On Sunday, December 15, the green flag of the NBA trading season will truly drop. That’s when 85 players who have signed new contracts (or extended old contracts) become eligible to be traded, allowing for many more deals and the NBA trading season to begin in earnest.
That puts the trade rumors around the NBA into overdrive – there is usually one trade between December 15 and January 15, and it takes the pressure of the February 6 trade deadline to send the NBA trade market into full boil. However, the rumors are starting to fly, here are the latest big names and rumors from the league.
Jimmy Butler available
If you want some Real Housewives-level minor drama, we give you the Jimmy Butler trade saga: ESPN CEO Shams Charania reports this that the Heat are open to offers for Butler and that the six-time All-Star’s agent Bernie Lee had informed that Butler wants to play for a contender and plans to exercise his player option for next season ($52.4 million, he is at look for a new, longer contract). In a classic rant referencing Peter Vecsey and ChatGBT: Lee responded to X that Charania should stop using his name in ‘fictional’ stories. Charania stood by his reporting.
That’s all great entertainment, but ultimately pointless.
The reality on the court is that from the moment after last season, when Pat Riley said the Heat would not extend Butler and wanted to see him on the court more – he played 60 games last season and the team’s playoff series against Boston missed – other front offices around the league thought Butler was available via trade. No doubt the Heat will listen to offers for Butler at the deadline. That said, Miami has won four in a row and it looks like a team is starting to find its groove — Miami is notoriously an organization that lets things happen and takes action in the offseason — so temper expectations.
Making that trade is also much less likely than anyone seems to want to admit. The NBA’s new CBA, with its tax deferrals and trade restrictions on nearby teams, makes this almost an impossible trade to pull off at the deadline — at least with any team Butler wants to play for. Friend of this site Keith Smith did a great job of explaining all of this on SpoTrac.
Golden State is the most mentioned destination and is looking for a star, but with Butler making $48.8 million this season and both teams battling tax deferrals, the only way to make Butler to the Warriors work is to loop a third team. and even then, the price is probably too high for Golden State. For example, Smith has 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 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 actually better after that trade? No.
Charania claims Phoenix is a destination Butler is open to, but that will only happen if the Heat want Bradley Beal back in trade, which isn’t going to happen.
Houston could easily make the deal, but the Rockets have told anyone who will listen that they love their young core and won’t make a significant trade this deadline. Rockets GM Raphael Stone said on SiriusXM NBA Radio“It is absolutely not our intention to change anything. 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. Apparently people are required by law to mention the Lakers in any transaction, but getting Butler in Los Angeles 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 in Miami for the rest of the season.
LeBron James controls his own destiny
The idea that LeBron James would get frustrated with the Lakers and ask for a trade is a favorite of anyone looking for commitment and clicks.
The reality is much simpler: LeBron James has a no-trade clause and completely controls the process. Up to this point he has made ZERO there are indications that he wants to leave the Lakers – in fact, reports say he wants the Lakers to make a trade to get more talent around him in LA. He could have moved on at the last trade deadline (when the Warriors pitched a trade, 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 that no-trade clause.
LeBron likes to play in the same organization with and sit next to his son Bronny during games – he doesn’t leave there. While he could ask Bronny to be part of a trade with the Warriors so he could try to recapture the magic of Paris with Stephen Curry, the reality is that this is a nearly impossible trade to pull off, because there are restrictions on luxury tax aprons that tie hands. of both the Lakers and Warriors, neither can take more money in a trade than they send out (very similar to Butler for the Warriors, Butler and LeBron have very similar salaries this season). Matching an almost dollar-for-dollar transaction becomes much more difficult when LeBron demands Bronny be part of the deal.
And all of that is moot unless LeBron demands a trade, and so far he hasn’t.
Warriors are still looking for another star
What is true from LeBron and Butler’s speculation is this: the Warriors want to land a new star next to Stephen Curry. That may not be possible at the trade deadline.
For the time being, Jonathan Kuminga is getting his chance; he’s in a contract year and has a chance to prove he should be this team’s No. 2 next to Curry, the player who can lead the Warriors into what’s next. Steve Kerr has inserted Kuminga into the starting lineup, and how that plays out has long-term implications for how the Warriors shape the future. At the deadline, this will more likely look like last summer, when the Warriors pursued Paul George and Lauri Markkanen but missed.
Brandon Ingram trade more likely
The Pelicans’ Brandon Ingram is the biggest name with a legitimate chance of being moved at the trade deadline.
The challenge isn’t this season, when Ingram is averaging 22.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game. He could help teams on the field, he is an elite isolation scorer. The challenge lies in the coming years. Ingram is making $36 million this season and wants an extension closer to his cap of around $50 million per season. The Pelicans – and front office sources from other teams NBC Sports has spoken to – reportedly want Ingram to 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 subplots of this offseason.
At 5-21 and with no realistic path to the postseason, the Pelicans are looking to the future. Other front offices are not only making calls about Ingram, but are also testing the trades of CJ McCollum and Herb Jones, ESPN’s Charania reports. No doubt Trey Murphy III is being discussed by other front offices as well. (Don’t bet on an injured Zion Williamson, with 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 front office personnel, you’d expect the most people on the move: Wizards big man Jonas Valanciunas.
He’s a rock-solid five 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 has a very reasonable contract, making $9.9 million this season and a total of $20 million over the next two seasons.
A number of teams – including the Lakers – are looking for a center, and Washington is getting one of the first calls.
Denver wants to trade?
Are the Nuggets title contenders? Despite having the best player in the world in 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.
This means that the front office is “eager” to “shake things up”, reports Marc Stein in the Stein Line Newsletter. Denver is reportedly dangling backup forward Zeke Nnaji, who has played a very limited role for the Nuggets this season but has some fans in front offices around the league. We’ll see if that makes any difference, but it’s worth a look.
