{"id":557408,"date":"2026-01-24T09:08:37","date_gmt":"2026-01-24T09:08:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/557408\/"},"modified":"2026-01-24T09:08:37","modified_gmt":"2026-01-24T09:08:37","slug":"nba-rumors-trade-deadline-bridges-mavs-luka-lakers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/557408\/","title":{"rendered":"NBA Rumors: Trade Deadline, Bridges, Mavs, Luka, Lakers"},"content":{"rendered":"

While the grand majority of in-season trades occur during the week of the deadline, this season has been unusually slow as far as deal-making goes. For instance, at this time last year, we had already seen five in-season trades<\/a> \u2014 to this point in 2025\/26, we\u2019ve only had one<\/a>. So why haven\u2019t we seen more action?<\/p>\n

ESPN\u2019s Bobby Marks<\/a> recently spoke to NBA front office executives to get a better understanding of the answer to that question. There are four main reasons for the relative lack of activity to this point, Marks writes.<\/p>\n

The first and most important factor holding up the market, per Marks, is that rival teams<\/a> are waiting to see<\/a> if Giannis Antetokounmpo<\/a> requests a trade or if the Bucks decide to listen to offers for the two-time MVP.<\/p>\n

Second, a few teams who were viewed as potential deadline sellers entering the season \u2014 including the Celtics, Sixers and Suns \u2014 are instead vying for homecourt advantage in the postseason. As Marks observes, Philadelphia made multiple deals last year to dip below the luxury tax line, but that\u2019s unlikely to occur again in \u201925\/26.<\/p>\n

Third, the Mavericks and Grizzlies will likely get underwhelming offers for Anthony Davis<\/a> and Ja Morant<\/a>, respectively, leading up to the deadline with their values at low points, so they may not be moved prior to February 5. Davis is out several weeks due to ligament damage in his left hand, while Morant, who has missed extended time this season with calf issues, has been diagnosed with a UCL sprain in his left elbow and was ruled out of Friday\u2019s loss at New Orleans (Twitter link<\/a> via the Grizzlies).<\/p>\n

The final factor for the slow-moving market, according to Marks, is that teams seem more willing to retain their own expiring contracts to maintain financial flexibility in the summer rather than take on multiyear salaries that could disrupt future plans. Multiple teams, including the Lakers, Bulls and Jazz, have long lists of players<\/a> who could hit free agency<\/a> in 2026, Marks notes.<\/p>\n

Here are a few more rumors from around the NBA:<\/p>\n

Confirming a report<\/a> from Sam Amick of The Athletic, John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 says the Suns are indeed fans of Miles Bridges<\/a>. However, the Hornets reportedly want at least one first-round pick for the veteran forward, and Gambadoro points out that Phoenix lacks moveable first-rounders to include in such a deal. Gambadoro also confirms the Suns are reluctant<\/a> to risk upsetting their positive chemistry by making a significant in-season move, and suggests a minor trade is more likely.
\nAhead of Luka Doncic<\/a>\u2018s second game in Dallas since he was shockingly traded to Los Angeles last February, Christian Clark and Dan Woike of The Athletic<\/a> share several sourced notes on both the Mavericks and the Lakers. According to the authors, part of the reason the Mavs \u2014 led at the time by head of basketball operations Nico Harrison, who has since been dismissed \u2014 moved Doncic is because they believed he had poor habits related to conditioning and were concerned about the calf strain he sustained in late December 2024 and possible future injuries. One source in the Mavericks\u2019 organization compared Doncic to Elvis Presley and claimed the trade helped him develop better habits and get in better shape. \u201cThey (fans) got skinny Elvis,\u201d the team source told The Athletic.
\nPeople close to Doncic dispute that characterization, however, and say that line of thinking is a factor in why the Slovenian star is no longer on the Mavericks. According to Clark and Woike, Doncic\u2019s camp believed whether he was traded or not, he \u201cwas on a path to improving his diet and conditioning as he matured.\u201d Doncic and those around him have been focused on the present and future and not the past, per the report.
\nIt took multiple seasons for the Mavericks to surround Doncic with sort of complementary players that led to a trip to the NBA Finals in 2024, and it will take time for the Lakers to reshape their roster around the 26-year-old guard as well, sources in L.A. tell The Athletic. Those same sources noted that the Lakers need to upgrade their athleticism, defense and shooting, and some people around the organization think the any significant roster changes will occur in the offseason, not ahead of the deadline.
\nThe Mavericks have started the process of vetting candidates to replace Harrison on a permanent basis, per Clark and Woike, but are unlikely to hire anyone until at least the spring. The Athletic\u2019s duo point out that Harrison, a longtime Nike executive, had no previous experience running an NBA team when he was hired in 2021. That won\u2019t be the case for his replacement. \u201c(They) are going to over-index on the safety aspect of it,\u201d a league source told The Athletic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"While the grand majority of in-season trades occur during the week of the deadline, this season has been…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3],"tags":[495,7,2573,123,35801,178,368,10510,6,591],"class_list":["post-557408","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-nba","tag-anthony-davis","tag-basketball","tag-bobby-marks","tag-giannis-antetokounmpo","tag-ian-clark","tag-ja-morant","tag-luka-doncic","tag-miles-bridges","tag-nba","tag-nico-harrison"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/115949293063764201","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/557408","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=557408"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/557408\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=557408"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=557408"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=557408"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}