Five teams to watch at NBA trade deadline: Could Bucks upgrade with Giannis out?

Players aren’t the only ones on the trade block. Teams are, too.

With the Feb. 5 trade deadline nearing, here are the five most-interesting franchises that could consider upgrades:

Milwaukee Bucks

The wonder now is if the Bucks are, in fact, still trying to upgrade.

For weeks, Milwaukee signaled to executives around the league that it wanted to improve before the trade deadline. As of when two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo went down with his most recent injury, sinking below the Play-In Tournament wasn’t yet a deterrent. Milwaukee is 18-27 after Tuesday’s loss to the 76ers, but it hadn’t given up hope.

Now, Antetokounmpo has sustained another calf injury, leaving him out through the deadline and beyond. The Charlotte Hornets are surging (by bottom-of-the-Eastern-Conference standards) and have passed the Bucks for 11th place. Milwaukee dominates when Antetokounmpo is on the court and takes beatings when he’s not. And right now, he’s not.

However, the Bucks have dealt away draft picks and constructed a nightmarish salary-cap sheet to appease Antetokounmpo. When in a hole, a sane person stops digging, but an ambitious one digs to China and emerges on the other side … as long as Earth’s mantle doesn’t melt them shortly into the journey.

Chances are slim that Milwaukee would part with its only tradable first-round pick, league sources said. Instead, it could aim to acquire a distressed asset, using Kyle Kuzma’s $22.4 million and/or Bobby Portis’ $13.4 million salaries to add a player of consequence, someone who makes above his market value (which is why his team would trade him) but brings in firepower.

The Sacramento Kings’ Zach LaVine fits the description, though his $49 million player option for next season has scared off most front offices. The Memphis Grizzlies are unlikely to part with Ja Morant for a return as small as what Milwaukee could offer. The Brooklyn Nets’ Michael Porter Jr. is a worthwhile proposition, but Porter, a fringe All-Star this season, might have played his way out of a trade like this one. Brooklyn has rehabbed Porter’s value enough where it would like value in return for him, league sources said.

If the rebuilding Nets wanted a draft pick for Porter but the Bucks wouldn’t include one, they would quickly hit a stalemate.

Rumors, of course, have swirled around Antetokounmpo, who is eligible for an extension this summer. If he chooses not to sign one, it’s all hands on deck in Milwaukee. And if a fabulous deal presented itself in the next week-plus, maybe the situation would resolve early. But as of now, the Bucks have signaled to the rest of the league they’d like to get better before Feb. 5. They know they would enter any Eastern Conference playoff series with the best player.

Of course, that’s as long as Antetokounmpo is healthy — and, more importantly, as long as they actually reach the playoffs.

Today, neither of those factors is a guarantee.

Toronto Raptors

The Raptors have snuck up on the NBA. Entering Tuesday, they owned sole possession of third place in the East, an unlikely and mostly unpredictable vault to the top of the standings. Still, the status of starting center Jakob Poeltl places them in an unfortunate situation.

A back injury has kept Poeltl out since the end of December. Even after a month, Toronto isn’t sure when he will return, which means the front office might have to make deadline decisions with less information than it would prefer.

The Raptors entered this season to be competitive, but the result has been greater than that. Behind a fast-paced attack and a staunch defense that ranks fifth in points allowed per possession, Toronto has a chance to win a playoff series. And even though it has fared well without Poeltl, it could use a big man to win four of seven against most possible postseason opponents.

This group has treaded around the middle of the pack in rebounding all season. The numbers haven’t changed much, even with Poeltl out, when it’s cycled between starting rookie forward Collin Murray-Boyles and journeyman center Sandro Mamukelashvili, one of the NBA’s most-improved players this season. But especially without Poeltl, it could use another big.

Toronto might have to deal with the burly Detroit Pistons, Orlando Magic or New York Knicks in the first round. The Boston Celtics are in the market for the same type of big man, but have emerged as one of the league’s top rebounding squads for the past couple of months. The Raptors’ defense has thrived with a switch-everything approach that requires versatile defenders. It’s possible, if not likely, that any center they target would have to fit the vibe. And yet Toronto can’t make any deal without considering the money.

The Raptors are only $967,000 above the luxury-tax line, meaning they should make an effort to dip below it. And thus, they hold two goals in opposite directions: Wanting to get better but hoping to shed money.

Doing both isn’t always easy, even if you own full control of your draft picks, as Toronto does. It could try for a smaller move with bench wing Ochai Agbaji or second-year guard Ja’Kobe Walter. Or it has the resources for something bigger — though the Raptors would need to consider more than just its current roster before parting with any draft picks or bulky salary …

Golden State Warriors

The Warriors and Raptors have one element in common: They are both teams that could get involved in the hypothetical sweepstakes for Antetokounmpo. Thus, either of them — along with the Knicks, Miami Heat, Atlanta Hawks, Houston Rockets and other suggested Antetokounmpo suitors — need to answer one question before saying yes to any trade this winter:

How does this move affect our ability to trade for Giannis?

Bringing in an unwanted salary would make an Antetokounmpo acquisition more difficult. Trading away first-round picks — or even high-quality second-rounders on the more asset-starved teams, such as the Knicks — would impede the chase. It’s why the Raptors could shy away from tossing a first-rounder into a deal to land a big man, even in a trade that would be a certified win for them in a vacuum. And it’s why the Warriors could have more trouble filling a Jimmy Butler-sized void.

Golden State doesn’t have much time to figure out its direction in a post-Butler world. The six-time All-Star tore his ACL last week, ending his season and likely eating into the next one. However, the Warriors have consistently wanted to compete in the waning years of Stephen Curry, who still breathes fire.

Could they find a way to help them, at least, fight for a spot above the Play-In Tournament?

The saga with former first-round pick Jonathan Kuminga has gone on long enough. After an extended, uncomfortable negotiation with Kuminga in free agency this summer, the two sides settled on the contract the Warriors were offering the whole time: a two-year pact with a team option for 2025-26. This deal exists only for Golden State to trade.

Will the Warriors actually do so?

With Butler gone, they are desperate for off-the-dribble creation. Could the Kuminga-to-Sacramento buzz finally turn into something material? The Kings are making calls about veteran scorer DeMar DeRozan, who has a large partial guarantee for next season, and young guard Keon Ellis. Could piecing those two together (with Ellis’ age and salary offsetting DeRozan’s) make the Warriors bite?

Doing so would end the Kuminga saga once and for all, while also bringing in a trusted ballhandler and a defensive pest. If Antetokounmpo became available, DeRozan would provide a large expiring salary in 2026-27, too.

Boston Celtics

This is no gap year. And thus, the Celtics might not treat it as one.

Boston unloaded salary this summer, saying goodbye to veterans such as Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porziņģis and Al Horford, after an Achilles injury ended Jayson Tatum’s previous season. With Tatum out for so much of 2025-26, the Celtics couldn’t justify such an expensive price tag, one that drove them above the second apron, thus hampering their flexibility.

Today, they’re floating above the first, approximately $12 million into the luxury tax. And as the season began, there were questions about whether they would duck below it.

They could dump Anfernee Simons’ $27.7 million salary onto one of the few teams able to take on his money without giving up much themselves and move into next season with a healthier Tatum and a cleaner cap sheet. This team has repeater tax fears — and that’s when payments become unsustainable. Avoiding it during a season when it can’t make the NBA Finals would be the prudent choice.

However, what if the Celtics can make the finals?

After all, they’re sitting second in the East. The offense has been one of the league’s biggest surprises. Jaylen Brown is churning out a career season. And Tatum is conducting workouts in front of the media, showing off how far he’s come in his rehab.

Even with the rise of Neemias Queta and Luka Garza, Boston could use another big man, someone to stave off postseason bullies. Could it chase a 7-footer, concerning itself more with on-court production than with its finances? It could still use Simons’ expiring contract to do so, especially if it believes Tatum could return, when it wouldn’t need Simons’ shooting and off-the-dribble magic as much.

Minnesota Timberwolves/Houston Rockets

Pair these teams together. After all, they are in the same bucket.

Both are Western Conference juggernauts, not quite at the level of the Oklahoma City Thunder or Denver Nuggets. Both have meshed young stars with win-now veterans. Both are into the luxury tax. And both, most importantly, could convince themselves they are a point guard away from title contention.

The Timberwolves have turned to star wing Anthony Edwards to facilitate more than ever. Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo handle the ball more. Randle has thrived doing so. Don’t sleep on his career-low turnover rate this season. But Minnesota still has too many moments when the offense loses rhythm.

It could use someone to play the role that 38-year-old Mike Conley once did.

The Wolves could combine Conley’s $10.8 million and Rob Dillingham’s $6.6 million salaries to trade for someone of consequence. That would be enough money to land them, for example, the Chicago Bulls’ Coby White, who is a free agent after this season.

Chicago has two guards building intrigue: White and Ayo Dosunmu, whose contract also expires this summer. Either would represent upgrades. White is a bouncy scorer. Dosunmu is an under-the-radar NBA Sixth Man of the Year candidate.

Both could also appeal to Houston.

The Rockets’ offense is the slowest in the league. White’s speed would stand out. Impressive shooting from either of the Bulls’ guards would help a team that’s lackluster from deep. But the Rockets have a balancing act to play.

On the one hand, would they want to give up draft capital, which they have plenty of, for a rental? After all, this could be an Antetokounmpo team. On the other hand, they just traded for Durant, a 37-year-old who may seem ageless but is not. Once you acquire anyone approaching 40, your window is short, which is why a preseason injury to starting point guard Fred VanVleet was so distressing. Will the Rockets look to replace their reliable veteran before the deadline? Or will they ride with what they have?