With the clock ticking toward Thursday at 3 p.m. ET, the 2025 NBA trade deadline has already been one for the ages. The entire basketball world is still in shock over Luka Doncic getting shipped to the Lakers.
Following that, De’Aaron Fox to the Spurs, which under any set of normal circumstances would me a huge story, feels like a blip on the radar. It isn’t. Pairing Fox with Victor Wembanyama is a monster move.
And hey, by extension the Bulls finally got rid of Zach LaVine! He lands in Sacramento, reunited with DeMar DeRozan. It’s not nothing, but LaVine to the Warriors, which was being strongly rumored, would’ve been a sexier deal.
Speaking of the Warriors, what will they do, if anything? How will the Jimmy Butler saga end? Or will it? It remains a possibility that Pat Riley sticks it to him because nobody can present an attractive enough offer and makes him, heaven forbid, stay in Miami.
With that, let’s get to a few bold trade deadline predictions, with the understanding that it will be impossible to be bolder than the reality we all just watched get warped by the Mavericks and Lakers.
Warriors reunite with Kevin Durant
Maybe I’m just hoping here because I’m a Northern California native with long Warriors ties and am beyond desperate to keep the Stephen Curry championship-contention window open for a few more years, or hell, even just for one more year. Honestly, I don’t even need the Warriors to win another one. I just can’t watch Curry not even have a chance. I need at least one more playoff run with at least dark horse intrigue for the Warriors.
Durant will give them (me) that, and he would be joining the club under completely different circumstances this time. In 2016, he was overkill. Now he can be the savior. The Warriors definitely needed him before, but this time they need him. Like oxygen.
A few days ago, I wouldn’t have entertained this possibility. I was hoping for Zach LaVine or Jimmy Butler, but LaVine went to Sacramento and Butler reportedly told the Warriors he wouldn’t sign an extension with them, which, at least in public, killed those talks.
I’m still not ruling out the Warriors saying screw it and trading for Butler anyway, and just hoping they can convince him to stay long term or, perhaps preferably, just letting him opt in for one more run next year if nobody can present a sign-and-trade worth pursuing and then letting his salary come off the books.
But Durant is now the prize, Phoenix appears cooked and is reportedly listening to offers for Durant. Golden State is desperate and reportedly one of the teams hot after Durant. There’s smoke. With a little effort, maybe we can will this thing into a full-on bonfire. — Brad Botkin
Jimmy Butler stays in Miami
Butler must be reeling at the fact that he’s no longer the main attraction of this season’s deadline after Luka Doncic was dealt in what will likely be the worst trade in NBA history. As a result, the attention around Butler has waned even after all his theatrics and reported tension with Miami’s front office.
Why Mavericks’ Luka Doncic trade is malpractice, no matter how GM Nico Harrison tries to explain it
Jasmyn Wimbish
It’s reportedly Phoenix or bust in Butler’s mind, with the Warriors being told that he would not sign a contract extension if they trade for him. But Phoenix’s path to land Butler goes through Bradley Beal waiving his no-trade clause, which seems increasingly unlikely to happen as no team is chomping at the bit to take him on.
The Heat have no reason to honor Butler’s wishes to trade him to a preferred destination, but also, there doesn’t seem to be many suitors out there. I think this drama spills into the offseason when teams have more time to assess their options.
So, Butler stays in South Beach to finish the season, and instead ends up elsewhere this summer by either opting out of his $52 million player option and signing with a cap-space team, or opting in and again trying to force Miami’s hand, possibly by sign-and-trade, to get him where he wants to go. — Jasmyn Wimbish
Lakers land another running mate for Luka
The Dallas Mavericks didn’t just give the Lakers Luka Doncic. They were generous enough to leave them with the bulk of the trade assets they entered the deadline period with as well. Dalton Knecht is still in place. So is their 2031 first-round pick. Rui Hachimura and Gabe Vincent represent reasonably palatable matching salary in a follow-up deal, and with Anthony Davis now gone, the Lakers badly need a big man to replace him.
The Brooklyn Nets have their answer. Nic Claxton is a sorely underrated defender that can dunk all of those lob passes Doncic loves to throw. That he comes with a contract that descends in value each year is an added bonus. Whether it costs Knecht, that pick or both, expect the Lakers to land their Davis replacement before the buzzer sounds on Thursday. — Sam Quinn
Mavericks add another playmaker
The Mavericks still need another scoring guard to pair with Kyrie Irving — and that remains true even after they traded for Caleb Martin from the 76ers on Tuesday. Yes, Irving was brilliant last season (except in the Finals) and has been again this season (in range of another 50-40-90 showing), but now Dallas is expecting him to be No. 1 playmaker without the Luka cushion to absorb defenses, all while turning 33 in March.
Sure, Irving has been very good in Doncic’s absence, but doing it in the playoffs, for four rounds if the Mavericks expect to return to the Finals, is a tall task. So Dallas gets him some help in the form of the Jazz’s Collin Sexton or the Bulls’ Coby White.
Dallas has draft picks to work with. Max Christie, who came over in the Doncic deal, can be an attractive lure, and Daniel Gafford feels expendable with Davis in the fold now alongside Dereck Lively II (although who knows when he’ll be back from his broken foot).
However it gets done, Dallas will find a way to replenish at least a sliver of Luka’s backcourt scoring. It pretty much has to. By trading Doncic for an old, injury-prone big man, Nico Harrison put his team on a win-immediately-and-at-all-costs timeline. White or Sexton certainly won’t replace Doncic, but that isn’t Dallas’ goal here. They believe Irving and Davis are the championship duo, and they might not be wrong.
The long-term outlook of this Luka trade is disastrous, but you can make a case, and I have made it, that Dallas is actually in a better position to compete for a title this season with Davis, assuming full postseason health. But only if they use every asset available to them to make the supporting cast as strong as humanly possible. — Brad Botkin
Bucks end up keeping Middleton
It’s clear that the Bucks are desperately trying to do something ahead of the trade deadline, but their second-apron restrictions and lack of draft assets is making life difficult. One option that has been discussed is moving franchise icon Khris Middleton, who has become injury prone and inconsistent in recent years.
A Middleton move has most loudly been connected to the likes of Jimmy Butler, Zach LaVine and Bradley Beal, but Butler is insistent on getting to Phoenix, LaVine is off the board and Beal has a no-trade clause. Plus, acquiring either Butler or Beal would require the Bucks to first get under the second apron so they can aggregate salaries, which won’t be easy.
Most recently, The Athletic reported that the Bucks have talked to the Washington Wizards about a deal that would bring back Kyle Kuzma, which would not require any cap gymnastics. But if that’s the kind of return the Bucks could more feasibly get for Middleton, then it’s not worth it. He may not be his old self anymore, but he’s still a reliable outside shooter and underrated playmaker whose connection with Giannis Antetokounmpo cannot be replaced. — Jack Maloney
Kings build on Fox trade
When Sacramento traded De’Aaron Fox to San Antonio, it didn’t just get Zach LaVine, Sidy Cissoko and a bunch of picks. It also opened up an additional roster spot, created a trade exception worth $16.8 million and cleared salary. Approaching the deadline, the Kings are now $10.5 million below the luxury-tax line, and they still have the $12.8 million midlevel exception at their disposal. If they use their newfound flexibility to acquire someone like, say, the Memphis Grizzlies’ Luke Kennard, it should be seen as part of — or at least an extension of — the Fox trade. I don’t feel great about this team’s medium- to long-term ceiling, but don’t be shocked if the roster is better post-deadline than it was a few days ago. — James Herbert
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