NBA Trade Rumors 2025-26: Where Lakers, Celtics, Bucks stand, plus latest on Ja Morant, more
The NBA trade rumor machine is working overtime as we are a few weeks out from the Feb. 5 trade deadline. Here is the latest on the top teams and players.
Los Angeles Lakers
It’s no secret what the Lakers want and need: Perimeter defense and shooting. Put another way, 3&D wings. The kind of players that surrounded Luka Doncic last time he made a Finals run (just a couple of years ago).
There are two key challenges here. One, 29 other teams are looking for those kinds of players as well. There is a scarcity of two-way wings, which is why they are the most sought-after player type on the market right now. Second, the Lakers are not looking to give up much — Gabe Vincent, Jarred Vanderbilt, maybe Rui Hachimura for the right player. That will only net them so much. The Lakers also have their 2032 first-round pick to trade, but it is only in play for a true difference-maker (and New Orleans has yet to make Herb Jones available). ESPN’s Brian Windhorst and Tim Bontemps got this quote from another West team’s GM that sums it up well:
“They’re going to be looking for bargain deals and they might be able to find one if they’re willing to take on long-term money. But they probably need to make sure that player is a good fit with Luka to justify it.”
While the Lakers would love to get Jones from the Pelicans or Andrew Wiggins from Miami, the “bargain” deals are likely to be players such as the Kings’ Keon Ellis.
Boston Celtics
Anfernee Simons made his case for why a team should want to trade for him, dropping 39 off the bench on the Miami Heat on Thursday.
Boston is dangling Simmons’ expiring $27.6 contract in trades as part of their search for a big man, something Jake Fischer wrote about at The Stein Line. The Celtics sit second in the East and believe that if (or, to hear him tell it, when) Jayson Tatum returns this season, they can be contenders. Jaylen Brown has gotten them to this point with an MVP-ballot level season, but Boston will want to solidify its front court for a playoff run after moving on from Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford last summer.
Which big men? Sorry, Jaren Jackson Jr. is not available out of Memphis (they are not trading him), but Chris Mannix of NBC listed a couple more.
Mannix: Celtics may be shopping for big man
Chris Mannix explores the Boston Celtics potentially shifting to buyers before this year’s trade deadline and what big men they may be targeting in case Jayson Tatum returns from his Achilles injury.
“The two big men that I’m looking at that I think the Celtics are looking at and have discussed internally are Ivica Zubac, the LA Clippers center, and Robert Williams III, the ‘Time Lord,’ a former Celtic, who is playing out in Portland.”
The Clippers have not made Zubac available in trades and have said there are no plans to do so — it would take a Godfather offer to change that, and Boston isn’t going to make that deal. Williams is available.
Milwaukee Bucks
Giannis Antetokounmpo is not getting traded at the deadline. The boos do not change that. As has been reported at NBC for some time, the Bucks are looking to add players around the Greek Freak and be more of a threat in the open East, not move on from the best player in franchise history.
That said, they are being very aggressive at the deadline looking for that addition. Here is what Windhorst and Bontemps wrote at ESPN.
[Bucks General Manager Jon] Horst has canvassed the league in recent weeks for talent at basically any position, again looking to bolster the supporting cast around two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.
“Milwaukee still has a first-round pick they can trade, and they’re $14 million under the luxury tax,” an Eastern Conference executive said. “I’ve seen teams make chicken salad with less.”
The Bucks have been linked to Ja Morant, Michael Porter Jr., Zach LaVine, Miles Bridges and others, and expect them to make some kind of trade before the deadline.
Ja Morant
Ja Morant wants to be traded to Miami, but the feeling is not mutual, reports Windhorst and Bontemps at ESPN.
The Miami Heat, in particular, have been overstated as a potential destination, sources said. The Heat have been laser focused on avoiding taking on money for the 2027-28 offseason — a season when, as of right now, Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic and Donovan Mitchell, among others, could all be unrestricted free agents. It’s highly unlikely the Heat would deviate from that plan to go after Morant, sources said.
As noted above, Milwaukee is active in looking for talent to put around Antetokounmpo, and Morant is one name that interests them (although how well Morant and Antetokounmpo play next to each other is another question entirely — didn’t the Bucks already do the high scoring/no defense guard next to Antetokounmpo in Damian Lillard?). The Grizzlies are looking at the breakout point guard Ryan Rollins as well as the Bucks’ tradable first-round pick in any trade for Morant, reports Michael Scotto of Hoopshype.
The market for Morant remains tepid. Sacramento and New Orleans are only interested in a “buy low” scenario where they don’t send draft picks or any player they really like to Memphis. Don’t expect Houston or Brooklyn to get in the game, both are “unlikely” to make a move, Scotto reports.
Anthony Davis and other news
• In the wake of Anthony Davis’ hand injury — and despite the best efforts of his agent Rich Paul and others — most executives around the league expect AD to be a Maverick past this deadline and into the summer, something Scotto discussed at Hoopshype.
• Domantas Sabonis is expected to make his return to the court Friday night after missing 27 games — just in time to boost his trade value at the deadline. Indiana has expressed some interest in the past, and any team looking for a big man has to at least consider the three-time All-Star. He brings a valuable offensive game to the table.
• Cleveland has received offers for wing De’Andre Hunter — including some good ones — but has so far rejected all of them, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. This is something worth following, to see if he is part of a larger trade or if there is something else going on.
• Peyton Watson is having a breakout season in Denver, especially since Nikola Jokic went out, but no, the Nuggets are not looking to sell high on him. Teams are calling and being turned away, Denver wants to re-sign Watson this summer, Scotto reports.
• This has been reported before, but it’s worth repeating: Sacramento is not shopping veteran Malik Monk. While they did over the summer, they appear set on keeping him around.
