By Sam Vecenie | The Athletic, 2026-01-13 11:00:07
本月我们已经见证了一笔涉及前全明星球员的大交易，但除了特雷·杨 (Trae Young) 之外，交易截止日市场一直相对平静。不过，未来几周情况应该会有所改变。
每年，我都会被要求构思一些我希望在交易截止日发生的、符合现实的交易方案。在当前这个几位球星都可能被摆上货架的市场中，我决定提出三笔交易，我认为它们能以某种方式影响2026年NBA总冠军的争夺格局。此外，还有一笔在两支季后赛圈外的球队之间发生的、纯粹从篮球角度出发的有趣交易。
这些交易不一定是有流言传出，或者我认为有很大可能发生的。相反，它们只是我觉得看到会很有趣的交易。（特别感谢基思·史密斯 (Keith Smith) 以及Spotrac网站的朋友们，他们的交易模拟器总能帮助我确认交易方案是否符合劳资协议的规定。）
交易方案一：活塞得到第二持球手
• 底特律活塞获得：科比·怀特 (Coby White)
• 芝加哥公牛获得：活塞2026年首轮签，两个未来的次轮签
活塞为何要做这笔交易： 底特律至今仍未找到在凯德·坎宁安 (Cade Cunningham) 身边最合适的第二持球手。杰登·艾维 (Jaden Ivey) 在上赛季腿部骨折后，状态似乎还未完全恢复。即便球队仍对他进行长期投资，但在他康复的现阶段，恐怕难以在重要的季后赛系列赛中委以重任。此外，签约卡里斯·勒韦尔 (Caris LeVert) 的效果也不尽如人意。他场均出战20分钟，仅得到8分，真实命中率比联盟平均水平低了5个百分点。无论坎宁安在场与否，只要勒韦尔上场，球队的进攻往往会变得更糟。尽管双向合同后卫丹尼斯·詹金斯 (Daniss Jenkins) 展现了不错的闪光点，但活塞也不应将他视为一个可靠的选择。
底特律还有一个去年夏天通过先签后换丹尼斯·施罗德 (Dennis Schröder) 得到的价值1410万美元的交易特例，这让他们有更多选择来引进能提供帮助的球员。活塞可以安心地用掉全部特例，因为他们距离奢侈税线还有大约1800万美元的空间。篮球运营总裁特拉詹·兰登 (Trajan Langdon) 上任以来，也首次拥有了所有可供交易的首轮签，以及大量的次轮签储备。
这正是怀特可以发挥作用的地方。作为一名将在本赛季结束后成为完全自由球员的球员，怀特无论在短期还是长期都可能成为活塞的重要选择。去年，球队在赛季末段引进了施罗德来担任第二持球手，并且他表现出色。怀特也能带来许多相同的特质：他是一位得分爆发力强的球员，能够冲击禁区，并且非常乐于在三分线外开火。对于一支本赛季三分出手率排名联盟第27位的活塞队来说，他还能带来额外的投射维度，为他们的超级巨星后卫身边再添一名空间拉开者。
反对这笔交易的一个观点可能是，怀特本赛季已经遭遇了三次独立的小腿伤病，导致他断断续续地缺阵。但如果怀特能恢复健康，对于这支位居东部第一的球队来说，他是市场上性价比最高的得分后卫选择。如果他表现出色，并且活塞在受限制自由球员市场上不愿高薪续约艾维，怀特也能为球队提供一份保障。
公牛为何要做这笔交易： NBA圈内的普遍感觉是，试图预测公牛在交易截止日的动向是痴人说梦。在篮球运营总裁阿图拉斯·卡尔尼绍瓦斯 (Artūras Karnišovas) 的领导下，这支球队的行为一直难以预料。然而，对于芝加哥来说，利用今年夏天即将成为完全自由球员的几位球员换来选秀资本是合乎逻辑的。球队目前战绩为18胜20负，本赛季难有作为。传统的资产抛售将使球队在长期规划上处于更有利的位置，围绕约什·吉迪 (Josh Giddey) 和马塔斯·布泽利斯 (Matas Buzelis) 进行重建。
在这笔交易中，他们将得到一个可能排在第25至27顺位区间的选秀权，以及几个次轮签。通过这笔交易，公牛将在今年夏天失去怀特的伯德权，但作为一支预计拥有大量薪金空间的球队，无论是保留怀特2450万美元的薪金占位，还是直接通过自由市场重新签下他，差别都不大。
考虑到怀特基本上只是一个为期两到四个月的“租借品”，并且还有小腿伤病史，我不认为公牛能期望用他换来比一个首轮末段签更好的回报。
交易方案二：尼克斯补强替补高大侧翼
• 圣安东尼奥马刺获得：盖尔雄·亚布塞莱 (Guerschon Yabusele)、帕科姆·达迪耶 (Pacôme Dadiet)、一个未来的次轮签
• 纽约尼克斯获得：杰里米·索汉 (Jeremy Sochan)、亚当·汉加 (Adam Hanga) 的签约权
尼克斯为何要做这笔交易： 纽约需要再补充一名真正能打上时间的、身材更高大的前锋。不幸的是，亚布塞莱本赛季已经证明自己无法胜任这一角色。作为球队休赛期动用纳税人中产特例签下的重要引援，他至今只打了316分钟，并且看起来与尼克斯在米切尔·罗宾逊 (Mitchell Robinson) 或卡尔-安东尼·唐斯 (Karl-Anthony Towns) 下场时对四号位的需求格格不入。对手球队利用了他移动能力不足的弱点，尤其是在罗宾逊和亚布塞莱同时在场时，球队失分严重。当亚布塞莱与罗宾逊搭档时，尼克斯每百回合净负15分；当他与球队前场的另一选择OG·阿努诺比 (OG Anunoby) 搭档时，每百回合净负8分。
索汉填补了纽约的短板。尼克斯替补阵容目前最缺乏的是身材、运动能力和防守。他们最好的替补球员是迈尔斯·麦克布莱德 (Miles McBride)、约什·哈特 (Josh Hart) 和罗宾逊中没有首发的那两位，以及兰德里·沙梅特 (Landry Shamet)、乔丹·克拉克森 (Jordan Clarkson) 和泰勒·科勒克 (Tyler Kolek)。除了罗宾逊，这套阵容的身材并不突出。索汉的进攻能力确实受限于他的投篮，但他是一名身高6英尺8英寸、臂展出色的运动员，并已证明自己能够承担艰难的防守任务。如果有些伤病倾向的阿努诺比缺阵，他能为尼克斯提供另一个选择，同时也能在季后赛中为球队提供一个能防守多个位置的高大球员，有望在长达两个月的季后赛征程中减轻核心球员的损耗。索汉有防守像坎宁安这样高大持球发起点的经验，也能防守体型更大的得分侧翼，同时在进攻端他也是一名敏锐的空切手，非常懂得如何与能够传球和拉开空间的大个子球员配合。
尼克斯在交易截止日并没有太多选择，因为他们缺乏可以承受交易的资产。在完成米卡尔·布里奇斯 (Mikal Bridges) 的交易后，受斯蒂芬条款限制，他们无法交易任何自己的选秀权。他们拥有一个2026年华盛顿奇才队的前八顺位保护首轮签，如果奇才今年保住这个签，它将转换为两个次轮签。虽然我确信奇才队会竭尽全力让自己的战绩落入那个区间以保住选秀权，但我可能会选择保留这个资产，以防其他球队比他们摆烂得更彻底。或许乐透之神会眷顾尼克斯，让他们在选秀大年2026年意外地获得一个前十顺位选秀权。换句话说，纽约很难做出大的动作。索汉可能是最好的选择。
索汉实际上还能增加尼克斯今年夏天的操作灵活性。他是一名受限制自由球员，如果尼克斯在自由市场上留住罗宾逊，他们最终的薪资可能会超过第二土豪线。一旦超过第二土豪线，他们将无法使用纳税人中产特例，只能签下底薪合同。而索汉明年夏天不太可能只拿底薪合同，这给了尼克斯一个潜在的薪金套利机会，即现在就买入一个可能持续进步的球员。最重要的是，尼克斯的薪资专家布洛克·阿勒 (Brock Aller) 又可以将另一套签约权收入囊中。这算不上一笔能扭转乾坤的重磅交易，但它为一位NBA总冠军争夺者补上了一个漏洞。
马刺为何要做这笔交易： 无论是从侧翼位置的阵容配置还是薪金状况来看，马刺似乎都很难长期留住索汉。斯蒂芬·卡斯尔 (Stephon Castle)、德文·瓦塞尔 (Devin Vassell) 和凯尔登·约翰逊 (Keldon Johnson) 在深度阵容表上的顺位肯定在他之前，而朱利安·尚帕尼 (Julian Champagnie) 也凭借其侧翼投射能力超越了他。球队上赛季还选了迪伦·哈珀 (Dylan Harper) 和卡特·布莱恩特 (Carter Bryant)，这两位球员可能会占据二到四号位的时间。特别是布莱恩特，他似乎是索汉防守能力的替代者，并且还有投篮潜力。这样一来，在索汉之前就有六名球员排队，其中不少球员要么已经拿着高薪，要么未来合同会变得昂贵。
就交易价格而言，我意识到这个回报并不丰厚。但我不确定市场上是否会有对索汉的激烈竞价，除非圣安东尼奥在他的合同上附带一个首轮签，去争取一个更成熟的球员。在联盟的三年半时间里，他的进攻技术没有取得足够的进步，因此除了把他看作一次“刮彩票”式的尝试外，很难有更高的评价。事实上，这个交易价格也正反映了这一点。
亚布塞莱是维克托·文班亚马 (Victor Wembanyama) 在法国国家队的队友，据信马刺去年夏天曾考虑过交易得到他，之后他才与尼克斯签约。尽管亚布塞莱今年表现不佳，但或许与文班亚马重聚能改变这一切。不过，除了那个次轮签，这笔交易的吸引力在于对达迪耶的一次尝试。达迪耶作为一名在德国打球的法国球员进入NBA时，是一个需要长期培养的项目。他甚至在G联赛中都没有打出非常亮眼的数据。但或许马刺的球员培养体系能在接下来的10个月里（在球队需要决定是否执行他第四年选项之前）发掘出他的潜力。他年仅20岁，具备得分能力，即使他没有过去那些首轮秀的光环。
从本质上讲，对于索汉这样一个不再是必需品的球员，马刺至少能换回一些有价值的东西。
交易方案三：勇士为“最后一舞”豪赌
• 金州勇士获得：小迈克尔·波特 (Michael Porter Jr.) • 布鲁克林篮网获得：德玛尔·德罗赞 (DeMar DeRozan)、摩西·穆迪 (Moses Moody)、巴迪·希尔德 (Buddy Hield)、德文·卡特 (Devin Carter)、勇士2026年首轮签、2028年与勇士的首轮签互换权 • 萨克拉门托国王获得：乔纳森·库明加 (Jonathan Kuminga)、海伍德·海史密斯 (Haywood Highsmith)、扎伊尔·威廉姆斯 (Ziaire Williams)
勇士为何要做这笔交易： 这是他们为斯蒂芬·库里 (Stephen Curry)、德雷蒙德·格林 (Draymond Green) 和史蒂夫·科尔 (Steve Kerr) 的“最后一舞”而进行的全押式操作。波特本赛季打出了全明星水准，是一个恐怖的得分威胁，在周一晚赛前场均贡献25.9分、7.4个篮板和3.4次助攻，投篮命中率49%，三分命中率39.7%，罚球命中率83.3%。联盟中没有人真的相信波特能像在篮网那样，在一支有真正季后赛抱负的球队里担任主要得分手，但他已经用表现打消了许多关于他离开丹佛掘金和尼古拉·约基奇 (Nikola Jokić) 后会有何种表现的质疑。也很难为金州勇士找到比波特更合适的球员了。我们知道他可以成为一支冠军球队中不可或缺的一部分，他的技术特点也正是球队在吉米·巴特勒 (Jimmy Butler) 和格林之间所需要的——一个真正的射手，同时也能偶尔自主创造投篮机会。他还曾在丹佛与约基奇这样富有创造力的传球手在基于移动和空切的战术体系中打过球，这意味着他在这里的适应过程可能会更短。
至于交易价格？理所当然地昂贵。国王作为第三方参与交易，接手了库明加；篮网则得到了德罗赞、穆迪、希尔德、卡特、一个很可能落在20-25顺位区间的2026年勇士首轮签，以及一个2028年不受保护的勇士选秀权互换权。这个互换权可能是其中真正的价值所在，因为库里、格林和巴特勒的合同都将在2027年到期。考虑到这一点，我认为勇士会希望通过送出篮网当年的选秀权来在一定程度上降低潜在的价值损失。但如果勇士想让篮网交易波特，他们就必须付出一些重磅筹码。加上穆迪和今年的首轮末段签，这或许足以构成足够的诱惑力。
如果勇士想做这最后一次冲击，从战术、天赋和契合度来看，波特是市场上最完美、最合理的追逐目标。
篮网为何要做这笔交易： 我认为篮网应该考虑在休赛期以合适的价格留下并续约波特。但也有充分的理由在交易截止日送走波特，在他的价值顶点将其变现。最主要的是，波特的伤病史是实实在在的；早在2018年，他就在NBA选秀联合试训中体检亮起了红灯，导致他跌至乐透区末段。如果布鲁克林想要降低在波特身上的风险，现在就是套现的最佳时机。
的确，考虑到金州勇士的时间线，得到他们2026年的首轮签和2028年的选秀权互换权将是非常有趣的资产。即使库里、格林、巴特勒和波特在2028年都再续约一年，你也会认为两年后他们的回报率会严重下降，届时除了波特，所有核心球员都将年近四十。这里第二有价值的资产是穆迪，他已经成长为一名可靠的3D球员，身高6英尺6英寸，臂展达到7英尺。在未来几年里，当篮网构建其余阵容时，会很需要这样一名球员。穆迪可以和各种类型的球员搭档，是一名成熟的轮换球员，他的存在可以帮助布鲁克林已有的以及将继续引进的年轻球员成长。卡特也是一位乐透秀，防守端非常出色，但在2024年选秀前肩部受伤后，他的跳投一直很糟糕。他将是一张纯粹的彩票，而不是选择接手昂贵的库明加。
德罗赞下赛季有1000万美元的保障合同，如果篮网甩掉波特的薪水，这并不会对他们的薪金空间造成太大影响。而希尔德的合同很特殊，明年只有300万美元保障，但在2027-28赛季基本上是一个双向选项。总而言之，篮网本赛季的薪金表只会增加约25万美元，而在下赛季的薪金表上实际上还能节省更多钱，前提是他们放弃希尔德和德罗赞，从而获得更大的灵活性。
国王为何要做这笔交易： 他们与库明加的传闻已经有一段时间了，而在这里，他们能以低廉的成本在他身上赌一把。为此，他们送出了德罗赞的合同（这似乎是他们无论如何都想在截止日前做的事）和卡特，并接手了海史密斯和威廉姆斯本赛季剩余的1180万美元薪金，从而让这笔交易对布鲁克林来说基本实现现金中性。海史密斯和威廉姆斯的合同在本赛季之后都没有保障，这意味着国王可以轻松地将库明加的全额薪水填入之前为德罗赞预留的薪金空位中。
他们应该想要库明加吗？如果价格这么低，我至少能理解他们愿意冒这个险。我不是他球风的铁杆粉丝，但他比卡特更高大、臂展更长，并且作为一名得分手有着更成功的履历。他展现了冲击篮筐的侵略性，如果他能弄明白如何通过训练让自己的跳投更稳定，从而让防守者更加失衡，那么他的上限会更高。但考虑到库明加在得分之外所表现出的不佳的比赛感觉，这可能是我愿意为他冒险付出的最高代价了。
交易方案四：步行者得到一名中锋
• 印第安纳步行者获得：丹尼尔·加福德 (Daniel Gafford)
• 达拉斯独行侠获得：本尼迪克特·马图林 (Bennedict Mathurin)
为何这笔交易对各方都有利： 步行者在自由市场失去了迈尔斯·特纳 (Myles Turner)，至今仍未找到长期的中锋人选。而独行侠前场拥有多名大个子，需要另一位能自主创造投篮机会的外线球员，以减轻新秀库珀·弗拉格 (Cooper Flagg) 的负担。这笔交易对大家都有帮助。
独行侠阵中仍有安东尼·戴维斯 (Anthony Davis)，并且只要德雷克·莱夫利二世 (Dereck Lively II) 能从右脚伤势中健康回归，他们就拥有了未来的长期中锋。加福德作为戴维斯交易的保险，或者在莱夫利的伤病影响其职业生涯的情况下，留队会很有用。但他在下赛季开始前就将年满28岁，与弗拉格和莱夫利的成长时间线不太吻合。马图林至少在年龄上（23岁）更符合这条时间线，并且他是一位有天赋的得分手，即使他比赛的其他方面仍有待提高。在泰瑞斯·哈利伯顿 (Tyrese Haliburton) 跟腱撕裂缺阵的情况下，进入合同年的他本赛季未能如期实现飞跃，但他仍然是一位场均能得18分的得分手，能够突破至篮下、博取罚球并命中三分。这位2022年的6号秀表现依然起伏不定，这一点我们在去年的季后赛中看得非常清楚，但他爆发时的表现依然令人垂涎。
对于步行者来说，加福德是一位出色的、擅长打快节奏的大个子，他能轻松地全场飞奔并完成空接暴扣，非常适合他们的体系。他已在达拉斯证明了自己能与像卢卡·东契奇 (Luka Dončić) 这样出色的持球挡拆组织者合作，我期待他与哈利伯顿也能产生类似的效果。完成这笔交易后，印第安纳的薪资总额仍将比奢侈税线低约50万美元，这似乎是他们去年放走特纳时的一个重要考量。但更重要的是，这将使球队在中锋位置上实现成本控制，并通过将本可用于马图林的资金投入到中锋身上，来重塑薪金结构。步行者下赛季在签下13名球员的情况下，距离税线还有约1650万美元。加福德将使球队人数达到14人，在加上他们即将到来的、很可能是前五顺位的新秀合同后，薪资总额将刚好达到税线附近。这意味着他们只需要在赛季开始前交易掉贾雷斯·沃克 (Jarace Walker) 和以赛亚·杰克逊 (Isaiah Jackson)，就能将薪资降到税线以下，同时保留住让他们打入2025年总决赛的大部分深度阵容，包括T.J.·麦康奈尔 (T.J. McConnell) 和奥比·托平 (Obi Toppin)。加福德还将在未来三年以一份相当合理的5400万美元合同被锁定，使他们能以可控的成本拥有一名优秀球员。
或许参与交易的两支球队都认为，无论是在交易截止日还是在休赛期，他们都能用各自的这些资产换来更好的回报。但一笔老派的、公平的篮球交易又有什么不好呢？
由生成式人工智能翻译，译文内容可能不准确或不完整，以原文为准。
点击查看原文：Michael Porter Jr. to Warriors and more NBA trades I'd love to see
Michael Porter Jr. to Warriors and more NBA trades I’d love to see
We’ve had one big trade involving a former All-Star already this month, but beyond Trae Young, the deadline market has been relatively quiet. That should change in the coming weeks.
Every year, I’m asked to come up with a few realistic trades that I’d like to see happen at the deadline. In a market where a few stars could potentially be on the move, I decided to come up with three that I think could, in some way, impact the 2026 NBA Finals race, as well as one fun pure basketball trade that would be interesting between two teams that are on the outside of the playoff picture.
These aren’t necessarily deals that have been rumored or that I think have a chance to occur. Rather, they’re just deals that I think would be fun to see happen. (Shout out to Keith Smith and folks over at Spotrac for their trade machine, which always helps to confirm that deals are valid according to the collective bargaining agreement.)
Trade No. 1: Pistons get secondary ballhandler
• Detroit Pistons acquire: Coby White
• Chicago Bulls acquire: Detroit’s 2026 first-round pick, two future second-round picks
**Why the Pistons make this move:**Detroit still hasn’t figured out the best option for a secondary ballhandler next to Cade Cunningham. Jaden Ivey doesn’t look like he’s 100 percent following his broken leg last year. Even if the team is still invested in him long-term, he probably can’t be trusted at this stage in his recovery for a big playoff series. Additionally, the Caris LeVert signing hasn’t gone smoothly. He’s averaging just eight points per game in 20 minutes per night, with a true-shooting percentage that is 5 percent below league average. The offense tends to be worse when he’s on the court, both with and without Cunningham. And while two-way guard Daniss Jenkins has shown great flashes, the Pistons shouldn’t feel great about him as an option, either.
Detroit also has a $14.1 million trade exception from a sign-and-trade it executed last summer for Dennis Schröder, giving it some options to get a player who could help. The Pistons can feel at ease using the entirety of that exception, as they’re about $18 million away from the luxury-tax line. President of basketball operations Trajan Langdon also has his full complement of first-round picks available to trade for the first time since he’s been in charge, as well as a large cache of second-round picks.
That’s where White would come in. An unrestricted free agent at the end of the year, White could become a serious option for the Pistons both in the short- and long-term. Last year, the team acquired Schröder late in the year to be that secondary ballhandler, and he thrived. White would bring many of the same traits as an explosive scorer who can get paint touches and is also very comfortable firing from 3. He’d also bring an added shooting dimension for a Pistons team that is 27th in 3-point attempt rate this season and could use another floor-spacer next to their superstar guard.
One point that could be made against this acquisition would be that White has dealt with three separate calf injuries this season that have brought him in and out of the lineup. But if White can get right, he represents the best cost-efficient scoring guard option on the market for a team that holds the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. And if he played well, White could give Detroit insurance if it’s not comfortable paying Ivey in restricted free agency.
**Why the Bulls make this move:**The feeling around the NBA is that trying to predict what the Bulls will do at the deadline is a fool’s errand. The organization has been unpredictable under president of basketball operations Artūras Karnišovas. However, it would make sense for Chicago to cash in on a few of its unrestricted free agents this summer to bring in draft capital. The team is 18-20 and isn’t going anywhere this year. A traditional selloff of assets would better position the organization long-term to build around Josh Giddey and Matas Buzelis.
In this deal, they’d get a pick that will likely be slated in the ballpark of No. 25 to 27, along with a couple of second-rounders. The Bulls would lose White’s Bird rights this summer by making this move, but as a team that is projected to have a large amount of cap space, it wouldn’t make much of a difference to either keep White’s $24.5 million cap hold on the books or simply sign him back via free agency.
Given that White is essentially a two- to four-month rental and his calf injuries, I’m not sure the Bulls should expect much better in return than a late first-round pick.
Trade No. 2: Knicks add big bench wing
• San Antonio Spurs receive: Guerschon Yabusele, Pacôme Dadiet, future second-round pick
• New York Knicks receive: Jeremy Sochan, draft rights to Adam Hanga
Why the Knicks make this move: New York could use one more bigger body at forward who can actually play minutes. Unfortunately, Yabusele has proven unable to do that this season. He has only played 316 minutes after being the team’s big offseason signing in its taxpayer midlevel exception slot, and he looks like a poor fit for what the Knicks need from their four when either Mitchell Robinson or Karl-Anthony Towns are off the court. Opposing teams have taken advantage of his lack of mobility, with the Robinson-Yabusele minutes particularly hemorrhaging points. The Knicks lose their minutes by 15 points per 100 when Yabusele is on the court with Robinson and by eight points per 100 when he’s out there with OG Anunoby, the team’s other option in the frontcourt.
Sochan fills gaps for New York. The things that the Knicks lack the most off the bench right now are size, athleticism and defensive play. Their best bench players are the two of Miles McBride, Josh Hart and Robinson who don’t start, Landry Shamet, Jordan Clarkson and Tyler Kolek. That isn’t much size beyond Robinson. Sochan is certainly limited offensively because he can’t shoot, but he’s a 6-foot-8 athlete with real length who has proved that he can take on tough defensive assignments. He would give the Knicks another option if the semi-injury-prone Anunoby missed time and would also give the Knicks another big body to throw at opposing players in the playoffs across the positional spectrum, hopefully alleviating wear-and-tear over the course of a two-month playoff endeavor. Sochan has experience defending bigger initiators like Cunningham as well as bigger scoring wings and is also a sharp cutter on offense who has a strong sense of how to play off bigs who can pass and space the court.
The Knicks don’t have a ton of options at the deadline because they lack tradable assets they can afford to deal. They can’t move any of their own draft picks because of the Stepien rule following the Mikal Bridges deal. They have a top-eight protected 2026 Washington Wizards first-rounder that becomes two second-rounders if the Wizards keep the pick this year. But while I’m sure that the Wizards are going to do everything they can to end up in that range to keep their pick, I would probably hold onto that asset in case other teams out-tank them. Perhaps the lottery gods will look kindly upon the Knicks and they’ll fall backward into a top-10 pick in a loaded 2026 draft. In other words, it’s going to be hard for New York to make a big swing. Sochan might be the best option.
Sochan could actually increase the Knicks’ optionality this summer. He’s a restricted free agent, and New York could end up over the second apron if it retained Robinson in free agency. If the Knicks went over the second apron, they wouldn’t have access to their taxpayer midlevel exception and could only give out minimum contracts. Sochan likely won’t end up on a minimum deal next summer, giving them a bit of a potential cap arbitrage opportunity by buying now for a player who could keep improving. On top of it, Knicks’ cap guru Brock Aller gets to add another set of draft rights to his collection. It’s not a home-run deal, but it plugs a hole for an NBA Finals contender.
**Why the Spurs make this move:**It feels like it’s going to be difficult for the Spurs to retain Sochan long-term, both because of their available roster spots on the wing and their cap situation. Stephon Castle, Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson are certainly ahead of him on the depth chart, and Julian Champagnie has surpassed him on the wing with his shooting ability from the wing. The team also drafted Dylan Harper and Carter Bryant last season, players who might eat up time at the two through four spots. Particularly, Bryant seems like a replacement for Sochan’s defensive capabilities, with potential to shoot it. That’s six guys ahead of Sochan in the pecking order, with quite a few of those players either already making real money or slated to get expensive down the road.
In terms of price point, I’m cognizant that this isn’t a lot. But I’m not sure there will be a robust market for Sochan, either, unless San Antonio attaches a first-rounder to his contract to swing for a more established player. His offensive game just hasn’t grown enough over his three and a half years in the league for him to be considered anything beyond just taking a flier. Indeed, that’s what this price point is.
Yabusele plays with Victor Wembanyama on the French national team, and the Spurs were thought to be considering a deal for him last summer before he signed with the Knicks. And while Yabusele hasn’t played well this year, maybe a reunion with Wembanyama would change that. Taking a flyer on Dadiet would be the appeal of this deal, though, beyond the second-round pick. Dadiet was a major project entering the NBA as a French player plying his trade in Germany. He hasn’t even really put up G League numbers that are all that impressive. But maybe the Spurs’ player development system can unlock something with him in the next 10 months before the team would need to make a choice on his fourth-year option. He’s still only 20 and can score, even if he doesn’t have the shine of a past first-round pick.
Essentially, the Spurs would at least get something of value for a player in Sochan who no longer feels required.
Trade No. 3: Warriors go for one last ride
• Golden State Warriors receive Michael Porter Jr.• Brooklyn Nets receive: DeMar DeRozan, Moses Moody, Buddy Hield, Devin Carter, Warriors’ 2026 first-round pick, 2028 first-round pick swap with Warriors• Sacramento Kings receive: Jonathan Kuminga, Haywood Highsmith, Ziaire Williams
**Why the Warriors make this move:**This is their all-in move for one last ride with Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Steve Kerr. Porter has been All-Star quality this season, a monster scoring threat averaging 25.9 points, 7.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists while shooting 49 percent from the field, 39.7 percent from 3 and 83.3 percent from the line entering Monday night. No one around the league really believes that Porter could be the primary scoring threat like he is for the Nets on a team with real playoff aspirations, but he has silenced a lot of questions regarding what his output would be away from the Denver Nuggets and Nikola Jokić. It’s hard to find a better fit for Golden State than Porter, too. We know that he can be an integral part of a title team, and his skill set is exactly what the team needs between Jimmy Butler and Green as a real shooter who can also occasionally create his own shot. He’s also played with a creative passer within a movement/cutting-based system before in Denver with Jokić, meaning there might be a bit less of an adjustment here for him.
As far as price point? It’s rightfully expensive. The Kings get involved as a third team and take back Kuminga, and the Nets land DeRozan, Moody, Hield, Carter, a 2026 Warriors first-round pick that will likely land in the 20-to-25 range and an unprotected 2028 Warriors pick swap. The pick swap could be the real value add there, as Curry, Green and Butler’s contracts all expire in 2027. Given that, I would think the Warriors would want to, on some level, mitigate potential value loss there by receiving the Nets’ pick that year in return. But Golden State has to give something serious if it expects the Nets to move Porter. That might be just enough of an enticement to do it along, with Moody and this year’s late first-rounder.
If the Warriors want to make this one last push, Porter is the perfect player to chase and makes the most sense of any player on the market from a scheme, talent and fit perspective.
Why the Nets make this move: I think the Nets should look at retaining Porter and extending him this offseason at the right price. But there are good reasons to move Porter at the deadline and cash in at the top of his value. Namely, Porter’s injury history is quite real; he was medically flagged at the NBA Draft Combine back in 2018, which led to his fall toward the end of the lottery. If Brooklyn wants to mitigate the risk on Porter, this would be the time to cash in.
Indeed, the 2026 first-rounder and 2028 pick swap with the Warriors would be pretty interesting assets to get back, given Golden State’s timeline. Even if Curry, Green, Butler and Porter all re-sign for another year in 2028, you would think there would be seriously diminishing returns two years from now when all their core guys outside of Porter would be in their late-30s. The next-most valuable asset here is Moody, who has turned into a solid 3-and-D player at 6-foot-6 with a 7-foot wingspan. The Nets could use a guy like this for the next few years as they build out the rest of their roster. Moody makes sense next to a wide variety of players and is an established rotation player whose presence could help develop younger guys that Brooklyn already has and continues to bring in. Carter is also a lottery pick who’s terrific on the defensive end but whose jumper has been very messy since he injured his shoulder before the 2024 draft. He’d be a pure lottery ticket instead of taking the expensive Kuminga back.
DeRozan has a $10 million guarantee next season that won’t really dent the Nets’ cap space if they shed Porter’s money, and Hield has a rare contract that only has $3 million guaranteed next year but has essentially a mutual option on the 2027-28 season. All in, the Nets would only add about $250,000 to their cap sheet this year and actually end up saving a bit more money on next year’s sheet, assuming that they let go of Hield and DeRozan and open up even more flexibility.
**Why the Kings do this:**They’ve been connected with Kuminga for quite a while, and here, they get to take a swing on him at a low price. To do so, they send out the DeRozan deal (something they seemingly want to do pre-deadline anyway) and Carter and take back the $11.8 million cap hit owed to Highsmith and Williams for the rest of the year to make the deal relatively cash-neutral for Brooklyn. Neither Highsmith nor Williams is guaranteed any money beyond this year, meaning the Kings could easily fit Kuminga’s full salary into the fold right into the slot they had for DeRozan.
Should they want Kuminga? If the price point is this low, I at least understand taking the chance. I’m not a massive fan of his game, but he’s bigger and longer than Carter and has more of a track record of success as a scorer. He has shown the ability to play with downhill force, which gives him a bit more upside if he can ever figure out the work he needs to do on his jumper to make it more consistent and thus get defenders even more off-balance. But given the poor feel for the game that Kuminga has shown outside of scoring, this is probably the most I would want to pay to take a chance on him.
Trade No. 4: Pacers get a center
• Indiana Pacers receive: Daniel Gafford
• Dallas Mavericks receive: Bennedict Mathurin
Why this makes sense across the board: The Pacers lost Myles Turner in free agency and still have yet to fill the center position long-term. The Mavericks have several bigs in the frontcourt and could use another perimeter player who can create his own shot to help ease the burden on rookie Cooper Flagg. This deal helps everyone.
The Mavericks still have Anthony Davis on the roster and have their long-term center of the future in Dereck Lively II, as long as he returns healthy from his right foot injury. Gafford would be useful to have around as insurance for a Davis deal or if Lively’s injury ends up impacting his career. But he’s also going to be 28 before the start of next year and isn’t quite on the same timeline as Flagg and Lively. Mathurin at least fits that age timeline a bit better at 23 and is a talented shot-maker, even if the other aspects of his game leave something to be desired. He didn’t quite take the leap that he hoped for this season, entering a contract year with Tyrese Haliburton out with an Achilles tear, but he’s still an 18-point-per-game scorer who can slash to the rim, get to the foul line and knock down 3s. The 2022 No. 6 pick still has his ups and downs, something we saw extensively in the playoffs last year, but the ups remain tantalizing.
For the Pacers, Gafford is a great uptempo big man who would fit well within their system as a player who runs the court with ease and can rise for lobs. He proved that he can work in tandem with a terrific ball-screen playmaker in Dallas with Luka Dončić, and I would expect a similar result with Haliburton. Indiana would still be about $500,000 below the luxury-tax line with this deal, something that was seemingly important when it let Turner walk last year. But more importantly, this would give the team cost control at the center position and reshape the cap sheet while utilizing money that could be earmarked for Mathurin on a center. The Pacers are about $16.5 million under the tax line for next year with 13 players signed. Gafford would make it 14 and would put them right about at the tax line before their commitment to the likely top-five pick they have incoming. That would mean all they’d have to do is trade away Jarace Walker and Isaiah Jackson to get under the tax heading into the year while maintaining much of the depth that saw them make the 2025 finals, including T.J. McConnell and Obi Toppin. Gafford would also be locked in for the next three years at a fairly reasonable $54 million, giving them cost control on a good player.
Maybe the two teams involved here think they could do better for these respective assets either at the deadline or in the offseason. But what’s wrong with just an old-fashioned fair basketball swap?
By Sam Vecenie, via The Athletic