We’ve reached January 15th on the NBA calendar, which allows for the trade of several players who re-signed with their former teams last offseason. Including the likes of D’Angelo Russell, Jerami Grant, Matisse Thybulle, Kyle Kuzma, Rui Hachimura and others, it’s a more valuable group of players than you might think. Some of these players appear on our updated business board below, and others do not.
The takeaway is that every player in the league — with the exception of a few pricey examples, most of whom signed long-term extensions in the last six months — is now eligible for a trade.
We saw the first domino fall with the New York Knicks and Toronto Raptors putting aside their ongoing dispute to complete deals involving OG Anunoby, RJ Barrett and Emmanuel Quickley. Expect to see more trades in the coming weeks. Teams like the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors will look to unload their running backs, and others like the Charlotte Hornets and Washington Wizards will look to sell as they exit the postseason.
So let’s take a look at the rest of the players available in the market. With less than a month until the February 8 deadline, I’m staying conservative in adding names to this list. Having said that, the pool has now grown from 25 players on our initial board to 35 as we have a bit more understanding of teams goals on the final day.
Before we get to the names on this list, I want to address a few names that aren’t – at least not yet.
• You don’t see all-stars. Donovan Mitchell Or Lauri Markkanen. As of right now — again, things are fluid this year — my guess from talking to league sources is that the Cleveland Cavaliers plan to ride with Mitchell this offseason. Meanwhile, the price tag on Markkanen is too high to effectively take it out of the market, especially with how much the Utah Jazz have played recently.
• You will not be seen either. Jonathan Kuminga Or Moses Moody, two young Golden State Warriors players could be used to facilitate a deal for a star player. I don’t think they’ve ruled out a move for the Warriors, but my guess is that, at least right now, they’re not actively including them in potential trade packages either. League sources believe new general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. rates them both very highly and would like to retain them if he can, though it could be a way to facilitate much-needed changes with either of them if he understands. Slumping Warriors. It’s possible that one or both of Kumga and Moody will feature in future iterations of this board, but that’s what I’m trying to stop them from doing for now.
• The above mentioned Jeremy Grant It’s not here. The Portland Trail Blazers’ desire to move him, as well as how other teams would view his $160 million, five-year contract, was a little harder to predict.
• There aren’t many Brooklyn Nets players available yet because teams around the league aren’t entirely sure which direction to go. This includes Dorian Finney-Smith, the price of the best role player advocates. He’s a long-term signing, so the Nets are in no rush to make a decision about his future while sitting in the playoffs in the Eastern Conference.
To reiterate: this list will be fluid over the next month, so stay tuned for some updates. Completed trades will take some of these players off the board, and others may even sign extensions to stay with their current team. But this is where we sit now.
Click on each player listed below for a detailed explanation of their current trade conditions.