Ah, the NBA trade deadline: where championships can be made, tank jobs are fully realized and stars can find a new lease on life. Last season's edition was largely pretty quiet (I think the Los Angeles Lakers might have made the biggest move, but who really remembers that?), but 2026 is already swirling with rumor after rumor.
Trae Young is suddenly on the outside looking in with the Hawks. Giannis Antetokounmpo is playing chicken with the Bucks' front office. And who knows what's going on with the Nets and Michael Porter, Jr.? These are the biggest rumors as the calendar turns and the deadline creeps ever closer.
Anthony Davis suitors are lining up
So much for building a contender around the Kyrie Irving/Anthony Davis core. Now that Nico Harrison is out of Dallas' front office, it looks like the Mavericks are seriously entertaining calls on AD — you know, the defensive backbone they felt was worth bailing on Luka Doncic for a year ago.
Most recently, the Hawks have materialized as a suitor, with Young's contract being involved in plenty of rumors (more on that later). The Warriors are also interested in Davis, according to NBA insider Marc Stein, but he also went on to note that the only (and unlikely) pathway to making such a deal happen would involve trading either Jimmy Butler or Draymond Green.
The final issue to consider with Davis is his injury history (self-explanatory) and contract, which locks him into a payday all the way through 2027-28 — the year his player option kicks in. Realistically, only the Warriors would be motivated to gamble on his services as Steph Curry looks his final years in the face, while the Mavs and Hawks would be ideally looking to start building around their future stars.
The Trae Young saga gets complicated
When Atlanta's front office failed to agree to terms on a contract extension for their incumbent star over the summer, it looked like the writing was on the wall for Young's time as a Hawk. The rumors only got louder as the Hawks have been demonstrably better without Young (13-11) than with him (2-8) this season, all while Jalen Johnson has seemingly made the leap to true cornerstone status.
But Atlanta's new enthusiasm to put Young in the rearview cuts both ways, as reports from various sources have speculated that the market for Young is minimal — citing his style of play, age and relative lack of success as a 1A option. Going back to the rumors that linked Dallas to Atlanta regarding Anthony Davis, the Mavericks didn't seem all that interested in Young in return.
The most likely scenario is that Young stays on the Hawks' roster all the way through the season, leaving a deal to be struck once he declines his player option in the summer of 2026. If Atlanta were to deal him at this point, their best likely bet is either a massive multi-team deal (like the one proposed by ClutchPoints' Brett Siegel) or else as an add-on to a flyer on former No. 1 pick Zaccharie Risacher.
Milwaukee is still fighting for its life ... and for Giannis
Atlanta isn't the only team that's embroiled with trade drama surrounding its incumbent star, but Milwaukee's situation is different with Giannis Antetokounmpo. Luckily for Milwaukee, Giannis seemed to at least put a lid on the rumors for now by pulling his team together at the end of a win against the Bulls on Dec 27. To quote Antetokounmpo after his brawl-sparking dunk:
"""I've been 13 years in the league...If we keep on losing, brother, probably half of the team is not going to be here. At the end of the day, I just want to be available, be healthy and help my team win. And if [a windmill dunk] is what has to happen for everybody to wake up and understand we're fighting for our lives and we got to get our hands dirty, so be it.""Giannis Antetokounmpo
And to Milwaukee's credit, they have fought for Antetokounmpo, tooth and nail. From their deal for Dame to the waiving of his contract to sign Myles Turner — even if that last move has sort of backfired to this point — the Bucks have tried to do as right by Antetokounmpo as much as they could. And reports indicate that they haven't stopped: Milwaukee has been linked to both of Malik Monk and Zach LaVine in Sacramento, Jerami Grant in Portland and even Brooklyn's Michael Porter, Jr.
Monk would be the most acquirable out of the four based on salary alone, while MPJ is likely to be the most expensive. He's owed just about $2 million less this year than LaVine, and based on how well his tenure has gone so far in Brooklyn, the Nets are almost guaranteed to demand draft capital in return.