{"id":448623,"date":"2026-01-31T02:19:06","date_gmt":"2026-01-31T02:19:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/448623\/"},"modified":"2026-01-31T02:19:06","modified_gmt":"2026-01-31T02:19:06","slug":"trade-rumors-magic-raptors-celtics-cavs-thunder-ad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/448623\/","title":{"rendered":"Trade Rumors: Magic, Raptors, Celtics, Cavs, Thunder, AD"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sources around the NBA expect the Magic to make a move at the trade deadline to move under the luxury tax line, according to ESPN\u2019s Tim Bontemps and Brian Windhorst<\/a>. Orlando is operating about $5.6MM into the tax, so a deal involving Tyus Jones<\/a>\u2018 expiring $7MM contract could address the issue. However, as Bontemps and Windhorst point out, it wouldn\u2019t do anything to alleviate Orlando\u2019s cap crunch in future seasons.<\/p>\n

The Magic project to be in second-apron territory next season and will likely be opening negotiations with standout guard Anthony Black<\/a> on a rookie scale extension that would begin in 2027\/28. Rivals teams are curious to see if the team will be looking to move off of longer-term salary at the deadline or in the offseason, per ESPN\u2019s duo, and are also wondering whether the front office has any regrets about the maximum-salary extension it gave Paolo Banchero<\/a> last summer.<\/p>\n

\u201cBanchero is a physically gifted and highly talented player who doesn\u2019t always make his team better, and it reminds you at times of Carmelo Anthony in that way,\u201d one Western Conference executive said. \u201cHe\u2019s young, and I\u2019m sure they believe that he can mature into a player who does that. But I\u2019d guess (Orlando) is concerned about having given him a full max with an opt out.\u201d<\/p>\n

We have more trade rumors from across the league:<\/p>\n

According to Bontemps and Windhorst, while it remains unclear whether a favorable opportunity will present itself, sources view the Raptors as a potential buyer with the assets necessary to be aggressive on the trade market at the deadline. \u201cThere are only a few teams out there who have full control of their drafts,\u201d an Eastern Conference executive told ESPN. \u201cThat makes (the Raptors) a buyer if they want. But when you look at their contracts ($165MM to their top five players next year), they\u2019re going to need those picks.\u201d
\nRival teams view the Celtics as a candidate to make a deal for frontcourt help, but an upgrade along the margins is more likely than a significant deal for a player like Jaren Jackson Jr.<\/a>, Bontemps and Windhorst write.
\nESPN\u2019s duo also checks in on the Cavaliers, noting that the team is heading toward a \u201cgut check moment\u201d with Donovan Mitchell<\/a>, who has one more guaranteed year left on his contract and has yet to reach the conference finals. Cleveland also has the NBA\u2019s highest payroll and projects to be in the second apron again next season. \u201cCleveland is active (in trade discussions),\u201d one exec told Bontemps and Windhorst. \u201cWe\u2019re not sure what they\u2019re trying to set up \u2014 and they may not be either \u2014 but they\u2019re active.\u201d
\nWhile the Thunder are unlikely to make any significant changes to their 38-11 roster at the trade deadline, ESPN\u2019s Brian Windhorst said in the latest Hoop Collective podcast (YouTube link<\/a>) that he has heard some rumblings about them poking around the market for centers.
\nResponding to a report<\/a> that stated he wants his client Anthony Davis<\/a> to be traded, agent Rich Paul referred to it as \u201cfake news\u201d (Twitter video link<\/a>). However, while Paul made it clear he has nothing against the Mavericks or Dallas, he didn\u2019t exactly deny the substance of that report, which suggested he wants Davis on a team that\u2019s more likely to extend him. \u201cIt\u2019s not like you want a guy moved just for the sake of being moved,\u201d Paul said on the Game Over podcast<\/a>. \u201cIf a guy is happy where they are, great. You care about people\u2019s families. You care about the guys\u2019 well-beings, and you care about if they\u2019re happy. Now, from a business perspective, you want guys to be positioned and you want guys to be paid. I really don\u2019t care where the money comes from. The money can come from the 31st team of the NBA for all I care. It doesn\u2019t matter, as long as my guy\u2019s positioned and paid, that\u2019s all I want to do.\u201d\u00a0At this point, a Davis trade appears unlikely to happen<\/a> by Thursday\u2019s deadline.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sources around the NBA expect the Magic to make a move at the trade deadline to move under…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":448624,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[574],"tags":[16107,64,63,726,23659,19710,85,19708],"class_list":{"0":"post-448623","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-basketball","8":"tag-anthony-davis","9":"tag-au","10":"tag-australia","11":"tag-basketball","12":"tag-donovan-mitchell","13":"tag-paolo-banchero","14":"tag-sports","15":"tag-tyus-jones"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/448623","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=448623"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/448623\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/448624"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=448623"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=448623"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=448623"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}