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The NBA trade market has been slow to develop this year. While there was a big move — Trae Young is a Wizard — this has generally moved slowly. We are now just more than a week away from the Feb. 5 NBA trade deadline and things are calm.
Here is the latest from around the league.
Jonathan Kuminga
Jonathan Kuminga and the Golden State Warriors are ready for a divorce, but the season-ending injury to Jimmy Butler may change the dynamic and keep Kuminga in the Bay Area into the offseason.
Part of the challenge in trading Kuminga is that the Warriors can’t showcase him — Kuminga hyperextended his knee in the game against Dallas last Thursday and has a bone bruise. It’s unclear whether he can return to the court before Feb. 5, which would give some teams pause in going after him.
Butler is the bigger issue, as Anthony Slater lays out at ESPN.
Multiple team sources have described it as less likely Kuminga is moved following Jimmy Butler’s right ACL tear. Prior to that injury, Kuminga was a $22.5 million wing rotting on the bench, having not seen the floor for 16 straight games. Without Butler, he’s back in the mix, scoring 30 points in 30 bench minutes before the injury. There’s internal conversation that he’d get another crack at minutes post-deadline — if he’s still around.
The challenge in trading Kuminga is that the teams who are interested are not going to give up much, or want Golden State to take on long-term money, and Warriors GM Mike Dunleavy Jr. is not going to go that route. For example, the Lakers need wing help and might take a flyer on Kuminga, but Los Angeles doesn’t have players on their roster that the Warriors want, reports Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints. It’s much the same in Sacramento, another team that is interested but the Warriors do not want to get in the Malik Monk business.
It looks more and more like Kuminga will be a Warrior into the summer, when they will try to trade him again, possibly as part of a larger deal.
Karl-Anthony Towns, Knicks
Is Karl-Anthony Towns available in a trade? Depends on who you ask.
New York talked to multiple teams about a Towns trade, reported Steve Popper of Newsday. On the other hand, the Knicks are not looking to move on from KAT, reports two trusted sources: Knicks writer Ian Begley of SNY.tv and national writer Sam Amick of The Athletic, both of whom say they haven’t heard any Towns buzz. Meanwhile, Stefan Bondy of The New York Post phrased it that the Knicks were not “shopping” Towns, but that implies they will listen to teams who call to check in on him.
While the Knicks likely do not trade Towns before Feb. 5, they would like to know his trade value on the open market, reports Marc Stein of The Stein Line, in what sounds like the most logical explanation and where things stand. As we have reported before, there is a sense in league circles that if the Knicks fall short of owner James Dolan’s stated goal — making the NBA Finals — Towns could be the scapegoat and find himself traded this summer.
• One other Knicks note from Stein: New York has “explored pathways” with Portland to bring veteran guard Jrue Holiday to Madison Square Garden. The Knicks like the idea of putting Holiday next to Jalen Brunson — as they should, that would be a fantastic backcourt pairing.
However, actually pulling off that trade is highly unlikely. Holiday makes $32.4 million this season and is owed $74 million for the two seasons after this one. Portland will want young players and first-round picks that New York doesn’t have in a trade. The trade works under the cap by sending OG Anunoby to Portland straight up, but that doesn’t make much sense for the Knicks on the court. Consider this something else to track into the summer.
Most likely move by the Knicks? Trading Guerschon Yabusele and his $5.5 million contract for… something.
Anthony Davis
Marc Stein of The Stein Line has reiterated what has been pretty clear for a while: It’s highly unlikely Anthony Davis will be traded before Feb. 5. His salary and injury history — including his current hand injury — have made finding a trade partner difficult.
What is different is Stein’s spin/report that Davis “would prefer to stay put for the rest of this season after absorbing the shock of last February’s sudden in-season relocation from the Lakers to the Mavericks.” File that in the “This is my only option/This is the only option I ever wanted” bin.
Los Angeles Lakers
Last season, the Phoenix Suns were ripped by pundits when they traded a valuable 2031 unprotected first-round pick for three first-round picks (2025, 2027 and 2029) that were destined to be in the 20s (the worst of Cleveland or Minnesota in those years). The only way it made sense was that Phoenix had another trade or trades lined up, and it needed multiple first-rounders. Nope. The Suns did nothing, hung on to those picks and ultimately drafted Liam McNeeley at No. 29 with that 2025 pick (then traded him to Charlotte for Mark Williams).
Now the Lakers are considering doing something similar, something Dave McMenamin confirmed at ESPN.
In the past month, league sources told ESPN the Lakers have canvassed teams to see whether they could find a deal to send out their 2031 or 2032 first-round pick in order to get multiple firsts back for it. Being armed with more tradable picks would give L.A. more options this trade season, beyond the expiring contracts of Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent and Maxi Kleber.
Like with the Suns, this only makes sense for the Lakers if they have second and third deals lined up, and even then it’s questionable. The bigger question the Lakers need to ask themselves is, “Are the players we’re bringing in making us a contender?” It would be tough to answer yes to that in a conference with Oklahoma City, Denver, San Antonio and Houston. Are the Lakers better off waiting until this summer, when LeBron James and Austin Reaves are free agents, and then making whatever roster upgrades are needed?
Other trade notes
• No, the Grizzlies and Pelicans are not talking about a Ja Morant trade, according to Marc Stein.
• Will Chicago be active at the trade deadline? Historically, decision maker Artūras Karnišovas and the Bulls have been quiet at the trade deadline, but Eric Pincus at Bleacher Report says the Bulls are one of the league’s most active teams at the deadline. “Per multiple league and agent sources, Chicago is looking to improve postseason chances this season while adding young, athletic players to complement its core duo of Josh Giddey and Matas Buzelis.” Good luck with that, 29 other teams are looking for young, athletic players, too.
• Toronto is looking to kill a couple of birds with one trade, both dipping below the luxury tax line and adding depth at center with Jakob Poeltl out for an extended time, reports Josh Lewenberg of TSN. A few names to watch: Dallas’ Daniel Gafford, Orlando’s Goga Bitadze and Brooklyn’s Day’Ron Sharpe.
• With Steven Adams out for an extended period in Houston, the Rockets are considering a trade to bring in another big man, reports Kelly Iko of Yahoo Sports. Something to watch.
If the Rockets make a trade, Tari Eason is off limits in the deal, Marc Stein reports.