandon Ingram From Pelicans

February 6th, 2025 at 9:34pm CST by Arthur Hill

FEBRUARY 6: The Raptors have officially acquired Ingram, the team confirmed in a press release.

“We see Brandon as an integral part of this team’s future – he’s an elite scorer, he has a really diverse offensive skillset, and adding him to the young core we have is huge as we continue our quest to win in Toronto,” team president Masai Ujiri said in a statement. “At the same time we welcome Brandon, we need to really thank Bruce and Kelly. They have been professionals and leaders and they’ve been great teammates and examples for all of us. We wish them all the best moving forward.”

FEBRUARY 5: The Pelicans will trade Brandon Ingram to the Raptors for Bruce Brown, Kelly Olynyk, a first-round pick and a second-rounder, according to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

The first-rounder will be a top-four protected 2026 pick that originally belonged to Indiana, sources tell Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Twitter link). The second-rounder will be the Raptors’ 2031 pick, tweets Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca.

Sam Amick of The Athletic reported earlier tonight that the Raptors and Hawks were “neck-and-neck” in their pursuit of Ingram, but Toronto found a way to get the deal done. Assuming he’s signed to an extension, the 27-year-old forward will be part of the long-term foundation in Toronto alongside Scottie Barnes, RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley.

Ingram will be eligible for an extension worth up to $144MM over three years through June 30, according to Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link). Marks adds that the Raptors inherit Ingram’s Bird rights and can exceed the cap to sign him to a new deal in July when they will be roughly $50MM below the tax line.

Marks also notes (via Twitter) that Ingram’s current contract includes a 15% trade kicker that will increase his cap hit for this season from $36MM to $38.1MM.

With an expiring contract, Ingram has been on the market for months after he and the Pelicans weren’t able to agree on an extension last summer. New Orleans reportedly offered to use Ingram’s deal to help Miami facilitate a Jimmy Butler trade, then made its own offer for Butler last week.

Ingram has been sidelined with an ankle issue since December 7, and he still hasn’t been cleared for contact. He may not be able to play for a few more weeks, but that shouldn’t matter to Toronto, which is far out of the playoff race. Ingram is averaging 22.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 5.2 assists in the 18 games he’s played this season.

Will Guillory of the Athletic notes (via Twitter) that Ingram was on the bench with his teammates for the first half of tonight’s game at Denver, but he didn’t return after halftime, suggesting that a trade was imminent.

Brown has a $23MM expiring contract, while Olynyk has one year left at $13.4MM. It’s possible that New Orleans will explore subsequent deals involving both players before Thursday afternoon’s trade deadline.

Brown, 28, built a reputation as a versatile utility man on several teams, culminating with the role he played in helping the Nuggets win the 2023 title. He turned that into a lucrative two-year deal with Indiana, but was traded to Toronto midway through last season and has been limited by injuries this year. He’s averaging 8.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 17 games.

Olynyk, a 33-year-old big man, was in his first full season with Toronto after being acquired at last year’s deadline. He was putting up 7.0 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 23 games.

Grizzlies Trade Marcus Smart, First-Round Pick To Wizards; Jake LaRavia To Kings

February 6th, 2025 at 8:35pm CST by Luke Adams

8:35 pm: The three-team trade involving the Grizzlies, Wizards, and Kings is official, according to press releases from all three clubs.

In addition to the details reported below, the Wizards sent the Grizzlies a 2025 second-round pick as part of the agreement, as reported by Varun Shankar of The Washington Post (Twitter link).

2:07 pm: The Grizzlies are trading Marcus Smart and a 2025 first-round pick to the Wizards in a multi-team deal that will see Memphis acquire a pair of second-round picks, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link). The trade will also include the Kings, per multiple reports.

According to Charania (Twitter link), NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter link), and Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Twitter link), here are the details of the deal that are known so far:

Grizzlies to acquire Marvin Bagley III (from Wizards), Johnny Davis (from Wizards), a 2028 second-round pick (from Kings), and one additional second-round pick (possibly from the Wizards, though it’s unclear).
Kings to acquire Jake LaRavia (from Grizzlies).
Wizards to acquire Smart (from Grizzlies), Colby Jones (from Kings), Alex Len (from Kings), and the Grizzlies’ 2025 first-round pick (top-14 protected; from Grizzlies).

Obviously, Memphis’ initial trade for Smart completely backfired, as the former Defensive Player of the Year has only made 39 combined appearances for the Grizzlies over the past two seasons due to a series of injuries. The Grizzlies gave up Tyus Jones, the draft rights to Marcus Sasser (No. 25 overall pick in 2023) and Golden State’s 2024 first-rounder (which was later traded multiple times — Carlton Carrington was selected No. 14 overall by Washington) in that initial deal.

Smart also hasn’t been particularly effective when active for the Grizzlies, especially in 2024/25, averaging just 8.7 points, 3.7 assists, 2.3 rebounds and 1.2 steals on .358/.322/.833 shooting in 19 games (21.1 minutes). That’s not much production for a player earning $20.2MM this season and $21.6MM in ’25/26.

Former first-round pick LaRavia, on the other hand, has been effective in a crowded Memphis rotation this season, averaging 7.3 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists on .490/.444/.698 shooting in 47 games (20.9 minutes). However, the Grizzlies declined to pick up his $5.16MM rookie scale team option for ’25/26 last fall, which means they couldn’t offer him a starting salary above that amount when he hits unrestricted free agency this summer — that same restriction will now apply to Sacramento.

Moving off Smart’s contract will free up Memphis’ books for next season, as Bagley and Davis will hit free agency this summer. That should help them re-sign forward Santi Aldama, an impending restricted free agent, and possibly extend All-Star big man Jaren Jackson Jr. The Grizzlies will also add a couple of second-round picks in the deal.

It’s a pretty low-risk move for the Kings, who are looking to make a playoff push. Even if it turns out that they won’t be able to re-sign LaRavia in the offseason, they didn’t give up any rotation players and the outgoing assets are modest.

Both Memphis and Sacramento will save some money in ’24/25 as a result of the deal as well, giving the clubs more flexibility to potentially be players on the buyout market.

As for the Wizards, they’ll take a flyer on Smart in the hopes that he gets healthy and becomes a trade chip next season. Jones and Len aren’t owed money beyond this season. Of course, the primary motivation for making the deal for the rebuilding team was to acquire the 2025 first-round pick, which would land at No. 27 overall if the season ended today.

Rory Maher contributed to this story.

Heat Officially Trade Jimmy Butler To Warriors In Five-Team Deal

February 6th, 2025 at 7:32pm CST by Luke Adams

The five-team blockbuster sending Jimmy Butler from the Heat to the Warriors is now official, according to press releases from multiple clubs involved in the trade. The terms of the deal, which also includes the Jazz, Pistons, and Raptors, are as follows:

Warriors acquire Butler.
Heat acquire Andrew Wiggins, Kyle Anderson, Davion Mitchell, and the Warriors’ 2025 first-round pick (top-10 protected).
Pistons acquire Dennis Schröder, Lindy Waters, and either the Warriors’ or Timberwolves’ 2031 second-round pick (whichever is least favorable; from Warriors).
Jazz acquire KJ Martin, Josh Richardson, a 2028 second-round pick (from Pistons; exact details TBD), either the Heat’s or Pacers’ 2031 second-round pick (whichever is most favorable; from Heat), and cash (from Heat).
Raptors acquire P.J. Tucker, the Lakers’ 2026 second-round pick (from Heat), and cash (from Heat).

Utah waived Jalen Hood-Schifino in order to acquire two players while sending one out, as we detailed earlier. They’re also expected to cut Richardson.

The deal wraps up a saga that first began on December 10 when word broke that the Heat were open to listening to offers for Butler. By Christmas Day, Butler was said to prefer a trade out of Miami, and a little over a week later he formally asked the team to move him.

The situation only escalated from there, with the Heat repeatedly suspending Butler for conduct detrimental to the team and withholding services. He was serving an indefinite team-imposed suspension when news broke on Wednesday that the Warriors had struck a deal to acquire him.

Butler, who will be teaming up in Golden State with longtime Warriors stars Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, has reportedly already agreed to a two-year, maximum-salary extension with the team, as we outlined in our original story on the trade. We also published full stories on two side deals involving the Heat and Raptors and Pistons and Jazz that were folded into this larger trade structure.

The latest word, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link), is that Saturday is the target date for Butler’s Warriors debut. Golden State will play in Chicago that night.

Thunder Sign Branden Carlson To Two-Way Deal

February 6th, 2025 at 5:36pm CST by Earnest Marshall

After converting Ajay Mitchell from his two-way deal to a standard contract earlier Thursday, the Thunder have filled his two-way slot with Branden Carlson, as first reported by HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto and later announced by the team (Twitter links).

Carlson went undrafted this year after spending his five-year collegiate career at Utah. He originally signed on with the Raptors on a two-way deal but was cut just before the season. Meanwhile, the Thunder cycled through several frontcourt depth options to begin the year, starting the year with Alex Reese on a non-guaranteed contract before moving on to Malevy Leons and finally Carlson.

While Carlson stuck around longer than Reese and Leons, he was waived just after the New Year from his non-guaranteed contract. However, he showed enough during that time to prove he deserved another shot.

The Thunder re-signed Carlson three days after waiving him, this time to a 10-day contract. With Oklahoma City down several frontcourt options due to injury, Carlson stepped up over the last month and played well. He notably scored 11 points off the bench in a blowout win over Cleveland on Jan. 16, making three threes.

The seven-footer was then signed to another 10-day contract. After players have signed two 10-day deals, teams must decide whether to sign them for the entire season or let their deal expire. The Thunder initially opted for the latter option, using their 15th roster spot to take on Daniel Theis in a salary dump from New Orleans. But since Carlson impressed during his time on a 10-day, the Thunder aren’t hesitating to bring him back on board for an even longer look with Theis waived and Mitchell converted.

In all, Carlson is averaging 3.1 points and 1.7 rebounds per game this season while shooting 42.9% from three. The Thunder now have a full 18-man roster, with 15 players on standard contracts and Carlson joining Adam Flagler and Alex Ducas on two-way deals.

Pistons Waive Wendell Moore

February 6th, 2025 at 5:10pm CST by Earnest Marshall

The Pistons waived Wendell Moore Jr. on Thursday, according to the official NBA transactions log. Moore was originally acquired by Detroit in the summer in the move that brought in Bobi Klintman.

Moore, the 26th overall pick in the 2022 draft, averaged 3.2 points and 2.2 rebounds in limited playing time across 20 games. The Pistons relied on Moore relatively heavily in a small stretch toward the beginning of the season, with the young guard playing 21.4 minutes and averaging 7.1 points in mid-to-late November.

However, with the Pistons making a series of moves that will see them ultimately bring in Dennis Schröder and Lindy Waters III, Detroit had to make room on the roster. He was in the final year of his rookie scale deal.

Moore began his career with the Timberwolves, playing there from 2022-24. He didn’t play much with either the Wolves or their G League affiliate. In the 29 G League games he did appear in across two seasons, he averaged 17.7 points. Moore, still just 23, could hold some intrigue for teams looking to take a chance on young players.

Thunder Promote Ajay Mitchell To Standard Roster

February 6th, 2025 at 4:27pm CST by Luke Adams

The Thunder have converted rookie guard Ajay Mitchell from his two-way contract to a standard deal, promoting him to the 15-man roster, the team announced today in a press release.

Agents Todd Ramasar and Mike Simonetta tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link) that their client has signed a two-year contract worth $6MM. That deal will far exceed the prorated minimum salary for 2024/25, so Oklahoma City used a portion of its room exception to complete the signing.

The 38th overall pick in the 2024 draft, Mitchell was one of the more impressive performers in this season’s rookie class before going down last month with a turf toe injury that required surgery.

The former UC Santa Barbara standout was a regular part of the rotation for the West-leading Thunder, appearing in the team’s first 34 games of the season and averaging 16.5 minutes per night. Michell has recorded 6.4 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 1.7 steals per contest, with an excellent shooting line of .506/.431/.848.

When the Thunder announced Mitchell’s surgery, they said he would be reevaluated in 10-to-12 weeks, suggesting he would be out for most – if not all – of the rest of the regular season.

That reduced the urgency to promote the 22-year-old shooting guard to the standard roster, but Oklahoma City will do so anyway, ensuring that if he gets healthy down the stretch, he will no longer face a 50-game NBA limit and will be eligible to play int he postseason.

The Thunder opened up a roster spot on Thursday when they waived Daniel Theis, who was acquired from New Orleans in a salary-dump trade on Wednesday, so no additional move will be necessary to make room on the roster for Mitchell.

Jazz To Waive Josh Richardson, Jalen Hood-Schifino

February 6th, 2025 at 3:12pm CST by Arthur Hill

After being involved in two mega-deals over the past week, the Jazz will part with two of the players they received, sources tell Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter link), who says the team plans to waive Josh Richardson and Jalen Hood-Schifino.

Richardson is being re-routed to Utah in the Jimmy Butler trade, along with KJ Martin, whom the Jazz plan to keep, according to Larsen. Richardson has a $3MM expiring contract, so Utah won’t be out much money by letting him go. The 31-year-old swingman appeared in just eight games with Miami prior to being traded.

Utah acquired Hood-Schifino over the weekend by helping to facilitate the massive trade that sent Luka Doncic to the Lakers. L.A. had already declined the third-year option on the 2023 first-round pick, so Utah won’t have to pay him more than the balance of his $3.9MM salary for the rest of the season.

Both players will become unrestricted free agents once they clear waivers and will be eligible to sign with just about any team. Richardson won’t be able to rejoin the Heat, while Hood-Schifino will be ineligible to re-sign with the Lakers.

The Jazz will face an offseason decision on Martin, whose $8MM contract for 2025/26 is non-guaranteed. The 24-year-old forward has been out of action since December 23 due to a foot injury.