play1:13Dallas Mavericks vs. Minnesota Timberwolves: Game HighlightsDallas Mavericks vs. Minnesota Timberwolves: Game Highlights
play1:14Charlotte Hornets vs. Milwaukee Bucks: Game HighlightsCharlotte Hornets vs. Milwaukee Bucks: Game Highlights
play0:18Tyus Jones drains 3-point shot vs. Golden State WarriorsDraymond Green shows off the vision with a great pass to Jimmy Butler for a Golden State dunk vs. Orlando.
play0:32Vanderbilt, Sochan exchange words after Spurs’ winJarred Vanderbilt gets into it with Jeremy Sochan after the Spurs beat the Lakers, and Vanderbilt lightly pokes Sochan’s face.
Dallas Mavericks vs. Minnesota Timberwolves: Game HighlightsDallas Mavericks vs. Minnesota Timberwolves: Game Highlights
Charlotte Hornets vs. Milwaukee Bucks: Game HighlightsCharlotte Hornets vs. Milwaukee Bucks: Game Highlights
Tyus Jones drains 3-point shot vs. Golden State WarriorsDraymond Green shows off the vision with a great pass to Jimmy Butler for a Golden State dunk vs. Orlando.
Draymond Green shows off the vision with a great pass to Jimmy Butler for a Golden State dunk vs. Orlando.
Vanderbilt, Sochan exchange words after Spurs’ winJarred Vanderbilt gets into it with Jeremy Sochan after the Spurs beat the Lakers, and Vanderbilt lightly pokes Sochan’s face.
Jarred Vanderbilt gets into it with Jeremy Sochan after the Spurs beat the Lakers, and Vanderbilt lightly pokes Sochan’s face.
Bobby MarksCloseBobby MarksESPNFollow on XKevin PeltonCloseKevin PeltonESPN Senior Writer Co-author, Pro Basketball Prospectus series Formerly a consultant with the Indiana Pacers Developed WARP rating and SCHOENE systemFollow on XJan 15, 2026, 07:00 AM ET
play0:23Bennedict Mathurin gets the and-1 to fallBennedict Mathurin gets the and-1 to fall
Chris Boucher gets the and-1 to fall (0:20)Chris Boucher gets the and-1 to fall (0:20)
The NBA trade deadline is less than a month away, and teams are evaluating their rosters and the market to see who can make a difference in a playoff berth or a new era.
With players such as Ja Morant and Jonathan Kuminga circulating as potential trade targets, teams must decide which players are worth stashing and which could be a part of a package to facilitate a win-now or rebuild strategy before 3 p.m. ET on Feb. 5.
Whether a team makes a move or stands pat, each has at least one player who could be used in a trade to strengthen its playoff push or take further steps in a rebuilding process. ESPN analysts Bobby Marks (Eastern Conference) and Kevin Pelton (Western Conference) detail the top player on all 30 NBA rosters who could be traded and how a potential deal could help that team.
The Hawks do have Luke Kennard’s $11 million expiring contract and the $14 million salary of the recently acquired Kispert if they are looking for frontcourt help, but on a much smaller scale than Davis. Kispert’s salary is not subject to aggregation. — Marks
Dallas Mavericks vs. Minnesota Timberwolves: Game Highlights
Dallas Mavericks vs. Minnesota Timberwolves: Game Highlights
While it is unlikely the Celtics get under the luxury tax this season (they are $12 million over), trading Boucher would save them $9 million. — Marks
Porter or Cam Thomas could be chosen as the player to watch in Brooklyn. Thomas signed a one-year, $5.9 million qualifying offer in the offseason, and he is on pace to average at least 20 PPG for a third straight season. But Thomas has veto power on any trade and loses Bird rights in free agency if he were moved. Porter is averaging a career-high 25.7 PPG on the rebuilding Nets and would fit a need for numerous playoff teams looking for shooting and size on the wing.
The Hornets also have the $8 million salary of Tre Mann, who signed a three-year, $24 million contract in the offseason — only the first year was guaranteed — and is averaging the second-fewest minutes in his career. — Marks
In fairness, we could list half the roster. The Bulls have a league-high eight players (Vucevic, Zach Collins, Kevin Huerter, Coby White, Ayo Dosunmu, Jevon Carter, Dalen Terry and Julian Phillips) on expiring contracts, something coach Billy Donovan noted at the beginning of the season.
”They have to understand the urgency because they all have something to do with each other’s success and they all have something to do with each other’s future,” Donovan said.
The 35-year-old Vucevic is the most accomplished of that group. Vucevic has averaged at least 16 points and nine rebounds per game in six straight seasons and has played at least 70 games in five consecutive campaigns. His $21.5 million salary this season ranks 14th among starting centers. — Marks
Trading for Ball made sense in the offseason, considering Cleveland was likely losing Ty Jerome in free agency and had prioritized bringing back Sam Merrill. The heralded move has not translated to the court.
Although Ball has not suffered any setbacks with his left knee, his production has been inconsistent. Ball averaged at least 22 minutes in the first three months of the season, but he has seen his minutes per game drop to 13.0 in January. Ball is shooting a career-worst 31.2% from the field and 27.6% on 3s.
If the Cavaliers move off his $10 million salary this season, their luxury tax penalty would drop from $164 million to $102 million. Because there is no financial liability next season (Ball has a $10 million team option for 2026-27), Cleveland also could wait until the offseason to make a decision. The Cavs are a second-apron team and are not allowed to combine Ball’s salary with another player in a trade. — Marks
Bennedict Mathurin gets the and-1 to fallBennedict Mathurin gets the and-1 to fall
ESPN’s Shams Charania reported earlier this week that the Mavericks have reengaged teams on a possible Davis trade despite a hand injury that is expected to sideline him through the deadline. There’s urgency for Davis to find a new team as part of “pre-agency” before he becomes eligible for an extension this August, and his timeline does leave open the possibility of Davis returning before the playoffs.
The key question with a Davis deal is how much Dallas will be affected by the sunk cost of Davis being the primary return for Luka Doncic less than a year ago. If the Mavericks are looking for that kind of value, no Davis trade is likely to materialize. — Kevin Pelton
Any move of consequence for the Nuggets likely has to include Nnaji, one of just two nonstarters on the roster with a cap hit greater than $3.2 million this season. (Backup center Jonas Valanciunas, currently sidelined, is the other.) Nnaji has responded well to increased playing time during Nikola Jokic’s injury absence, averaging 14.8 points and 1.5 blocks per game while shooting an effective 65% in a recent four-game stretch.
If Nnaji keeps that up, Denver might not find it necessary to make a move before the deadline. Conversely, if Nnaji reverts to a noncontributor, teams might not want to take back his contract given the Nuggets have limited draft picks to incentivize a deal. — Pelton
It would be easy to put Tobias Harris on his $26.6 million expiring contract as the player to watch. The Pistons also have all their first-round picks available to trade for the first time since 2020. But team president Trajan Langdon and the front office have shown patience in rebuilding a roster that averaged 19 wins from 2019-20 to 2023-24.
“You don’t need to skip steps and go out and trade for some sort of superstar right away, because you never know how that’s going to end up for you. Trajan will always make the smart decision and the right decision for the team,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff told FanDuel TV last month. “We’re in a really good spot with a really good group of guys.”
If there is a move to make in Detroit, it likely comes with converting the two-way contract of Daniss Jenkins. — Marks
Given Kuminga hasn’t appeared in a game since Dec. 18, sitting out with last-minute back soreness when he was set to see extended minutes with several stars sidelined on Jan. 2, the long-running will-they-or-won’t-they Kuminga trade saga finally appears near its conclusion.
Unfortunately, Kuminga’s on-court performance is unlikely to increase his trade value. A hot start from 3 (9-of-20 over the season’s first six games) quickly faded, with Kuminga shooting 23% beyond the arc since. At this point, Kuminga’s most important role might be as a matching salary in a trade for a key player who better fits with Golden State’s veteran stars. — Pelton
Unless the Rockets are willing to trade guard Fred VanVleet during his rehab from September’s ACL surgery, Finney-Smith is their only player making more than $6.7 million and averaging fewer than 20 minutes per game.
Coming off his own offseason surgery (left ankle), Finney-Smith has started slowly since returning to the lineup in December, shooting 25.8% from the field. That’s far out of line with the remainder of Finney-Smith’s career, and a trade now would seem unlikely to maximize Houston’s return. That could portend a quiet deadline for the Rockets. — Pelton
Charlotte Hornets vs. Milwaukee Bucks: Game Highlights
Charlotte Hornets vs. Milwaukee Bucks: Game Highlights
Tyrese Haliburton’s right Achilles tendon injury opened up the full-time starting role for Mathurin, who scored 36 and 26 points, respectively, in the first two games of the season. A right foot injury sidelined Mathurin for the next 11 games. He would eventually return and start the next 22, though he is now out indefinitely after injuring his right thumb on Jan. 2.
After losing Myles Turner in free agency, Indiana will explore options in the center market, making Mathurin and his expiring $9.2 million expiring contract a valuable trade option. Signing Mathurin as a free agent could be challenging, despite the ability to match any offer sheet. Not including a likely top-five pick, Indiana is $16 million below the luxury tax next season. — Marks
The Clippers’ surge to within one game of a play-in spot should keep them focused on maximizing the James Harden-Kawhi Leonard era rather than dealing away veterans. Considering LA’s limited ability to add to the roster because of an NBA investigation into cap circumvention that could strip the team of its remaining draft picks, the simplest path could be clearing roster room to convert the two-way contracts of Jordan Miller and Kobe Sanders.