NBA trade deadline intel – Suns, Bucks among most desperate to make deal
This is the time of the NBA season when desperation can begin to permeate front offices.
With two weeks until the Feb. 6 trade deadline, concerns about job security, contracts and playoff positioning start to apply a squeeze. Contenders of varying levels show just how motivated they are to push in their chips, while some start making plans to capitalize on both the flexibility and star power of this summer’s free agency period.
With that in mind, here’s what we’re hearing about nine teams league decision-makers have flagged as potential players in the stretch run of trade season — and how desperate each is to swing a deal.
We’ll dive into that, plus break down the new starting lineup in Miami and deliver boots-on-the-ground reporting from the league’s first two-game series in Paris between Victor Wembanyama’s San Antonio Spurs and the Indiana Pacers.
Jump to intel:
Which teams are desperate for a trade?
Windy in Paris: Don’t sleep on the Pacers
Amid Butler drama, one Miami rookie shines
Desperate for a deal? Where nine teams check in
Phoenix Suns
Desperation level: Extremely high
Phoenix, currently fighting for positioning in the West play-in race, showed just how desperate it is by trading its unprotected 2031 first-round pick for three lower-value firsts: either the 29th or 30th pick in this year’s draft, plus the worst of Utah, Cleveland and Minnesota’s picks in both the 2027 and 2029 drafts.
Tuesday’s deal gave the Suns some flexibility in their dealings now but at the cost of mortgaging their future even further. Maybe doing so will help get Jimmy Butler to Phoenix — sources said landing the 35-year-old forward remains the team’s top objective.
But the 2031 pick had real value around the league — “In my opinion, [it’s] the most valuable asset on the market right now,” Utah general manager Justin Zanik said Wednesday during the Jazz-Thunder broadcast — making it hard to envision how this deal increases the likelihood that the Suns can turn Bradley Beal and his no-trade clause into Butler.
Desperation level: High
The Bucks have been active this trade season, sources said, with Khris Middleton, Bobby Portis and Pat Connaughton all expected to be available in potential moves to bring back an impact player. Like Phoenix did, the Bucks have only their 2031 first-round pick to trade, but they also need to shed around $6.5 million in a deal to get below the second apron to be able to combine players in a trade.
As the Bucks have shown going back to when they made the Damian Lillard trade last year, they are determined to maximize every bit of Giannis Antetokounmpo’s title window. And, with Antetokounmpo playing at an MVP level again this season, Milwaukee is hoping it can make upgrades over the next couple of weeks to challenge the Cavaliers, Celtics and Knicks atop the conference — against whom the Bucks are 0-8 this season.
Miami Heat
Desperation level: Medium
Sources on both sides of the Butler saga say there’s motivation to get a deal done between now and the deadline. The Heat have had conversations with other teams, but so far, the offers coming in haven’t included what Miami is looking for: players who can help now, young talent, draft capital and salary that expires by the summer of 2026.
While we haven’t seen free agency play a big factor in the league in recent years, that summer could see stars such as Kevin Durant, Luka Doncic, Trae Young, De’Aaron Fox and Jaren Jackson Jr. become unrestricted free agents. With the salary cap starting to rise in the wake of the league’s new television deal, there’s at least the possibility of next summer boasting multiple big-name players changing teams. The Heat are trying to position themselves to land one.
But there is a real chance this uncomfortable situation extends into the summer. At that point, there will be more paths to find a deal for a player with Butler’s salary, as well as more teams willing to engage on a blockbuster.
New York Knicks
Desperation level: Medium
While the Knicks are on pace to win 50 games in consecutive seasons for the first time in 30 years and have their best chance in a generation to break a 52-year title drought, a season-long topic of conversation around the Knicks has been the heavy minutes for New York’s starters. Four of them are in the top five in total minutes played — Mikal Bridges (1st), Josh Hart (2nd), OG Anunoby (3rd), Jalen Brunson (5th) — while Karl-Anthony Towns is 23rd. Part of that comes down to their availability: Bridges, Hart, Anunoby and Brunson have combined to miss two games, and Towns has missed only five.
But while that has reignited longstanding debates over coach Tom Thibodeau’s penchant for leaning on his main players, it also has highlighted New York’s lack of depth, something the Knicks were prepared to deal with when they chose to acquire Towns on the eve of training camp.
The one real path to changing that, according to sources, is injured center Mitchell Robinson — either by his return to the court after he has missed the entire season so far with foot and ankle issues, or by his inclusion in a trade.
Memphis Grizzlies
Desperation level: Medium
The Grizzlies have vaulted back into contention after injuries derailed them a season ago, as general manager Zack Kleiman has assembled quality depth around star guard Ja Morant.
But that hasn’t stopped Memphis from working the phones ahead of the deadline. The Grizzlies inquired about Dorian Finney-Smith with the Brooklyn Nets, and both sides had extensive talks before Brooklyn ultimately did a deal with the Los Angeles Lakers. Memphis has the combination of draft capital and midtier salaries — players such as Marcus Smart ($20 million), Luke Kennard ($9 million) and John Konchar ($6 million) — to get deals done.
The Grizzlies are lurking in Butler trade talks, sources said, and have been in contact with the Heat during the process. Rival league executives believe Memphis is trying to combine a talent influx with offloading some future salary so it can facilitate a contract extension for Jaren Jackson Jr. as early as this summer.
Butler, meanwhile, has made it known that he could opt out of his contract this summer and seek free agency. Sources have theorized that if the Grizzlies can acquire him for a playoff run and also free cap space this summer, that’s where their interests might lie.
Chicago Bulls
Desperation level: Medium
Several executives who have spoken to the Bulls this month have described their motivation as “seeking change.” But what does that actually mean?
At a minimum, it would serve as a dramatic shift after three years of trade deadline inactivity. The Bulls have a top-10 protected pick that they owe the San Antonio Spurs, but they currently sit three games “ahead” of the Spurs — and four ahead of the Heat, Suns and Golden State Warriors — in the loss column, and are in the ninth spot overall.
No one, for example, would have realistically had the Philadelphia 76ers sitting below the Bulls in the standings this late into the season, but it’s hard to see the Bulls putting that pick in danger by leapfrogging the teams in front of them.
The Bulls have also made it known they will take offers on both Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic, sources said, with LaVine being linked to various permutations of extremely complicated multiteam Butler trades and Vucevic being linked to the Warriors and others, according to our ESPN colleague Shams Charania.
Brooklyn Nets
Desperation level: Medium
For a team in asset acquisition mode, Brooklyn has yet to move the player whom league decision-makers have labeled as the most likely to be traded over the next two weeks: forward Cameron Johnson.
Johnson has both a reasonable contract (roughly $65 million over the next three seasons) and is having a career season (19.4 points per game with 41.9% from 3). Johnson has been sitting an awful lot over the past couple of weeks with an ankle issue, a move that seems both very protective and very convenient, from opposing teams’ perspectives.
Sources said, however, that the Nets’ price for Johnson’s services remains high — and that they’ll be content to hang on to him if that price isn’t met. That is something Brooklyn has shown a willingness to do before — Dorian Finney-Smith, for example, had been a potential trade target for the past year before eventually being traded to the Lakers last month, albeit for second-round picks.
Los Angeles Lakers
Desperation level: Low
For the second straight season, the Lakers’ two stars have been remarkably healthy — missing a combined six games. But they still find themselves 2.5 games out of 11th place in the West.
While Charania reported Wednesday that both LeBron James and Anthony Davis are “concerned” about the team’s ability to make roster upgrades, James himself outlined the reality of what the team might be able to do about it after Sunday’s blowout loss to the crosstown-rival Clippers.
“That’s how our team is constructed,” James said. “We don’t have room for error — for much error.”
The Lakers’ recent discussions with teams show little sign of aggression, sources say, and those actions speak to their concern level about their stars at the moment. The Lakers have shown a reticence to put their future first-round picks into trades in recent seasons, and there’s no indication that position has shifted.
Moving D’Angelo Russell actually made it more difficult for the Lakers to swing a bigger deal because it removed a large expiring salary from their books. It seems more likely that if a trade does materialize, it will be along the lines of another smaller move like the one they made for Finney-Smith.
Golden State Warriors
Desperation level: Low
What is the desperation level for the 11th-place Warriors? Just ask Stephen Curry.
“Desperate trades or desperate moves that deplete the future, there is a responsibility on allowing or keeping the franchise in a good space and good spot when it comes to where we leave this thing when we’re done,” Curry said recently. “Doesn’t mean that you’re not trying to get better. It doesn’t mean that you’re not active. …
“Nobody wants to be stale or be in a situation where you’re passing up opportunities. But it doesn’t mean that you’re desperate just flinging assets all around the place just because you want to do something.”
Would Golden State love to make a big impact move now? Of course. Over the past decade, the Warriors have shown a willingness to make a swing for a star, and sources have said that hasn’t changed.
What is clear: There is no player available via trade right now who will change Golden State’s fortunes enough to spark a run into the West’s top six.
Rather than the approach the Suns are taking, the Warriors are willing to wait until a true difference-maker becomes available. While they could make a move similar to the one that brought them Dennis Schroder from Brooklyn last month, they’ve shown little inclination to do anything bigger.
The other team in Paris is one of the hottest in the NBA
Windhorst: The Indiana Pacers brought a plane with more than 200 people in their traveling party to Paris this week. They believe those are the only people in France who have any interest in them winning. The Paris games are unquestionably a showcase for Wembanyama and his Spurs, and the crowds packing the Accor Arena have mostly been wearing silver and black.
But the Pacers, whose eight wins are tied for the second most since Jan. 1, are the headliner when it comes to their recent play. Despite giving up 140 to the Spurs in a rout Thursday, they’ve been led by their defense, which ranked fourth in the league in that span. The defense had ranked 23rd over the first 10 weeks of the season.
There is no secret to why. They got wings Andrew Nembhard and Aaron Nesmith back from injury and instantly became more physical and deeper on the perimeter.
Tyrese Haliburton, though he missed a game last week with an always-concerning hamstring issue, is having the best shooting and assisting stretch of his season. All this together has contributed to the Pacers’ rise to No. 5 in the East.
Internally, they believe their best strategy to make another surprising playoff run is, in part, wearing out their opponents. The high-speed offense, currently ranked seventh in pace, and aggressive style on defense can have a positive effect.
Pacers coaches have also credited Pascal Siakam, who hasn’t missed a game and is having the best shooting season of his career. Indiana, which traded for Siakam a year ago this week, was willing to give him a four-year, $190 million max extension last summer, a stumbling block for Toronto’s efforts to keep him. With Siakam scoring 20.1 points a game on 41% 3-point shooting with 7.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists, there are fewer questions now about that decision.
The other lineup change in Miami
Bontemps: There has been an understandable focus on the Jimmy Butler saga over the past several weeks, but arguably a more consequential move when it comes to the long-term future of the franchise occurred Sunday afternoon. That’s when Heat coach Erik Spoelstra started rookie center Kel’el Ware for the second half of what became a blowout win against the Spurs.
“It was working,” Spoelstra said with a smile, when asked why he went with the 7-foot Ware and fellow big man Bam Adebayo together for the second half of that game. “There’s a lot of complex decisions that we’re trying to make. If there’s something that’s obvious, and it’s working in a big way, let’s do it.”
While the “complex decisions” line was a call back to Spoelstra’s pregame speech to the media a couple of days earlier, the fact Miami went with Ware in the second half of that game — then again in Tuesday’s loss to Portland and in Thursday’s loss to Milwaukee — is an indication of the team turning its attention, at least partially, to the future.
Ware played the game of his early career against Wembanyama: 25 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocked shots. He followed that with 20 points, 15 rebounds and 2 blocks in the loss to Portland.
“There’s not a better organization for him to have gone to than that one,” a Western Conference scout said of Ware’s fit in Miami.
With a huge frame, smooth athleticism and agility and a very comfortable-looking 3-point shot, Ware has the skills to be an outstanding long-term complement to Adebayo in Miami’s frontcourt.
“You certainly can see how they can play together,” an Eastern Conference executive said.
Source: espn.com