NBA trade season is upon us, even though there don't appear to be many impending transactions across the league. But Friday marks the date when players who signed contracts as free agents last summer will become eligible for a deal — including 81 different players for this 2022-23 season. Saturday potentially marks an even more significant point in the NBA calendar, as it marks the deadline for a team to trade for someone signed during this past free agency and then acquire that player before the buzzer on Feb. 8 to join forces in another deal.
For example, this was a decisive advantage when the Philadelphia 76ers returned because they sent James Harden to his desired destination with the Clippers. Should the Sixers actually decide to spend some of the draft ammunition they got from Los Angeles and eye a third star to pair with Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, they will have to use the outgoing salary like the contract of Include Marcus Morris Sr., who plays in Philadelphia, will be eligible to move since they acquired him as well as Nicolas Batum, Robert Covington and KJ Martin on November 1st.
Unfortunately, the Sixers are not expected to make any significant roster moves until the February trade deadline approaches, league sources told Yahoo Sports, no matter how often Philadelphia and the Los Angeles Lakers trade with Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine , be associated. It remains difficult to sift through the rumor mill and whispers among pro personnel scouts to find legitimate suitors actively pursuing LaVine's services, with four years and roughly $180 million owed, including the remainder of this season. LaVine's recent absence due to right foot soreness, which is expected to keep him sidelined for the better part of a month, has further heightened concerns about his injury history, not to mention the curious fact that Chicago has won its first four games with LaVine out lineup before dropping his final two.
Zach LaVine drives to the basket against the Orlando Magic at the United Center on November 15, 2023 in Chicago. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)
The market's slow performance shouldn't necessarily be a surprise after the Bulls began assessing LaVine's trade value in the offseason, and yet LaVine re-emerged as the focal point of Chicago's roster early in the year. However, the Bulls' order of play still appears to be moving LaVine first. That would leave a sizable sample of games to evaluate Chicago's updated roster before further decisions are made on the trade status of other veterans like DeMar DeRozan and Alex Caruso. The Bulls are still looking for the kind of haul that a multiple-time All-Star typically attracts, which LaVine is certainly based on the resume: an established starter, plus a young player with upside and then first-round draft capital , according to league sources. Chicago has also tried to trade LaVine for other All-Star players, such as alerting Cleveland to the concept of acquiring Darius Garland from the Cavaliers, sources said.
Can the Bulls even be considered sellers if their priorities are moving LaVine and LaVine alone? The lack of clear sellers in the NBA trade landscape has been an ongoing theme since the advent of the play-in tournament, as more front offices than ever before convince themselves that the rosters they watch night after night simply need one a bit of luck with injuries and a new addition or two to get into the playoffs. With the prevailing opinion among scouts that the upcoming 2024 NBA Draft is one of the weaker talent pools to enter the league in several years, we could also see an increased number of teams willing to take first-round picks this season. Trading picks for rotation upgrades.
All you have to do is have valuable players available. Once again, competing executives are circling Toronto and the Raptors' two impending free agents, Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby, as two of the best options to hit the trade market before the February deadline. Gary Trent is also in the final season of his three-year contract and the veteran guard will draw interest from opposing front offices. But Siakam and Anunoby are the two valuable pieces that teams hope Toronto wasn't part of a winning formula with the Raptors. Today, league officials are more convinced than ever that Toronto will be willing to part ways with at least one of its core players, most likely Siakam, especially after the Raptors signed Fred VanVleet as a free agent.
“Toronto will be forced to make a decision,” one general manager told Yahoo Sports.
The Hawks have been the suitor most linked to Siakam since the offseason, and Atlanta's staff got a perfect glimpse of what the 29-year-old forward is capable of on Wednesday night when Siakam posted 33 points, seven goals in a game and scored seven assists to help the guests win. The Hawks held serious discussions with the Raptors about acquiring Siakam last summer, league sources told Yahoo Sports. Atlanta also pursued trade scenarios for swingman De'Andre Hunter, which included discussions with the Pacers and Pistons related to the NBA draft in June. The Hawks are among the most interesting franchises to watch as the trade deadline approaches, with ample opportunity to choose different paths forward under a new leadership structure with general manager Landry Fields and head coach Quin Snyder in their first full season in Atlanta . That's still 9-14 in the Eastern Conference.
Other teams also interested in acquiring Siakam include Indiana and Sacramento, although both the Pacers and Kings appear to be more interested in the possibility of signing Anunoby than his older, less malleable counterpart on the Raptors. It remains to be seen how much desire the Pacers have for significant improvements from a young roster that arrives a little ahead of schedule, as evidenced by an entertaining start to this season's tournament title game behind Tyrese Haliburton. But there is great expectation among rival executives that Indiana will move aggressively in exploring consolidation deals that raise the cap. Backup general TJ McConnell has drawn continued interest from playoff teams looking for greater support in the backcourt, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
Sacramento has certainly given rival front offices and other league players a sense that the Kings are looking for ways to acquire more midseason talent, just as Sacramento did when it traded Haliburton for Domantas Sabonis before the 2022 trade deadline. The addition of LaVine would not help improve Sacramento's leaky defense, although the Kings have been mentioned by league staff as a team to keep an eye on in LaVine's ongoing trade talks. In order for Sacramento to do business with Toronto, the Raptors are expected to seek sharp-shooting Keegan Murray in exchange for one of their talented forwards. That seems like too high a price to pay for Sacramento, as Kings officials have talked about Murray as a crucial swing piece in their lineup between bookends Sabonis and De'Aaron Fox – especially with 31-year veteran Harrison Barnes in mind on the performance faded is season. Davion Mitchell is considered a strong candidate for a trade with the Kings, league sources tell Yahoo Sports, as the third-year guard continues to see limited playing time in Sacramento's rotation.
But what if Toronto stands firm, like the Raptors did at the last trade deadline and like Toronto did with Kyle Lowry before the 2021 trade deadline? Teams are calling for other impact players who could change the landscape of their rosters. At this point, it doesn't appear to be All-NBA Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell, despite growing interest from rival teams given Cleveland's mediocre start to the 2023-24 season following an expensive free agency. But what about the only All-Star on Mitchell's former team in Utah?
Lauri Markkanen actually emerged as an intriguing, if unlikely, trade candidate before the February announcement. The Jazz had plans to continue competing in the Western Conference after Markkanen became an All-Star in his first season in Salt Lake City, league sources told Yahoo Sports, as Utah acquired Portland with the acquisition of Damian Lillard and then of Jrue Holiday hired before this season ended. Markkanen's move would mark a significant change in direction from trying to bring in an All-NBA-caliber point guard to run Utah's offense alongside Markkanen's versatile skill set.
And yet the Jazz are stuck in an 8-16 start, prompting multiple teams to call Utah's front office to gauge willingness to move Markkanen, sources said. The Jazz are by no means expected to trade the 7-foot sharpshooter at this point. According to sources, he was a real favorite of Jazz officials. But Utah has actually given opposing executives a sense that Markkanen is no longer untouchable in trade talks, league sources told Yahoo Sports, a noticeable change from previous transaction windows. Markkanen is eligible to negotiate and extend his current contract before the final 2024-25 season begins. And the consensus among cap strategists is that Utah may not view Markkanen's next salary point as a worthwhile expense if the Jazz are so far out of the playoff picture with Markkanen as their best player. But it would certainly take a monumental effort for a team to pry the 26-year-old from the Jazz.
“Do I expect Utah to trade Lauri? No,” another general manager told Yahoo Sports. “But they say they are willing to listen. They're willing to listen to everyone's demands, but it's about meeting their price, just like Minnesota did for Rudy [Gobert].”
“Everyone,” according to league sources, will include veterans Jordan Clarkson, Kelly Olynyk, John Collins, Collin Sexton and Talen Horton-Tucker, but not starter and rookie standout Keyonte George.
But Markkanen's status has already raised eyebrows around the league and will continue to do so if Utah continues to accommodate rivals' requests. It would be an official error not to at least understand what it would take to sign Markkanen. League officials believe three teams particularly value the Finnish forward at this preliminary stage of trade talks. Two of those obvious suitors, Sacramento and Atlanta, make sense considering the Kings and Hawks' respective approaches to Siakam. The third squad in the league that should continue to pay attention to a possible Markkanen approach is Oklahoma City, suddenly second in the West with an abundance of first-round picks.
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The Thunder have so far resisted spending their draft capital and adding to a burgeoning young playoff core because they didn't want to rush their breakfast and go to dinner before even thinking about lunch. But there's still Davis Bertans' $17 million salary to play with, and OKC explored trading junior Tre Mann before the season, sources said. In February, opposing front offices will certainly also call Oklahoma City about Josh Giddey's trade prospects, depending on the outcome of the NBA's investigation into his alleged off-court relationships. Prior to the allegations on social media that Giddey had an inappropriate relationship with a minor, other front offices began identifying Giddey as a quiet possibility for a trade in his own right, as this was his third season of being out of character next to him Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had developed a useful 3-point shooter. The Australian playmaker can extend his contract this summer.
More names and concepts will emerge as concrete conversations begin among the front office folks flocking to Orlando next week for the annual G League Showcase. For now, Memphis has a crucial roster decision to make before All-Star guard Ja Morant returns from his 25-game suspension on Tuesday. The Grizzlies were excited by the contributions of veteran big man Bismack Biyombo, whom Memphis signed as part of a roster exception that came with Morant's extended absence. While the Grizzlies have had conversations around the NBA to weigh rivals' interest in their players at the bottom of the rotation, opposing front offices are predicting Kenny Loften Jr. will be the likely candidate to play ahead of Morant's return, according to sources is waived if an exchange does not take place in the next few days.