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Source: https://open.substack.com/pub/marcstein/p/jake-fischer-latest-is-it-the-warriors?r=nuq3a&utm_medium=ios

James and Beal are the only players in the league to hold full no-trade clauses. You've surely learned much about that crucial detail during these past few weeks thanks to all the conversation about Beal. As of this writing, James has shown no indication that he is willing to waive his no-trade during this season, league sources told The Stein Line.

However ...

There are certainly teams — Golden State chief among them, sources said — that have inquired whether that stance could change between now and Thursday's trade deadline.

The Warriors, as Marc Stein reported, did not move forward with their own conversations regarding Chicago's Zach LaVine and Nikola Vučević this weekend, sources said, as Golden State continued to deliberate over the pursuit for Jimmy Butler and — wait for it — exploring the feasibility of reuniting Kevin Durant with Stephen Curry.

Sources say the most ambitious idea being tossed around among Golden State's decision-makers: Is there any feasible pathway for the Warriors to pull off the dreamiest of outcomes and find a way to bring both James and Durant to The Bay?

The path to Durant alone does seem plausible. Phoenix, entering Monday's business, continued to signal that it does not plan to move Durant before the deadline, sources said, but the Suns are believed to be listening at the very least to various teams' pitches for the 35-year-old scoring legend. Durant, meanwhile, is said to be aware of all this.

The Suns, mind you, are expected to maintain a very high asking price before they ever agreed to part ways with him. We're talking serious draft capital and highly rated young talent. The Suns do have a level of interest in Jonathan Kuminga, sources said.

Why is Phoenix even listening on Durant? The 25-23 Suns simply aren't in position not to — especially after this Dončić drama. Among the very real domino effects stemming from San Antonio's acquisition of Fox: The Spurs just got a whole lot better and more competitive and became an even stronger challenger to swipe one of the Western Conference's coveted Play-In Tournament spots from the teams with playoff aspirations (Phoenix, Golden State, Sacramento and Dallas) currently stuck in that range.

Source (PAY-WALL): [John Hollinger] Luka Dončić, De’Aaron Fox trades show tough decisions NBA teams face in new CBA realm

Finally, now that the dust is settling on these two weekend deals, let me leave with you 10 bullet-point thoughts on what might happen with the five teams involved:

• The Bulls can save face that they got a first-round pick for LaVine, but it’s closer to reality to say they didn’t get anything at all for him and instead got their 2025 first-round pick back in the salary dump of Huerter and Collins that accompanied this deal.

• Sacramento is now paper-thin at point guard and center, has a $16 million trade exception for Huerter, has $11 million in wiggle room below the tax line and has an open roster spot. Do the math: The Kings might not be done. Armed with five new second-round picks, look for them in smaller deals.

• Chicago dropped roughly $10 million from next year’s cap sheet and, depending on where that draft pick falls, is now looking at roughly $30 million in cap room this coming summer. That amount goes away if the Bulls max re-sign one or both of Josh Giddey and Lonzo Ball and use their nontaxpayer midlevel exception, but the Bulls do have more flexibility. Even if the Bulls don’t end up with oodles of cap space, they also created a $17 million trade exception by taking Huerter into the existing trade exception from the DeMar DeRozan deal.

• One not-uninterested party in the events of the weekend: the Hawks. Atlanta is owed a top-12 protected 2025 first-round pick from Sacramento, one that would likely convey to the Hawks provided the Kings make the Play-In Tournament. Meanwhile, the Hawks also own an unprotected pick from the Lakers in 2025; whether the Dončić trade improves or worsens the fate of that selection is an interesting story for the season’s second half.

• Dallas’ roster seems to be unbalanced after the trade, and it could result in more deals from the Mavs. The arrival of Max Christie would seemingly call into question the future of Quentin Grimes, who is a restricted free agent after the season. With Christie signed for three more years at reasonable money, it wouldn’t be shocking to see Dallas look to move Grimes for either draft equity or a bigger wing.

• Up front, meanwhile, P.J. Washington, Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II will have to split up a much smaller pool of frontcourt minutes now that the newly arrived Davis will be playing 35 or so a night. Lively is out right now, so this could become more of an offseason problem, but Dallas would seemingly benefit from trading frontcourt talent for another ballhandler.

• Kyrie Irving is a low-key winner here, right? He has a player option for $44 million this summer, and the Mavs effectively committed to him as the team’s go-to guard. In keeping with my earlier theme: How far out do they want to pay him given his age (he turns 33 next month) and injury history? A three-year deal that lines him up contractually with Davis through 2028 might be the sweet spot.

• Meanwhile, the Lakers desperately need a rim-running center to pair with Dončić’s pick-and-roll wizardry. L.A., however, has no significant expiring money to put into trades, and swapping out its lone remaining tradeable first-round pick (in 2031) feels expensive for the type of role and price point the Lakers are trying to fill. They’ll make calls, but this feels like it might be more of a summer project.

• The Lakers also need a defensive ace on the perimeter, as swapping out Davis and Christie for Dončić will make them extremely vulnerable on two levels: First, they have a bunch of slow guards, and second, they have no rim protection. What could go wrong? Getting Dončić was a no-brainer move, but the roster is far from optimized around him. This could take a minute to jell.

• Finally, score one for the anti-tankers: Chicago reacquiring its 2025 first-round pick, which was going to San Antonio if it fell outside the top 10, liberates the Bulls from having to drop into one of the league’s worst records to retain a lottery pick. While the Bulls still may possibly achieve that on their own, Chicago finished Sunday 10th in the Eastern Conference at 21-29, one game ahead of the Philadelphia 76ers for the final Play-In spot.

Source: [Joey Linn] Exclusive: James Harden Gets Honest About NBA Career, Legacy With Clippers

James Harden: “Once I leave and retire from being a Clipper, hopefully that culture can continue leading to something special.”

“A person close to the situation described this trade as the ultimate Harrison power trip, calling him a power-hungry man. Another observer said Harrison removed anyone who held a different view.“

“There is a well-documented list of people close to Dončić who have left or were forced out since Harrison took over. Scott Tomlin, the team’s longtime VP of basketball communications. Casey Smith, the longtime athletic trainer, widely regarded as one of Dončić’s closest allies in the organization. Igor Kokoškov, an assistant coach during Kidd’s first year, was another departure. He coached Dončić to a EuroBasket title in 2017 and served as his pregame workout partner—a role he took over from Orlando Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley, another voice Dončić deeply respected. Jalen Brunson, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Boban Marjanović, three players Dončić respected and was close with, all left the Mavericks during Harrison’s tenure. Another person who had a short tenure in Dallas, not necessarily from Dončić's circle but well-respected around the league, was Dennis Lindsey, who left for Detroit in the summer.”

Source: https://digginbasketball.substack.com/p/the-day-after-luka-doncic-trade

High-level executives with the NFL’s New Orleans Saints football team and the NBA’s Pelicans basketball team had a deeper role than previously known in connection with a list of priests and deacons faced with credible allegations of child molestation while the clergymen worked with their city’s Roman Catholic archdiocese, the Guardian and reporting partner WWL Louisiana can reveal.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2025/feb/03/new-orleans-clergy-abuse-investigation

“I’m still a Sixers player, and I hope to stay a Sixers player.”

But the 6-foot-7, 279-pound post player is a sought-after trade asset. Sources have said the New York Knicks have expressed interest in acquiring him ahead of Thursday’s 3 p.m. trade deadline. The Celtics and Denver Nuggets are also among the teams that have expressed interest in the Frenchman, according to HoopsHype.

source

In a nutshell, it's about Bronny. Woike says the Bronny situation could have been a disaster but "it hasn't been close to one". Says "Bronny is "well-liked in the locker room, and the team has supported LeBron James and his desires to be with his son. It was on full display in Bronny James’ last two games and the bench’s reactions."

So the Lakers are hopeful that LeBron will not want to upset this applecart with his son.

Source:

https://www.latimes.com/sports/lakers/story/2025-02-03/lakers-lebron-james-will-not-seek-trade-at-nba-deadline

Patrick McCaw won championships in each of his first three seasons in the NBA, all while playing little-to-no minutes for his teams. He averaged about 15 minutes and 4 points a game during those regular seasons, and even less in the finals. Not to say he didn’t deserve those rings, but he definitely didn’t earn them as much as his teammates like Curry or Kawhi.

To put this in perspective, imagine if Michael Jordan’s first ring or two came as a ninth-man off the bench. LeBron would likely be the clear GOAT. And same goes for LeBron, if he had one or two McCaw rings, Jordan would be the unanimous GOAT.

Which NBA legends have at least one McCaw ring, whether it be early or late in their career? Should that impact their legacy? Also, what do y’all think about players who got rings despite being injured during their teams’ playoff/finals run?

Here is a place to have in depth, x's and o's, discussions on yesterday's games. Post-game discussions are linked in the table, keep your memes and reactions there.

Please keep your discussion of a particular game in the respective comment thread. All direct replies to this post will be removed.

Source: https://imgur.com/a/hZATw8x

The Mavs fans treating this like a death and they’re not wrong

Ironically both 3 teamers (Pelicans were the 3rd team in the Siakam trade), both seen as underwhelming for the team trading the star. Let's focus on the team giving up the star player because it's obviously a win for the team that got the best piece in both the Siakam and Fox trades.

For a quick refresher, here is what the Kings got from the Spurs and Bulls earlier today:

-Zach LaVine

-Charlotte's 2025 1st rounder (Lottery protected)

-San Antonio's 2027 1st

-Minnesota's 2031 1st

-Sidy Cissoko

-Chicago's 2025 2nd

-Kings 2028 2nd

-Denver's 2028 2nd (Top 3 protected)

-16.8 million trade exception

Some quick notes:

• The Charlotte 1st is all but guaranteed to become a 2026 & 2027 pair of 2nd rounders due to its heavy protections. If the other two picks have protections, it hasn't been confirmed. They may both be unprotected. Either way, those will be two of the more valuable 2nd rounders given the curse the Hornets have seemingly had cast upon them
• The Kings did also get off of Kevin Huerter's contract as part of this deal which allows them to make further moves using it as a trade exception as per the new CBA. Also Jordan McLaughlin got sent out to the Spurs. Either way, Huerter's salary off the books is what created the trade exception

For a more distant refresher, here is what the Raptors got from the Pacers on January 17th, 2024:

-Bruce Brown

-Kira Lewis Jr.

-Jordan Nwora

-The worst of OKC's 2024 1sts

-The Pacers own 2024 1st (Top 3 protected)

-The Pacers 2026 1st (Top 4 protected)

-$10.1 million trade exception

Some quick notes:

• The worst 1st was moved with salary to acquire Ochai Agbaji and Kelly Olynyk from the Utah Jazz
• The Pacers pick was tied for 16 thru 19 in the draft. It ended up 19th via the tiebreaking draw. The pick was then used to pick Ja'Kobe Walter 19th overall.
• The trade exception was used to absorb the salary of Sasha Vezenkov and Davion Mitchell in a salary dump. This included the 45th pick in the 2024 Draft (Jamal Shead) and a 2025 Portland 2nd. Around $5 million of the remaining exception expired a few weeks ago.
• To make this deal official, Christian Koloko was waived. It came out shortly after that Koloko's extended absence was the result of blood clots which put his career into jeopardy though thankfully he was cleared to rejoin the NBA and is currently on a two-way via the Lakers.

The Bulls will generate a $26 million trade exception for Zach LaVine by taking Kevin Huerter into the existing exception from the DeMar DeRozan trade with Sacramento, and by taking Tre Jones into their unused nontaxpayer midlevel exception.

Chicago will need to waive two players before this trade can be completed. Talen Horton-Tucker, Chris Duarte and Torrey Craig would seem the most likely candidates.

The Kings will need to add one more player in the next two weeks to meet the 14-man roster floor. If my math is correct, it also appears they will generate a $16.8 million trade exception for Huerter.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/live-blogs/nba-trade-deadline-luka-davis-trade/TCQ1VIMH3cPt/SccYLo3rbVYR/

Bulls are poised to feast on some delicious bad contracts for picks between this massive trade exception and Lonzo Ball's expiring salary, and the Kings can very easily add/sign their 14th man once the trade is made official.

Fox being traded to Spurs would have been the most blockbuster trade this deadline if not for the Luka - AD mega trade.

But, this really change the outlook of Spurs core.

Wemby is always the Main Piece in their rebuilding Core.

They have Castle, Vassell, Sochan as the pieces being revolved around Wemby.

There were discussions in the past whether Castle or Vassell will be the Future lead Guard of Wemby.

Now, With Fox on the helm. He will be the Main PG this season (with Cp3 who will retire or leave spurs soon anyway imo). And also for the Future.

How do you think Fox arrival impacts Castle and Vassell?

Do you think one of them is tradeable now with Fox on the board?

Maybe not now, but in the near future?

The full quote goes like this: "If we don’t win a championship, I might get traded". On a serious note, this is the job. It’s the profession that we’re in. At any given moment, if you don’t succeed, that might be it for us. It was the same way with the previous coaching staff, and the year before, the players before. … If you don’t do a good enough job, you’re out.”

People laughed this off at the time, thinking Giannis has infinite power on the Bucks organization, and some even thought he was joking or maybe trying to pressure the Bucks. But regardless of what his intention was, basically the exact thing that he said happened with Luka Doncic: someone who was the face of a franchise and a superstar and who nobody ever thought would be traded, was voluntarily traded by a team without him even knowing or asking out. He sort of foreshadowed one of the most shocking trades in NBA history, and this just shows the transactional side of the NBA, and that teams are capable of doing anything that their ownership and GM want.

Here is the source if anyone is curious: https://www.nbcsports.com/nba/news/giannis-antetokounmpo-if-we-dont-win-a-championship-i-might-get-traded

I thought it was fake news. It's insane. Obviously, I've played against Luka a lot of times and AD and all the people that were included in the trade. This is the world we're living in. It's a business, you have to understand nobody's safe, nobody's safe. If a five-time All-NBA first-team, a 25-year-old, a guy that just made it to the Finals seven months ago, a guy that led the league in scoring, a guy that finished second or third in MVP voting, a guy that scored 70-something points one time, a guy that had a 60-point triple-double, a guy that knows how to play the game of basketball, I can keep going and going, an All-Star, not just an All-Star, an All-Star starter, a guy that averaged 34/9/10, but I'm not here to talk about Luka and how good he is, I think everybody in the world knows he's one of the best players in the league

At the end of the day, l've said this in the past, you get evaluated every single day. You don't take nothing for granted. Being an All-Star, you don't take it for granted, Being able to go out there and put the jersey on and represent your team, you don't take that for granted. Being out there and representing your family, you don't take that for granted. Every second that you play in an NBA game, I love it, I try to play with joy. And at the same time, I understand the business of basketball, that sometimes teams need to make the best moves that are good for their organization and for their position and for their own pursuit of greatness and championships. But at the same time, it goes both ways. You cannot have a double standard here.

When the teams make the best moves for them and they believe they can get another player to win now. when a player believes that he can go to a different team and he believes he can have a chance to win a championship, we cannot crucify the person and say that he's not loyal and he didn't do the right thing and he let everybody down. Because history has shown you, you have to do what is best for you and your family. You have to do what's best/most important to win.

Okay, let's say something funny because I took it and spoke very very serious...Now that a European will be, I believe, the face of the Lakers, this is something new for Europe. It's never happened before. We had Pau Gasol. Obviously, he was a great player. And how do you say - Vujacic? Sasha Vujacic? - great guy, one of my close friends, but I mess up his name all the time. Now, I just love it.

You know what I want? I want Luka to the Lakers, I want Jokic to the Knicks. I want all the Europeans to go to all the big markets to see something incredible. This is what I want. This is my dream. But again, I wish both teams the best of luck, wish all the players best of luck with their journey moving forward.

Sorry for the lengthy post, thought this was interesting.

Source-https://imgur.com/a/mNyjhzt

Source: https://open.substack.com/pub/marcstein/p/the-luka-doncic-trade-latest?r=1m9zg&utm_medium=ios

You've probably seen the social media post from noted NBA trainer Drew Hanlen by now pointing out that Cuban once said in an interview that — faced with losing Dončić or exiting his marriage — there would be no choice but to look for him "at my lawyer's office prepping for a divorce."

Cuban was obviously joking in that instance, but it is naturally presumed — as a key participant in the draft-day machinations that enabled the Mavericks to acquire Dončić's rights from Atlanta in 2018 — that he would have been strongly against trading him away had he retained the control over basketball operations that he anticipated when he sold the franchise to the Dumont and Adelson families in November 2023.

In an interview in November 2024, you'll recall, Cuban revealed to The Stein Line that he no longer had the say in basketball matters that he anticipated.

Asked Sunday to react to the trade, Cuban passed on the opportunity to comment publicly beyond saying: "Go Mavs."

Source: https://open.substack.com/pub/marcstein/p/the-luka-doncic-trade-latest?r=nuq3a&utm_medium=ios

Irving, by all indications, remains on course for a new multi-year deal in July. He turns 33 on March 23 — which is the same day Kidd turns 52 — and holds a $44 million player option for next season on the last year of his original three-year, $120 million contract to form a duo with Dončić that was also widely questioned when Irving was initially acquired from Brooklyn.