Jan. 19, 2026, 12:36 p.m. ET
With just weeks remaining until the 2025-26 NBA trade deadline, the scuttle is starting to heat up even more, though it remains to be seen which star, if any, will get traded in the coming days.
Knowing the NBA, however, it remains best to expect the unexpected – after all, who could have predicted Trae Young getting traded to the Washington Wizards with so much time until the deadline? – so we remain locked into what the laters rumors have to say.
Below, check out the five players who have appeared most often in trade rumors over the past week.
Super agent Rich Paul caused a storm last week when he went on a podcast and said if he were running the Los Angeles Lakers, he’d try to trade for Memphis star big man Jaren Jackson Jr. for a package that includes Austin Reaves. Here was his logic:
“If I was the Lakers I would be targeting the Memphis Grizzlies as a trade partner for Jaren Jackson… If you’re building around Luka you need that anchor. Jaren doesn’t want to be apart of a rebuild… if you’re able to trade out expirings and trade the last 1st you got or you can withhold and give up less but this comes with a more unemotional attachment because Austin is beloved. There’s a world you can do what’s best for your team, and what’s best for Austin. Austin deserves to get paid… Memphis would definitely pay Austin. He would become their leading scorer and PG”
Yahoo! Sports reported prior to that that Jackson Jr. could be the next domino to fall if the No. 1 player on this list does get traded, a thought that is shared by “rival executives”.
Meanwhile, according to our own Michael Scotto, the Detroit Pistons and Boston Celtics have registered interest in the former Michigan State Spartan. He also stated that if Jackson Jr.’s embattled teammate does get traded, that could lead to teams getting more aggressive in calling about a Jackson Jr. trade.
That may be all for naught, though, as ESPN’s Tim MacMahon reported that Jackson Jr. doesn’t want out of Memphis; he just wants to know what the team’s long-term plan is.
For the latest Jaren Jackson Jr. trade rumors, click here.
4. Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee)
According to reports this week, teams are holding out on flipping assets for some of the players on the rest of this list in order to save them in case former league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo does end up asking out of Milwaukee.
Marc Stein reported just that in relation to Antetokounmpo and Miami, stating that the Heat wouldn’t want to make a move for the No. 1 player in this ranking if it meant “jeopardizing” a deal for Antetokounmpo, while Zach Lowe reported similarly on Atlanta, Golden State, the Lakers and the Knicks, as well as Miami.
Meanwhile, ESPN said that Milwaukee has been aggressive on the trade market in hopes of landing help for Antetokounmpo and the Bucks, likely in hopes of convincing him to remain with the team long-term. Brian Windhorst himself reported that there are moves around the NBA being put on hold because teams aren’t sure if Antetokounmpo will even be with the Bucks next year.
A particularly interesting nugget from ESPN last week stated that Antetokounmpo would have to put a lot of pressure on the situation to force his way out of Milwaukee, something that the former Finals MVP is disinclined to do because he values his “standing” in Milwaukee and doesn’t want to “alienate the fan base” by asking out. The same report stated that the Bucks have held firm in Antetokounmpo not being available for trade to inquiring teams, and that they’re still perusing around the NBA to find an “impact player” to help improve the team around the Greek Freak.
The New York Times mentioned Miami, Minnesota and Toronto as teams that might have been interested in the top player in this ranking, but the prospect of trading for Antetokounmpo outweighs that interest. The same report stated that Miami is often mentioned as a place in which Antetokounmpo would be “amenable” to landing.
And our own Scotto stated that the Heat might prefer to keep promising young big man Kel’el Ware this trade deadline in case Antetokounmpo does ask out.
Milwaukee enters Monday night sitting 11th in the East, with a 17-24 record and losers of three straight, all games in which Antetokounmpo has suited up. The last two defeats, 119-101 to San Antonio and 139-106 to Milwaukee, were particularly ugly, and will only heighten the pressure around the Antetokounmpo situation.
For the latest Giannis Antetokounmpo trade rumors, click here.
Star big man Anthony Davis has seen his trade market tank due to his most recent injury, a hand issue that could keep him out past the trade deadline. As such, teams that may have once been interested in the 2020 NBA champion have seemingly withdrawn said interest.
One such team is the Golden State Warriors. Although the injury wasn’t brought up in the report, ESPN said last week that a Golden State deal for Davis is “off the board” right now. ESPN’s Anthony Slater did mention the injury as part of a reason why the Warriors may no longer want to pull off a Davis trade, simply because it wouldn’t make sense to trade a franchise stalwart like Draymond Green for a player like Davis, who may or may not be back come playoff time. Slater said that he senses “zero appetite” from the Warriors to trade for Davis.
Our own Scotto reported that Davis is now expected to remain in Dallas past the trade deadline due to his injury, unless the Mavericks decide to salary dump him, which seems unlikely. According to Scotto, even the Hawks, who were reported to have an interest in Davis, are now hesitant due to the injury.
ESPN talked to executives around the NBA to discuss Davis’ trade prospect, and one of them said that Dallas’ best path forward might be to delay a Davis trade until the offseason:
Although the biggest allure in trading for Davis, per multiple rival executives, is the potential to have him for the playoffs, several other sources tell ESPN they believe the best course of action for Dallas would be to wait until the summer. “This should allow them to sit back and be patient and see what happens,” one Eastern Conference executive said. Part of the reason a Davis trade has generated so much discussion is the fact the Mavericks are currently slated to be nearly a $400 million team in combined payroll and luxury taxes in the 2026-27 season — a figure no one around the league expects them to pay.
Shams Charania also said on ESPN that Davis’ trade value had dropped from even one month ago due to his injury. However, Charania also stated that Toronto and Atlanta were still discussing a Davis trade with Dallas even after the hand issue came up.
Meanwhile, Stein also reported that Toronto has maintained trade interest in Davis, and that Raptors players to watch for in a potential Davis deal were Immanuel Quickley, Jakob Poeltl or RJ Barrett. Stein also reported that the former No. 1 pick wouldn’t mind staying in Dallas past the trade deadline.
For the latest Anthony Davis trade rumors, click here.
2. Jonathan Kuminga (Golden State)
Although a lot has been made about the prospects of a Jonathan Kuminga trade, the most recent reporting on the matter, courtesy of The New York Times, stated that the Warriors won’t do a Kuminga trade just for the sake of getting rid of him, and that the Warriors will hold onto the former Top 10 draft pick past the deadline if they continue to only get low-ball offers.
That came after Charania reported that Kuminga had demanded a trade out of Golden State on the first day that league rules made it possible for the Warriors to trade him:
On the first day he becomes eligible to be moved, fifth-year forward Jonathan Kuminga has demanded a trade away from the Golden State Warriors, league sources tell ESPN. Because of the contract he signed this summer, Kuminga couldn’t be traded until Jan. 15. The trade deadline is Feb. 5. The situation has deteriorated into this inactive state, where team sources have said that essentially every major figure on the ground level of the operation — most notably Kuminga, Kerr and the veterans watching a $22.5 million player rot on the bench while they’re stuck in a “mediocre” state, as Jimmy Butler called it — agree that the cleanest resolution for all involved is a trade prior to the deadline.
Charania would continue to report that Kuminga felt “forced” to sign a deal with the Warriors this past offseason, and that the Kings and Mavericks are teams who might be interested in the 23-year-old.
Scotto, meanwhile, reported that the Kings, who have consistently been named the team to watch in the Kuminga saga, no longer want to include a first-round pick in exchange for Kuminga. Making matters even trickier, the Warriors aren’t interested in taking back veteran guard Malik Monk in a trade for their own forward, making the prospect of a Kuminga-to-Sacramento deal look even trickier.
Scotto also reported two other teams that might have an interest in Kuminga, with those organizations being the Dallas Mavericks and Portland Trail Blazers.
Warriors superstar Steph Curry was asked about the Kuminga trade saga, and had the following to say on the matter:
Another team that came up as a potential surprise suitor for Kuminga is an in-state rival, the Los Angeles Lakers, with Lakers shot-caller Rob Pelinka reportedly being interested in the forward thanks to his athleticism and potential fit alongside the athletically-challenged Luka Doncic. That was according to a report from NBC Sports Bay Area. The New York Times was actually first to report on potential Lakers’ interest in Kuminga, though no one can say definitively how likely it is that the two proud franchises will make a deal with each other in-season.
For the latest Jonathan Kuminga trade rumors, click here.
It should come as no surprise who finished in first place yet again this week, and that’s Memphis Grizzlies star lead guard Ja Morant, who recently talked to the media and discussed all of the trade rumors surrounding him. After Stein directly asked Morant how he wanted the trade saga to turn out, Morant told everyone that he’s a loyal guy, even having the Grizzlies logo tattooed on his back, and that that should be enough to tell people where he wants to be.
Morant returned from a nearly three-week injury-related absence and looked like his old self, dropping 24 points, five rebounds and 13 assists on tidy seven-of-13 shooting.
Even so, the trade scuttle around Morant is likely to persist. Stein recently reported that the Grizzlies are looking to receive a first-round pick and a younger player in return for the former Murray State standout, which kind of lowers the prospects of him getting traded, as most teams aren’t going to want to give up that much for the somewhat enigmatic floor general. Stein would continue on to say that Miami, a rumored interested party for Morant, would likely rather steal him in a deal and send back an expiring contract, rather than anything of major value.
The New York Times, meanwhile, reported that the Kings, who have also been discussed as a potential Morant landing spot, would likewise only do a deal for the former All-Star if it meant giving up no draft capital. The same article mentioned that Sacramento doesn’t see Morant as a good fit for its timeline as a team, since the Kings don’t appear all that close to competing for much.
Another report from The New York Times stated that at least two Morant teammates, as well as other NBA players, were told by Morant that he wouldn’t play for Memphis anymore, though that was already proven wrong on Sunday.
According to our own Scotto, Miami, Milwaukee, Sacramento, Toronto and, surprisingly, New Orleans, have registered interest in Morant, and that Morant’s preference would be to end up in Miami. The same report said that Memphis wanted a first-round pick and talented young guard Ryan Rollins from Milwaukee for Morant.
And finally, ESPN last week tempered the Morant-to-Miami talks, stating that the Heat would rather save cap space for the summer of 2028:
Last week’s news that Memphis is entertaining a Morant trade sparked leaguewide reaction similar to when the Hawks opened Trae Young negotiations earlier this month. As with Young, the interest in Morant is tepid. The Miami Heat, in particular, have been overstated as a potential destination, sources said. The Heat have been laser focused on avoiding taking on money for the 2027-28 offseason — a season when, as of right now, Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic and Donovan Mitchell, among others, could all be unrestricted free agents. It’s highly unlikely the Heat would deviate from that plan to go after Morant, sources said.
There’s a whole lot more going on on the Morant trade front, which you can read all about using the link below. For now, keep checking HoopsHype, as whether it’s Morant or another star, we’re likely to see more action ahead of the 2025-26 NBA trade deadline.
For the latest Ja Morant trade rumors, click here.