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Sixers Sending Second-Rounder To Mavs In Caleb Martin Deal

The Sixers are amending their trade with the Mavericks and will now send Dallas a second-round pick in 2030 in addition to Caleb Martin, league sources tell Marc Stein (Twitter link).

According to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link), the 76ers are trading their own 2030 second-rounder to the Mavs. Philadelphia will control multiple 2030 second-round picks after officially completing its trade with Washington.

As Stein explains, Martin has been dealing with a right hip sprain and was believed to be nearing a return, but his physical was flagged due to the injury (Twitter links). Both teams consulted with the league office and Philadelphia agreed to send Dallas a second-round pick as a result.

Stein clarifies that the Mavericks don’t have any long-term concerns about Martin’s hip, though a return timeline for the veteran swingman has yet to be established.

Dallas sent impending restricted free agent Quentin Grimes and Philadelphia’s 2025 second-rounder, which the Mavs controlled from a previous deal, to the 76ers in the trade.

Bucks Trading Patrick Baldwin Jr., Cash To Spurs

The Bucks are trading forward Patrick Baldwin Jr. and cash to the Spurs, according to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

Moving off Baldwin’s $2.45MM contract will give Milwaukee more breathing room below the second tax apron.

It’s possible the deal will be folded into the larger trade that will send Khris Middleton to the Wizards and Kyle Kuzma to the Bucks, as that’s how Milwaukee acquired Baldwin in the first place. In that scenario, he’d technically just go straight from Washington to San Antonio.

The Spurs have an open roster spot after sending out multiple players in the De’Aaron Fox blockbuster, plus enough space left in their room exception to acquire Baldwin outright without having to send anything back in return.

The 28th overall pick of the 2022 draft, Baldwin spent his rookie season with Golden State prior to being traded to the Wizards in the Jordan Poole/Chris Paul deal back in July 2023. Baldwin’s role has been extremely limited through three NBA seasons. He has appeared in just 22 games in 2024/25 for a total of 101 minutes.

Baldwin also appeared in seven G League games with the Capital City Go-Go this season, averaging 15.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists on .494/.349/.571 shooting in 27.3 minutes per contest.

Still just 22 years old, Baldwin had his rookie scale team option for ’25/26 declined last fall, which means he’ll be an unrestricted free agent this summer. He may not be in San Antonio’s plans either, so he could potentially hit free agency sooner than that if the team decides to release him in the coming days.

Celtics Trade Jaden Springer, Second-Round Pick To Rockets

FEBRUARY 6: The trade is official, the Celtics and Rockets announced today. In addition to the terms outlined below, Houston is also receiving a protected 2027 second-round pick.

Based on the draft assets Boston controlled, per RealGM, that ’27 second-rounder figures to be either the Trail Blazers’ or Pelicans’ pick (whichever is least favorable; top-55 protected). In other words, the Rockets will only get that pick if either Portland or New Orleans is among the NBA’s top five teams in 2026/27.


FEBRUARY 5: The Celtics have agreed to trade guard Jaden Springer and a 2030 second-round pick to the Rockets in a cost-cutting move, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

According to Charania, the two teams will also swap heavily-protected second-rounders. Kelly Iko of The Athletic reports (via Twitter) that Houston will send Boston a top-55 protected 2031 second-round selection.

A salary-dump deal involving Springer had long been anticipated for the defending champions, who had been operating well beyond the luxury tax line and had a projected end-of-season tax bill of about $65.6MM prior to this trade, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link).

Moving off Springer’s expiring $4.02MM contract will reduce that projected tax payment to approximately $50.2MM, per Marks, while also opening up a second spot on Boston’s 15-man roster. It doesn’t impact their tax apron position — they remain over the second apron.

Teams can’t carry fewer than 14 players for more than 14 days at a time, so the Celtics will have up to two weeks to re-add a 14th man once their deal with the Rockets is official. Signing a replacement for Springer will bump the team’s tax bill back up a little, but the newcomer figures to be on a prorated minimum-salary deal and will have a far more modest cap hit than Springer did, so the accompanying tax penalty won’t be substantial.

As for the Rockets, they entered the day with more than $10MM in breathing room below the luxury tax line, so absorbing Springer’s $4.02MM salary doesn’t materially change their cap situation. They also have an open spot on their 15-man roster, meaning no one will have to be waived to finalize the deal.

Houston doesn’t have any trade exceptions available, but they can use a portion of their mid-level exception to take on Springer’s salary without sending out a player for matching purposes.

Springer was the 28th overall pick in the 2021 draft, but never developed into a reliable rotation player for the Sixers and was traded to the Celtics at last season’s deadline. The 22-year-old played sparingly in Boston too, appearing in just 43 games over the past year and averaging 1.9 points and 1.0 rebound in 6.3 minutes per contest.

Although Springer will be eligible for restricted free agency at the end of his contract, he’s not expected to receive a qualifying offer. In fact, he may reach unrestricted free agency before season’s end — if the Rockets want to use their 15th roster spot on another player, he’ll likely be the odd man out.

Raptors Trading Davion Mitchell To Heat For P.J. Tucker, Second-Rounder, Cash

The Raptors appear to be getting involved in the multi-team Jimmy Butler blockbuster after all.

Initially thought to be involved in the deal as a facilitator to take on Kyle Anderson, Toronto is instead acquiring veteran forward P.J. Tucker, who was being sent from Utah to Miami as part of the Butler trade, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

According to Charania, the Raptors will also get a second-round pick and cash from the Heat in the swap, which will send guard Davion Mitchell to Miami. The second-rounder is the Lakers’ 2026 pick, per Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link).

While Charania doesn’t explicitly say so, this agreement will likely be folded in the larger framework of the Butler trade, with Tucker going directly from the Jazz to Toronto in the multi-team deal.

It’s a financially motivated maneuver for the Heat, who will take on Mitchell’s $6.45MM expiring contract instead of Tucker’s $11.54MM expiring deal. That will allow them to duck below the first tax apron by about $1.96MM, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, who adds (via Twitter) that Miami remains above the luxury tax line by approximately $2.8MM.

It remains to be seen if the Heat will hang onto Mitchell or if they have additional moves to come. The former ninth overall pick is a talented point-of-attack defender who has a limited offensive game. In 44 games (22 starts) for the Raptors this season, he averaged 6.3 points and 4.6 assists in 24.5 minutes per night, with a .434/.359/.676 shooting line.

Mitchell will be eligible for restricted free agency at season’s end, though he seems unlikely to receive a qualifying offer.

Tucker has some history in Toronto — he was drafted by the franchise in 2006 and spent his rookie season with the Raptors, then was traded back to the team in 2017. However, his third stint with the organization will likely be a brief one, as he’s a virtual lock to be bought out or released outright.

Toronto still had a fair amount of breathing room below the luxury tax line after agreeing to acquire Brandon Ingram from New Orleans, which is why the club is willing to accommodating a salary dump. The second-round pick and cash they’re getting in the deal incentivized the Raptors to swap out Mitchell for Tucker and his pricier contract.

The Raptors could use Mitchell’s salary for matching purposes to complete the trade or could utilize its untouched mid-level exception to absorb Tucker’s incoming salary. In the latter scenario, the team would create a new trade exception worth Mitchell’s outgoing $6.45MM salary.

Wizards Waive Sidy Cissoko

The Wizards have requested waivers on forward Sidy Cissoko, the team announced today (via Twitter).

It has been an eventful week for Cissoko, who was traded from the Spurs to the Kings in the De’Aaron Fox/Zach LaVine multi-team blockbuster, then was flipped to Washington in Wednesday’s Jonas Valanciunas deal. Now, assuming he clears waivers on Saturday without being claimed, he’ll be seeking a new home.

Cissoko, 20, was the 44th overall pick in the 2023 draft. Although he signed a three-year contract that included two guaranteed seasons, the French forward played an extremely limited role during his season-and-a-half with the Spurs, appearing in just 29 NBA games, averaging 2.3 points and 1.1 rebounds in 6.7 minutes per night.

Cissoko saw more action in the G League with the Austin Spurs, San Antonio’s affiliate. He made 34 total appearances for the club last season and 11 more in 2024/25. In those 11 games this season, he averaged 16.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per contest, with a shooting line of .489/.264/.595.

It’s unclear if Cissoko will catch on with a new NBA team or if a return to Europe, where he began his professional career, could be in the cards. He’s still just 20 years old (21 in April) and is eligible to sign a two-way contract, so I’d expect some NBA clubs to have some level of interest in him.’

Because the Kings were the last team to trade Cissoko before he was cut, Sacramento won’t be eligible to re-sign him, but San Antonio would be.

The Wizards, meanwhile, will open up a spot on their 15-man roster as a result of the move, which could come in handy if they have any additional pre-deadline moves on tap. They still need to officially finalize their Kyle Kuzma/Khris Middleton deal with Milwaukee today.

Knicks To Trade Jericho Sims To Bucks For Delon Wright

The Bucks will acquire backup center Jericho Sims from the Knicks, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link). The move will be folded into a deal between Milwaukee and Washington that was reported earlier today.

New York will receive Delon Wright and cash in return, Charania tweets. The Bucks will be permitted to send out cash because they will be below the second tax apron once the deal is finalized.

According to Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (Twitter link), the Knicks will also part with the draft rights to French big man Mathias Lessort in exchange for the draft rights to French guard Hugo Besson.

The Bucks were among the teams said to have interest in Sims, along with both L.A. clubs, in a Tuesday report from Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

Sims, 26, is in his fourth season with the Knicks after being selected with the 58th pick in 2021. He has appeared in 39 games so far this season, but his playing time declined to a career-low 10.8 minutes per game and he was averaging just 1.6 points and 3.3 rebounds. He has a $2.1MM expiring contract and will be an unrestricted free agent after the season.

The move raises speculation that New York will try to add another big man before Thursday afternoon’s trade deadline. Mitchell Robinson remains out of action while recovering from offseason ankle surgery, although he’s reportedly making progress toward a return.

Wright, a 32-year-old guard, was in his first season with the Bucks after signing as a free agent in July. His shooting has been an issue as he’s connecting at 26.8% from the field and 24.5% from three-point range while averaging 2.5 PPG in 26 games.

Wright is on a one-year, $2.1MM contract and is also headed for free agency at season’s end. The expectation is that the Knicks will hang onto the veteran guard for now rather than flipping him or waiving him, tweets Bondy.

Wizards Trade Jonas Valanciunas To Kings

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.

Jimmy Butler Headed To Warriors, Agrees To Extension

The Warriors will acquire Jimmy Butler from the Heat in exchange for Andrew Wiggins, Dennis Schröder, Kyle Anderson and a protected first-round pick, according to Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

The Pistons are also involved in the trade and will receive Lindy Waters III from Golden State and Josh Richardson from Miami, Charania tweets.

Schröder, meanwhile, is heading to Utah, which was first reported by Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Twitter link). P.J. Tucker, whom the Jazz acquired over the weekend, will be sent to Miami, sources tell Charania (Twitter link). Tucker played for the Heat during the 2021/22 season.

It was originally slated to be a five-team deal with Anderson going to the Raptors, but that part fell through, sources tell Charania (Twitter links). He adds that Miami is currently holding onto Anderson, who has an $8.78MM salary and one more guaranteed year left on his contract after this season.

Miami will have a full 15-man roster if Anderson isn’t moved elsewhere before the trade deadline, notes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald (Twitter link).

Charania reports that Butler has agreed to a two-year, maximum-salary extension with the Warriors that will run through the 2026/27 season. As part of that deal, which projects to be worth $111MM, he will decline his $52.4MM player option for next season.

An inability to work out an extension is the major reason that Butler was unhappy in Miami. He had been suspended three times over the past month and was away from the team as the front office tried to find an acceptable offer before Thursday’s deadline.

Butler, a six-time All-Star who had averaged 17.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game on .540/.361/.801 shooting in 25 games for Miami this season, had requested a trade in hopes of going to a team that was willing to make a long-term commitment.

Phoenix was widely reported to be his preferred destination, but the Suns were unable to work out a trade involving Bradley Beal, who holds a no-trade clause, and were apparently unwilling to make a deal with Miami that included Kevin Durant. As a result, Butler will instead join a Warriors team that was one of four clubs initially said to be on his wish list back in December and will get the extension he was seeking all along.

Under his new deal, Butler will earn a projected $54.13MM next season and $56.83MM in 2026/27, according to salary cap expert Yossi Gozlan (Twitter link). Gozlan notes that adding Butler ensures that the Warriors will continue to have a large payroll, and they’ll be deep in luxury tax territory if they re-sign restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga.

Butler has a $407,123 trade bonus that would increase his current salary to $49.2MM, Gozlan adds. However, Butler may need to waive that trade bonus to help Golden State fill out its roster and remain under the first apron, per Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link).

Without accounting for the bonus, the team projects to be $1.8MM below the apron with 11 players under contract. The Warriors will have to fill at least three of their four open roster spots within two weeks. Marks states that it’s possible, but the timing of each signing will be important.

The Heat had an opportunity to duck beneath the tax threshold, according to Gozlan (Twitter link), but that won’t happen if they hold onto Anderson. According to Marks (Twitter link), Miami is currently $7.8MM above the tax line and $3.1MM over the first apron.

Miami will receive the Warriors’ 2025 first-round pick with top-10 protection, sources tell Zach Lowe (Twitter link). The same protection will be in effect for 2026 if the pick doesn’t convey this year. In the unlikely event it lands in the top 10 in each of the next two years, it would be unprotected in 2027.

The Heat had reportedly been opposed to taking back salary that extended beyond the 2025/26 season, but were willing to make an exception for Wiggins, who holds a $30.2MM player option for ’26/27. At his best, the former No. 1 overall pick is an impact two-way player capable of being a secondary scorer on offense and handling challenging defensive assignments on the other end of the court.

Wiggins is averaging 17.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in 30.1 minutes per game across 43 outings this season, with a .444/.379/.777 shooting line.

The Pistons will receive a second-round pick from Golden State for taking on Waters’ and Richardson’s expiring minimum contracts, tweets Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press, who doesn’t offer any more specifics on the pick.

Detroit currently has 14 players under contract but also reached a deal to acquire KJ Martin from Philadelphia in addition to Waters and Richardson. Depending on the order in which the Pistons complete their reported deals, they’ll need to waive one or two players from their current roster.

It’s worth noting that the Pistons could theoretically fit Martin into their $8MM room exception and take on Waters and Richardson using the minimum salary exception, which means their $14MM in cap room could still be used for a separate trade before they complete their two reported agreements. We’ll see if that ends up happening before Thursday’s deadline.

As part of the Tucker-Schröder swap of expiring contracts, the Jazz will receive the more favorable 2031 second-round pick from the Heat or Pacers, according to Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter link).

This week’s latest mega-deal seems to ensure that Kevin Durant will remain with the Suns past the deadline. The Warriors and Heat were reportedly the teams making the strongest effort to get Phoenix to part with Durant.


Luke Adams contributed to this story.

Pelicans Trade Daniel Theis, Second-Round Pick To Thunder

3:21 pm: The trade is official, according to a press release from the Thunder, who sent out cash considerations in exchange for Theis and either New Orleans’ or Orlando’s 2031 second-round pick (whichever is least favorable).


1:01 pm: The Pelicans are trading center Daniel Theis to the Thunder along with draft compensation, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

Oklahoma City will receive a 2031 second-round pick in the deal, according to NBA insider Marc Stein (Twitter link). New Orleans previously traded swap rights on that pick to Orlando, so the Thunder will receive the least favorable of the Pelicans’ and Magic’s second-rounders in ’31.

It’s a salary dump for New Orleans, which had been operating about $1.4MM above the luxury tax line. The Pelicans are one of two NBA teams to have never paid the tax and weren’t about to start this season for a team that currently holds a 12-38 record.

Moving Theis’ $2.1MM minimum-salary contract, which expires at season’s end, allows the Pelicans to duck out of tax territory.

If New Orleans doesn’t make any additional trades today or tomorrow, this deal will leave the team with just 13 players on standard contracts. By NBA rule, the Pelicans would need to re-add a 14th man within two weeks of trading Theis. A prorated minimum-salary signing at that point would still allow them to narrowly remain below the tax threshold.

Despite their NBA-best 39-9 record, the Thunder aren’t constricted by the tax aprons like many of the league’s other contenders. Prior to this trade, Oklahoma City’s team salary had been hovering right around $160MM, giving the club plenty of room below the $170.8MM tax line to take on additional money.

The Thunder also have an open spot on their 15-man roster, so they won’t need to waive anyone to make room for Theis, who can be acquired using the minimum salary exception.

It’s unclear if the Thunder plan to hang onto Theis after acquiring him or if they’re just making the deal for the draft compensation. The veteran center could provide some frontcourt depth in OKC after averaging 4.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in 16.3 minutes per game across 38 outings (nine starts) for the Pelicans.

A rookie big man, Branden Carlson, has occupied the Thunder’s 15th roster spot for much of the season to date, first on a non-guaranteed contract and then on a pair of 10-day deals. If the team hangs onto Theis and doesn’t make any additional moves to open spots on its 15-man roster, a two-way deal would be the only path for Carlson to rejoin the squad.

Wizards To Trade Kyle Kuzma To Bucks For Khris Middleton, Pick Swap

The Wizards and Bucks have agreed to a trade that will send Khris Middleton, AJ Johnson, and a pick swap to Washington in exchange for Kyle Kuzma, Patrick Baldwin Jr., and a second-round pick, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

Josh Robbins and David Aldridge of The Athletic, who reported on the Kuzma/Middleton talks between the two teams on Tuesday, followed on up Wednesday to say (via Twitter) that Johnson, Baldwin, and draft assets were also involved in the structure being discussed.

Middleton, a Buck since the 2013 offseason, had a highly successful 12-season run with the franchise, earning three All-Star berths and playing a key role on the team that won a championship in 2021. However, he had been plagued by injuries in recent years, most recently undergoing surgeries on both ankles last offseason.

Middleton has been limited to 23 games so far this season and is averaging just 23.2 minutes per night, his lowest mark since his rookie year. While he has shot the ball efficiently (.512/.407/.848), the 33-year-old hasn’t looked like the same two-way impact player he was before his health issues.

By swapping out Middleton for Kuzma, the Bucks will acquire a forward who is four years younger (29), is on a more team-friendly contract, and hasn’t been afflicted as significantly by the injury bug.

However, Kuzma hasn’t had a great season either. His shooting percentages of 42.0% from the field and 28.1% on three-pointers are easily career lows, and he’s averaging just 15.2 points per game after putting up 21.7 PPG in his first two years in D.C.

Kuzma recently suggested in comments to reporters that he didn’t adjust well this season as the Wizards pivoted to prioritizing opportunities for their younger players. That shouldn’t be an issue in Milwaukee, where Kuzma is joining a potential contender led by superstars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard. According to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Twitter link), a vote of support for Kuzma from Antetokounmpo factored into the Bucks’ decision to move forward on this deal.

The Wizards nearly moved Kuzma at last season’s trade deadline, but were reportedly lukewarm on an offer from the Mavericks and decided not to accept it after speaking to him about it. A year later, he’s headed to the Bucks instead.

The financial aspect of this trade is an important motivator for Milwaukee as well. The combined salaries of Kuzma ($23.5MM) and Baldwin ($2.4MM) are well below that of Middleton ($31.7MM) and Johnson ($2.8MM), allowing the Bucks – who had been operating about $6.5MM above the second tax apron – to move below that threshold and generating substantial savings on their end-of-season tax bill.

Kuzma had a 15% trade kicker that would have increased his cap hit by roughly $2.5MM per season, but sources tell ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link) that the forward agreed to reduce that bonus in order to allow the Bucks to get below the second apron, giving them more roster-building options in the present and future.

Moving below the second apron will allow Milwaukee to aggregate salaries in any subsequent deals this week. It will also ensure that their 2032 first-round pick doesn’t become “frozen” (ie. unable to be traded) beginning this offseason.

With Baldwin’s salary coming off the books at season’s end and Kuzma replacing Middleton and Johnson on next season’s cap, the Bucks are now in position to potentially get out of luxury tax territory altogether in 2025/26, notes cap expert Yossi Gozlan (Twitter link).

The Wizards, meanwhile, will take on some extra salary this season and likely next season as well, since Middleton has a $34MM player option for 2025/26 that he’s expected to exercise. In return, Washington will get the opportunity to take a flier on a 2024 first-round pick in Johnson, who appeared in just seven games with the Bucks.

The Wizards will also gain the ability to swap first-round picks in 2028 with Milwaukee, reports NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter link). Portland already has the right to swap its first-round pick for Milwaukee’s first-rounder in ’28, so Washington would subsequently have the opportunity to swap its own pick for whichever first-rounder the Bucks end up with.

Meanwhile, the Bucks will receive a 2025 second-round pick in the deal, Haynes adds. According to Eric Nehm of The Athletic (Twitter link), it’ll be the second-most favorable of the three second-rounders controlled by Washington. The language around those picks is convoluted, but it’ll almost certainly end up being the second-most favorable of the Detroit, Golden State, and Phoenix second-rounders. Those three teams are all currently within a half-game of one another.