The 2022 NBA title is up for grabs. Only the Phoenix Suns are currently on pace to win 60 games. The preseason Eastern Conference favorite has barely had its full team together, and their Western Conference counterparts are currently slated for the play-in round. Nobody has grabbed the season by the horns yet this season. That can change in the coming weeks.
Even though there doesn’t appear to be any superstars on the market — aside from one certain player on the Philadelphia 76ers‘ roster — contenders shouldn’t have much trouble finding upgrades. Talent abounds at nearly every position. Thursday’s 3 p.m. ET trade deadline is just hours away, but we’ve already seen our first batch of deals. Below, we’ll detail each completed trade between now and the final buzzer.
Please check the opt-in box to acknowledge that you would like to subscribe.
Thanks for signing up!
Keep an eye on your inbox.
Sorry!
There was an error processing your subscription.
Heat send Okpala to Thunder, amend protections on a pick
The Heat thought they were being sneaky when they announced that they’d traded KZ Okpala to the Thunder for a second-round pick. That move had meaningful implications on its own. It opened up a roster spot to promote two-way standout Caleb Martin. But snuck in the press release was a far more significant transaction. The Heat already owed the Thunder a first-round pick that could have conveyed any time between 2023 and 2026. The protections on that pick were altered in this deal, though, so the Heat can now trade either their 2022 or 2023 first-round pick without having to worry about the Stepien Rule.
Jazz acquire Alexander-Walker in 3-team trade
The Portland Trail Blazers, San Antonio Spurs and Utah Jazz are making a three-team trade, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Utah will land Spurs forward Juancho Hernangomez and newly acquired Blazers guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker in the deal. Portland, meanwhile, will pick up former Jazz forward Joe Ingles (who’s out for the season) along with Elijah Hughes and a second-round pick from Utah. The Spurs will take on the expiring contract of Tomas Satoransky and get a second-round pick from the Jazz for their troubles.
Kings give up Haliburton to get Sabonis
The Indiana Pacers are trading Domantas Sabonis, Jeremy Lamb, Justin Holiday and a 2027 second-round pick to the Sacramento Kings for Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield and Tristan Thompson, CBS Sports HQ’s Bill Reiter confirms. Both sides had been heavily featured in trade rumors of late, and now, they are helping one another shuffle the deck two days before the deadline.
The Kings had long-coveted Sabonis, but rumors of a possible deal involving De’Aaron Fox had been refuted. It had been widely reported that the Kings were planning to build around Fox rather than trade him, but apparently, their other top young guard in Haliburton was available after all. In Sabonis, the Kings land a two-time All-Star who represents Fox’s best hope yet at a real co-star.
Pelicans getting McCollum from Blazers in seven-player deal
The Portland Trail Blazers are have finalized a deal to send CJ McCollum to the New Orleans Pelicans for a package centered around Josh Hart and draft compensation, the teams announced on Tuesday night. McCollum has spent his entire eight-year career sharing the Blazers backcourt with Damian Lillard, but is now set to move on to a New Orleans team desperate for his scoring punch.
It’s a seven-player deal in total, with the Pelicans also receiving Larry Nance Jr. and Tony Snell, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The Blazers are getting Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Tomas Satoransky and Didi Louzada in the deal. The Pelicans will also receive New Orleans’ 2022 first-round pick (with protections) and two future second-round selections, per Wojnarowski.
Pacers trade LeVert to Cavs for Rubio, picks
With the Feb. 10 NBA trade deadline now less than a week away, the action is truly heating up. The Indiana Pacers and Cleveland Cavaliers got into the mix Sunday with a deal that will have Indiana send Caris LeVert and a second-round pick to Cleveland in exchange for Ricky Rubio, a lottery-protected 2022 first-round pick and two future second-round picks, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
LeVert is not having the most efficient season, but is putting up 18.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game, and is the type of instant-offense player the Cavaliers desperately need. With Collin Sexton and Rubio out for the season due to knee injuries, the Cavs have often struggled on the offensive end — especially when Darius Garland is not on the floor.
As for the Pacers, they are looking to the future. Rubio, again, is out for the season due to a torn ACL, so he will not play for them and his contract will expire in the summer. That will free up some space on their cap sheet, and they’ll get some extra picks for their trouble. It’s not clear yet if they’re going full rebuild, but extra picks never hurt.
Clippers acquire Covington, Powell from Blazers for Bledsoe
Though the Clippers are without Kawhi Leonard — who may not return this season — and Paul George who is still out indefinitely with an elbow injury, they find themselves still firmly in the hunt for a playoff spot. To help continue that journey, L.A. brought in some reinforcements by agreeing to trade away Eric Bledsoe, Justise Winslow, Keon Johnson ad a 2025 second-round pick to the Portland Trail Blazers for Norman Powell and Robert Covington, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Powell gives L.A. some extra production on offense, while Covington will add to the Clippers’ already strong defense. For the Blazers, this gets them some salary relief in what has been a lost season while franchise centerpiece Damian Lillard remains sidelined with an abdominal injury. Getting a young asset in Johnson and a future pick is a bonus in this deal.
Nuggets acquire Forbes in three-team deal involving Celtics, Spurs
One team’s trash is another team’s treasure. Bryn Forbes had struggled for minutes in a crowded San Antonio backcourt, but might find more luck on a Nuggets team that sorely needs shooting. Neither Bol Bol nor P.J. Dozier (out for the season due to injury) were going to contribute much to the Nuggets, but the Celtics were eager to scoop them up as long-term additions. In the process they managed to get off Juancho Hernangomez’s contract, a critical step if they plan to avoid the luxury tax. Hernangomez was once a very productive offensive player, and now, San Antonio will have a chance to see if it can rediscover that form.
Knicks land Reddish from Hawks for Knox, protected 2022 first-round pick
Hawks general manager Travis Schlenk admitted that bringing back virtually everyone from last season’s Eastern Conference finals appearance may have been a mistake, and in an attempt to rectify that, he dealt Cam Reddish to New York for a heavily-protected first-round pick originally belonging to the Charlotte Hornets. The move opens up some wing minutes on an extremely crowded Atlanta roster, but perhaps more importantly, gets an asset back for Reddish before he became eligible for a contract extension that the Hawks didn’t seem too eager to give him. The Knicks, who drafted Reddish’s college teammate RJ Barrett No. 3 overall in 2019, decided to take a low-risk, high-reward home-run swing on the former top prospect. Reddish wanted a deal. Now he’s gotten his wish.
Jazz trade guard Oni, second-rounder to Thunder for cash considerations
There wasn’t much to this deal. Utah, deep in the luxury tax, managed to save a bundle of money in this deal while opening up a roster spot in the process. Oklahoma City was happy to accommodate for a second-round pick. This one won’t swing the championship, but it’s the sort of minor, bookkeeping deal that the deadline produces every year.
Cavaliers acquire veteran guard Rondo from Lakers
The Cleveland Cavaliers opened the season with one of the deepest backcourts in the NBA. That changed when Collin Sexton and Ricky Rubio suffered season-ending injuries. That forced the Cavs to find a veteran capable of soaking up some of their minutes, and they landed on Rajon Rondo. The two-time NBA champion had largely fallen out of the rotation in Los Angeles, so a change of scenery was more than welcome. The Lakers, meanwhile, saved a fair bit of luxury tax cash and opened up a roster spot that has proven necessary for mid-season maneuvering.
