The 2025 NBA trade deadline is eight days away. Rumors are picking up steam ahead of Feb. 6, with eyes on Jimmy Butler, De’Aaron Fox and more. Here’s the latest trade buzz from Wednesday.
Where Kings stand with Fox
De’Aaron Fox reportedly wants to be traded. Specifically, he’d like to be traded to the San Antonio Spurs and spend his prime years playing with Victor Wembanyama, per multiple reports. But what do the Sacramento Kings want? The Kings drafted Fox No. 5 overall in 2017, and, in 2022, they traded the emerging Tyrese Haliburton to the Indiana Pacers and began to build around the duo of Fox and Domantas Sabonis. They ended their 16-year playoff drought, the longest in the history of the NBA, in 2023, but lost in the play-in last season and are currently 10th in the Western Conference. There’s a case to be made that, if they’re going to trade Fox now, they might as well shop Sabonis and DeMar DeRozan, too, and rebuild the roster patiently. It would be painful, but, ideally, it would mean that their next playoff appearance would be the start of something sustainable, with a higher ceiling than they ever had with this core.
The counterpoint to that: Can’t Sacramento just be pretty good for a few consecutive years? Given how many losing seasons this franchise endured, it might simply not have the appetite for a teardown. The Kings have already won too many games to tank properly this season anyway.
You can probably guess which way the team is leaning. On “First Take” on Wednesday, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that Sacramento has told teams that it’s looking for “win-now players” in addition to draft capital in potential Fox trades. Charania also said that the Kings have taken “dozens of phone calls” and received “dozens of offers” for Fox since Tuesday afternoon.
Another note on Fox: Yes, he grew up outside of Houston, and, yes, there has been a lot of speculation about him playing for the Rockets, but Rafael Stone’s front office is still reportedly planning to lay low at the deadline. Both The Stein Line’s Marc Stein and The Athletic’s Kelly Iko reported that Houston wants to see how its current roster performs in the playoffs before making any major moves. If the Rockets do anything before Feb. 6, it will likely involve taking on salary in order to pick up a second-round pick or two, per The Athletic. (Houston is more than $10.5 million below the luxury-tax line, and it still has its midlevel exception available.)
The notion that the Rockets aren’t trying to trade for Fox (or any other star) isn’t only from anonymously sourced reporting, by the way. Back in December, Stone said that they did “not intend to change anything” and he “would be shocked” if they ended up doing so. This was during an interview with Justin Termine on SiriusXM NBA Radio, during which he also said that, “from a transactional perspective, we’re largely done.”
Fox has been linked to the Brooklyn Nets, too. Their coach, Jordi Fernandez, was Mike Brown’s lead assistant in Sacramento from 2022 to 2024. According to the New York Post’s Brian Lewis, the Nets, who have more than 30 draft picks in the next seven years, indeed see Fox as a trade target, but it’s unclear how motivated they will be to get him.
Brooklyn is still hoping that Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks becomes available at some point, per the Post. Antetokounmpo’s three-year max extension (with a player option on Year 3) will kick in next season.
Beasley says contenders want him, but he’s happy in Detroit
If the Detroit Pistons were having another terrible season, Malik Beasley might be one of the most obvious trade candidates in the league. He’s making more than 40% of his 3-point attempts for the second straight season, and he’s on a $6 million expiring contract.
The Pistons, however, are 23-23 and eighth in the Eastern Conference, just half a game behind the sixth-place Miami Heat in the standings. One of the reasons they’ve improved is that, thanks in part to Beasley, their spacing is worlds better than it has been in recent years. While Detroit isn’t exactly all-in on this season, it’s not in sell mode, either. Teams that want Beasley will have to give the Pistons a good reason to part with him.
In an interview with HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto, Beasley said “the vibes are amazing” in Detroit and he’d be happy to stay there, but team president Trajan Langdon has told him that win-now teams would like to pry him away.
“Me and Trajan have been talking a lot,” Beasley told HoopsHype. “We’re trying to figure out what’s going to happen. I still have to get through this trade deadline. There are some championship teams that want me, but I told Trajan I like where I’m at. He told me about the impact I’ve brought. Hopefully, he agrees. He also told me it’s a business. If a championship team comes with a crazy deal, the business is the business. We’re just waiting for the deadline to go through.”
Is Turner available?
The 25-20 Indiana Pacers have completely turned their season around, and they don’t fit the profile of a trade deadline seller. According to The Athletic’s Jovan Buha, though, center Myles Turner is viewed around the league as “sneakily gettable,” as he’s going to be a free agent in the offseason and the Pacers aren’t sure if they’re willing to pay what it will take to re-sign him.
Turner, who turns 29 in March, wants his next contract to start at more than $30 million, per The Athletic.
While Turner has spent his entire career in Indiana, his name has popped up in trade rumors this time of year for the majority of it. At the beginning of the 2022-23 season, Turner directly addressed the Los Angeles Lakers’ interest in him, telling Adrian Wojnarowski, then of ESPN, “If I’m the Lakers, I take a very hard look at this with the position that you are in, and I know I can provide to a team my leadership, my shot blocking, my 3-point ability and just my ability to make plays out there on the floor.”
Once again, the Lakers are reportedly interested in Turner, according to The Athletic, but it’s not totally clear if he’s available. ClutchPoints’ Anthony Irwin and Brett Siegel also reported that Los Angeles has discussed going after Turner, but are not sure A) whether it is willing to surrender two first-round picks for him and B) whether it is willing to meet his asking price in free agency.
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Milwaukee has interest in LaVine, Dubs ‘mixed’ on Vucevic
According to recent reports, the Milwaukee Bucks will make Khris Middleton available if it has an opportunity to trade for a star player and they could be in the mix for Jimmy Butler. According to CSHN’s K.C. Johnson, the Bucks also have interest in Zach LaVine of the Chicago Bulls.
LaVine, who turns 30 in March, is having a ridiculously efficient season for the 20-27 Bulls. According to The Stein Line’s Jake Fischer, he doesn’t want to be traded before the deadline, but that doesn’t mean he won’t be. I wouldn’t call LaVine a perfect fit in Milwaukee, but if he were next to Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, the offensive ceiling would be extremely high.
It is unclear, however, what kind of deal could realistically land LaVine with the Bucks. Would it be a part of some complicated, multi-team Butler deal? Would Chicago essentially be dumping him for Middleton’s shorter contract and the two draft picks (a 2031 first-rounder and 2031 second-rounder) that Milwaukee can trade? Even though LaVine has had a great season, his trade market could be better in the summer.
Also according to CSHN, the Golden State Warriors are “mixed on [Nikola] Vucevic, especially at the Bulls’ current price tag.” Vucevic, like LaVine, is having a bounceback season, and, if he continues to shoot 39.8% from 3-point range, he could definitely help the Warriors’ spacing. (Golden State’s decision to put 24-year-old rookie Quinten Post in the rotation was partially the result of injuries, but it was also because it desperately needed a stretch big to open up the floor.) Vucevic is making $20 million this season and $21.5 million in 2025-26, though, and the 34-year-old has clear limitations on defense. If Chicago is indeed demanding a first-round pick for him, as ClutchPoints reported it is, then it might not find any takers.
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