This NBA Trade Deadline is living up to its blockbuster billing — we have already seen a Luka Doncic for Anthony Davis trade that shocked everybody, including Doncic and Davis. We’ve seen De’Aaron Fox push his way to San Antonio to team up with Victor Wembanyama. We’ve even seen a Caleb Martin for Quentin Grimes deal.
There will be more before the 2025 NBA Trade Deadline on Thursday, Feb. 6, at 3 p.m. Eastern. What follows is all the latest news, notes and rumors heading into that deadline. It will be updated as news and rumors break between now and then, so check back often for the latest.
Would Suns really swap out Durant for Butler?
In what has been one of the wildest roller coasters of an NBA trade deadline we’ve ever seen, of course Kevin Durant getting traded out of Phoenix appears to be picking up momentum.
Phoenix — which continues to try to land Jimmy Butler but appears to realize the futility of that effort because there is no third team to take Bradley Beal — has started to listen to offers for Durant. It’s a complete 180-degree pivot from where they were days ago. But it’s not even the strangest part of all this, check out this post from the well-connected John Gambadoro of 98.7 Arizona Sports radio:
The KD to Golden State has taken on a life of its own in the last 24 hours. Look I do not know for sure so not reporting. I did talk to several teams today that heard the same thing. One told me “He will most likely end up in Golden State with Butler to Phoenix” Will keep digging
— John Gambadoro (@Gambo987) February 5, 2025
Jake Fischer at The Stein Line is reporting the same thing — Durant chatter is up because it “appears to be the only way for Phoenix to acquire Miami’s Jimmy Butler before Thursday’s deadline.”
In what world does trading away Kevin Durant to bring in Jimmy Butler make any sense for Phoenix? At all.
Sending out Beal and filling that spot with Butler undeniably makes the Suns better (we can debate how much, but it’s an upgrade). If Phoenix trades Durant, the only logical move is to pivot to a rebuild around Devin Booker — and land enough picks and young players in that trade to jumpstart the rebuild process.
But this has been a wild trade deadline, so we’re not ruling anything out completely.
Nikola Vucevic may be with Bulls past deadline
Just 72 hours ago, it seemed a lock that Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic would be out of Chicago before the deadline. That is true for LaVine, who is now in Sacramento with his old Bulls’ teammate DeMar DeRozan trying to lift the Kings into the playoffs.
Vucevic, however, may be a Bull past the Feb. 6 deadline after two deals for the big man fell through on Tuesday, reports Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. He adds that the Bulls are now preparing to have him around past the deadline.
Things change fast in the 36 hours before the deadline, but it may not be fast enough for Vucevic.
Wizards reportedly nearing trades with Bucks, Suns
Khris Middleton is out, and Kyle Kuzma is in for Milwaukee? Jusuf Nurkic is out, and Jonas Valanciunas is in for Phoenix?
Those deals are getting close, reports long-time NBA scribe Steve Bulpett at Heavy.com. The rebuilding Wizards will pull the trigger if the draft compensation coming back makes it worth their while.
Milwaukee wanted to be aggressive heading into the trade deadline, looking for an upgrade and moving on from Middleton — who had surgery on both ankles this offseason and has looked a step slower to the naked eye — but is Kuzma that guy? The Bucks would be banking on the guy who picked up a ring in the bubble with the Lakers to return closer to that form than the guy shooting 28% from 3 this season, scoring seven fewer points a game than he did a season ago.
Phoenix wants to get Nurkic out the door — he was moved to the bench last month because Nick Richards is the starting five now — and this trade brings Valanciunas in as a solid reserve big. The Wizards have had a lot of interest in Valanciunas in recent weeks.
Expect Bradley Beal to be with Suns past deadline
This isn’t a surprise, but we should make it all-but official:
Bradly Beal is going to be with the Phoenix Suns after the trade deadline. That was obvious for a few reasons, starting with Beal has a no-trade clause, so he completely controls the process (also, there is no market for him). But if you wanted confirmation, there is this from The Athletic.
A league source close to Beal reiterated on Tuesday that there are currently no talks about him waiving the clause, and that he expects to remain in Phoenix through the deadline.
Philadelphia’s KJ Martin on verge of being traded
KJ Martin, who has been out since Dec. 23 due to a foot injury, is being held out Tuesday night 76ers game because he is on the verge of being traded, something reported by several people around the Sixers including Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports.
The Sixers are updating KJ Martin to OUT, with a trade pending, source tells me. More to come
— Kyle Neubeck (@KyleNeubeck) February 4, 2025
The 76ers are reportedly looking at multiple trade options for Martin, but all of them largely a salary dump move that does not bring a player back to the Sixers, a league source told NBC Sports. Martin is a 6’6″ wing who has averaged 6.4 points a game coming off the bench in the 24 games before his injury. He can help multiple teams and is making just under $8 million this season and is under contract for basically the same amount next season.
KJ will be the second Martin Philly has traded, they also moved Cody Martin to Dallas for Quentin Grimes.
Mavericks, Warriors, Rockets all interested in Kevin Durant
And the Kevin Durant chatter just gets louder and louder… and now Jimmy Butler is even getting dragged into it.
Golden State’s interest in re-uniting with Durant is well known — the Warriors are desperately looking for a star shot creator to pair with Stephen Curry, and dancing again with Durant is on the table — but Dallas and Houston also are showing levels of interest, reports The Athletic’s Sam Amick, David Aldridge and Anthony Slater.
Dallas getting in the mix after trading away Luka Doncic — for 50 cents on the dollar — is an unexpected twist, and would be difficult for them to pull off because they don’t have a lot of tradable players and picks left. Durant makes $51.2 million, and since Dallas can’t or won’t trade Kyrie Irving, just-acquired Anthony Davis, or P.J. Washington, it becomes a difficult-to-construct five-for-one or worse trade that likely has to drag a third team into the mix.
Houston’s GM Rafael Stone has said in the run-up to the deadline that he wants to see what this roster — with its young players — can do in the playoffs before making a move, but Durant could change that dynamic. The Rockets have the players to make the trade with a package based around the expiring Fred VanVleet and a bunch of picks, but that only works if Phoenix wants to totally rebuild. Which it seems like they do not.
That same Athletic reports suggest a possible three-team arrangement where Jimmy Butler gets his wish to go to Phoenix, Durant heads to Golden State, and an Andrew Wiggins-based trade package heads to Miami. The question for Phoenix is, why? Swapping out Durant for Butler to play with Bradley Beal and Devin Booker does not make the Suns better, why would they do that? Better to blow the whole thing up and rebuild.
It’s all still a long shot, but momentum toward a Durant trade continues to build.
Bulls getting Lonzo Ball interest, likely keep him
Lonzo Ball is more than just one of the best stories of the season, he has returned to being the kind of player every team needs — a solid backup point guard. He’s averaging 7.2 points and 3.5 assists a night, playing 20-25 minutes a night off the bench (although he isn’t playing back-to-backs).
That has led to a number of teams calling about him, reports Marc Stein. Ball is on an expiring $21.4 million contract, but the Bulls are likely to keep him on the roster past the deadline and try to re-sign him this summer, according to the report. Of course, if you’re trying to get teams to offer more for a player, that’s exactly what you would leak.
Just know that after more than 1,000 days away from the game and three knee surgeries, Lonzo is back and will get another contract this summer.
Kevin Durant trade chatter growing louder
Phoenix went into this trade season looking to land Jimmy Butler and put him alongside Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, but that appears less likely with each passing minute (more on the Heat below; keep reading), so the Suns may pivot.
Talk about the Suns trading Kevin Durant, likely to the Golden State Warriors, is getting a lot louder, with league sources confirming to NBC Sports that there are ongoing talks. I’m not the only person reporting this chatter is getting louder.
That’s not to say it will happen — would Durant be okay with this? — but the Warriors have called everyone and anyone looking to find a star to put next to Curry, and the Suns didn’t hang up on the call.
It’s still highly unlikely the Suns will trade Durant. Phoenix’s preference would remain to find a new home for Bradley Beal, which would allow them to complete a Butler trade. However, that seems less and less realistic. If so, would Phoenix consider a serious pivot? Just keep an eye on the situation.
Lakers GM confirms team looking for big
The Lakers were looking for depth at center before they traded their best defender and only quality rim protector to Dallas for Luka Doncic. That has only upped the pressure on Lakers GM Rob Pelinka to find a new center, but he said riding the long-term fit next to Doncic (and LeBron James) could come this summer.
“We know we have a need for a big,” Pelinka said Tuesday at Doncic’s press conference. “The market for bigs right now, leading into the last two or three days of the trade deadline, is very dry. There’s just not a lot available. So maybe we’ll be able to do some stuff around the margins. I would say, in terms of a big move for that position, it’s probably more realistic that that would be something that comes in the off-season.”
Kyle Kuzma for Khris Middleton trade has been discussed
Interesting note from David Aldridge and Josh Robbins at The Athletic: The Wizards and Bucks have at least talked about a Kyle Kuzma trade sending Khris Middleton to Washington.
Two league sources said the Wizards and Milwaukee Bucks have explored a potential deal in which Milwaukee would send Khris Middleton and draft capital to Washington for Kuzma. This matches what was reported elsewhere on Monday. Exchanging Middleton’s salary for Kuzma’s would help the Bucks move under the second apron, a significant goal for the Bucks.
Take that with a grain of salt, but Washington wants out of the Kuzma business and the Bucks might bet he can be an upgrade over the current version of Middleton.
Nuggets coach Malone: “We’re not trading Michael Porter”
Rumors of the Nuggets trying to upgrade by moving on from Michael Porter Jr. have been going around, but Nuggets coach Michael Malone shot that down Monday night. Here’s his response, via ESPN, when asked if he talked to MPJ about his name being trade rumors.
“No because we’re not trading Michael Porter,” Malone said. “So I’m not touching base with anybody on that. … And if there’s something coming, obviously [Nuggets GM Calvin Booth] will talk with me and I’m sure we’ll communicate with whatever players. But Michael is a really important piece, he helped us win a championship.”
Limited interest in Jimmy Butler
Jimmy Butler isn’t Kevin Durant. On a lot of levels. But particularly in regards to this trade deadline, where if the Suns choose to pivot away from trying to land Butler they can quickly have teams lined up to talk about Durant. Along those same lines, Jimmy Butler isn’t like Luka Doncic, where there would have been an overwhelming level of interest in a trade for the 25-year-old if Mavericks GM Nico Harrison had opened up bidding.
Outside of Phoenix, there is not much interest in trading for Butler, Tim Bontemps notes at ESPN. That’s not for a lack of effort by Miami to find trade partner — and both the Suns and Heat have looked at four- and five-team trades — but there is not a pent-up Butler market waiting to break out. A big part of that is Butler can opt out of the $52.4 million he is owed next season and become a free agent next summer, and he has made it clear he wants to get to Phoenix (where he believes owner Mat Ishbia will pay him). Plus, Butler is 35, has seen his game take a step back this season, has a long injury history, and wants to get paid with at least two new years at a high number on this contract.
The question the Suns may need to ask themselves: What do we do with Butler if we can’t trade him before the deadline?
