ended the Jonathan Kuminga saga<\/a>, swapping him for Kristaps Porzi\u0146\u0123is, who would help if he could stay on the court. If it ever materialized, Porzingis and Stephen Curry running pick-and-rolls together 35 feet away from the basket would be devastating.<\/p>\nThe Lakers turned a second-round pick and Gabe Vincent, a bench shooter and ballhandler, into Luke Kennard, a superior bench shooter and ballhandler. This was about the biggest move they could make, given their long-term goals. Los Angeles can create massive cap room this summer, when LeBron James\u2019 contract expires.<\/p>\n
In dire need of shooting, the Trail Blazers swiped Vit Krej\u010d\u00ed, a 3-point maestro on a bargain contract, away from the Atlanta Hawks for a couple of second-rounders.<\/p>\n
Content Contenders<\/p>\n
Denver Nuggets
Detroit Pistons
Houston Rockets
San Antonio Spurs<\/p>\n
Four teams at the top of the standings did little or nothing.<\/p>\n
The Nuggets dipped below the luxury tax, dumping Hunter Tyson to the Brooklyn Nets. Neither the Rockets nor the Spurs made moves inside the hyper-competitive West, though for different reasons.<\/p>\n
Rockets general manager Rafael Stone said Thursday that the team\u2019s injuries, which include season-ending ones to veterans Fred VanVleet and Steven Adams, played into their decision to stand pat. The Spurs are young, second in the West and want to see this group in the pressure cooker.<\/p>\n
The Pistons, who sit atop the East, could say the same. Detroit made one move Thursday, but one could argue it offloaded more talent than it acquired, sending 2022 No. 5 pick Jaden Ivey to the Bulls in a deal that landed Kevin Huerter, a veteran shooter in the midst of a disappointing season and the ability to move up a few spots in the upcoming NBA draft.<\/p>\n
Maybe Huerter finds his jumper again in Detroit, another squad on the prowl for 3-point help. But it\u2019s also possible the best piece the Pistons earned in this trade is the draft pick, a rare type of move for a first-place team to make in February and a luxury for a young team that\u2019s far ahead in its timeline.<\/p>\n
Silence<\/p>\n
Miami Heat
Milwaukee Bucks
New Orleans Pelicans<\/p>\n
The Heat\u2019s silence was loud. They didn\u2019t trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo. They didn\u2019t trade for Morant. They didn\u2019t trade for anyone. Miami has to be careful, lest it disturb its plans for cap room in 2027 or hopes to trade for a megastar before then.<\/p>\n
The Bucks, in case you hadn\u2019t heard, did not trade Antetokounmpo, who is still out with a right calf injury. Now, they will sink in the standings, hoping to land a high draft pick, which won\u2019t be as easy as it sounds. First, the best of Milwaukee\u2019s and the New Orleans Pelicans\u2019 first-rounder will go to the Hawks. The Bucks received the worst of the two selections. And second, Milwaukee is far from the only team with an incentive to tank.<\/p>\n
The Pelicans have zero motivation to bottom out, even if they are tied for the most losses in the NBA. They traded away their 2026 first-round pick last summer and made only the Alvarado deal leading into the deadline. All of their major players \u2014 and in some cases, their major salaries \u2014 remain on the books into next season.<\/p>\n
The Tax Duckers<\/p>\n
Boston Celtics
Orlando Magic
Philadelphia 76ers
Phoenix Suns
Toronto Raptors<\/p>\n
The Celtics just pulled off one of the most artful luxury-tax dodges in recent history. Over the summer, they were above the second apron. Now, after a flurry of moves \u2014 three separate salary dumps (Josh Minott, Xavier Tillman and Chris Boucher) along with an Anfernee Simons-for-Nikola Vu\u010devi\u0107 swap \u2014 they are in a strong financial place.<\/p>\n
The question will be if they try to stay below the tax next season, too. Doing so would fend off the repeater tax, which becomes untenable in the long term.<\/p>\n
Boston did it all while addressing an on-court need. Vu\u010devi\u0107 may have his flaws, but the second-place Celtics were aching for a center, and now they have a veteran 7-footer in the fold.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/nikola-scaled.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
\n The Celtics saved money while also adding a much-needed big man in former Bulls center Nikola Vu\u010devi\u0107. (Matt Marton \/ Imagn Images)<\/p>\n
The disheartening Magic dumped backup guard Tyus Jones to fall below the tax. Orlando has serious financial concerns moving forward with big contracts for Bane, Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs. And it hasn\u2019t been successful enough to justify the expense. If the Magic finish around where they are now, in the range of the Play-In Tournament, they are a team to watch this offseason.<\/p>\n
The 76ers offloaded McCain, who couldn\u2019t find a comfort zone on a competitive team overflowing with fellow young guards. They received a kiss from the luxury-tax gods when the NBA recently suspended Paul George for testing positive for a banned substance. George\u2019s 25-game, unpaid absence shaved nearly $6 million off Philly\u2019s cap sheet, bringing it only one small move away from evading the tax.<\/p>\n
The Raptors and Suns are hard-playing teams exceeding expectations after trading non-rotation players to dip below the tax. The Nuggets got out of the tax, too. (But they fit too well into the \u201cContent Contenders\u201d tier.)<\/p>\n
Two-Timeline Turnpike<\/p>\n
Indiana Pacers
Utah Jazz
Washington Wizards<\/p>\n
Three teams are ugly today, but don\u2019t want to be for long, choosing to conduct their offseason early.<\/p>\n
The Pacers made the NBA Finals last season, lost star guard Tyrese Haliburton for this one, saw starting center Myles Turner sign with the Bucks and are mired in a gap year. They may be at the bottom of the East, but they don\u2019t plan to be once healthy again next season. So, they acquired their replacement for Turner this week.<\/p>\n
The Pacers dealt those two first-rounders, Mathurin and Isaiah Jackson for Zubac, a risky proposition, considering it\u2019s a bet that chemistry and vibes will carry over from a more-than-one-year layoff. Of course, these are the types of chances teams can take in the weaker East, where plenty of organizations feel only one or two moves away from a leap.<\/p>\n
The Wizards were set to have cap room galore this summer, but used it now instead, speeding their rebuild by adding Trae Young and Anthony Davis, who took just matching salary and some protected draft picks to acquire. After three years dedicated to the tank, Washington will mesh a couple of high-priced vets next season with its young core, one that will also include a high pick in 2026. Don\u2019t expect Young or Davis to step on the court this season. The Wizards owe the Knicks a top-eight-protected pick and are determined to keep it.<\/p>\n
The Jazz pulled a similar move to the Wizards, tossing three first-rounders to the Grizzlies for Jackson. Utah finds itself in a fascinating spot, with its first-round pick going to the Thunder if it falls to ninth or later. The Jazz own the league\u2019s sixth-worst record, but this organization has futzed around with injury reports in not-so-distant past tanks. Might it have one more run to the bottom in it before it tries to compete more next season with Jackson and Lauri Markkanen?<\/p>\n
The Pu Pu Platter<\/p>\n
Atlanta Hawks
Dallas Mavericks
Charlotte Hornets
Brooklyn Nets
Chicago Bulls<\/p>\n
Five teams were all over the place, which isn\u2019t necessarily bad. Some, like the Hornets, checked various boxes.<\/p>\n
Charlotte, already loaded with bucket-getters, upgraded with Coby White, an unrestricted free agent this summer. It also acted as a salary-dumping ground for the Celtics and Magic. The Hornets made a value play to nab a second-rounder from OKC.<\/p>\n
Charlotte has surged over the past month and a half and stands a real chance to make the Play-In Tournament. And one reason is that the Hornets are tied with the Bulls for 10th place, which helped them out.<\/p>\n
The Bulls traded White to Charlotte, which would seem like a tank-mode move if it were from anyone other than the Play-In Tournament\u2019s favorite participants. Chicago stripped itself down leading into the deadline. White is gone. So are Dosunmu and Vu\u010devi\u0107. It took a chance on Ivey, who is a restricted free agent this summer and found himself in a far better situation than he had with the Pistons. Detroit is winning and will have to pay its young guys soon. The Bulls will have cap room this summer.<\/p>\n
They netted nine second-round picks in deadline season. But they also made a couple of harmless moves that are still oddly win-now, adding expiring veteran big men Yabusele and Nick Richards.<\/p>\n
The Mavericks closed another chapter in the post-Luka Don\u010di\u0107 era, saying goodbye to Davis. They plan to build around rookie sensation Cooper Flagg and All-Star guard Kyrie Irving with cleaner finances and more optionality.<\/p>\n
The rebuilding Nets used themselves as a dumping ground, helping the Raptors, Nuggets and Celtics get out of the tax while adding second-rounders in the process. Brooklyn then ended the Cam Thomas era, waiving the score-first guard after years of trying to trade him.<\/p>\n
The Road to Nowhere<\/p>\n
Sacramento Kings<\/p>\n
The Kings might be the first team in NBA history to add money in a salary dump. The club with the NBA\u2019s worst record keeps covering up battle wounds with tiny Band-Aids. And now, it has even greater financial concerns.<\/p>\n
Sacramento used its one cheap, early-to-mid-20s player, Keon Ellis, as a sweetener to get out of the contract it handed Schr\u00f6der last summer. In the same trade, it brought back De\u2019Andre Hunter, who has fallen out of favor with his last two teams.<\/p>\n
The move opens up $4.3 million of space for the Kings in the summer of 2027, but do you know what comes before then? The summer of 2026. That\u2019s when the Kings\u2019 books turn into a wasteland.<\/p>\n
Hunter makes $10 million more than Schr\u00f6der does next season, when the Kings, a team on pace to lose 63 games, could vault into the luxury tax \u2014 and maybe push up against the aprons. Surely, they will find a way to avoid the tax, but that will just be slapping on another Band-Aid as they bleed out. The Kings could waive and stretch DeMar DeRozan, which would hurt their long-term flexibility (and essentially eliminate the minimal 2027 cap space created by dumping Schr\u00f6der). They could find new homes for Domantas Sabonis or Zach LaVine, but it may take attaching an asset to either to cut salary.<\/p>\n
The strategy here is difficult to follow \u2014 and, oh by the way, Sacramento gave up a second-round pick in the trade, too.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The trade scene had been quiet. Too quiet. We should have known it wouldn\u2019t stay that way. NBA…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":586262,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[208,7,75,247,473,329,193,149,187,188,164,194,126,135,150,177,189,121,152,6,470,191,179,76,207,472,471,477,474,476,427,468],"class_list":{"0":"post-586261","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-atlanta-hawks","9":"tag-basketball","10":"tag-boston-celtics","11":"tag-brooklyn-nets","12":"tag-charlotte-hornets","13":"tag-chicago-bulls","14":"tag-cleveland-cavaliers","15":"tag-dallas-mavericks","16":"tag-denver-nuggets","17":"tag-detroit-pistons","18":"tag-golden-state-warriors","19":"tag-houston-rockets","20":"tag-indiana-pacers","21":"tag-los-angeles-clippers","22":"tag-los-angeles-lakers","23":"tag-memphis-grizzlies","24":"tag-miami-heat","25":"tag-milwaukee-bucks","26":"tag-minnesota-timberwolves","27":"tag-nba","28":"tag-new-orleans-pelicans","29":"tag-new-york-knicks","30":"tag-oklahoma-city-thunder","31":"tag-orlando-magic","32":"tag-philadelphia-76ers","33":"tag-phoenix-suns","34":"tag-portland-trail-blazers","35":"tag-sacramento-kings","36":"tag-san-antonio-spurs","37":"tag-toronto-raptors","38":"tag-utah-jazz","39":"tag-washington-wizards"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/586261","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=586261"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/586261\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/586262"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=586261"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=586261"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=586261"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}