Winter is officially here, with cold temps and snow blanketing much of the US. The Finals of the NBA Cup are a week out, but this typically isn't the most exciting part of the NBA calendar — with the trade deadline and All-Star Break still well off and playoff races yet to fully take shape.
But fear not, we have the hottest NBA takes to keep you warm — an MVP candidate who might be more than a dark horse, a contender who has barely scratched the surface and a team that needs to stay far away from the obvious trade targets waiting for them.
1. The Celtics have two MVPs on their roster
Sustainability and burnout are factors to be considered as the 2025-26 season begins to enter into the doldrums of mid-winter basketball, but for now, the judgment must be passed: Jaylen Brown is a legitimate superstar. His performance might be overshadowed by the sheer volatility around the Eastern Conference and his own hairline, but Brown has been balling out.
He is averaging a career high in points (29) and assists (4.9), while also becoming the most efficient he's ever been (career high 23.0 PER, 58.6 true shooting percentage And as well as Boston's role players have stepped up -- Derrick White and Payton Pritchard in particular -- the Celtics are Jaylen Brown's team. For reference: Luka Dončić leads the NBA with a 37.8 percent usage rate. Brown's 36.4 percent is just behind him.
And this is all translating to winning basketball to boot. Boston is currently riding a four-game win streak that sees them as a top four seed in the Eastern Conference, five games above .500. Meanwhile, Brown is leading an offense that is top five in the NBA in offensive and net rating, all without their MVP. Far from the borderline play-in team that they might have been projected to be prior to the season, Boston can now say that they are the only team in the entire league that boasts two players with top ten ceilings when fully healthy.
2. The Spurs are for real
I might have been even more right about De'Aaron Fox's contract extension than I initially thought, because even with Wemby having only played 12 games through the season thus far, San Antonio is doing remarkably well for a Western Conference team missing their only MVP candidate. Anthony Edwards has multiple 40-point games through the past month, the Lakers, Nuggets, and Rockets possibly boast the three scariest offenses in the NBA, and San Antonio is right there with them. All thanks to a season from Fox that, while not as eye-popping as those of Jaylen Brown's or Austin Reaves' in Los Angeles, sees him putting up similar levels of volume and efficiency to his best moments in Sacramento.
There might be questions about how well the Spurs will mesh together once fully healthy, but all signs point to them adapting well between the differing playing styles of Fox and Wemby. The team has seemed to have clicked in with Fox's pace, and their eighth-ranked offensive rating is evidence that even without their superstar in tow, they know how to 'Sixer' it up.
3. The Timberwolves should be dodging the big point guard names
Anthony Edwards is playing absolutely bananas, even with two very quiet performances to finish out the week against Los Angeles and New Orleans (big yikes on that narrow win over the Clippers, of all teams). When he's not, Julius Randle has been there to pick up the scoring slack. Minnesota is now riding a five-game winning streak. However, their struggles at the point guard position remain.
Mike Conley, Jr. is now riding the bench behind Donte DiVincenzo, Rob Dillingham's rise has come to a cold stop, and the Timberwolves must be salivating at the glut of point guard talent on the trade block this season. Going off of names alone, LaMelo Ball, Trae Young, and Ja Morant headline a 'trade rumors class' of point guards that rival most years in terms of star power.
And Minnesota should be staying far away from them. Between the two head cases, the mid-tier play at best from all three, and the chemistry issues that they could all bring from signing onto a team run by Anthony Edwards, all three are headaches waiting to happen.
However, there are more trade targets beyond those three at the point guard position. Even without considering Morant, the Grizzlies boast two intriguing role players at the 1 in Cam Spencer and Scottie Pippen, Jr. Similarly, Indiana could be tempted out of Andrew Nembhard for the right price, or the Pelicans with Jose Alvarado.
Expect the Timberwolves to rectify their absent starting point guard slot aggressively as the trade deadline approaches. Just not with the names that most would initially think of.