Chris Paul To Raptors, Ochai Agbaji To Nets In Three-Team Deal
February 5: The three-team trade is now official, according to the Nets (Twitter link), who have waived veteran wing Haywood Highsmith in order to create a roster spot for Agbaji.
As Gozlan tweets, Brooklyn now has about $8.9MM in cap room remaining and also still has its $8.8MM room exception, which could be used to absorb another salary in a deadline deal.
February 4: The Clippers, Raptors, and Nets are in agreement on a three-team trade that will send guard Chris Paul from Los Angeles to Toronto, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter links).
Fourth-year forward Ochai Agbaji is headed from Toronto to Brooklyn in the deal, along with the Raptors’ 2032 second-round pick, says Charania. The Clippers will receive the draft rights to 2019 second-rounder Vanja Marinkovic from the Nets, according to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Twitter link), and will send $3.5MM in cash to Brooklyn, per NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter link).
The Raptors won’t require Paul to report to the team, according to Charania, who suggests the veteran point guard may be flipped to another club before Thursday’s deadline. If not, he’ll likely be waived.
It’s a cost-cutting move for both the Clippers and Raptors. The Clippers will open up an extra roster spot and create breathing room below their hard cap, which they’ll likely use to promote two-way players Jordan Miller and Kobe Sanders to standard contracts. Toronto, meanwhile, will duck below the tax line by swapping out Agbaji’s expiring $6.4MM contract for Paul and his $2.3MM cap hit, creating a $6.4MM trade exception in the process.
The Nets will take advantage of being the NBA’s only team with cap room by taking on a half-season of Agbaji, receiving more than enough cash to cover his remaining salary, and adding another second-round pick to their sizable collection of draft assets in the process. Acquiring Agbaji will bring Brooklyn’s cap room below $9MM, though the team would also have the option of using its $15MM+ in room in a separate deal, then absorbing the Raptors forward using its room exception.
The Nets have a full 15-man roster, so they’ll need to trade or waive a player to create room for Agbaji.
The Clippers announced over two months ago that they were “parting ways” with Paul, who wasn’t a good cultural fit, but that just meant he’d no longer be around the team, not that he was off the roster. L.A. didn’t want to waive him since it would mean eating his guaranteed salary and leaving his $2.3MM cap hit on the team’s books, compromising the front office’s ability to make additional moves around the edges of the roster.
L.A. will now have about $3.4MM below its first-apron hard cap along with a pair of open roster spots, notes cap expert Yossi Gozlan (Twitter links). Toronto will be roughly $3.1MM below the tax line and will also have two openings on its standard 15-man roster.
Hawks Finalize Jock Landale Trade, Waive Duop Reath
The Hawks have officially finalized their previously reported trade with the Jazz, acquiring center Jock Landale from Utah in exchange for cash considerations, the team confirmed in a press release.
While that agreement was reported as part of a Jazz/Cavaliers trade, it appears the two moves will be completed separately rather than as a single three-team transaction — the Hawks’ announcement doesn’t include any mention of Cleveland’s involvement in the deal.
Landale, 30, was having a career year for the Grizzlies prior to being sent to Utah in the Jaren Jackson Jr. blockbuster, averaging 11.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 23.6 minutes per game across 45 outings (25 starts). He was also knocking down 38.0% of a career-high 2.9 three-point tries per game.
The Australian big man will provide frontcourt depth for a Hawks team that has been impacted by injuries up front this season and is sending Kristaps Porzingis to Golden State.
Landale is on a one-year, minimum-salary contract, so Atlanta can acquire him without sending out matching salary. The team did need to open up a spot on its 15-man roster for Landale though, and did so by placing recently acquired center Duop Reath on waivers (Twitter link).
Reath, who was dealt from Portland to Atlanta in Sunday’s Vit Krejci trade, recently underwent season-ending foot surgery and wasn’t expected to remain on the Hawks’ roster. His $2,221,677 cap hit for this season will remain on the team’s books, but he isn’t owed any salary beyond 2025/26.
Bulls Sign Mac McClung To Two-Way Contract
9:19 am: McClung has officially signed his two-way contract with the Bulls, per NBA.com’s transaction log.
8:08 am: One of two NBA teams with an open two-way slot, the Bulls will fill their opening by signing guard Mac McClung to a two-way contract, a source tells Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Twitter link).
It will be the fourth contract McClung has signed with the Bulls since he went undrafted out of Texas Tech in 2021. The 6’2″ guard inked a pair of 10-day deals with Chicago as a rookie, then completed an Exhibit 10 deal with the team this past fall, lining him up to play for the Windy City Bulls in the G League this season.
A former G League MVP, McClung is having another standout year at that level — in 24 outings for the Bulls’ affiliate, he has averaged 25.4 points, 7.5 assists, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.4 steals in 34.5 minutes per game, with a .518/.353/.813 shooting line.
While McClung has made just nine total regular season appearances for five different teams since going pro, the 27-year-old has become a household name among NBA fans with his performances in the league’s slam dunk contest. McClung won the contest in 2023, 2024, and 2025, but reportedly won’t be defending his title again this year.
The Bulls have an open two-way slot after sending Emanuel Miller to Cleveland in Sunday’s three-team trade involving the Cavaliers and Kings. McClung will join Lachlan Olbrich and Yuki Kawamura as Chicago’s two-way players and will be eligible to be active for up to 19 regular season games for the Bulls.
Once McClung’s deal is official, the Bucks will be the only team with a two-way opening.
Hornets Acquire Tyus Jones From Magic, Waive Pat Connaughton
11:27 pm: The trade is official, the Hornets announced (via Twitter). Veteran swingman Pat Connaughton, who has only appeared in 22 games this season, has been waived to make room on the roster for Jones (Twitter link). Connaughton will receive the balance of his $9.4MM salary.
9:07 pm: The Magic have agreed to send Tyus Jones to the Hornets for cash considerations, sources tell ESPN’s Shams Charania (Twitter link).
Charlotte will get a pair of second-round picks for taking on Jones’ $7MM contract, Charania adds. Those second-rounders will be the least favorable between Boston and Orlando in 2027 along with the Magic’s selection in 2028, according to Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link). The Hornets now own 11 first-rounders and 14 second-rounders over the next seven years.
The move allows Orlando to dip roughly $1.4MM below the luxury tax line. The Magic will be down to 13 players with standard contracts once the deal is finalized and will have two weeks to get back to the league minimum of 14.
The Hornets currently have a full roster, so another move will have to be made before this trade can be completed. Mike Conley, who’s being acquired from Chicago in a separate deal, is viewed as a buyout candidate, so Charlotte could open a roster spot by finalizing that trade first and waiving Conley.
The Hornets can absorb Jones’ salary with the remainder of their mid-level exception or with a trade exception they’ll create in the deal with the Bulls, notes Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron (Twitter link). Gozlan suggests that Jones could also be bought out, which would make him eligible to sign with any team other than Orlando.
Jones, 29, signed a one-year deal with the Magic in July. He was expected to provide depth at point guard, but his inconsistent shooting (34.2% from the field and 29.4% from three-point range) has limited his playing time. Through 48 games, Jones is averaging 3.0 points and 2.4 assists in 15.7 minutes per night.
Hornets Acquire Coby White From Bulls
11:21 pm: The trade has been finalized, the Hornets announced (via Twitter).
2:01 pm: The Hornets and Bulls have agreed to a trade that will send guards Coby White and Mike Conley to Charlotte, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
In exchange, Chicago will acquire guard Collin Sexton, forward Ousmane Dieng, and three second-round picks, sources tell ESPN. Dieng is technically still a member of the Thunder, but is reportedly being traded to Charlotte in a deal involving center Mason Plumlee. Oklahoma City is sending the Hornets a second-round pick along with Dieng in that side deal, tweets Charania.
White, who will turn 26 later this month, is a talented scorer who has averaged 19.5 points per game since becoming a full-time starter at the beginning of the 2023/24 season. He has also averaged 4.8 assists and 4.1 rebounds per night over the course of 182 outings during that stretch, with a .448/.369/.859 shooting line.
Although White entered this winter as one of the Bulls’ prime trade candidates, his value has been negatively impacted by calf issues that have limited to 29 games this season, as well as his contract situation.
The veteran guard is on an expiring $12.9MM expiring deal, meaning his maximum extension with Chicago would have been worth $87MM over four years — he reportedly conveyed to the team prior to the season that he wouldn’t be signing an extension and would take his chances on earning a more lucrative payday in unrestricted free agency.
With teams viewing White as a possible rental, the Bulls were unable to extract a first-round pick for him on the trade market, but they did secure three second-rounders, which will be either the Nuggets’ or Hornets’ 2029 pick (whichever is least favorable), the Nuggets’ 2031 pick, and the Knicks’ 2031 pick, according to Zach Lowe of The Ringer (Twitter link).
The Hornets will presumably look to re-sign White, a North Carolina native who played his college ball at UNC, but Conley likely won’t spend long on Charlotte’s roster. He’s viewed as a buyout candidate, and since he’ll be traded twice this week, he would be eligible to return to the Timberwolves without running afoul of the NBA’s rule preventing a waived player to return to the team that traded him away. Jake Fischer of The Stein Line highlighted this potential outcome for Conley earlier today.
The Bulls, meanwhile, could have more moves up their sleeves in the next 24 hours, since they’ll still have a logjam in their backcourt. Sexton will join a group that features Josh Giddey, Ayo Dosunmu, Jaden Ivey, Anfernee Simons, and Tre Jones.
Sixers Trade Jared McCain To Thunder For Draft Compensation
7:59 pm: The trade sending McCain to the Thunder is now official, the team announced in a press release. In order to open up a roster spot for the newcomer, Oklahoma City waived Plumlee, who was acquired from Charlotte in a separate deal.
1:02 pm: The Sixers and Thunder have agreed to a trade that will send Jared McCain to Oklahoma City for Houston’s 2026 first-round pick (which the Thunder control) and three second-rounders, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
The three second-round picks involved in the trade are a 2027 selection (most favorable of Thunder, Rockets, Pacers and Heat), OKC’s own 2028 pick, and Milwaukee’s 2028 second, reports Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports (via Twitter).
McCain, who turns 22 years old later this month, was the 16th overall pick in the 2024 draft. The former Duke guard got off to an excellent start to his rookie campaign, averaging 15.3 points, 2.6 assists and 2.4 rebounds on .460/.383/.875 shooting in 23 games (25.7 minutes per contest), but missed the remainder of 2024/25 after undergoing season-ending knee surgery.
McCain’s ’25/26 debut was delayed after he suffered ligament damage in his thumb, which required surgery. The injury occurred in an offseason workout just before training camp.
Although McCain has played a bit better recently, he largely hasn’t played at the same level as he did as a rookie, averaging 6.6 PPG, 2.0 RPG and 1.7 APG on .385/.378/.880 shooting in 37 games (16.8 MPG). He was sent to the G League multiple times to get more playing time and to try and find his rhythm.
Assuming Philadelphia doesn’t receive a player back in return, the team would generate a traded player exception worth $4,221,360, which is how much money McCain makes this season.
The Sixers likely viewed McCain as a luxury rather than a necessity due to the strong backcourt play of All-Star Tyrese Maxey and standout rookie VJ Edgecombe. It’s worth noting that all three players are on the smaller side as well, so it would be difficult to play them all at once.
The Thunder, meanwhile, have an excess of future first-round picks and will be betting that McCain can recapture his previous form in a new environment. His rookie scale contract covers two more years beyond ’25/26 for a total of $11.2MM.
Jake Fischer of The Stein Line hears Thunder forward Ousmane Dieng may be involved in the deal as well (Twitter link). According to Fischer (Twitter link), there’s momentum on a trade that would send Dieng to the Hornets for Mason Plumlee. Shedding Dieng’s salary rather than waiving him would help the Thunder stay below the luxury tax threshold.
Avoiding the tax is also presumably a consideration for the Sixers, who will receive a tax variance credit as a result of Paul George’s 25-game suspension and are in position to finish the season as a non-taxpayer after moving McCain.
Thunder Acquire Draft Rights To Balsa Koprivica
The Thunder and Jazz completed a minor trade on Tuesday, with Oklahoma City acquiring the draft rights to Serbian center Balsa Koprivica in exchange for cash considerations. Both teams sent out press releases to announce the deal.
Koprivica, 25, is currently with Bahcesehir Koleji in Turkey’s BSL. He played two seasons at Florida State before declaring for the NBA draft in 2021.
Koprivica was selected by Charlotte with the 57th pick in ’21 and traded to Detroit on draft night. The Pistons sent his draft rights to the Clippers in a cash deal in the summer of 2023, and those rights were shipped to Utah a year later as part of a trade involving Russell Westbrook and Kris Dunn.
There hasn’t been any indication that Koprivica is considering coming to the NBA. However, his draft rights could be a minor trade chip for OKC to use in a deal down the road, especially if the team is operating over the second apron in a future season and isn’t eligible to trade cash that year.
Clippers, Cavs Swap James Harden, Darius Garland
February 4: The Cavaliers have officially traded Garland and their 2026 second-round pick to the Clippers in exchange for Harden, the two teams confirmed today in press releases just hours before they face one another in L.A.
As Law Murray of The Athletic relays (via Twitter), Cavaliers president of basketball operations Koby Altman and Clippers president of basketball ops Lawrence Frank both put out statements thanking the guards exiting their respective franchises and expressing excitement about the newcomers.
According to NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter link), the plan is for Harden to make his Cavaliers debut this Saturday against Sacramento.
February 3: The Clippers and Cavaliers have reached an agreement on a much-rumored James Harden trade. Harden is headed to Cleveland in exchange for Darius Garland and a second-round pick, Shams Charania of ESPN reports (via Twitter). The pick is Cleveland’s own second-rounder this June, tweets Jake Fischer of The Stein Line.
Word broke within the past 24 hours that Harden and the Clippers were working together to find him a new home, with Cleveland considered to be the leading suitor. NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter link) reported this morning that the two teams ramped up their trade discussions in an effort to reach an agreement prior to Thursday’s deadline — now they have.
Harden, a Los Angeles native will join his fifth different team in the last six seasons. As part of the deal, he’ll have to waive his one-year Bird restriction (a de facto no-trade clause) and all but eliminate his $2.3MM trade bonus, ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets.
The Cavaliers cannot make Harden’s salary exceed Garland’s due to apron restrictions, cap expert Yossi Gozlan tweets. That bonus is capped at $263,397, which is the difference between the two players’ salaries. Harden could waive the entire amount to help the Cavs move slightly closer to the second tax apron.
In the short run, Harden should increase the Cavs’ chances of competing for a title in the wide-open East as he teams up with All-Star Donovan Mitchell in a dynamic backcourt. Despite his advanced age, Harden is still a prolific scorer — he’s averaging 24.7 points and 8.1 assists along with 4.8 rebounds per game this season.
Garland — a two-time All-Star — is averaging 18.0 PPG (down from 20.6 last season) and 6.9 APG in 26 games. He has been sidelined for 10 consecutive games due to a right toe sprain after missing time earlier in the season due to left toe issues. Sources tell ESPN’s Brian Windhorst that Garland has made progress in his recovery and could return soon, though there’s some concern about whether his toe problems could turn into a longer-term issue.
Garland, 26, gives the Clippers a younger starter who could fill a guard role for seasons to come, assuming his toe injuries don’t linger. He’s in the third season of a five-year, $197.3MM contract that runs through 2027/28. According to Gozlan (Twitter link), he’ll become eligible this offseason for an extension of three years and up to $178MM.
Harden’s contract situation is more much complicated. He’s making $39.2M this season and has a $42.3MM player option for next season. However, the option would only be partially guaranteed for $13.3MM if it’s picked up. In that scenario, Harden’s salary wouldn’t become fully guaranteed until July 11.
It remains to be seen whether Cleveland gave Harden any assurances about guaranteeing his entire 2026/27 salary or re-signing him to a new contract if he opts out — the veteran guard’s desire to sign a new guaranteed two-year deal that L.A. wasn’t prepared to give him after this season was rumored to be one key factor why he sought a change of scenery.
If Harden declines his option, the Cavs would hold only his Non-Bird rights. However, those would be more than enough to sign him to a market-value contract, since they allow for a deal covering up to four seasons and a raise of up to 20% on the player’s previous salary.
Thunder Trade Ousmane Dieng, Second-Round Pick To Hornets
The Thunder and Hornets have officially finalized a trade sending forward Ousmane Dieng and a 2029 second-round pick to Charlotte in exchange for center Mason Plumlee, the two teams announced in press releases.
The terms of the deal were reported in bits and pieces as news broke that the Thunder were acquiring Jared McCain from Philadelphia and the Hornets were using Dieng as part of their package for Bulls guard Coby White.
Dieng, 22, was the 11th overall pick in the 2022 draft, selected by the Thunder one spot before they nabbed Jalen Williams. However, the Frenchman never evolved into a reliable rotation player in Oklahoma City, appearing in 136 regular season games across three-and-a-half seasons and averaging 4.2 points and 2.1 rebounds in 12.0 minutes per night.
The move is financially motivated for the Thunder. Dieng is on an expiring $6.7MM contract this season, while Plumlee is on a one-year, minimum-salary contract with a cap hit of $2.3MM. By saving $4.4MM in this move, Oklahoma City will be able to remain below the tax when it finalizes its acquisition of McCain, who is earning $4.2MM this season. The expectation is that Plumlee will be waived to make room for McCain on OKC’s 15-man roster.
As for the Hornets, they’ll take advantage of their financial flexibility below the luxury tax line to accommodate a salary dump and acquire an extra second-round selection in the process. The Thunder, who have no shortage of future second-round picks, will send them the most favorable of Atlanta’s and Miami’s 2029 second-rounders.
Charlotte will subsequently flip Dieng to Chicago along with Collin Sexton in a trade that will send White and Mike Conley to the Hornets. It’s unclear whether or not the Bulls will hang onto Dieng once that deal is completed.
Pistons Waive Isaac Jones
The Pistons waived forward Isaac Jones in order to clear the roster space necessary to officially completed their three-team trade with Chicago and Minnesota, tweets Keith Smith of Spotrac.
An undrafted free agent out of Washington State, Jones played well in a modest role for the Kings as a rookie in 2024/25, beginning the year on a two-way contract and earning a promotion to a standard deal last March. However, Sacramento cut him this past November to make room on its roster for Precious Achiuwa, at which time Detroit claimed the 25-year-old off waivers.
While Jones was on Detroit’s roster for nearly three months, he appeared in just one game for the Pistons, logging two garbage-time minutes. He has spent most of this season with the Motor City Cruise, the Pistons’ G League affiliate. In 26 NBAGL outings, he has averaged 15.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.3 blocks in 28.1 minutes per game, making 55.7% of his field goal attempts.
Jones’ salary was non-guaranteed when the Pistons claimed him in November but was locked in after January 7, when the team opted not to release him at the league-wide salary guarantee deadline. Unless he’s claimed off waivers again this time around, Detroit will be on the hook for Jones’ full $1,955,377 cap hit.
The trade the Pistons officially finalized on Tuesday night sent Jaden Ivey to Chicago, with Kevin Huerter and Dario Saric landing in Detroit. Since the Pistons had a full 15-man roster, they weren’t able to accommodate the one-for-two deal without waiving a player.
Saric looks like the next potential release candidate for the Pistons — cutting him would allow the club to open up a 15-man roster spot for two-way standout Daniss Jenkins, who is just one game away from reaching his limit of 50 active regular season games.