2026 NBA Trade Deadline Running Commentary

Whoooo boy did we have some trades go down this week. Below, you'll find my running commentary on all deals big and small that happened at this year's trade deadline.

Update: Feb. 5, 4:50 p.m.

• Lakers receive: Luke Kennard
• Hawks receive: Gabe Vincent, second-round pick

L.A. getting another shooter was definitely necessary, given the way the Lakers want to play with Luka Doncic, LeBron James, and Austin Reaves controlling the action and spraying the ball to various teammates dotting the arc or rolling to the rim, depending on their position. Kennard is one of the premier marksmen in the league, which makes him a good fit, so long as he is aggressive in looking for his shot, which he admittedly isn't always. He'll also fit right in defensively, because like most of the rest of this team, he doesn't bring much to the table there.

Vincent isn't going to do much for Atlanta but the second-round pick is fine enough compensation for a player who wasn't going to do much for the Hawks in the immediate future, either, given that they now have both Corey Kispert and Buddy Hield to play the roving shooter role.

• Bucks receive: Ousmane Dieng, Nigel Hayes-Davis
• Suns receive: Cole Anthony, Amir Coffey
• Bulls receive: Nick Richards

I honestly don't have much to say here other than that I am kind of in awe of the Bucks and their strategy around this deadline.

• Knicks receive: Jose Alvarado
• Pelicans receive: Dalen Terry, two second-round picks, cash

New York re-routed Terry after acquiring him for Guerschon Yabusele, nabbing a quality backup point guard who can contribute on both ends and saving around $1 million in the process. Those savings allow the Knicks to get into the buyout market sooner than if they would have just kept Terry. Alvarado should be a great fit behind Jalen Brunson and give the Knicks' second unit the organizer and especially defender they need. It would be nice if the shooting ticks up a bit, but that's not strictly necessary to make this deal well worth it. It's especially worth it if he picks up his $4.5 million player option for next season, helping the Knicks potentially stay below the second apron again.

Also a nice bit of business by the Knicks getting off of Yabu's money for next year and turning him into Terry so that the Pels could get an expiring contract here instead of Yabu's player option. (Edit: Apparently, Yabusele waived his player option to facilitate that first deal.) The Pelicans getting two seconds for their troubles is decent, depending on where those seconds land.

• Nets receive: Hunter Tyson, second-round pick
• Nuggets receive: Second-round pick

This is the Nuggets opening up a roster spot to sign Spencer Jones to a standard deal, which was definitely necessary given his contributions this season.

• Pacers receive: Ivica Zubac, Kobe Brown
• Nuggets receive: Bennedict Mathurin, Isaiah Jackson, protected 2026 first (IND, 2029 first (IND), second-round pick

The Clippers have made a fascinating pivot over the last few days.

They've gone from an old, slow team to one that will be built around dynamic guards in Darius Garland and Mathurin in the future — assuming they re-sign Mathurin, which seems likely given his inclusion in this deal. The Garland-Mathurin duo brings with it a lot of on-the-ball creation and dynamism, and I'm very interested to see how they work off each other over the next few years. The Clippers will need to find them a big man partner at some point, but they have a bunch of cap flexibility these next couple of years to find somebody to fill that role, and now they at least have some draft capital coming their way as well.

The protection on the 2026 pick from Indiana is quite interesting. If it lands between 5 and 9, the pick goes to the Clippers. If it lands between 1 and 4 or 10 and 30, the Pacers keep the pick and they'll send a 2031 first to the Clippers instead. I like the idea of betting that the Pacers will fall into the middle of the lottery, given the flattened odds. And then if they don't, the Clips get two picks a few years down the line, with one of them potentially after the expiration of Tyrese Haliburton's contract. (That's the 2031 pick, if this year's doesn't convey. Haliburton's deal runs through 2029.) So that's pretty nice.

For the Pacers the calculation here is simple: Zubac is going to be an awesome fit with Haliburton. We saw how well the James Harden-Zubac pick and roll worked for years, and the Pacers will get to replicate it while also doing all of their uptempo, share-the-ball Pacers-y type of stuff.

Despite not being a shooter, Zubac is an upgrade over what the Pacers had at center in Myles Turner because of his more consistent rim protection and his ability to brutalize defenders in the post. The latter skill set is not something the Pacers have had during this Haliburton era. Pascal Siakam work in the mid-post, but he's more of a face-up guy and not a brute. Zubac's force will bring a different element to the table.

The cost the Pacers paid is pretty high, especially if the pick conveys this year and they have to give up a mid-lottery selection in what's looking like it'll be a great draft. But the range in which they actually have to surrender the pick is pretty narrow, and if they don't give it up then they have Haliburton, Zubac, Siakam, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, a top-four pick and a whole lot more depth guys to build around for the foreseeable future. That's a really nice base, assuming Haliburton can come back as something at least resembling the player he was pre-injury.

• Mavericks receive: Tyus Jones
• Hornets receive: Malaki Branham

Dallas apparently wanted Jones over D'Angelo Russell this offseason and now gets him here. The Magic probably would have been better off not out-bidding Dallas in the first place considering how Jones played and that they had to give up two second-round picks to get off the contact. Jones should be better in Dallas, even if only because he can't be worse.

Update: Feb. 5, 10:20 a.m.

• Timberwolves receive: Ayo Dosunmu, Julian Phillips
• Bulls receive: Rob Dillingham, Leonard Miller, four second-round picks

I really like this fit for Minnesota. After losing Nickeil Alexander-Walker in free agency and missing what he brought to the table all year, Dosunmu is a snug replacement. Dosunmu is in the middle of the best season of his career, averaging 15.0 points per game on 51-45-86 shooting. The Wolves have desperately needed another perimeter creator alongside Anthony Edwards all season, and he can bring that to the table while also fitting in defensively, whether he starts or comes off the bench behind Donte DiVincenzo. The Wolves also get ahead of his free agency here, bringing in a player that they wouldn't have been able to sign this offseason and acquiring his Bird Rights so they can do just that.

Chicago brings in yet another guard in Dillingham, hoping that it can buy low on a second-draft player and tap into the skills that made him a lottery pick in the first place. The Bulls also add yet more second-round picks, having now acquired nine of them in the last few days. Not getting any firsts for any of the various pieces they sold stings a bit, but they're clearly trying to make up for it with the volume of second-rounders, which are at least pieces that can be thrown into future trades.

Update: Feb. 5, 8:55 a.m.

• Hornets receive: Tyus Jones, two second-round picks
• Magic receive: Cash

Boy that Tyus Jones signing did not work out at all, huh? The Magic get out of the tax here, while the Hornets waived Pat Connaughton to take in Jones and recoup some of the second-rounders they sent out in the Coby White deal.

• Warriors receive: Kristaps Porzingis
• Hawks receive: Jonathan Kuminga, Buddy Hield

Our long national nightmare is over!

Porzingis has only played 17 games this year amid his illness and hasn't been quite the same when he's been on the floor. But the Warriors taking a shot on the upside is intriguing to me. If he plays, he's a great theoretical fit for what they want to do with his shooting and his ability to punish mismatches in the post and of course his interior defense. Him and Draymond together in the frontcourt is a perfect blend of skills, if you can get them each operating at the peak of their powers. (Easier said than done in 2026.) The most likely result, though, is unfortunately that KP doesn't play very much the rest of the way and simply comes off the books as an expiring contract this summer. And they still need additional perimeter creation, which this deal doesn't help at all.

The Hawks taking a dice roll on Kuminga is also mildly intriguing in theory. Again, in theory. I'm not sure there is anything that he actually does well at this point but there are things he can get better at, in a different system than the one he's been in. Maybe if he has more freedom to do the individual creation stuff and not have to be so locked into the flow and the motion, he can be a strong downhill driver. (I guess getting downhill and to the free-throw line qualifies as something he does well.) Then again, the Hawks seem like they want to be flowing and sharing the ball a lot in the post-Trae Young world, so who knows. If things don't work out, they can always decline that team option this offseason. (I wonder whether it would be more beneficial to do that or to keep the contract around as an expiring to throw into trades, meaning we'd have to go through this entire Kuminga song and dance again next year.) Getting Hield along with Kuminga allows the Hawks to replace Vit Krejci, whom they traded to the Blazers a few days ago. Buddy is under contract for two more years after this one, so they'll have him and Corey Kispert as roving shooter types moving forward.

• Raptors receive: Trayce Jackson-Davis
• Warriors receive: Second-round pick

I've always liked TJD. The Raptors getting him as a backup big man behind Collin Murray-Boyles and Sandro Mamukelashvili maybe isn't the move we expected them to make after all the Domantas Sabonis rumors, but if this is all it cost them, I think it's fine.

Golden State opened a roster spot to convert Pat Spencer to a standard deal.

• Bulls receive: Guerschon Yabusele
• Knicks receive: Dalen Terry

Boy that Guerschon Yabusele signing did not work out at all, huh? I thought that was a great move for the Knicks at the time and that Yabu would bring shooting and flexibility off the bench but that just never happened. This is pretty nice work by the Knicks to rectify the mistake without having to give up any assets. I really thought they'd at least have to give up a second or two to ditch the money that Yabu is owed next year. Terry isn't much, but he can at least defend a little bit.

The Bulls did need some frontcourt players on their roster after their 600 trades for guards this week so I get the theory of moving Terry (who expires this year) for Yabu, but not getting anything from New York for taking on the 2026-27 player option makes this less than ideal.

Update: Feb. 4, 5:35 p.m.

• Jazz receive: Lonzo Ball, two second-round picks, cash
• Cavaliers receive: ?
• Hawks receive: Jock Landale

The Cavs are inching ever closer to being under the second apron and being able to aggregate contracts in trades. Hmmmm......

Landale isn't a difference maker but the Hawks did need another big man because Kristaps Porzingis basically never plays, so getting him at a low cost (cash) is a decent move.

Lonzo is expected to be waived and I guess could theoretically land with a contender and play some minutes off the bench, though he has not given much when actually on the court this season.

Update: Feb. 4, 4:15 p.m.

• Wizards receive: Anthony Davis, Jaden Hardy, D'Angelo Russell, Dante Exum
• Mavericks receive: Khris Middleton, AJ Johnson, Marvin Bagley III, Malaki Branham, 2026 first (OKC), 2030 protected first (GSW), three second-round picks

The Wizards got Davis without giving up too much, in the grand scheme of things. The 2026 first from Oklahoma City will be the 30th pick, in all likelihood, and the 2030 first from Golden State is protected from 1 to 20 and becomes a 2030 second-rounder if it doesn't convey. The Wiz also held onto their own first this year, which they will make sure to keep and not send to New York because they can tank aggressively with both Davis and Trae Young shelved with their respective injuries, likely for the rest of the season.

Washington has now turned CJ McCollum, Corey Kispert, Middleton, Johnson, Bagley, Branham, two firsts, and three seconds into Davis and Young. On the surface, that actually seems pretty good — especially if the Golden State first doesn't convey and turns into a second.

I'm just not sure to what end the Wizards have done this. Clearly they think they are ready to be competitive starting next season, which makes some degree of sense given the progression of Alex Sarr and Kyshawn George and the degrees of promise shown by Tre Johnson and Bub Carrington. But do Young and Davis actually make a team competitive in 2026? Will Davis even be on the court enough to matter? And should the Wizards really want to be giving either one of them a contract for multiple years beyond the ones they are currently on? (I'm assuming the answer to that latter question is yes, because if it's not, what was the point of acquiring either of them in the first place?)

I also have questions about the 0n-court end of things. Is Davis even a good fit with Sarr, for example? The rim protection will be excellent, but the spacing certainly will not. And with Young and Davis (when he's on the floor) soaking up most of the possessions, what will become of Sarr and George and Johnson and whomever the Wizards land in the draft's offensive roles? Is being shunted into clear-cut complementary roles actually good for their development?

I understand the Wizards getting itchy and wanting to be competitive next year. I even understand them vaporizing their summer of 2026 cap space in pre-agency because they were unlikely to land anyone significant on the open market because nobody actually hits free agency anymore. I'm just not sure I understand the theory behind a Young-Davis duo being able to lead the young guys to anything more than a potential play-in berth. I feel like they could and should have been more ambitious.

Dallas did fairly well here considering Davis' age, injury history, and contract situation. But the gap between what the Mavericks gave up for Davis and what they got for him is enormous and there's no getting around it.

For extended thoughts on the Davis trade and Wednesday's other deals, check out the latest Double Dribble podcast.

• Thunder receive: Jared McCain
• 76ers receive: 2026 first (HOU), three second-round picks

I really like this for the Thunder. McCain looked like the potential Rookie of the Year last season before getting hurt. He was hurt again at the start of this season and looked shaky in his return but he's not far removed from being freaking awesome to start his career. OKC gave up a late first-round pick and three seconds that it almost certainly doesn't need in order to do this, and it's well worth a flier to get another guard who can create off the dribble and shoot. If it doesn't work out, well, they had a million first-round picks to play with anyway. No skin off Sam Presti's back.

If the Sixers just did this to save money, that's pretty annoying. (They could have re-signed Quentin Grimes this offseason either way. I don't buy that part of the explanation for the deal.) If they did it to set up something else, I understand it more.

The first-round pick is decently valuable but McCain was a mid-first just a year ago and this Houston pick is likely to come later in the round. After how well McCain played at the start of last year, it just seems odd to sell low, even if he didn't look like the same guy for much of his time on the floor this season. (The shooting had ticked up lately, at least.) Then again, it didn't look like he was a significant part of the plan with Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe and Grimes getting most of the guard minutes. Maybe I'm talking myself into this.

• Hornets receive: Ousmane Dieng, second-round pick
• Thunder receive: Mason Plumlee

• Hornets receive: Coby White, Mike Conley
• Bulls receive: Collin Sexton, Ousmane Dieng, three second-round picks

The Hornets! I like White better for them than I do Sexton. He can comfortably play with LaMelo Ball or Kon Knueppel or Brandon Miller or any combination of the three. His off-the-dribble shooting hasn't been the same this year but he was also coming off an injury to start the season. He's made 39% of his 8 three-point attempts per game since the middle of January. He'll fit in nicely.

OKC is waiving Plumlee to make room for McCain.

The Bulls continue shuffling their guards, take a flier on Dieng (not sure there's anything there, honestly, or else the Thunder would have unlocked it), and get three seconds for their troubles. I don't know how they continually manage to sell low on some of their important guys, but they didn't really get a lot for White here.

• Raptors receive: Chris Paul
• Nets receive: Ochai Agbaji, second-round pick, cash
• Clippers receive: Rights to Vanja Marinkovic

This is basically the Clippers and Raptors saving money while the Clips open up roster spots to convert Jordan Miller and Kobe Sanders to standard contracts and the Nets pick up Agbaji and a second-round pick to facilitate the deal. CP3 is expected to be waived and in theory could join a contender even though he looked utterly washed early this season and was sent home for being a nuisance.

Update: Feb. 4, 12 p.m.

• Kings receive: De'Andre Hunter
• Cavaliers receive: Dennis Schroder, Keon Ellis
• Bulls receive: Dario Saric, two second-round picks

I don't know what, exactly, the Kings are doing, or why they want Hunter. Getting something for Ellis if you're not going to re-sign him makes sense, but I'm not sure why you're not re-signing a pretty good player or why you want to turn him into Hunter, who is only under contract for one more year after this anyway. He's not the defender he's been sold as throughout his career and his shooting has cratered this year. I just don't get it.

The first of two deals this week in which Cleveland remade its backcourt, I think I like this one better for the Cavs. Ellis can play, even if his own shooting has dipped this year. And Schroder is basically a dice roll. He is either great or terrible in each of his destinations. Why not take a shot that you're one of the teams where it actually works out? Especially when you do need an added dose of offensive creation.

Shout out to the Bulls for finally butting their way into a trade and RECEIVING assets instead of giving them up. I'm so proud of them.

• Blazers receive: Vit Krejci
• Hawks receive: Duop Reath, two second-round picks

I can't say I understand this one from the Hawks' perspective. Krejci is pretty good! He's one of those roving shooter types who is over 40% from deep both for his career and this season. That type of shooting is valuable — even when you just traded for Corey Kispert. Krejci is still under cntract for two more years at a very low cost. Nice pickup for Portland, which didn't give up much here, with Reath out for the season.

• Jazz receive: Jaren Jackson, John Konchar, Jock Landale, Vince Williams Jr.
• Grizzlies receive: Walter Clayton Jr., Kyle Anderson, Taylor Hendricks, Georges Niang, 2027 first (CLE/MIN/UTA), 2027 first (LAL), 2031 first (PHX)

• Bulls receive: Jaden Ivey, Mike Conley
• Pistons receive: Kevin Huerter, Dario Saric, 2026 first-round swap (MIN)
• Timberwolves receive: 2026 first-round swap (DET)

For a full breakdown of these two trades, check out the latest Double Dribble podcast with myself and Mo Dakhil.

• Celtics receive: Nikola Vucevic, second-round pick
• Bulls receive: Anfernee Simons, second-round pick

It was easy to see this type of deal coming almost as soon as the Celtics got Simons in the Jrue Holiday trade. Boston saves a ton of money here by trimming its luxury tax bill, while also getting a much-needed big man in the process. (You can't go into the playoffs with Neemias Queta and Luka Garza as your center rotation.) Vucevic's shooting should fit right in, even if his defense will stick out like a sore thumb.

The Bulls have to be up to something with Ayo Dosunmu and/or Coby White, because they just keep stockpiling other guards. All of Dosunmu, White, Ivey, and Simons have contracts that expire this summer, though, so I guess any or all of them could be sticking around or headed out the door, depending on how the Bulls decide to handle things. Either way, the Bulls did get the better of the two second-round picks here, so this was a nice bit of business to get something for Vuc, who clearly wasn't going to be on the Bulls next season and who didn't have much value on his sizable contract at his age.

• Cavaliers receive: James Harden
• Clippers receive: Darius Garland, second-round pick

Mo and I covered this in part on the podcast, but I do want to expand a little bit.

This is more than anything else an admission from the Cavs that their core group of four wasn't good enough and wasn't going anywhere. Which was probably the correct assessment, given the way these last few years have gone. It is also obviously a declaration of non-faith in Garland, who is 10 years younger than Harden and not that far removed from being an All-Star point guard himself but who can't stay healthy and who has seemingly regressed amid his various injuries.

Harden remains an elite playmaker, even at 36 years old, and he should give the offense some more juice when Donovan Mitchell is off the floor. And assuming they remain on the team, he'll put Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen in the best position to succeed that they have been in their careers. He creates the best opportunities possible for every big man with whom he plays. There's no reason to think that they'll be any different.

I'm not that concerned about the idea that both Harden and Mitchell "need the ball in their hands." They're both experienced enough at playing alongside other playmakers (Garland, Mike Conley, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, etc.) and now that Harden has deigned to take catch-and-shoot jumpers over the last few years, they are each threats away from the ball as well as on it. And Kenny Atkinson knows what he's doing. He can figure out how to maximize the two of them offensively.

The concern, obviously, is on defense. It's not like Garland was giving the Cavs anything of note on that end, though, and Harden's size makes him something of a more difficult target to attack than the smaller Garland. Theoretically, at least.

As I sit here, I realize I'm kind of talking myself into this, even if my initial reaction was to not like it. From a basketball perspective, Harden is just straight up better than Garland at this point. And from an asset-management perspective, there probably wasn't a better return on the table at this point. If you're trying to break through a playoff wall, though, I'm just not sure James Harden is the guy to bust it down. We all know the history.

As for the Clippers, well, they get 10 years younger at arguably the game's most important position and they potentially have themselves a player to build around in the post-2027 world they've been preparing for, assuming they decide to keep Garland around beyond then and that he can rediscover the form that made him an All-Star. (Boy was I wrong about 2027 cap space being their only plan, by the way. That just goes to show that you should never make predictions. Or at least, I shouldn't.) I'm not sure they could reasonably have done any better with trading Harden on a functionally-expiring deal. I like this for them, even if the full, long-term plan will necessarily take a while to come into view.