Fast forward two months, and the Knicks have won 15 out of 19 games while sitting near the top of the Eastern Conference (they\u2019re two games behind the first-placed Detroit Pistons). That sort of stretch isn\u2019t likely to change their stance anytime soon.<\/p>\n
The Thunder have more than enough draft assets in storage, and talent on their roster, to get a deal done. But in case you haven\u2019t noticed, the reigning champions are on pace to become the best regular-season team of all time. If that doesn\u2019t qualify as an if-it-ain\u2019t-broke-don\u2019t-fix-it situation, I don\u2019t know what does.<\/p>\n
The San Antonio Spurs could also make a very attractive pitch, with the prospect of Victor Wembanyama and Antetokounmpo sharing a frontcourt potentially terrifying the rest of the NBA. But two familiar issues emerge with that scenario: 1) There is no hard evidence that Antetokounmpo wants to play there, and 2) the Spurs \u2014 much like the Thunder and Knicks \u2014 are playing so well (nine wins in 12 games with Wembanyama sidelined by a calf strain; 17-7 overall) that the urgency to go after Antetokounmpo midseason might not be there.<\/p>\n
The same calculus applies to the Houston Rockets, who could put a package together to pair Antetokounmpo with Kevin Durant but don\u2019t appear to have the motivation \u2014 at the moment, anyway \u2014 because of their immense belief in the younger core (Alperen \u015eeng\u00fcn, Amen Thompson et al).<\/p>\n
The Toronto Raptors, who would be quite formidable with Antetokounmpo and Scottie Barnes side by side, have a similar quandary. The list goes on from there, with oft-cited longshots like the Atlanta Hawks and Golden State Warriors also facing complications.<\/p>\n
But what if one of the (non-New York) suitors that has reason to believe that Antetokounmpo might be willing to stay with their team for the long term makes the sort of Godfather offer that longtime Bucks general manager Jon Horst can\u2019t refuse? The Miami Heat, for example, are often handicapped by league insiders as a place that Antetokounmpo might be willing to call his new basketball home. Pat Riley and company could offer the Bucks a yacht full of draft assets, all their best young players (All-Star Tyler Herro, promising young big man Kel\u2019el Ware, small forward Jaime Jaquez Jr.) and salary filler (Terry Rozier, if the NBA allows it<\/a>) to make the numbers work.<\/p>\n Yet as we\u2019ve learned many times before, Horst tends to move in silence<\/a> when it comes to trades of major significance (reminder: the man set up a secret office inside the Bucks\u2019 locker room to avoid his co-workers, and keep it all hush-hush, while working on the Damian Lillard deal). That means there\u2019s no clarity about how he sees the potential packages from the various suitors who are so often discussed. It\u2019s worth remembering, however, that Horst signed an extension in April and thus has the organizational backing that should inspire a certain level of fortitude in negotiations. You simply can\u2019t lose a player of that magnitude without the return being good enough to forge a pathway to a promising new era.<\/p>\n With Giannis\u2019 intentions still unclear and Horst\u2019s view of the trade landscape equally unknown, it\u2019s messy and mysterious in Milwaukee.<\/p>\n \n Will the Timberwolves make a move to bolster their roster around Anthony Edwards? (Matthew Hinton \/ Imagn Images)<\/p>\n Anthony Edwards needs help, but will he get it?<\/p>\n At first glance, you might think there had been a level of panic within the Minnesota Timberwolves during their somewhat-sluggish start.<\/p>\n After reaching the Western Conference finals for the second consecutive time, they started the season just 10-8 before winning five of their past six games (they\u2019re 15-9; sixth in the West). For a team that has legitimate title-contending aspirations, and a franchise centerpiece in Anthony Edwards who was looking to take yet another leap<\/a>, that\u2019s enough to cause some concern. Except for one thing: They\u2019ve been here before.<\/p>\n The T-Wolves started just 8-10 last season, and were just 13-11 at this same 24-game mark, before finding their groove in the second half (they won 17 of their last 20 games after starting 32-29). Translation: They aren\u2019t about to make an ill-advised move in response to the early returns.<\/p>\n Still, president of basketball operations Tim Connelly has been one of the most aggressive executives in the league for quite some time. As evidenced by the Durant pursuit in the summer<\/a>, when the Timberwolves took a long, hard look at bringing him to town before he was traded to the Rockets, Connelly always seems to be in on the big stuff. More recently, the Timberwolves were among those teams monitoring the Ja Morant situation<\/a> with the Memphis Grizzlies (though that move appears very unlikely). And lest anyone forget, his controversial choice to bring Rudy Gobert to Minnesota in the summer of 2022 had everything to do with the team success that came next.<\/p>\n The Timberwolves\u2019 due-diligence approach will likely lead to all sorts of rumors about their squad between now and the deadline, with most of them involving point guards. To that end, the Chicago Sun-Times reported this week that Minnesota inquired about Chicago Bulls point guard Coby White. Our Jon Krawczynski reported that there\u2019s \u201cnothing cooking<\/a>\u201d there right now in terms of active talks.<\/p>\n A Wolves source confirmed that there is legitimate interest in White, but the 25-year-old\u2019s looming free agency appears to be a significant hindrance to a possible trade. He\u2019s making $12.8 million in the final year of his deal and is widely expected to seek a major raise this summer. But the fear of that unknown, it seems, means this is the kind of \u201crental\u201d situation that drops the price point precipitously and creates a negotiating gap between the two sides.<\/p>\n If there\u2019s another cold streak in Minnesota when early February rolls around, however, those phones will most certainly heat up. And Connelly, even more than most, is always willing to take a call<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Mavericks\u2019 post-Nico Harrison plan<\/p>\n When Nico Harrison\u2019s ill-fated tenure as Dallas Mavericks general manager ended in early November, the speculation about what his firing might mean for Anthony Davis\u2019 future was almost instant.<\/p>\n Mark Cuban \u2014 the former majority owner (and current minority owner) whose voice matters again now in his role as adviser to owner Patrick Dumont \u2014 told our Joe Vardon that Davis wasn\u2019t going anywhere<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to try to win,\u201d Cuban wrote via e-mail.<\/p>\n Yet as our Christian Clark reported,<\/a> the Mavericks \u2014 whose front office is now headed by co-interim general managers Matt Riccardi and Michael Finley \u2014 have signaled a willingness to listen to any and all offers that might help them build around their prized No. 1 pick, Cooper Flagg. So amid all that mixed messaging, will Davis be on the move? There\u2019s no way of knowing yet.<\/p>\n As optics go, it\u2019s fair to wonder how Dumont might react if the market isn\u2019t kind to Davis\u2019 value. After all, this is the player who was dealt for Luka Don\u010di\u0107. Expectations might be unrealistically high for the potential return. And the chances of (even more) fan discontent are quite high if it\u2019s not what they, or the organization\u2019s stakeholders, had hoped for.<\/p>\n Davis\u2019 contract status is certainly providing a pressure point. Davis \u2014 who is represented by Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul \u2014 is eligible for an extension this summer (his current deal runs through next season, with a player option for $62.7 million in 2027-28). That\u2019s a major consideration for both the Mavs and the expected suitors, which \u2014 as ESPN first reported \u2014 are expected to include Detroit, Atlanta and Toronto. Yet as several league sources indicated, the actual level of interest from the aforementioned teams remains to be seen. Especially given Davis\u2019 sordid health history.<\/p>\n In that regard, these past two weeks have been a step in the right direction. After returning from the Nov. 28 left calf strain that cost him 14 games, he has averaged 18.4 points, 10.2 rebounds and two blocks in five games.<\/p>\n Dallas, meanwhile, has won four of its last five games and \u2014 somehow, some way \u2014 finds itself in Play-In position (10th) despite its woeful record (9-16). If you squint hard enough, you can imagine a world in which Kyrie Irving returns from his torn ACL late in the season and the Mavs enjoy a better-late-than-never version of what Harrison envisioned when he made the Don\u010di\u0107 deal.<\/p>\n As one league source shared, there are even some indications that the Mavericks are still considering upgrading this current core rather than parting with their veterans. Time will tell if there\u2019s anything feasible on that front, or if this becomes the fire sale that so many have predicted.<\/p>\n Sacramento is selling, but will anyone buy?<\/p>\n The wayward Kings, if you somehow haven\u2019t heard, are open for business with their roster of mismatched pieces.<\/p>\n Yet as is the case with so many other teams, the realities of the market might provide a sobering dose of reality once we get closer to dealing time. The Kings\u2019 Zach LaVine, for starters, could certainly help several contending teams. To that point, league sources confirmed that Milwaukee has done recent due diligence on the 30-year-old guard (and has shown interest in the past).<\/p>\n But his exorbitant salary \u2014 $47.4 million this season and a player option for $48.9 million next season \u2014 makes it nearly impossible to move him without attaching some sort of sweetener (draft assets) in return. And therein lies the challenge for first-year Kings general manager Scott Perry.<\/p>\n As of now, Perry has signaled a commitment to retaining the draft picks that he hopes will play a pivotal part in their rebuild. If that stance remains, then there\u2019s a very real chance that this veteran core \u2014 LaVine, Domantas Sabonis, DeMar DeRozan, Malik Monk et al \u2014 could remain past the deadline. On a related note, it should come as no surprise that Perry made a plea for fan and organizational patience when we discussed his long-term outlook recently.<\/p>\n For Sabonis\u2019 part, league sources say the 29-year-old big man has heeded that call for patience. His contract runs through the 2027-28 season, with a combined $94 million owed in the next two seasons, meaning his market is inevitably limited by the sheer magnitude of the money owed.<\/p>\n Teams like Washington, the Phoenix Suns and Chicago have shown significant interest in the past and are still believed to be on his short list of possible suitors, but Sabonis is prepared to remain in a Kings jersey for the foreseeable future. He has been out since Nov. 19 with a partial tear of his left meniscus and was scheduled to be re-evaluated within the next week.<\/p>\n Beyond Sacramento\u2019s core, fourth-year guard Keon Ellis remains the most talked-about trade target among rival teams. Never mind that his league-wide value doesn\u2019t reconcile with the way he\u2019s used by Kings coach Doug Christie (he has played 20-plus minutes just once in the past 11 games and had a DNP-Coaches\u2019 Decision in that span).<\/p>\n \n Teams around the league seem more interested in Keon Ellis than the Kings are. (Kelley L Cox \/ Imagn Images)<\/p>\n The real question, however, is whether the Kings\u2019 price point for moving him will be so steep that it makes a deal hard to reach. It remains possible that Ellis and the Kings find a win-win proposition on the extension front (he\u2019s eligible as of Feb. 9).<\/p>\n If the Kings (6-19) continue down this losing track, there could be a payoff for all that pain in the form of their 2026 first-round draft pick. AJ Dybantsa<\/a>, anyone?<\/p>\n The Jonathan Kuminga dilemma<\/p>\n No story about trade targets is complete without discussing Golden State\u2019s Jonathan Kuminga.<\/p>\n Never mind that he\u2019s not eligible to be moved until Jan. 15. There are Kuminga-related dynamics worth analyzing in the here and now \u2014 some familiar, and some not so much.<\/p>\n The Kings are widely expected to revisit their offseason interest in Kuminga, and it remains to be seen if that\u2019s the case for teams like Phoenix and Chicago that have been intrigued by him before. But the New Orleans Pelicans, in many ways, are front and center in this discussion.<\/p>\n Let me explain.<\/p>\n For quite some time now, the Warriors have been open about their desire to acquire the Pelicans\u2019 Trey Murphy III. But if they\u2019re going to use Kuminga to do that, then it would be helpful to know how, if at all, the Pelicans value the Warriors\u2019 23-year-old forward. For the time being, the feedback is mixed on that front. \u2019Tis the season for smokescreens, after all.<\/p>\n Yet this part is indisputable when it comes to the Warriors\u2019 side of the equation: These past six weeks have not been kind when it comes to Kuminga\u2019s value. After the first six games of the season when Kuminga was receiving rave reviews, he has returned to the rollercoaster existence that embodied the vast majority of his first four seasons.<\/p>\n His DNP-CD in Golden State\u2019s win over Chicago on Sunday raised eyebrows all around the league, with coach Steve Kerr explaining afterward that the combination of Jimmy Butler\u2019s return from injury and the hot hands in their (non-Kuminga) second unit played a major part.<\/p>\n To Kuminga\u2019s credit, he took the high road<\/a> in his postgame comments. Even Steph Curry weighed in on the debate<\/a> eventually, encouraging Kuminga not to lose his spirit.<\/p>\n For the Pelicans\u2019 purposes, the Warriors\u2019 interest in Murphy underscores the potential impact they\u2019ll have on the trade season league-wide. Despite their record \u2014 New Orleans is second-worst in the league at 4-22 \u2014 players like Murphy and Herbert Jones are expected to draw major interest from contending teams.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/ant-1-scaled.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/keon-scaled.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n