Sacramento Kings Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Kings Sign Markelle Fultz For Rest Of Season

February 12th, 2025 at 10:48pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

10:48 pm: Sacramento has officially announced the deal in a press statement.

9:52 pm: Free agent guard Markelle Fultz is signing a new contract with the Kings, agent Raymond Brothers of I AM Sports & Entertainment has informed Shams Charania of ESPN.

Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reports (via Twitter) that the deal will keep Fultz in town through the rest of the season. Exact terms have yet to be divulged.

No corresponding roster move will be necessary, since the Kings have a pair of open roster spots after sending out more players than they took back in a series of trade-deadline deals.

After trading away De’Aaron Fox and Jordan McLaughlin to the Spurs as part of a blockbuster three-team deal last week, Sacramento was left with a deficit of point guards. Adding Fultz will allow the club to begin replenishing its depth at that spot. The Kings’ eventual haul was headlined by two-time All-Star wing Zach LaVine and multiple future picks.

Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News tweets that the Timberwolves were also considering adding Fultz this spring. After he reached unrestricted free agency during the 2024 offseason, the 6’4″ vet had been left wanting throughout the 2024/25 season — until now.

Fultz was selected with the No. 1 overall pick out of Washington in 2017. Boston traded down with Philadelphia, swapping the rights to Fultz for the rights to eventual six-time All-Star champion forward Jayson Tatum, the third pick in that draft out of Duke.

As Sean Cunningham of Fox 40 KTXL observes (Twitter link), the 26-year-old has struggled with a variety of maladies throughout his pro career, including a torn left ACL in 2021 and further problems in the same knee last season.

Fultz has only played more than 43 games twice across a seven-year career. Last season with Orlando, he appeared in just 43 contests, starting 18. Across 21.2 minutes for the playoff-bound Magic, he averaged 7.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.0 steals per night.

At 28-26, Sacramento is currently the eighth seed in a crowded Western Conference. The addition of Fultz should add a play-making presence and some defensive help at the point of attack.

Fultz himself reacted to Charania’s announcement, tweeting “God’s Plan.”

NBA Teams With Open Roster Spots

February 10th, 2025 at 7:37am CST by Luke Adams

A number of free agent signings have been finalized in the days since last Thursday’s trade deadline, but there are still many teams around the NBA with one or more open spots on their respective rosters.

For clubs with just a single standard or two-way opening, there’s not necessarily any urgency to fill those spots, especially ahead of the All-Star break. But the clock is ticking for teams who have two or more openings on their standard rosters to make a move, since clubs are only permitted to carry fewer than 14 players on standard contracts for up to two weeks at a time.

With the help of our roster count tracker, here’s where things stand for all 30 teams around the NBA as of Monday morning. As a reminder, teams are typically permitted to carry up to 15 players on standard contracts and three on two-way deals.

(Note: Teams marked with an asterisk have a player on a 10-day contract.)

Teams with multiple open roster spots

Cleveland Cavaliers
Golden State Warriors
Philadelphia 76ers *
Sacramento Kings *

The Cavaliers dipped to 13 players on standard contracts as a result of Thursday’s De’Andre Hunter trade, so their situation is fairly straightforward — they’ll have to re-add a 14th man by February 20.

The Warriors‘ four-for-one Jimmy Butler trade dropped them to just 11 players. They quickly got back to 12 by promoting Quinten Post from his two-way contract to a standard roster spot and now have three openings on their standard roster, along with one open two-way slot.

Golden State doesn’t have to fill all those openings, but the team does have to get back to at least 14 players on standard contracts by Feb. 20. Assuming Post got a prorated rookie minimum salary on his new deal, the Warriors – by my count – have $1,372,306 in breathing room below their first-apron hard cap.

If the Warriors were to sign a pair of veterans to rest-of-season minimum deals on Feb. 20, they would each count for $635,853 against the cap, leaving the team with $100,600 in breathing room below the hard cap. It’s possible Golden State will go that route. It’s also possible the club will sign a couple players to 10-day contracts, then go another 14 days in March with just 12 players under contract in order to create a bit of extra wiggle room below that hard cap. That would allow the Warriors to sign a 15th man a little earlier in the second half.

The Sixers briefly dropped to 12 players on standard contracts at the trade deadline, but they’re back to 14 now, having promoted Justin Edwards to a standard contract and given Chuma Okeke a 10-day deal. They’re expected to sign David Roddy to a 10-day contract too, which will give them a full standard roster.

For now then, no roster moves are necessary in Philadelphia, but the team does have a two-way slot open and could drop back to 13 players on standard deals after Okeke’s and Roddy’s 10-day contracts expire, which would necessitate a least one addition within 14 days.

The Kings are currently carrying 12 players on full-season standard contracts, with Daishen Nix on a 10-day deal. They’ll have to get back to 14 players by Feb. 20.

Teams with one open roster spot

Atlanta Hawks
Boston Celtics
Brooklyn Nets
Charlotte Hornets *
Dallas Mavericks
Indiana Pacers
Los Angeles Clippers
Milwaukee Bucks
Minnesota Timberwolves
New Orleans Pelicans
New York Knicks
Toronto Raptors
Utah Jazz

The Hawks, Celtics, Nets, Mavericks, Bucks, Timberwolves, Pelicans, Knicks, Raptors, and Jazz are all carrying 14 players on full-season standard contracts and three on two-way deals, with no reported signings pending. They’re each free to carry that open roster spot for as long as they want to, though some figure to fill it sooner rather than later.

Two teams that can’t fill their openings sooner rather than later are Dallas and New York. The Knicks are just $540,126 below their second-apron hard cap, while the Mavericks have a mere $171,120 to operate below their first-apron hard cap. Based on my math, New York would be able to sign a veteran free agent as a 15th man as of February 28 (that date moved up a day as a result of the Knicks trimming $4,825 from their cap in the Delon Wright/Jericho Sims swap), while Dallas will have to wait until March 31.

The Hornets are in this group because they have a two-way slot open, but their standard roster is full for now. In fact, it’s more than full — as a result of having been granted a hardship exception, they’re temporarily carrying 16 players instead of the usual maximum of 15. Elfrid Payton, on a 10-day deal, is the 16th man.

The Pacers and Clippers, meanwhile, each technically have an open roster spot for now, but they reportedly have deals in place with prospective 15th men. Indiana will sign center Alex Len once he clears waivers, while L.A. will add three-time All-Star Ben Simmons. Both players are on track to clear waivers on Monday.

Teams with no open roster spots

Chicago Bulls
Denver Nuggets
Detroit Pistons
Houston Rockets
Los Angeles Lakers
Memphis Grizzlies
Miami Heat
Oklahoma City Thunder
Orlando Magic
Phoenix Suns
Portland Trail Blazers
San Antonio Spurs *
Washington Wizards *

The Bulls, Nuggets, Pistons, Rockets, Lakers, Grizzlies, Heat, Thunder, Magic, Suns, and Trail Blazers are all carrying 15 players on standard contracts and three on two-way deals. If they want to make a free agent addition during the season’s final two months, they’ll have to cut a player to do so.

That won’t necessarily be the case for the Spurs and Wizards though. Both clubs have just 14 players on full-season standard contracts, with one on a 10-day deal — Bismack Biyombo for San Antonio and Jaylen Nowell for Washington. Once those contracts expire, the Spurs and Wizards could open up a roster spot if they opt not to retain Biyombo and Nowell, respectively.

Pacific Notes: Doncic, James, Knecht, Kings, Valanciunas, Bogdanovic

February 9th, 2025 at 9:19pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Luka Doncic could make his Lakers debut on Monday, Jovan Buha of The Athletic tweets. He’s listed as questionable due to the left calf strain that has sidelined him since Christmas Day. LeBron James (left ankle soreness) is also listed as questionable.

The same tag was given to Dalton Knecht (personal), who returned to the Lakers after their trade with Charlotte was rescinded. Cam Reddish, who was also in the voided trade, is listed as out.

In anticipation that Doncic will play, ESPN will broadcast the game against the Jazz, according to ESPN PR (Twitter link).

We have more from the Pacific Division:

The Kings added high-scoring wing Zach LaVine, center Jonas Valanciunas and young forward Jake LaRavia prior to the trade deadline. Interim coach Doug Christie is looking forward to figuring out his new rotation, he told Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee. “It’s a good problem to have,” Christie said. “I’m not complaining at all. Is it difficult? Yeah, a little bit because you’re trying to learn on the fly and that can be tough with guys trying to rind their rhythm — when do I go, plays, defense, coverages, all that stuff — but we’re not going to make excuses. The organization has done a hell of a job of getting us talent, and now it’s my job to figure out how to make it work and get us wins.”
Valanciunas, who is in the first year of a three-year, $30.3MM contract, is glad to join a playoff race with the Kings after spending the first half of the season with the Wizards. “It feels good,” Valanciunas told Anderson. “It feels like I belong here. I’m excited to be here, excited to jump on the court in a winning situation and do some damage.”
Bogdan Bogdanovic, acquired by the Clippers from Atlanta, is expected to make his Los Angeles debut on Wednesday, Joe Reedy of The Associated Press reports. He gives the Clippers another offensive option. “I’m good. I know probably a lot of you have been seeing a lot of stuff earlier before I got traded, some personal reasons out, but that’s part of the trade deadline,” Bogdanovic said. ”I’m ready. I’m in good shape and I’ll be ready for the next game.” The Clippers traded Terance Mann and Bones Hyland for Bogdanovic and three second-round draft picks. Bogdanovic’s contract includes a $16MM guaranteed salary for next season, followed by a 2026/27 club option.

Kings Sign Daishen Nix To 10-Day Contract

February 8th, 2025 at 8:25pm CST by Luke Adams

8:25 pm: The Kings have officially signed Nix to a 10-day contract, the team confirmed in a press release.

3:08 pm: The Kings and guard Daishen Nix have reached an agreement on a 10-day deal, sources tell Sam Amick of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Nix, who began his NBA career with Houston as an undrafted rookie in 2021, has appeared in a total of 99 NBA regular season games for the Rockets and Timberwolves since then, averaging 3.3 points and 1.8 assists in 12.5 minutes per night.

The 6’4″ guard was on a two-way deal with Minnesota earlier this season, but was waived about a month ago before his two-way salary became guaranteed.

Nix has spent the majority of this season in the G League, appearing in 10 games for the Iowa Wolves and seven games for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers since being cut by Minnesota. He has filled up the box score in those 17 outings, averaging 18.5 points, 7.2 assists, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.5 steals per game, but has had trouble with turnovers (3.9 per game) and shooting efficiency (.364/.298/.732).

Sacramento sacrificed some backcourt depth in its pre-deadline deals, sending out De’Aaron Fox, Jordan McLaughlin, and Colby Jones and only getting one guard – Zach LaVine – in return. With three open spots on their 15-man roster, the Kings have plenty of flexibility to bring in a player like Nix for insurance purposes ahead of the All-Star break.

The Kings play four games before the All-Star break, beginning on Saturday vs. New Orleans, so if Nix officially signs within the next few hours, he could be active for all four. He’ll earn $124,288 on his 10-day deal.

Grizzlies Trade Marcus Smart, First-Round Pick To Wizards; Jake LaRavia To Kings

February 6th, 2025 at 8:35pm CST by Luke Adams

8:35 pm: The three-team trade involving the Grizzlies, Wizards, and Kings is official, according to press releases from all three clubs.

In addition to the details reported below, the Wizards sent the Grizzlies a 2025 second-round pick as part of the agreement, as reported by Varun Shankar of The Washington Post (Twitter link).

2:07 pm: The Grizzlies are trading Marcus Smart and a 2025 first-round pick to the Wizards in a multi-team deal that will see Memphis acquire a pair of second-round picks, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link). The trade will also include the Kings, per multiple reports.

According to Charania (Twitter link), NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter link), and Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Twitter link), here are the details of the deal that are known so far:

Grizzlies to acquire Marvin Bagley III (from Wizards), Johnny Davis (from Wizards), a 2028 second-round pick (from Kings), and one additional second-round pick (possibly from the Wizards, though it’s unclear).
Kings to acquire Jake LaRavia (from Grizzlies).
Wizards to acquire Smart (from Grizzlies), Colby Jones (from Kings), Alex Len (from Kings), and the Grizzlies’ 2025 first-round pick (top-14 protected; from Grizzlies).

Obviously, Memphis’ initial trade for Smart completely backfired, as the former Defensive Player of the Year has only made 39 combined appearances for the Grizzlies over the past two seasons due to a series of injuries. The Grizzlies gave up Tyus Jones, the draft rights to Marcus Sasser (No. 25 overall pick in 2023) and Golden State’s 2024 first-rounder (which was later traded multiple times — Carlton Carrington was selected No. 14 overall by Washington) in that initial deal.

Smart also hasn’t been particularly effective when active for the Grizzlies, especially in 2024/25, averaging just 8.7 points, 3.7 assists, 2.3 rebounds and 1.2 steals on .358/.322/.833 shooting in 19 games (21.1 minutes). That’s not much production for a player earning $20.2MM this season and $21.6MM in ’25/26.

Former first-round pick LaRavia, on the other hand, has been effective in a crowded Memphis rotation this season, averaging 7.3 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists on .490/.444/.698 shooting in 47 games (20.9 minutes). However, the Grizzlies declined to pick up his $5.16MM rookie scale team option for ’25/26 last fall, which means they couldn’t offer him a starting salary above that amount when he hits unrestricted free agency this summer — that same restriction will now apply to Sacramento.

Moving off Smart’s contract will free up Memphis’ books for next season, as Bagley and Davis will hit free agency this summer. That should help them re-sign forward Santi Aldama, an impending restricted free agent, and possibly extend All-Star big man Jaren Jackson Jr. The Grizzlies will also add a couple of second-round picks in the deal.

It’s a pretty low-risk move for the Kings, who are looking to make a playoff push. Even if it turns out that they won’t be able to re-sign LaRavia in the offseason, they didn’t give up any rotation players and the outgoing assets are modest.

Both Memphis and Sacramento will save some money in ’24/25 as a result of the deal as well, giving the clubs more flexibility to potentially be players on the buyout market.

As for the Wizards, they’ll take a flyer on Smart in the hopes that he gets healthy and becomes a trade chip next season. Jones and Len aren’t owed money beyond this season. Of course, the primary motivation for making the deal for the rebuilding team was to acquire the 2025 first-round pick, which would land at No. 27 overall if the season ended today.

Rory Maher contributed to this story.

Bulls Notes: LaVine, Ball, Vucevic, Dosunmu, Jones

February 6th, 2025 at 7:07pm CST by Arthur Hill

Zach LaVine might have felt more bitterness if the Bulls had traded him a year ago, but he had nothing but good things to say about his former organization after being dealt to the Kings, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times.

After trying for more than a year to unload LaVine’s pricey contract, Chicago sent him to Sacramento on Monday as part of a three-team deal. Cowley notes that there was a lot of mistrust between LaVine and the Bulls when he was first placed on the market, but that has dissipated since this season began.

“There’s no bad blood,” LaVine said. “I got traded early on in my career, and it hit me, but now you control what you can. I was taking my son on a walk when I got the call from [agent] Rich [Paul], and I was extremely excited. I appreciate everything and my time in Chicago, but now that I’m here, it’s time to take my career to the next step and continue that along. It’s always great to be in a place that you are wanted, and not everyone has an opportunity to have that, so I’m very thankful.”

LaVine was a leader in Chicago, and many of his former teammates were sorry to see him go, Cowley adds. Nikola Vucevic recalled how welcoming LaVine was when he was acquired in a 2021 deadline deal, rookie Matas Buzelis called him a mentor and Coby White said he was “shocked and sad” when he learned that LaVine was leaving.

“Everybody has to play the cards that they’re dealt,” LaVine said. “The situation that you’re in, the team that you play for, I always put my best foot forward and try to do everything I can to help the team. Are you always going to be able to? No, but for me now in my 11th year, being in one playoff series, you want to try to challenge yourself to get there. You want to compete for championships; you want to be in big games.”

There’s more on the Bulls:

The Bulls received a few trade offers for Lonzo Ball, but he preferred to stay in Chicago and was rewarded Wednesday with a two-year extension, Cowley states in a separate story. Ball’s teammates found out about the deal at halftime and offered their congratulations to Ball, who overcame more than two years of knee issues to return to the court. “Guys are very happy for him,” Vucevic said. “Guys have a certain respect and responsibility to step it up when he’s on the court because we know what he’s been through, we see how hard he competes every night. When you see that, you can’t help but try to match that and play hard for him. The way he plays, great team player, always tries to stay positive. You see him dive on the floor, fight for rebounds … you see that and what he’s been through, it just motivates you to play harder.”
Speaking to reporters on Thursday afternoon, Bulls head of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas raised eyebrows with some of his comments, suggesting that a “playoff push” could still be on the table this season and stating that he’s focused on building a solid 10-player group rather than focusing on finding stars, Cowley writes for the Sun-Times. “There’s different structures that you can try to get to a championship,” Karnisovas said, per Jamal Collier of ESPN (Twitter link). “There’s two or three star players and then a lot of role players or you can build it as nine or 10 very good players.” Karnisovas specified that the Bulls are attempting the latter route, Collier adds.
A source close to the situation tells Cowley that Karnisovas and his front office have a “more definite plan in place” than what he has conveyed publicly, and Cowley clarifies that the Bulls executive would only want to see the team making a second-half playoff push if it’s led by young players like Matas Buzelis and Josh Giddey.
“We obviously value draft compensation and young players, and flexibility, I think in that order,” Karnisovas said on Thursday in explaining the decision to retain veterans like Nikola Vucevic. “But again, we have nine players that are between 20 and 25 (years old). You have to have a right mix of players to grow. You can’t just roll out all young players and they’re going to develop on their own. I think you need the right vets, experienced guys to be around. I see Vooch and keeping Zo (Ball) in that role.” According to Cowley, the Bulls considered the offers they got for Vucevic to be underwhelming and are hopeful they’ll improve in the summer when teams have more cap flexibility.
Multiple teams who spoke to the Bulls ahead of the trade deadline about their guards came away with the impression that the team views Ayo Dosunmu as a keeper, according to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network (Twitter link). Interestingly, Johnson also says that newly acquired point guard Tre Jones is a candidate to remain with the team beyond his expiring contract.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Pacific Notes: LaVine, Monk, Booker, Mills, Eubanks, Lue

February 6th, 2025 at 9:18am CST by Dana Gauruder

Zach LaVine expressed excitement about playing in Sacramento after the Bulls dealt him to the Kings, Antonio Ray Harvey of The Associated Press writes. LaVine nearly played in Sacramento earlier in his career — he signed a four-year, $78MM offer sheet with the Kings in 2018, but Chicago matched it.

“I’ve been a fan of (the Kings) for a long time,” LaVine said. “I thought I was going to sign here six years ago. I’ve had a good relationship with a lot of guys who played here and I understand the culture here from me being from the West Coast.”

LaVine was held to 13 points in 31 minutes during a loss to Orlando in his Sacramento debut on Wednesday.

We have more from the Pacific Division:

Former sixth man Malik Monk has moved into the role of starting point guard for the Kings in the aftermath of the De’Aaron Fox trade. Monk has struggled in his first two starts with almost as many turnovers (seven) as assists (eight). “Oh, yeah, it’s definitely a new opportunity and stage,” Monk told Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee. “Starting at point guard is a big opportunity, and it’s a big thing to feel in this league for sure, especially what Fox did for the organization, for the city of Sac, so I’m just trying to pick up where he left off.”
Devin Booker was humbled when he became the Suns’ all-time leading scorer. He surpassed Walter Davis on Monday. “It means everything,” Booker told Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic. “Just being drafted to a franchise that believed in me, taking a chance on me as an 18-year-old kid and going through a rebuild phase and just sticking with it. Keeping my head down. The love and support has always been there. I don’t take it from granted. I take it seriously putting Phoenix across my chest.”
New Clippers Patty Mills and Drew Eubanks, acquired in a weekend trade with Utah, are looking forward to contributing to their playoff push, Janis Carr of the Orange County Register writes. Eubanks, in particular, could play a key role as the backup center. “There’s a lot of familiar faces around this team and locker room and staff that I think will give me the confidence to be the veteran leader that I am and be vocal in that standpoint as well,” Mills said. “But as I said, once I get a feel for how things work and how I can make an impact, that will be it.”
The Lakers blew out the Clippers by 25 points on Tuesday, infuriating head coach Tyronn Lue, according to Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. The Clippers lost to Toronto and narrowly earned a win against the woeful Hornets in their previous two contests. “We’ve got to be better. We’ve got to look at ourselves in the mirror and think about do we want to win or not,” Lue said. “That’s got to be our mentality. And so three games in a row we come out with not a great defensive performance and it’s just not putting enough into the game. Even on the offensive end, not putting a lot into the game. And so when that happens you get blown out like we did.”

Wizards Trade Jonas Valanciunas To Kings

February 5th, 2025 at 8:05pm CST by Arthur Hill

8:05 pm: The trade is now official, according to press releases sent out by the Wizards and Kings.

3:59 pm: The Kings are acquiring center Jonas Valanciunas in a trade with the Wizards, reports NBA insider Marc Stein (Twitter link). According to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link), Sacramento is sending newly acquired wing Sidy Cissoko and a pair of second-round picks to Washington in the deal.

According to Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link), Sacramento will use its $12.8MM non-taxpayer mid-level exception to absorb Valanciunas’ $9.9MM salary. He reports that the picks being moved are the Kings’ own in 2029 and a Denver selection in 2028 that’s top-33 protected. That pick was acquired in the De’Aaron Fox deal earlier this week.

The trade with Washington leaves the Kings about $2.5MM below the tax line, states cap analyst Yossi Gozlan (Twitter link), who notes that the team had some flexibility after unloading Fox’s and Kevin Huerter‘s salaries.

Valanciunas, a 32-year-old center, will provide veteran frontcourt depth for Sacramento. He appeared in 49 games during his lone season in Washington, averaging 11.5 points and 8.2 rebounds in 20.1 minutes per night while shooting 54.7% from the field. Valanciunas will join Domantas Sabonis, his longtime teammate on the Lithuanian national team, notes Marc Stein (Twitter link).

The Nuggets were also hoping to land Valanciunas, sources tell Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Twitter link), as were the Suns as they try to find a taker for Jusuf Nurkic.

The second-round picks heading to the Wizards bring their total to 19 over the next seven drafts, according to Gozlan (Twitter link). Cissoko is making just $1.89MM, so this deal helps them offset the extra salary they took on earlier today by agreeing to trade for Khris Middleton. Gozlan states that Washington will create a $9.9MM trade exception and is now $11.8MM below the tax line.

This is the second trade of the week for Cissoko, a 20-year-old small forward, who went from San Antonio to Sacramento in the Fox deal. He has seen minimal playing time at the NBA level since being selected with the 44th pick in the 2023 draft. Cissoko appeared in 17 games for the Spurs this season, averaging 1.3 PPG in 3.2 minutes per night.

Trade Rumors: Warriors, Ingram, Durant, Hawks, Bucks, Raptors, TPEs

February 4th, 2025 at 11:12am CST by Luke Adams

Count Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram among the star players the Warriors have checked in on, league sources tell Marc Stein and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link).

While it doesn’t sound like Ingram is at the top of Golden State’s wish list as the front office seeks an impact player, the club has explored what it would take to land the former All-Star, according to Stein and Fischer, who say that the Warriors could pivot to Ingram if they’re not able to gain traction on any of their higher-profile targets.

One of those higher-profile targets is Suns forward Kevin Durant. Exploring the possibility of a Warriors trade for Durant, Stein and Fischer echo a point made by Anthony Slater of The Athletic, writing that even if Phoenix is willing to move the former MVP (a big if), there’s a “measure of concern” in Golden State about how eager Durant would be for another go-round with the Warriors.

Durant doesn’t have the ability to veto a trade, but given that the Warriors would have to put together a substantial package to convince the Suns to part with him, they’d presumably like to be confident that he wanted to be there.

Here are a few more trade rumors from around the NBA, with this year’s deadline just two days away:

There’s still an expectation that the Hawks will make a deal involving Bogdan Bogdanovic this week, according to Stein and Fischer, who say that Atlanta continues for now to explore “more ambitious” trade scenarios, including one possibility that would feature Ingram.
The Bucks continue to consider trades involving Pat Connaughton and his $9.4MM salary, either to shed his contract to duck below the second tax apron or to use his deal as a matching piece to bring back a more reliable wing. Stein and Fischer hear from sources that Sixers forward Caleb Martin and his twin brother Cody Martin of the Hornets are among the players Milwaukee has looked at in a potential deal for Connaughton. Both players are earning about $8.1MM this season.
Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca takes an in-depth look at the Raptors‘ trade options in the coming days, examining what it would take to get them to part with Jakob Poeltl, whether their reported interest in Ingram is legit, and why players like Bogdanovic and Andrew Wiggins may not fit the timeline of Toronto’s roster.
Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report (Twitter links) shares some details on how the Kings and Bulls completed the three-team trade involving De’Aaron Fox and Zach LaVine. Chicago took Kevin Huerter into an existing traded player exception, creating a new $17.1MM TPE for LaVine, while Sacramento used a portion of an existing TPE to take on Sidy Cissoko, generating a new exception worth $16.8MM (Huerter’s outgoing salary). The Kings were unable to acquire LaVine and Cissoko by aggregating the outgoing salaries of Fox and Jordan McLaughlin because LaVine received a portion ($3MM) of his trade bonus, increasing his cap hits for this season and next season by $1.5MM apiece.

Western Notes: Davis, Sexton, LaVine, Bane, Blazers

February 3rd, 2025 at 10:06pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Anthony Davis won’t make his Mavericks debut on Tuesday. He has been ruled out due to the abdominal strain he suffered with the Lakers before their blockbuster trade with Dallas, Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal tweets. Davis was originally listed as questionable against Philadelphia.

Dallas wraps up its road trip at Boston on Thursday, then hosts Houston on Saturday.

We have more Western Conference news:

Jazz guard Collin Sexton sprained his left ankle as he drove to the basket in the first quarter against the Pacers on Monday, according to The Associated Press. Sexton, Utah’s second-leading scorer at 18.7 points per game, didn’t return, and will undergo further evaluation Tuesday. Sexton is considered a prime trade candidate. He has one year and $19.175MM remaining on his contract after this season.
Zach LaVine is expected to suit up for the Kings on Wednesday, James Ham of The Kings Beat tweets. Sacramento’s acquisition of LaVine became official on Monday. LaVine hasn’t played since last Monday due to the birth of his child.
Grizzlies guard Desmond Bane has a foot sprain but it’s not considered serious, Damichael Cole of the Memphis Commercial Appeal tweets. Bane underwent an MRI on Monday morning. Coach Taylor Jenkins said it was good news, based on the potential outcomes, so it appears Bane won’t be out an extended period. Bane is averaging 17.9 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.5 assists per night.
The Trail Blazers are open to trading Jerami Grant, Anfernee Simons and Deandre Ayton, according to Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report. Highkin believes if Grant or Simons are moved, the Trail Blazers would prefer a player they can add to their long-term core, rather than prioritizing draft picks. Robert Williams is another potential trade piece but the bar is higher than most people would think for the big man, as a package of second-round picks probably wouldn’t be enough for Portland’s front office, Highkin writes.