The NBA trade deadline is rapidly approaching, in the second season since the league moved up the last day teams can make trades to before the All-Star break.
Between now and February 7, rumors will be swirling as teams make and take calls about all kinds of potential trades, big and small. It’s always important to remember that reports of interest are often just that, a team calling about a player they like and wondering what it would take to get them. Often times, those conversations never go beyond that point, even as reports get fans giddy about the possibilities.
With that in mind, we have decided to take a look at all 30 teams to find the player or players most likely to be on the move before February 7. Some of these are big names, others lesser so, because some teams simply aren’t going to consider dealing any of their best players. Some teams it’s clear they need to make a move, but it’s hard to figure out exactly what that will be due to a cluttered cap sheet or a lack of assets. Others can be expected to simply look for a salary dump or to seek out asset acquisition for their veterans. Many of the names on this list have already appeared in rumors and whispers, while others are pure speculation based on the team’s needs and their cap sheet.
Let’s dive on in to who we can expect to be on the move, or at least to pop up in rumors, as the deadline inches ever closer.
Atlanta Hawks: Jeremy Lin/Dewayne Dedmon
I’d honestly be surprised if either of these players is still in Atlanta long after the February trade deadline. Dedmon has been bothered by some injury issues this season and is currently dealing with an ankle sprain, but when he’s been on the floor he’s shown everything a contender could be looking for in a reserve big man. He’s expanded his range to the three-point line in recent years (36 percent on 2.9 attempts per) and has the length to be a solid rim protector. Dedmon also has the smallest contract of all of the top Hawks veterans, making him easier to move than some others.
Lin is one of the best veteran point guards that figures to be available on the market, and figures to draw plenty of interest. His $13.8 million deal may require some creativity to move, but he’s in the midst of his most efficient offensive season of his career and teams will figure out a way to make money work to bring in more quality point guard help. Defense remains a weakness for Lin, but he’s a steady hand that can run a second unit, which is always in demand.
Boston Celtics: Terry Rozier
The Celtics are going to be a fascinating team to watch at the deadline, because this is a team that to this point has not clicked as most anticipated them doing. The preseason favorites in the East are currently fifth and all is not well in Boston, as evidenced by Kyrie Irving’s recent comments. This is still a team loaded with talent, though, and it’s very possible they simply choose to move forward as constructed, with the idea that they will get the chemistry thing figured out.
If they are to make a significant move, however, Terry Rozier would seem to be the most likely one to be dealt. Jaylen Brown’s struggles make his value about as low as it’s been, which means it’d be somewhat foolish to sell low on a young player that looked as good as he did last year. Gordon Hayward is in a similar position, Jayson Tatum and Kyrie Irving seem basically untouchable, and Al Horford is the glue that often holds the Celtics together. That leaves Rozier, the talented but inconsistent reserve point guard who everyone expects to leave this summer in free agency, as the most likely to be moved.
Rozier will undoubtedly draw interest from teams in need of a point guard who would like to lock him up on a long-term deal after acquiring him, but trading him is far from a no-brainer. Rozier has not been especially good off the bench this year, but has excelled in the starting role when Irving has been out. Irving’s injury history certainly makes having a strong backup point guard important, as we saw last year, and dealing Rozier in an effort to shuffle the deck and bring in more veteran talent would bring with it risk in terms of shortening the depth at that key position.
Brooklyn Nets: DeMarre Carroll
The Nets will likely stand pat at the deadline, as they’re making a playoff push in the East, but if they still feel another year of rebuilding may be the wisest course of action, Carroll’s contract is an opportunity to acquire someone with money on the books for next year in exchange for another young asset. Carroll still isn’t the player he was in Atlanta, but he’s bounced back to show solid form with the Nets the last two years. His expiring $15 million deal could net the Nets a second round pick or a young, unproven player coupled with someone making similar money to Carroll through next season.
The question is what do the Nets think they can do this summer with a lot of cap space? If they think they can bring in a star, they likely stay quiet at the deadline and hope Caris LeVert can return before the end of the season to give them a late playoff push. If they’d rather move some of that cap space back to 2020, moving Carroll represents their best opportunity to do that.
Charlotte Hornets: Jeremy Lamb
Kemba Walker rumors will undoubtedly pop up as we near the deadline, because they always do, but until something substantial changes I can’t imagine Charlotte dealing him away even if it might be best for them to enter a full-on rebuild. Lamb, however, is their other most notable expiring deal and there’s a near-zero percent chance they will be able to re-sign him this offseason.
Lamb has been the Hornets’ second-leading scorer this season and has emerged as a quality wing player in the NBA. That is a very useful thing and at just under $7.5 million, it’s not exactly difficult to find a way to make the money work in a Lamb deal with just about anyone. The Hornets have other contracts I’m sure they’d love to move before Lamb, but Lamb is likely the guy behind Walker teams will have interest in parting with some form of asset to acquire.
Chicago Bulls: Robin Lopez
The Bulls already dealt away Justin Holiday and now are in a stalemate with Robin Lopez. Lopez wants out of Chicago so he can play in Golden State, according to recent reports, but the Bulls refuse to work with him on a buyout. One would expect that means they plan on trying to trade him and his expiring contract for some kind of asset, but that may be tricky. Lopez can help a lot of teams, but with no one capable of just taking on his salary and buying him out themselves, the Bulls will be looking for a team that wants to trade for Lopez and bring him in to play. That requires finding a way to match close to his $14 million salary, which may be possible, but the Bulls would almost assuredly have to be willing to take on a bad contract to get an asset in return. This could get uglier before it gets better for the Lopez-Bulls situation, but one way or another, he’s got to be out of Chicago by the All-Star break, whether in a trade or buyout.
Cleveland Cavaliers: Alec Burks
The Cavs have already moved George Hill and Kyle Korver this season, which leaves the cupboard of veterans a bit bare for the deadline. Tristan Thompson’s name may get thrown out there, but he’s more valuable as a trade piece next season as an expiring, rather than when he has nearly $19 million owed to him for 2019-20. Rodney Hood signing the qualifying offer allows him to reject trades, which leaves Alec Burks as the lone expiring deal on the Cavs and, as such, is most likely to be moved.
Burks has shot the ball well from three, and everyone likes having more three-point shooting on their roster. The Cavs wouldn’t likely get much for Burks, as that will depend on what kind of contract they’re willing to take back for him.
Dallas Mavericks: Dennis Smith Jr.
This is maybe the easiest one on the list. There are substantial rumors to Smith’s time in Dallas being up, and it’s becoming more and more clear that the fit with he and Doncic on the floor together just isn’t there. Whether they package Smith with Wesley Matthews or someone else, you’d expect there to be a second player involved to make some money work. The Magic seem like a strong option given their need for point guard help and fitting Smith’s timeline a bit better than Dallas right now, but whatever the case, it seems clear that Smith will be finishing this season somewhere outside of Dallas.
Denver Nuggets: Trey Lyles
It’s very possible the Nuggets decide not to make any moves at the deadline, which would be understandable given how well they’ve played to this point and the apparent chemistry they’ve got working right now. Denver goes 11 deep most nights, and that 11th man, at least in terms of minutes, is Trey Lyles. If the Nuggets decide they need to bolster their wing rotation with a trade, he makes the most sense both from a rotation standpoint and him being a restricted free agent this summer. Still, I’d lean more to no one being dealt off of Denver barring an injury forcing them into something.
Detroit Pistons: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
The Pistons almost have to make a move of some kind, it’s just really hard to project who would be involved. They’ve been rumored to have interest in Dennis Smith Jr. and it’s no secret that they are also desperate to add perimeter shooting. Reggie Jackson’s name comes up nearly every year around this time, but the Pistons have never been able to find a landing spot for their well-paid point guard and I’m not sure that will change this summer. If they decided the Blake Griffin-Andre Drummond pairing simply isn’t tenable, maybe they try to move Drummond for future cap space, but again, it’s not exactly the easiest thing in the world to do.
They also could look to non-contenders to package picks, young players, and bad contracts for their veterans. Maybe someone still believes in Stanley Johnson and would send Detroit some shooting in return. Maybe someone would take Jon Leuer and a pick for a veteran shooter or point guard. Whatever the case, Detroit needs to make a move, it’s just not clear who is most likely to be a part of that.
Golden State Warriors: No One
The Warriors don’t make trades in the middle of the season — their last midseason trade was in 2014, when they dealt Kent Bazemore and MarShon Brooks to L.A. for Steve Blake. They’ll undoubtedly be players on the post-deadline buyout market, but this isn’t a team that is in the business of trading people. They’ll pick up a Robin Lopez type when they get bought out, but it’s hard to imagine them making an actual trade.
Houston Rockets: Brandon Knight
Knight’s contract aligns well with someone like J.R. Smith’s and we know the Rockets will want to add some more veteran help to the roster. The question will be where they feel is the biggest area of need, given their health issues right now. It’s possible they could take a bigger swing and move Eric Gordon instead or as well, but Knight seems like the guy they’ll be definitely trying to move off of the books with a pick attatched.
Indiana Pacers: Kyle O’Quinn
The Pacers are another team that seem more likely to keep their full roster intact at the deadline than do anything, but if they are looking to make any changes, O’Quinn seems like the man to be moved. The reserve big man only plays eight minutes a night and at $4.4 million his contract isn’t particularly difficult to move. Still, I’d expect Indiana to keep plugging away with their surprising bunch as is.
Los Angeles Clippers: Avery Bradley
The Clippers have stumbled a bit and will likely be looking for some backcourt upgrades at the deadline. There are a number of possibilities in the backcourt to get moved, really anyone not named Shai Gilgeous-Alexander could be on the block. That said, Bradley’s $12 million deal is only guaranteed for $1 million next year, making it almost as easy to move as an expiring. L.A. could use a shooting guard that can, well, shoot. And as long as the Clippers can maintain their flexibility for this summer I think they’d like to find a way to swap Bradley out.
Los Angeles Lakers: Brandon Ingram
Once the “untouchable” member of the young core of the Lakers, it’s become increasingly apparent that Ingram is no longer a protected piece in L.A. That title now probably belongs to Kyle Kuzma, as foolish as that may be, and if the Lakers are going to make a major move at the deadline it would figure to be a deal centered on Ingram as one of their best young assets who hasn’t quite figured out how to play with LeBron.
Now, it’s important to note that the Lakers may hold on to their entire young core in anticipation of Anthony Davis rejecting the supermax this summer from New Orleans and pushing his way to a trade. However, there will be pressure to add help for the stretch run and Ingram feels like the most likely of their top assets to get moved right now.
Memphis Grizzlies: Marc Gasol
Things continue to go the wrong way for Memphis and barring a rapid turnaround in the coming weeks, the likelihood of reaching the postseason will be slim to none. That will bring into question whether the Grizzlies need to start thinking about the future and entering an actual rebuild. There’s been buzz that Gasol could indicate that he’ll decline his player option and become a free agent this summer in an effort to push the Grizzlies into a trade at the deadline, and what he would fetch on the trade market would be fascinating to see.
Miami Heat: Dion Waiters
This is, at least, who the Heat would like to trade at the deadline, the question being will anyone be willing to take on his salary — owed $25 million combined for 2019-20 and 2020-21. Waiters has made his displeasure with the situation in Miami known and was fined for his comments. The Heat, at 21-21 are firmly in the East playoff picture but there’s no doubt they have a significant need for some upgrades if they’re to push anyone this year. Finding a home for Waiters would undoubtedly require some significant sweetening of the pot, and the Heat will have to determine what the best course of action is.
Milwaukee Bucks: Thon Maker
Like most of the top contenders, I don’t see the Bucks really pushing to make a big move. They already dealt for George Hill to shore up their point guard rotation and the way Brook Lopez is playing they have to be pretty thrilled with their starting frontcourt. That said, there may be room to improve their depth and the piece that I think would be most intriguing to rebuilding teams would be Thon Maker, who could net them some veteran bench help. Maker doesn’t play much and D.J. Wilson’s emergence of late has pushed him even further down in the rotation. He’s still got another year left on his rookie deal and his timeline just doesn’t seem to fit with the Bucks right now.
Minnesota Timberwolves: Gorgui Dieng
The Wolves already made their big move of the year, dealing Jimmy Butler to Philadelphia, and we know they’d like to ship Dieng’s contract out at some point. The problem with moving Dieng is that he is owed more than $33 million the next two seasons and no one will want that deal. They tried packaging him with Butler, per reports, but couldn’t find anyone to take him on without losing tons of value in a Jimmy deal. I’ll be shocked if they find a landing spot for Dieng by the deadline, but you can be assured they’ll try. I just don’t think Minnesota’s in a position to do much right now.
New Orleans Pelicans: Not Anthony Davis
The easiest analysis in the world right now is to say the Pelicans need to make a move at the deadline to upgrade their roster for a playoff push around Davis. They aren’t going to trade Davis at the deadline, because they still hope he signs his supermax extension this offseason. That said, the front office has the unenviable task of trying to make a positive move at the deadline with few strong assets.
Complicating matters are that they have to at least be mildly concerned with Davis walking, and as such they can’t be tacking first round picks onto deals without considering the future ramifications of doing so. That leaves them in quite the predicament. You’d love to move Solomon Hill for a more helpful wing player, but his contract carries just shy of $13.3 million for next season and you’ll be hard pressed to find someone willing to take that on without an asset attached. The triumvirate of Davis, Randle, and Mirotic have worked well in pairs but can’t be on the floor together all at once, so it’s possible they look to move either Randle or Mirotic for someone that’s a better fit in that grouping.
If I were the Pelicans I’d try my best to deal Hill and a second rounder for someone like Kent Bazemore from the Hawks to upgrade the wing, but it’s hard to know whether that’s enough to get a deal done.
New York Knicks: Frank Ntilikina/Noah Vonleh
The Knicks want to maintain their cap space going into this summer, so I wouldn’t expect any major swings from them at the deadline. That said, the biggest move they can make likely involves their first round pick from 2017 in exchange for someone that fits more of what David Fizdale wants.
It’s clear right now Ntilikina isn’t considered the guy going forward in the Knicks backcourt and they might be able to find a team still intrigued by his potential, particularly defensively. I personally am a fan of a some kind of DSJ-Ntilikina swap, giving DSJ a place where he can run the show and putting Frank in a position to play defense and be next to a ball-handler and creator like Doncic.
Vonleh, on the other hand, is having his best season of his career and there are rumors teams are sniffing around about a potential deal for the big man. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent this summer and the Knicks may be happy to cash out on a second rounder for his services.
Oklahoma City Thunder: Alex Abrines
Abrines has not been playing for OKC since just before Christmas as he deals with a personal issue, although he recently joined the team on their trip to Atlanta. The Thunder don’t seem like a team poised to make any kind of major move, but they could look to shuffle around their depth and Abrines’ expiring deal seems to make some sense provided everything is alright off the court and he’s ready to return to the floor in the relatively near future.
Orlando Magic: Nikola Vucevic/Terence Ross
There’s a bit of buzz that Aaron Gordon might be in play in a Wesley Matthews-Dennis Smith Jr. trade package, but I’m not sure the Magic want to punt on their star forward this soon into his new deal. What we do know is that the Magic desperately need to add backcourt help, preferably by dealing a frontcourt piece from their logjam at the four and five spots.
Vucevic is having a career year and has a legitimate chance at sneaking onto the All-Star team — although still probably a long shot. There’s going to be a contender out there that sees him as a helpful piece to add moving forward this year and the Magic should absolutely cash in on that as his contract runs up. It would seem unwise to cap themselves out to sign Vucevic long-term alongside Gordon and Jonathan Isaac and Mo Bamba, so moving him makes the most sense.
Another expiring deal the Magic will undoubtedly get calls about is Terrence Ross who, like Vucevic, is having a career-year, averaging 14 points per game and hitting over 39 percent of his threes. Both he and Vucevic could yield some serious draft assets or young players, and it would seem wise for Orlando to take advantage of that even amid a mild playoff push.
Philadelphia 76ers: Justin Patton
The Sixers are really confusing, but it’s hard to see how they could deal one of their higher paid players given how much they need all of them for a real upgrade to their depth. My best guess is they try to package Patton, who is out for the year, and a pick for some bench depth still on their rookie deal or a minimum (see: Vonleh, Noah). The Sixers can’t really do much in the way of player for player swaps without finding themselves in the same position they’re in, except for Patton because he’s already not playing.
Phoenix Suns: T.J. Warren
The best asset the Suns have that they would consider trading is T.J. Warren. If Booker and Ayton are untouchable, the way for the Suns to make a move to add more future assets is to deal Warren to a contender. He’s a lights-out scorer who has suddenly found his three-point stroke, hitting 42.5 percent from three on 4.4 attempts after being a career 33 percent shooter before this season. The Suns should sell high on Warren, who has three years left on a reasonable deal with an average of just under $12 million per year.
Portland Trail Blazers: Meyers Leonard
The Blazers are doing what the Blazers do, which is to say they’re playing very good regular season basketball and will enter the trade deadline happy with their squad and likely only looking to make a minor move and/or get rid of one of their contracts they’ve been trying to get rid of for two years. That’s why Leonard makes the list, because between he and Evan Turner, he’s the one making less money and it’s possible they find a new home for him. I expect Portland to ride it out as is for yet another season and hope that this year the postseason will go differently.
Sacramento Kings: Zach Randolph/Skal Labissiere
The Kings are one of the best stories in the league right now and appear to be a genuine threat to make the playoffs in the West. To do so, they might have to go out and bolster their depth some, and are rumored to have interest in Jeremy Lin among others. The best thing the Kings have going for them is they’re the only team with actual, significant cap space they can use to bring in a bigger contract.
Still, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Randolph’s expiring moved to match salary with someone like Lin, and of their young assets Labissiere is the one that’s fallen out of the rotation and seems, pretty clearly, not to be part of their future. The Kings may be one of the more active teams at the deadline, and for once as buyers not sellers. Randolph can be a great salary match contract while Labissiere still provides a bit of intrigue from a player asset perspective, so I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw both on the move.
San Antonio Spurs: No One
The Spurs, like the Warriors, haven’t made a midseason trade since 2014. It’s possible they make a move for point guard depth, but their best asset is Jakob Poeltl and I don’t know if they’ll want to give up a potentially good young player for help this season. The Spurs just don’t make midseason moves and I’d expect that to hold true again this year.
Toronto Raptors: C.J. Miles
With Kawhi Leonard, OG Anunoby, and Pascal Siakam all playing incredible basketball this season, the Raptors could afford to move the veteran Miles if they wanted to address depth elsewhere. I’m not sure Toronto will be so moved to make any major trades at the deadline, given the way the team has played, but if they think they need guard help or more bigs, they certainly have plenty on the wing to allow them to move on from Miles if they can find a deal.
Utah Jazz: Derrick Favors
The Jazz have not lived up to expectations this season and you can point to a variety of factors as to why. The biggest of those is that the defense hasn’t been the super-elite unit it was a year ago and that, coupled with regression from Donovan Mitchell efficiency-wise, has led to a much more average-looking group. The Jazz could use some more offensive firepower and may look to package a pick with Favors, who’s not had his best season and is only partially guaranteed next season, to get someone either in the frontcourt who is a better fit with Rudy Gobert or more perimeter shooting.
Washington Wizards: Otto Porter Jr.
While Bradley Beal is by far the best player and most attractive trade chip on the Wizards, it’d be stunning for them to deal him the way he’s playing right now. Porter, while super efficient, simply hasn’t evolved into the player they hoped he would be when they gave him a max extension. Part of that seems to be a problem of Beal and Wall being such high usage players, that he doesn’t get the touches he maybe should given his efficiency shooting from the perimeter.
He’s good enough that other teams will absolutely have interest in him, even at his extremely high price tag, and if the right offer comes in, the Wizards would have to consider parting with him. The question is what they’ll get and what kind of salaries would come back their way, but if they can get depth at a couple different spots and maybe save some long-term money in the process, it might very well be worth their while.
