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Trade Rumors: Butler, Pelicans, Fox, Spurs, Yabusele, Wolves, Bogdanovic

January 31st, 2025 at 7:16pm CST by Luke Adams

Addressing a Friday report that stated the Pelicans have contacted Miami about Jimmy Butler, John Gambadoro of Arizona 98.7 tweets that New Orleans has “no interest” in trading for the Heat forward.

Butler doesn’t want to go to New Orleans and the Pelicans would be hard-pressed to add him in a swap involving Brandon Ingram without increasing their team salary, which they don’t want to do, Gambadoro notes (via Twitter), adding that he believes the Heat or Butler’s agent are using the Pelicans for leverage.

For what it’s worth, Jake Fischer of The Stein Line – who initially co-reported the Pelicans/Heat discussions along with Marc Stein – said in a Bleacher Report stream on Friday (video link) that while the two teams have talked, he doesn’t think Butler ending up in New Orleans “sounds likely at all.”

Here are a few more trade rumors from around the NBA:

Despite some chatter from local media in San Antonio about the Spurs potentially gaining momentum toward a De’Aaron Fox trade, Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee (Twitter link) hears from a source with knowledge of the situation that “all is quiet as of now” and that no deal involving the Kings star appears imminent. If the Spurs do make a deal for Fox, it’s unlikely to include Stephon Castle, according to plugged-in Sacramento reporter Damien Barling of ESPN 1320 (Twitter link), who says indications are that San Antonio won’t be willing to give up the rookie guard.
In another story for The Stein Line (Substack link), Fischer adds the Timberwolves to the list of teams that have inquired on Sixers big man Guerschon Yabusele. Philadelphia has received offers that include multiple second-round picks for Yabusele, according to Fischer.
After Stein reported on Thursday that the Hawks are actively exploring potential Bogdan Bogdanovic trades, Fischer follows up (Substack link) by citing momentum toward a deal, with confidence rising in Atlanta that a deal will get down. However, both Stein and Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports (Twitter link) dispute that a deal with the Suns involving Jusuf Nurkic is among the options currently under consideration.

NBA Names Four Replacements For Rising Stars Event

January 31st, 2025 at 4:48pm CST by Luke Adams

Three second-year players and one rookie have been named replacements for the Rising Stars event at All-Star weekend in San Francisco, according to the NBA. The league issued a press release announcing the following changes:

Magic guard Anthony Black is replacing Mavericks center Dereck Lively.
Trail Blazers forward Toumani Camara is replacing Hornets forward Brandon Miller.
Pistons swingman Ausar Thompson is replacing Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama.
Suns wing Ryan Dunn is replacing Sixers guard Jared McCain.

We noted when the Rising Stars participants were officially revealed on Tuesday that a few replacements would be necessary. Lively is sidelined for an extended period due to a stress fracture in his ankle, while Miller and McCain underwent season-ending procedures on their right wrist and left knee, respectively.

Wembanyama is healthy, but was selected as an All-Star reserve for the Western Conference. Players who are named All-Stars don’t take part in the Rising Stars event.

Black, Camara, Thompson, and Dunn will be included in the 21-player pool of NBA rookies and sophomores who will be drafted into three teams of seven players apiece on February 4. Those three teams, along with a fourth club made up of seven G League standouts, will compete a mini-tournament on Friday, February 14 as part of All-Star weekend’s opening night.

The squad that wins the Rising Stars event will advance to All-Star Sunday and take on one of three teams made up of NBA All-Stars in the semifinals of the new-look All-Star Game.

Pelicans Contact Heat About Jimmy Butler

January 31st, 2025 at 10:59am CST by Arthur Hill

The Pelicans are the latest team to get involved in Jimmy Butler trade talks, Jake Fischer and Marc Stein reveal in a Substack column (subscriber only).

League sources tell Fischer and Stein that New Orleans contacted the Heat this week about Butler, although terms of the offer weren’t divulged. The authors’ sources say Brandon Ingram‘s $36MM expiring contract would be the basis of the deal.

The Pelicans have been exploring the trade market for Ingram after being unable to work out an extension with him last summer. Sources tell The Stein Line that New Orleans has been attempting to use Ingram’s contract to facilitate a Butler trade, but eventually decided to make its own offer.

Even though Ingram hasn’t played since December 7 due to injury, getting a player with his pedigree would intrigue the Heat as they prepare to make a playoff run. However, the authors aren’t sure what Butler’s reaction might be to joining a 12-36 New Orleans team whose season has been derailed by injuries to numerous rotation players.

Butler makes roughly $12.8MM more than Ingram this season, so the Pelicans would have to add multiple players to match salaries. Fischer and Stein note that they’re currently almost $1.5MM over the tax line and are expected to maneuver underneath it to avoid paying the tax in a lost season. That means one or more additional teams may have to get involved to allow them to acquire Butler and still duck the tax.

The Suns remain Butler’s preferred destination, according to the authors, but that possibility looks increasingly remote as no teams want to take on Bradley Beal‘s contract and Beal appears unlikely to waive his no-trade clause. That leaves the Pelicans with the Warriors, Bucks and Grizzlies as teams that have been publicly linked to Butler. They all have the resources to complete a deal, but Fischer and Stein note that none of them have gone all-in with their efforts to acquire the disgruntled forward.

Stein reported earlier this week that the Raptors have expressed interest in Ingram, marking the first movement on that front in several months. The Pelicans also had preliminary discussions with the Hawks about Ingram, but sources told Stein that they “have not gained significant traction.”

Scotto’s Latest: Bogdanovic, Hawks, K. Johnson, Ingram, Pistons

January 31st, 2025 at 8:02am CST by Arthur Hill

Rival teams are watching the Hawks ahead of next week’s trade deadline to see which players they’re willing to part with in the wake of a season-ending injury to Jalen Johnson, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. League sources tell Scotto there’s a “growing sense” that Bogdan Bogdanovic could be on the market, echoing a report from Marc Stein earlier this week.

Scotto hears that the Suns, Heat and others could have interest in working out a deal for Bogdanovic. Phoenix is reportedly hoping to combine one of its newly acquired first-round picks with Jusuf Nurkic to acquire either a starter or a “high-level” rotation player, and Scotto’s sources say the team considers Bogdanovic to fit that description. He adds that a deal involving Bogdanovic for Nurkic and a pick has been discussed as part of a “larger potential construct.”

Injuries have limited Bogdanovic to 24 games this season, and he is currently away from the team for personal reasons. At 32, he’s not a good fit with Atlanta’s young core, especially if the Hawks are focused on the future rather than a postseason appearance following Johnson’s injury.

Bogdanovic is having an uncharacteristically bad shooting season, connecting at just 37.1% from the field and 30.1% from three-point range, but Scotto states that several teams believe a change of scenery could help. He’s a career 38% shooter from long distance and is under contract for one more season at $16MM, with a $16MM player option for 2026/27.

Scotto offers a few more trade rumors:

Several teams have reached out to the Hawks about veteran center Clint Capela, sources tell Scotto. However, many of those offers involve players whose contracts extend beyond this season, while Capela’s deal is expiring. Atlanta has also received interest in De’Andre Hunter, Scotto adds.
Keldon Johnson could be part of the package if the Spurs work out a multi-team deal to acquire De’Aaron Fox from the Kings, according to Scotto’s sources. Johnson, who averaged 22 PPG two years ago, is appealing because his $19MM salary declines to $17.5MM in each of the next two seasons. Scotto adds that San Antonio checked on the price of Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram earlier this season, but it was nothing more than “exploratory interest.”
The Pistons are willing to use their $14MM in cap space to help facilitate trades, but they want a first-round pick in return, Scotto notes, adding that several teams looking to unload salaries to escape the luxury tax or the second apron have made calls to Detroit.

Trade Rumors: Butler, Suns, Turner, Johnson, Mathurin, Lakers

January 30th, 2025 at 5:26pm CST by Rory Maher

Although the Heat have lowered their asking price for Jimmy Butler, they have yet to find a trade package they like, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald (Twitter links), who hears from a source that the Suns remain the most “aggressive” team in pursuit of the six-time All-Star. However, Miami still has no interest in taking on Bradley Beal and his no trade-clause.

Jackson reiterates that the Heat are “determined” to move Butler, but if they’re unable to before next Thursday’s deadline, they’ll still have some options in the offseason. Of course, that scenario glosses over the issue of having to deal with more Butler-related drama for the rest of the 2024/25 campaign.

According to Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports, league executives keep circling back to the Grizzlies as a possible dark horse suitor for Butler, even though they were warned by his camp not to trade for him.

Here are some more trade rumors from around the NBA:

Both Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times and veteran NBA reporter Marc Stein (Substack link) hear the Pacers are receiving trade inquiries on Myles Turner, though there’s skepticism around the league that Indiana will move its starting center. As both writers point out, the Pacers have been surging up the Eastern Conference standings and are determined to make a strong playoff push, so trading Turner might hurt the team’s chemistry. According to Stein, Indiana would want at least another starting-caliber center in return for Turner to even contemplate moving the impending free agent.
Indiana’s improved play of late might make the Pacers reluctant to part with significant assets to acquire Nets forward Cameron Johnson, according to Stein. Rival teams think the Pacers may need to trade some of their wing depth — either by next week or the offseason — to free up their books to re-sign Turner in free agency. With that in mind, Bennedict Mathurin could be worth monitoring, but Indiana values him — Woike hears the Pacers would want a player it likes plus a first-round pick in exchange for the 22-year-old, who was selected sixth overall in the 2022 draft.
Woike’s story is largely focused on the Lakers and their trade options. As Woike explains, while the front office is open to trading both of the team’s available first-round picks, coming up with “realistic” scenarios is tricky for a number of reasons — including the high asking price for starting centers. For example, the Jazz may not be willing to trade Walker Kessler even if the Lakers offered both first-rounders, according to Woike, who highlights several other possible trade candidates in his story, including Malcolm Brogdon, whom the Wizards may be willing to part with for second-round draft capital.

Hawks Reportedly Open To Trading Bogdan Bogdanovic

January 30th, 2025 at 12:32pm CST by Rory Maher

The Hawks are “actively exploring the trade market” for veteran guard/forward Bogdan Bogdanovic and there are “credible whispers” that he could be dealt prior to the February 6 trade deadline, league sources tell Marc Stein (Substack link).

Bogdanovic, 32, has been hampered by injuries this season, only appearing in 24 of Atlanta’s 47 games. He will also miss Thursday’s contest in Cleveland, as he’s away from the team for personal reasons.

A skilled scorer and play-maker, Bogdanovic has struggled with inefficiency when he has been active in 2024/25 — his 30.1% mark from three-point range would represent a career low by a significant margin. However, he has converted 38.0% of his career attempts from long distance and “still has fans around the league,” Stein writes.

Bogdanovic is in the second season of a four-year, $68MM extension he signed in March 2023. He’s earning $17.26MM in ’24/25, followed by $16.02MM in ’25/26, with a $16.02MM team option for ’26/27.

Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic reported this morning that the Suns have talked to the Hawks about a potential trade involving Jusuf Nurkic, later suggesting that Bogdanovic could make sense in such a deal given the size of their respective contracts. Nurkic is making $18.13MM this season, plus $19.38MM in ’25/26.

According to Ian Begley of SNY.tv, Phoenix is indeed interested in Bogdanovic and has discussed the Serbian swingman with Atlanta. To make a deal work, the Suns would have to include draft compensation with Nurkic, who is out of the rotation and likely wouldn’t be of much interest to the Hawks.

Bogdanovic, who finished fifth in Sixth Man of the Year voting in ’23/24, helped Serbia win a bronze medal at the Olympics in Paris last summer.

Echoing previous reporting, both Stein and Begley state that Hawks center Clint Capela is known to be on the trade block as well. The veteran big man will also miss Thursday’s game due to back spasms, per the NBA’s official injury report.

Jimmy Butler Rumors: Asking Price, Warriors, Suns, Randle

January 28th, 2025 at 4:01pm CST by Luke Adams

After ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported that the Heat have lowered their asking price in trade talks for Jimmy Butler as they look to get a deal done ahead of next Thursday’s deadline, Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald (Twitter links) hears that the team has begun to show more willingness to consider taking on salary beyond 2025/26 as long as the contract isn’t “outrageous.”

Jackson’s report comes on the heels of Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports stating that the Warriors have reentered the mix for Butler now that Miami has dropped its asking price. Shams Charania of ESPN confirmed during a SportsCenter appearance on Tuesday (YouTube link) that Golden State has been back in touch with the Heat about Butler.

Jackson points specifically to Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins‘ contract, which includes a $30.2MM player option for 2026/27, as one that the Heat might not be totally opposed to taking on. By comparison, Bradley Beal, who is said to be of zero interest to the Heat, has a $57.1MM player option for ’26/27, along with the no-trade clause that he’s reportedly not interested in giving up if dealt.

While the Heat are loosening their requirements a little, their preference remains to acquire shorter-term deals that expire as soon as possible, Jackson writes. According to Jackson, for each extra year of salary the Heat take on, they want a “carrot” such as a draft pick.

Here’s more on the Butler situation:

The Suns‘ trade with Utah that saw them split their 2031 first-round pick into three less valuable first-rounders wasn’t specifically about trying to acquire Butler, according to plugged-in Phoenix-area radio host John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter link). Gambadoro says the Suns expect to be a good team in 2031 and felt like giving up that pick was a worthwhile risk in order to gain three separate assets that could be used to upgrade the roster.
Ian Begley of SNY.tv suggests keeping an eye on the Timberwolves in the event of a multi-team Butler blockbuster. As Begley explains, the Heat were among the teams that expressed interest in trading for Julius Randle during the 2024 offseason and have kept tabs on the forward following his trade to Minnesota. Randle could become a free agent as early as this summer – he holds a $30.9MM player option for 2025/26 – which makes his contract a fit for Miami. Begley adds that the Heat and Timberwolves have been in touch, though he isn’t sure if there are any active talks between the two teams.
As Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel writes, the Heat pulled out an “invigorating” double-overtime win over Orlando in the first game of Butler’s latest suspension on Monday. Meanwhile, Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald takes a closer look at what life without Butler looks like on the court for the Heat, observing that the team has begun to lean more heavily on bigger lineups.

Scotto’s Latest: Clippers, Boucher, Brown, Nurkic

January 28th, 2025 at 10:58am CST by Luke Adams

The Clippers are currently operating about $2.5MM above the luxury tax threshold and would like to duck below that line at the trade deadline, league sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

That’s not surprising, given that the Clippers were a taxpayer in each of the previous four seasons and are now subject to repeater taxpayer penalties. Getting out of tax territory wouldn’t just save them from paying repeater rates in 2024/25 — it would also be the first step toward resetting the repeater clock for future seasons.

Clippers forward P.J. Tucker and guard Bones Hyland are the team’s two most obvious trade chips in any cost-cutting deal. Both players are on expiring contracts, with Tucker – who has been away from the team – earning $11.5MM, while Hyland – who has had a very limited role – making $4.2MM. Scotto classifies both players as “available,” which feels like an understatement. i don’t expect either player could be moved without a sweetener.

According to Scotto, a best-case scenario for the Clippers would be to duck the tax while also adding a backup big man to fortify their depth chart. If they’re able to create an open spot on their 15-man roster and have enough room below the tax, second-year forward Jordan Miller remains a candidate to be promoted from his two-way deal, as Scotto previously reported.

Scotto adds that the Clippers are looking to avoid taking on any contracts that run beyond 2025/26, since they’re prioritizing cap flexibility for the summer of ’26.

Here’s more from Scotto:

The Nuggets, Clippers, and Knicks are among the teams to register some level of interest in Raptors big man Chris Boucher, Scotto reports. Boucher is on an expiring $10.8MM contract.
Scotto confirms that Raptors wing Bruce Brown, who has a $23MM expiring contract, is a candidate to be included in a multi-team Jimmy Butler trade, as has been previously reported. There are a number of playoff-caliber teams hoping that Brown ends up being bought out after the deadline instead, Scotto adds.
The Suns are exploring the possibility of attaching one of their newly acquired first-round picks to center Jusuf Nurkic in order to land a quality rotation player via trade, sources tell HoopsHype. Scotto says Phoenix doesn’t view Nurkic as a salary dump and believes he’ll have more value on the trade market in the summer as he enters the final year of his contract. While I agree he may be easier to move in the summer, it’s hard to imagine Nurkic having positive or even neutral trade value at that point due to his $19.4MM cap hit for 2025/26.

Heat ‘Cautiously Optimistic’ About Moving Butler By Deadline

January 28th, 2025 at 10:32am CST by Luke Adams

10:32am: The Warriors, viewed near the start of the month as an unlikely suitor for Butler, are one of the teams back in the mix now that the Heat have lowered their asking price, reports Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).

Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel hears from a source that the Heat would be satisfied to receive a “potential contributing” player on a one- or two-year contract, expiring salary, and a pair of draft picks in exchange for Butler.

9:48am: The Heat are “cautiously optimistic” about the possibility of making a Jimmy Butler trade before the February 6 deadline, according to Barry Jackson and Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald, who report that Miami has been engaging “several” teams besides the Suns.

While Phoenix has long been viewed as Butler’s preferred landing spot and the team most willing to give the 35-year-old the maximum-salary contract he’s seeking, the Suns haven’t had much luck finding a trade structure that works, per The Herald.

Bradley Beal would have to be sent to a third team in order for the Suns to acquire Butler, since Phoenix can’t aggregate contracts and Miami isn’t interested in the veteran guard, who has two more years and nearly $111MM left on his contract after this season.

Finding a taker for Beal has been a challenge, especially since he has the ability to veto any deal using his no-trade clause. While Beal is reportedly open to waiving that clause to join a contending team, ideally one in a warm-weather city, he also seems to be comfortable with the idea of remaining in Phoenix, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

Appearing on ESPN (Twitter video links), NBA insider Brian Windhorst backed up the notion that the Heat are talking to teams besides the Suns about Butler and said Miami is “really, really trying to make this happen,” adding that the team’s asking price on Butler has dropped a little from where it was earlier in the month.

“Obviously, the Phoenix Suns have tried to get this done for weeks,” Windhorst said on SportsCenter. “They have tried three-, four-, five-team machinations. They have not been able to overcome the fact that what they’ve really got to trade is Bradley Beal, who has a no-trade clause and not a very big market. So now I do believe this is going to bring in some other teams. We could see some surprising moves in this little battle in the next couple of days.

“… I am not saying for sure this is going to happen. I’m not predicting what’s going to happen. But I do think some teams that thought they were out of this are coming back in because it doesn’t look like the Suns and Heat are going to be able to consummate a deal. I think we might see a team swoop in here and get Jimmy Butler at a cheap price. A guy who can be the best player in a playoff series at a bargain price.”

Windhorst went a step further during an appearance on ESPN’s First Take on Tuesday morning (Twitter video link).

“Jimmy Butler’s going to get traded,” he predicted. “I wasn’t sure about that maybe seven to 10 days ago. I really am more sure than ever that that’s going to happen.”

The Heat announced on Monday that they’ve suspended Butler for a third time. Following a five-game suspension earlier this month and a two-game suspension that just concluded on Saturday, the latest suspension is an indefinite one and was said to be for “withholding services.” That means it will cost Butler 1/91.6th of his $48.8MM salary for each game he misses — the previous suspensions for conduct detrimental for the team cost him 1/145th of his salary per game.

Since word of Butler’s desire to be traded first broke last month, reports have indicated that the Heat are willing to hang onto the six-time All-Star through this season and revisit trade talks in the summer if they don’t get the sort of return they want by February 6. The club is said to be prioritizing win-now players with contracts that don’t extend beyond 2025/26.

However, with the standoff between the two sides continuing to escalate, it appears increasingly untenable for Butler to remain on the roster for several more months, which is why the front office is more motivated than ever to find a viable deal.

As Jackson and Chiang point out, while Butler’s camp has long conveyed that he intends to decline his 2025/26 player option in favor of free agency, the veteran forward could make life difficult on the Heat by picking up that option in June and essentially putting Miami back in the same situation it’s in now — with a disgruntled star on a maximum-salary deal, hamstringing the team’s ability to improve the roster around him.

Additionally, while the Heat are theoretically saving some money as a result of Butler’s suspensions, team-imposed suspensions don’t affect a team’s tax bill, and based on existing precedents, it’s very possible Butler will regain a chunk of his lost salary through the appeal process. In other words, the financial incentives to continue suspending him are minimal.

Neither Windhorst nor the duo of Jackson and Chiang named specific teams outside of Phoenix that might be exploring a deal for Butler. Previous reporting has indicated that the Grizzlies have kicked the tires on the possibility, despite being warned against it, while Marc Stein said on Monday that rival clubs continue to wonder if the Bucks will get involved.

Suns’ Bradley Beal Not Interested In Bulls Trade

January 27th, 2025 at 9:00pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Suns guard Bradley Beal is not amenable to waiving his no-trade clause to be moved to the Bulls, a source tells Fred Katz of The Athletic.

Chicago has reportedly held conversations with Phoenix about the idea of acquiring Beal to help facilitate a Suns trade for embattled Heat All-Star swingman Jimmy Butler. On Monday, the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals MVP was suspended by Miami for the third time this year.

Because the Heat have no interest in taking on salary beyond 2025/26, Katz notes, a third team seems needed to land Butler with Phoenix All-Stars Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, creating a new “Big Three” of formidable veterans.

Two-time All-Star Chicago wing Zach LaVine‘s $43MM salary would have made him a clear financial fit in a hypothetical three-team deal, though he is under contract for two more seasons after this one and may not have appealed to Miami for that reason.

Things have not gone according to plan for the Suns this season. Day-one starters Beal and Jusuf Nurkic have both been demoted to the bench, and the club has struggled in the Western Conference under new head coach Mike Budenholzer. Nurkic is no longer in Budenholzer’s rotations at all, while Beal is the club’s sixth man. Phoenix is currently 23-21 on the year, good for the No. 7 seed in the West.

Katz reports that, despite his lack of interest in joining the Bulls, Beal would be open to being dealt away from the Suns, provided he is sent to a “winning team.” He also finds cold-weather destinations less appealing, Katz adds. The Bulls, being in such a climate and also sporting a sub-.500 record (19-27), are not among trade destinations Beal would approve.

Across 31 healthy games this year, the 6’4″ guard is averaging 17.2 points per night on an efficient slash line of .485/.396/.764.

The 31-year-old is owed $160MM across this season and the next two. Beal, who has not made an All-Star team since his Wizards-era prime, is one of just two players in the NBA with a full no-trade clause, along with 21-time All-Star Lakers forward LeBron James.