On Sunday, December 15th, the green flag on the NBA trade season really drops. That’s when the 85 players who signed new contracts (or extended old contracts) become eligible for trade, allowing for many more trades and kicking off the NBA trade season in earnest.
With that, trade rumors swirl around the NBA – usually one trade takes place between December 15th and January 15th, it takes the pressure of the February 6th trade deadline for the NBA trade market to fully boil over. But the rumors are starting to fly, here are the latest big names and rumors around the league.
Jimmy Butler available
If you want a little Real Housewives-level drama, here’s Jimmy Butler’s business saga: This was reported by Shams Charania of ESPN that the Heat are willing to listen to offers for Butler and that six-time All Star’s agent Bernie Lee has indicated that Butler wants to play for a contender and plans to exercise his player option for next season ($52.4 million, seeking a new, longer contract). In classic banter referencing Peter Vecsey and ChatGBT, Lee replied to X that Charania needs to stop using his name in “made up” stories. Charania stood by his reporting.
It’s all great fun, but ultimately meaningless.
The reality is, from the moment after last season, when Pat Riley said the Heat wouldn’t extend Butler and wanted to see him on the court more — he played 60 games last season and missed the team’s playoff series against Boston. – other front offices around the league thought Butler was available via trade. The Heat will undoubtedly listen to offers for Butler at the deadline. That said, Miami has won four in a row and looks like a team that’s starting to find its groove — Miami is a notorious organization for letting things run wild and making their moves in the offseason — so temper expectations.
This trade is also far less likely to happen than anyone would like to admit. The NBA’s new CBA, with its tax shields and trade restrictions on teams near them, makes this a near-impossible trade at the deadline — at least with whatever team Butler wants to play for. Friend of the site Keith Smith has done a fantastic breakdown of all this in SpoTrac.
Golden State is the most talked about destination and is looking for a star, but with Butler making $48.8 million this season and both teams opposing tax shelters, the only way to make Butler work for the Warriors is to commit to a third team. and even then, the price is probably too high for Golden State. For example, Smith put together a trade that works under the cap, but the Warriors would have to give up Jonathan Kuminga, Andrew Wiggins, De’Anthony Melton and Gary Payton II just to get Butler. That’s four quality rotation players out the door for Butler, a 35-year-old with a long injury history — are the Warriors really better after this trade? Nope
Charania talked about Phoenix as a destination Butler is open to, but that will only happen if the Heat want Bradley Beal back in a trade, which won’t happen.
Houston could easily make a deal, but the Rockets have told anyone and everyone who will listen that they like their young core and won’t make a significant trade this deadline. Rockets general manager Raphael Stone said on SiriusXM NBA Radio“We certainly don’t intend to change anything and I would be shocked if anything changes this season.”
The Mavericks would have to give up five rotation players to make it work, including PJ Washington and Daniel Gafford, which isn’t happening. People are apparently required by law to mention the Lakers in any trade, but Los Angeles getting Butler looks worse than Miami or Golden State.
Expect plenty of Butler rumors between now and the trade deadline, but don’t be shocked if he plays out the rest of the season in Miami.
LeBron James controls his destiny
The idea that LeBron James would get frustrated with the Lakers and ask for a trade is a favorite of anyone looking for engagement and clicks.
The reality is much more straightforward: LeBron James has a no-trade clause and is in complete control of the process. To this point he did ZERO hints that he wants out of the Lakers – in fact, reports say he wants the Lakers to trade to put more talent around him in LA. He could have moved on at the trade deadline (when the Warriors traded, the Lakers asked LeBron and he said no), and he could have been a free agent this summer, but instead he re-signed with the Lakers and got a no-trade clause.
LeBron likes to play in the same organization and sits next to his son Bronny during games – he doesn’t leave it. While he could have asked for Bronny to be part of a trade with the Warriors to try and recapture the magic of Paris with Stephen Curry, the reality is that it’s an almost impossible trade because of luxury tax restrictions that tie his hands. of the Lakers and Warriors, neither can take more money in a trade than they send (much like Butler to the Warriors, Butler and LeBron have very similar salaries this season). Reconciling the nearly dollar-for-dollar trade becomes much more difficult when LeBron demands that Bronny be part of the deal.
And all of that is moot unless LeBron demands a trade, and to this point he hasn’t.
The Warriors are still looking for the next star
From the LeBron and Butler speculation, the truth is this: The Warriors want to build another star next to Stephen Curry. That just might not be possible at the close of business.
Right now, Jonathan Kuminga is getting his chance — he’s in a contract year and getting an opportunity to prove he should be the No. 2 on this team next to Curry, a player who can lead the Warriors to whatever comes next. Steve Kerr moved Kuminga into the starting lineup, and how that plays out has long-term implications for how the Warriors build their future. At the deadline, it will more likely look like last summer, when the Warriors pursued Paul George and Lauri Markkanen but missed out.
Brandon Ingram trade more likely
The Pelicans’ Brandon Ingram is the biggest name with a legitimate chance to be moved at the trade deadline.
The challenge isn’t this season, with Ingram averaging 22.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game — he could help teams down the court, he’s an elite isolation scorer. The challenge is the coming years. Ingram is making $36 million this season and wants an extension closer to his cap hit of around $50 million per season. The Pelicans reportedly — and front office sources from other teams that NBC Sports spoke with — would like to see Ingram take a pay cut from his current salary. Clearly, Ingram and his new agent don’t see it that way. His next contract will be one of the most interesting parts of this offseason.
At 5-21 and with no real path to the end of the season, the Pelicans are looking to the future. Other front offices are calling not only about Ingram, but also testing the waters on trades for CJ McCollum and Herb Jones, according to ESPN’s Charania. Trey Murphy III is undoubtedly being nurtured by other front offices as well. (Don’t count on an injured Zion Williamson, who has three years and $128 million left on his contract, to generate serious interest during the season.)
Player to watch: Jonas Valanciunas
When you talk to the front office staff, the one name most expected to be on the move is Wizards big man Jonas Valanciunas.
He’s a rock-solid 5 who can stretch the floor (career 34.6% from 3), averages 12.6 points and 8.1 rebounds per game for the Wizards and knows how to use his size to defend the paint. He’s on a very reasonable contract, making $9.9 million this season and $20 million total over the two seasons after this season.
Several teams — including the Lakers — are looking for centers, and Washington will get one of the first calls.
Denver wants to trade?
Are the Nuggets title contenders? Despite the best player walking the entire planet being Nikola Jokic, Denver is 12-10 in the West and would be a play-in team if the postseason started today. Everyone around Jokic has been less than impressive this season.
That has the front office “eager” to “move things,” reports Marc Stein in the Stein Line Newsletter. Denver is reportedly hanging on to backup forward Zeke Nnaji, who has played a very limited role for the Nuggets this season, but has several fans in front offices around the league. We’ll see if it comes to anything, but it’s worth watching.