When the new CBA went into effect, there were some who wondered if it would spell the end of dramatic NBA trade deadlines. This weekend gave us an emphatic answer to that question as Luka Doncic and Anthony Davis got traded for each other and then the Spurs, Kings, and Bulls agreed to a huge trade to send De’Aaron Fox to San Antonio and Zach LaVine to Sacramento.
Those moves sent shockwaves around the league, and with just a few days left until Thursday’s 3 p.m. ET deadline, there are a ton of storylines left to play out. Here, we are going to look at 10 that are particularly interesting to me going into the deadline as the league still tries to get its bearings after this weekend’s seismic activity.
Will the Warriors get their second star?
The Warriors pursuit of another All-Star to pair with Stephen Curry has been going on for the better part of a year. They’ve been connected to talks about LeBron James, Paul George, Lauri Markkanen, Zach LaVine, Jimmy Butler, and others dating back to last deadline, but to this point they’ve not pulled the trigger on a deal. They have, to this point, been unwilling to part with their top young talent or multiple picks in a trade, but after the Lakers landed Doncic it seems there’s an added impetus in the Golden State building to make a splash of their own. On Monday, we heard that they’ve called around the league trying to gauge the availability of just about every All-Star caliber player.
Among the names thrown out as potential Warriors targets are Butler, George, James, Brandon Ingram, Zion Williamson, and old friend Kevin Durant. Some of those feel more realistic than others, but if there’s one thing that will push an owner who has been on the fence about going all-in to make a move, it’s seeing their rivals dominating headlines with the most shocking trade in NBA history. For that reason more than anything on the court, I expect the Warriors to get a deal done, I just have no idea who it’ll be for — and right now it seems no one else is sure either.
Who is going to trade for Jimmy Butler?
Butler still wants the Suns, but they can’t make a trade for him because Bradley Beal is still indicating he’s not waiving his no-trade clause. In the absence of a more shocking move (more on that in a bit), there’s no path for Phoenix to get Butler. The Warriors, Grizzlies, and Bucks have all registered documented interest in Butler despite his insistence he won’t re-sign with any of them — and outright statement he doesn’t want to play in Memphis at all — but it’s not clear if any of those conversations have come close to a resolution. At this point, I don’t see Butler yielding a much better return than what the Bulls got for Zach LaVine, which was mostly expiring salary filler and their own pick (that was top-10 protected) returned to them. That means a lot of teams, theoretically, could be in play for him on a one-year rental. His expiring contract won’t scare off teams if the price to get him isn’t very high, and if anything, some will see it as a way to clear the books for the immediate future while making a push right now.
Will the Spurs add another big name now or wait until this summer?
The Spurs trading for Fox indicated they’re ready to take a leap into playoff contention in the West, but they still need more between Fox and Wembanyama to be a real threat. The good news is, they didn’t have to trade any of their best assets to land Fox, and still have all of their major contracts and a ton of draft picks to still go after some upgrades. I think they’ll want to see how Fox and Wemby look before chasing another max-type superstar, but they have enough financial flexibility and a large enough draft stash that they could take a swing on someone like Nets forward Cam Johnson this week and still be able to keep their options open for a star in the near future.
Are the Suns going to do something dramatic?
If Beal won’t waive his no-trade, the Suns don’t have an obvious path to making a big move. But at 25-23 with a hysterical tax bill on the horizon, they may consider taking note of what Dallas just did and look at resetting a bit, while still trying to compete. I think everyone around the league took note of the Mavs fan backlash to the Doncic trade, and for that reason I do not think the Suns will even consider moving Devin Booker right now. However, Kevin Durant is still highly valuable and could yield a big return that could create some needed flexibility for the Suns if they wanted to pursue that.
Jake Fischer reported on Monday on The Stein Line that the Suns are not trying to actively shop Durant, but are at least willing to listen to offers. Whether it’s the Warriors or a team like Houston, who reportedly tried to pursue a KD trade this summer, the Suns will at least have to seriously consider what their options are, because this current group is simply not working out as intended.
How big will the Lakers swing to fill the hole at center?
Everyone in L.A. is still processing the Doncic-Davis trade, but one thing is certain: the Lakers have to add a center by Thursday. Jaxson Hayes and Christian Koloko just isn’t gonna get it done in the West, and they figure to be very active over the next few days canvassing the league to see what the cost is for various bigs on the market. The question is whether they look to take a big swing or if they’ll just simply look to find a replacement level center who can protect the rim behind a dynamic duo of Doncic and James. The good news for the Lakers is there seem to be plenty of centers out there on the market, whether that’s Jonas Valanciunas, Clint Capela, Nikola Vucevic, Robert Williams III, Mitchell Robinson, Nic Claxton, or someone else. The problem for the Lakers right now is they likely aren’t going to get anyone at a discount, as the entire league knows they’re desperate for a big man, so while they seemingly got a deal on Doncic they may have to pay a premium for a big man.
Will anyone in the East make a big move?
Most all of the chatter right now is about the teams out West, and that’s not surprising when you look at the makeup of the Eastern Conference. The Cavs are playing at an insane level and want to give this group at least one more postseason run together. The Celtics, even with their recent rough patch, are the defending champs and figure to give this group a chance at running it back in hopes they’ll wake up once it’s playoff time. The Knicks made their big trade just before camp in acquiring Karl-Anthony Towns and don’t really have a way to make another splashy move.
That means any major move is going to need to come from a team in the middle. However, there aren’t a lot of options there either. Indiana made their big move last year to acquire Pascal Siakam and it’s hard to see where they’d make another splash. The Bucks pop up in a lot of rumors, but are extremely restricted with the second apron and it seems more likely they make a move for a starter but not a star (but they are still apparently in the Jimmy Butler sweepstakes). The Heat, Hawks, and Bulls are all going to be sellers, not buyers, at the deadline barring something truly shocking. The Sixers also have apron issues, and it’s not clear what a big move for them would even look like at this point unless it’s swapping out Paul George for Jimmy Butler (or something of the sort).
That leaves, basically, the Pistons and the Magic as teams that could make a real run at someone, but neither team has indicated they’re in the mood to skip steps in their build. Perhaps that changes if the right guy becomes available in the next few days, but it certainly seems like most of the activity this week is going to be West teams buying and East teams selling or making moves on the margins.
How much pressure will other West playoff contenders feel to be more aggressive?
There are a handful of teams that have been relatively absent from the chatter coming into deadline week, but after the moves made by the Lakers, Mavs, and Spurs — and with the Warriors signaling they’re going to at least try to make a big deal — I wonder if we see anything major from anyone else in the West that hasn’t yet been brought up.
The Thunder may be the only team that will feel truly unaffected by the Doncic deal, as they seem very secure in their position atop the West and, like the Cavs in the East, will want to see what this version of the team can do come playoff time. The Rockets had, by all accounts, decided they would do the same, but if, say, Kevin Durant is now no longer an impossibility, will they look to make a splash? The Grizzlies are known to be interested in Jimmy Butler despite him not wanting to be there, but perhaps they expand their search for a star wing in the coming days. There was scuttle awhile back about the Nuggets having interest in Zach LaVine, who is now in Sacramento, but could they explore other avenues to shake things up and move Michael Porter Jr.? The Clippers made a small move on the margin in a trade with the Jazz, but Steve Ballmer might see the crosstown rival Lakers dominating headlines and at least take a look at what their options are. Apron restrictions make it tough for the Timberwolves to do much, but there has to be real concern teams behind them (Spurs/Mavs/Warriors) in the standings are going to close the gap.
No one can think about their position in the standings quite the same way they did last Friday, and we’ll see if this weekend’s blockbusters trigger an arm’s race out West.
Will the Mavs look to shuffle their supporting cast?
Dallas may not be done dealing. As my colleague Bill DiFilippo pointed out this week, the Mavs have built their roster to maximize Luka Doncic’s skills — largely with non-playmaking 3-and-D floor-spacers on the wings. While Kyrie Irving will take on a larger playmaking role, they’re now without a lot of on-ball talent and one wonders if they’ll look to address that in the next few days to reshape the roster in accordance to what their new star duo of Irving and Davis do best.
How much more will the Bulls look to sell?
The Bulls finally began their teardown with the LaVine trade, as they brought back mostly filler — with the hope that Kevin Huerter can regain his form and become A Guy again — and recouped their first round pick from San Antonio. You don’t make a move to get secure your own pick (even if it was top-10 protected) without wanting to maximize that pick, and we’ll see what else Chicago has planned. Nikola Vucevic seems like a lock to get moved, but teams will at least call and ask about some others on the roster. Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu are both having very solid years, and while neither of them are old, if the Bulls could decide they’d rather strip it down all the way and load up their draft pick cupboard, those two are your best bet to get real assets back.
Are the Pelicans going to tear it down?
Speaking of teardowns, the Pelicans have had the season from hell on the injury front, most recently seeing Dejounte Murray’s year come to a premature end with a torn Achilles. Last year, the Grizzlies held firm on their group in a similar disaster scenario and have bounced back to be a top team in the West, but they also were starting from a much loftier position. This Pelicans team has never finished above the Play-In as constructed, so is it really worth wandering through a lost season in hopes of running it back next year? Brandon Ingram remains very available, but at this point they have to be considering getting out of the Zion Williamson business as well — especially after seeing the Mavs set a little precedent on moving a star, with a far better resume, due in part to conditioning concerns. CJ McCollum joked about having his bags packed after the Doncic trade, but if the Pelicans are shifting their focus forward, he certainly isn’t a long-term solution in New Orleans and maybe a team like Orlando would look at him as a mid-tier upgrade that wouldn’t require an all-in move.
