We are just days away from the NBA trade deadline — Thursday, Feb. 5, at 3 p.m. Eastern — and the trades are coming fast, withDe’Andre Hunter and Keon Ellis switching teams. The rumors are coming faster. To help you stay on top of all of it, the NBCSports.com NBA crew is on it, putting updates on everything worth knowing in this one place. Just refresh here and stay up to date on everything.
Knicks deadline decisions
If the Knicks — both the front office and their fans — could waive a Harry Potter magic wandand make it happen, Giannis Antetokounmpo would be a Knick before Thursday. The reality is that leaks coming out of New York suggest they may not think that will happen.
There was the well-connected Brian Windhorst of ESPN saying recently on his Hoop Collective podcast that the Knicks “believe in the core of this team and this roster.” Then there is what James Edwards III wrote at The Athletic on Sunday:
“The Bucks are looking for a premier young player(s) and multiple, good draft picks in exchange for one of the three best players in the NBA. The Knicks have neither of those, and to get close to what the Bucks are asking for, New York would need to trade two or three players in its starting lineup, most likely OG Anunoby, [Mikal] Bridges and/or [Karl-Anthony] Towns.”
If the Knicks are not going to get Antetokounmpo before the deadline, they have other priorities.
They are focused on landing a big man for depth and have trained their sights on Goga Bitadze, who has fallen out of the rotation in Orlando, or on New Orleans’ Yves Missi, reports Ian Begley of SNY.tv. Either man would just be bench help for now, although Missi — just a second-year player — could grow into a larger role. —Kurt Helin
Doc Rivers thinks Giannis stays a Buck. For now.
What else is Doc Rivers going to say? You think he wants to stick around and coach through a rebuild?
On ESPN’s NBA Countdown over the weekend, the Milwaukee Bucks coach said what he has always said, that Giannis Antetokounmpo is saying all the right things to his teammates, and that Rivers expects him to be with the Bucks past the deadline.
“Giannis has said everything that we need to hear, that he wants to be a Buck, he loves the city and that’s all I can go by as a coach right now. Has it been difficult? Yeah. Your players every day have to hear stuff. Every single day, about not just their best player but they’re thrown in the mix as well. My favorite day of the year this year will be the day after the trade deadline. That’ll be my favorite day. I think everyone will be here.”
Rivers may well get his wish, with league sources continuing to tell NBC Sports they expect the Antetokounmpo trade saga to drag out past the Feb. 5 deadline and into the offseason. Whether Antetokounmpo — and for that matter, Rivers — are back with the Bucks next season is another question. —Kurt Helin
DeMar DeRozan staying put
There’s no real interest in DeMar DeRozan around the league, and while that could change it seems more likely DeRozan will play out the season in Sacramento, reports Sam Amick of The Athletic. DeRozan can still get a team buckets, he’s averaging 19.2 points a game this season and shooting 50.6% from the floor, but he’s a midrange shooter who is 36 and making $24.6 million this season and $25.7 million next season. That’s more than teams want to take on in the apron era, at least at the trade deadline. —Kurt Helin
Ja Morant’s cryptic post
Ja Morant trade talk has died down, and it appears highly unlikely he gets traded before the Feb. 5 deadline. With that in mind, what does this cryptic social media post from Morant mean? — Kurt Helin
Handling trade rumors in locker room
It’s an issue for every NBA coach in February: How do they keep their team focused with trade rumors swirling around and players looking ahead to the upcoming All-Star break? The Knicks’ Mike Brown summed it up well, talking to Ian Begley of SNY.tv.
“We understand that we have no control over the noise out there, so we have to have a bunker mentality. Not just at the trade deadline but all the time because there is a lot of noise out there. We’re all human and you try not to listen to it – you just try to stay together. You keep moving forward, trying to get better as the days go along and I think that’s what this group is trying to do.”
—Kurt Helin