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Trade rumors are flying as the NBA trade deadline is just a little over a month away (Feb. 5), but it feels like the biggest names are more likely to stay put as teams are asking a lot — or is all this negotiating posturing? Here is the latest. (Note, for the latest on Giannis Antetokounmpo rumors, click this link.)
Anthony Davis
There are so many Anthony Davis reports, we are going to use bullet points to break them down.
• Dallas being patient. Whatever you think of former GM Nico Harrison’s vision for this season’s Mavericks – a roster built around Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving, and Cooper Flagg — the reality is we have yet to see that trio on the court together (because Irving is recovering from a torn ACL). Marc Stein reports in his latest Substack newsletter that the man who makes the ultimate decision in Dallas — Patrick Dumont, the team governor who signed off on the Luka Doncic trade — doesn’t want to rush the team’s next big move.
“The Mavericks have yet to see Flagg, Davis and Irving play together for one second and I’m told that new Mavericks owner Patrick Dumont is certainly among those in the organization who would prefer to see how that trio looks before doing something else drastic.”
Combine that with the things concerning teams about Davis and keeping bids low — his age (32), his injury history, his $54.1 million contract, and his desire for a contract extension — and it continues to look more like Davis is a trade that happens in the offseason, not at the deadline.
• No Trae Young for Davis. If Davis does get traded before the February trade deadline, Atlanta is the most likely landing spot and the most aggressive suitor, according to multiple reports.
However, that trade would not involve Trae Young, NBA insider Chris Haynes reported on the NBA on Prime broadcast recently. Haynes said that if an AD trade happens, “I was told it would not involve Trae Young. Dallas would likely want expiring deals, young assets, and picks — and probably, likely to include last season’s number one pick, Zaccharie Risacher.” (More on Risacher later.)
Atlanta has plenty of their own and Bucks’ picks to entice Dallas, but Kristaps Porzingis would have to return to Dallas as part of the deal just to make the money work. That said, league sources told NBC Sports they were skeptical the Hawks would give up a massive package of picks and young talent for Davis.
• The Warriors and Raptors are the other teams tied to Davis in rumors. Constructing a deal for Golden State that works under the tax aprons and makes sense for both sides is next to impossible (as it is for them trading for Giannis Antetokounmpo).
Trae Young
Atlanta and Young did not reach a contract extension last summer, and there was a sense that this was a make-or-break year for the Hawks and the face of their franchise.
How is that going? Well, “there is a growing belief leaguewide that the Hawks are more open to trading [Young] away than they’ve ever been,” reported Stein on Sunday. Then on the Hoop Collective Podcast for Monday, ESPN’s Tim MacMahon said, “The Hawks certainly
are indicating that they’re looking for an exit ramp with Trae Young.”
The Hawks’ potential openness to a deal doesn’t change the fact what league sources have told NBC Sports: There isn’t much of a trade market for the four-time All-Star at the deadline (the same goes for other expensive point guards such as Ja Morant and LaMelo Ball). He is more likely to be traded during the offseason.
Zaccharie Risacher
The Hawks have been active, and the No. 1 pick from a year ago is the player they are dangling, according to multiple reports. Stein summed it up well, writing, “It is also increasingly believed that Atlanta is willing to surrender Zaccharie Risacher in the proverbial right scenario, since the No. 1 overall pick in the draft just 18 months ago has not developed as the Hawks would have hoped to this point.”
Risacher is averaging 10.7 points a game this season, shooting 33.3% from beyond the arc, and has (at best) not taken a step forward from his rookie season.
James Harden
The Clippers have won four in a row, and teams checking in to see if James Harden might be available are being told he is not, reports Jake Fischer at The Stein Line. The Clippers have long believed internally that they were better than they showed earlier in the season, and right now they are showing it. Don’t expect a big shake up, this is a patient organization.
The Clippers are talking to teams about a potential landing spot for Chris Paul, but no deal has yet materialized. Teams interested in Paul feel they can wait the Clippers out rather than make a trade, just sign the point guard after he is bought out.