On February 3, Beijing time, only about a week before the trading deadline, the NBA teams are evaluating various plans and striving to win before the deadline. The Lakers are peddling Bazmore, and if Millsap buys out the contract, they're interested in pursuing the veteran. The 76ers want to trade Simmons for Bill, but they don't want to take Sable or Maxi. Let's take a look at what trading dynamics have occurred in the alliance this past night -
The Lakers are interested in pursuing Millsap
Millsap wanted to play for a team that had a better chance of playing, and he had decided to part ways with the Nets. BR reporter Jake Fischer reported that Millsap himself tended to sign with the Bulls because of his close relationship with Bulls executive Karnisovas, who had served on the Nuggets. The Lakers are also interested in the Nets veteran, and if he regains his freedom through a buyout, the Lakers will also launch a chase against him.
In another week, Millsap will celebrate his 37th birthday, and so far this season, he has averaged only 11.3 minutes per game, contributing 3.4 points and 3.7 rebounds, and playing time, points and rebounds are all career lows. In addition to pursuing Millsap, Fischer revealed that the Lakers are also peddling Bazemore. So far this season, Bazemore has averaged 3.9 points and 1.9 rebounds per game, and has fallen out of rotation. Stein said that the Lakers' Tucker transaction value is very low, and if they don't want to send out the first round of 2027, the Lakers may not receive anything on the deadline.
The 76ers want to trade Simmons for Bill
The Athletic's reporters David Aldridge and Josh Robbins jointly reported that the 76ers wanted to trade Simmons for An All-Star, and wizard Bill was one of their targets. However, the 76ers are firm on the trade front, they are only willing to trade Simmons for Bill, not to take Sable and Maxi.
Both Sable and Maxi are seen by the 76ers as important future puzzles, and so far this season, Sable has averaged 5.8 points, 2.4 rebounds, 1.8 steals, 1.2 assists and 1.1 blocks per game, and Maxi has averaged 16.8 points, 4.7 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game.
The 28-year-old, a three-time All-Star, has dropped his scoring average to 23.2 points per game this season, but averaged a career-high of 6.6 assists per game. Although Beal refused to renew his contract with the Wizards in advance, the Wizards did not seriously consider trading Bill.
The Wizards lock in two major targets, but reinforcement is extremely difficult
Beal is unhappy with the wizards' current situation, and the Wizards management hopes to strengthen the lineup and persuade Bill to stay at the Wizards. At present, the Wizards' main trade targets the Pacers' Sabonis Jr. and the Pistons' Grant, but it is widely believed that the Wizards have significantly upgraded their lineup strength.
David Aldridge reported that sources agreed that Thomas Bryant, Pope, Dinwiddie, Harrell, and Kuzma were not worth enough to reap significant returns. Among them, Bryant, Pope and Harrell can be said to have almost no value. As for Bertans' big contract, it can only be a back-and-forth asset or garbage contract swap.
Aside from Bill, the Wizards' two most valuable chips are the first-round pick Hachimura and Avdia. However, the outside world believes that even if he puts both of them into the offer, it may not be able to impress the Pacers to send Xiao Sa.
Pelicans' four major reinforcement targets were exposed
Reports from Jake Fischer say the Pelicans' current four major targets have been exposed. They're all interested in the Rockets' Gordon, the Blazers' Covington and McCollum, and the Kings' Barnes, who have explored the possibility of trading Hart. Hart has performed well this season, averaging 13.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game, a career-high in both points and assists. They could have sent Hart away on a sign-first-served basis.
The Sun peddles Sarridge, or helps Gordon activate the terms of the guarantee
Fischer reported that the Suns have been struggling to peddle Saric in hopes of seeking an upgrade to the flanks. The Rockets' Gordon is a potential target because Gordon and Paul are close and have worked together on the Rockets. It's worth noting that the Suns are currently at number one in the league and are one of the teams on track to rush for the championship, while Gordon's contract terms include that if his team wins the championship and he meets the playing time requirements, his 2023-24 contract will be fully guaranteed. That year, his contract salary was $20.91 million.
The Raptors considered taking the first round to send Dragic away
The Raptors have decided to break up with Dragic, but they only used one Dragic estimated not to be able to get back too good players. In negotiations with the Pacers, the Raptors tried to pair a first-round pick with Dragic's offer. They are still considering strengthening the frontcourt and are expected to use the first round + Dragic offer to try to achieve this goal. So far this season, Dragic has averaged 8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game, and has only played in 5 games.
Covington is most likely to be sent away, and negotiations in Nurkic have stalled
The player the Blazers are most likely to send away is Covington, and several teams are interested in him. The Blazers are also considering trading center Nurkic, but negotiations on his trade have stalled, and Ben McCollmore's name has appeared in recent trade rumors. So far this season, Covington has averaged 7.8 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, Nurkic averaged 14.6 points and 10.7 rebounds per game, and McCollmore averaged 9 points and 1.4 rebounds per game.