Antetokounmpo all but requested a trade in the weeks before the deadline, as ESPN’s Shams Charania reported on Jan. 28 that the 31-year-old was “ready for a new home,” and the Bucks, at long last, were “starting to listen” to “aggressive offers” from “several teams.”
Among those suitors, we came to learn from multiple outlets, were the Golden State Warriors, Minnesota Timberwolves, New York Knicks and Miami Heat. The Bucks, obviously, are reportedly eyeing a package of “blue-chip young talent and/or a surplus of draft picks.”
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The Warriors may have had the picks — as many as four first-rounders, to be exact — but their offer, which reportedly included Jonathan Kuminga as a foundational figure, was not enough to persuade the Bucks to part with Antetokounmpo at this juncture. So, instead, Golden State shipped Kuminga to the Atlanta Hawks for Kristaps Porziņģis’ expiring deal.
None of the Timberwolves, Knicks and Heat could match Golden State’s draft haul, at least not at the moment. New York and Miami — both thought to be attractive destinations from Antetokounmpo’s perspective — will have additional draft capital to offer in the offseason.
Which is precisely why it always made sense for the Bucks to wait on an Antetokounmpo deal. As more realistic trade partners enter the fray, offers will only get more competitive.
2. The league can’t stop paying James Harden
For a fourth time in five years, James Harden had a trade request granted, this time landing him on the Cleveland Cavaliers, who have eyes for championship contention.
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Only, with Harden in place of Darius Garland and a second-round draft pick, they appear no closer to a title than their second-round playoff exits from the previous two seasons.
Raise your hand if you think Harden will elevate the Cavaliers from their current standing, fourth place in the Eastern Conference, to a berth in the NBA Finals? We are still waiting and have been since he was a sixth man on the West champion Oklahoma City Thunder.
It has been 15 years since then, and Harden has come no closer. His Houston Rockets did make the 2015 conference finals, largely because he was benched in a Game 6 comeback. He has been no better in Game 7s. We have as much evidence of his playoff failures as we do his successes, if not more, and still the league cannot stop giving him tens of millions.
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Harden reportedlyrejected a two-year, $103 million contract extension offer from the Rockets in 2020 and a three-year, $161 million extension from the Brooklyn Nets in 2021, seeking a four-year, $227 million offer in the summer of 2022, when he was to turn 32 years old. For myriad reasons, ranging from Kyrie Irving’s vaccination status to Harden’s hamstrings, that offer never came. Not from Brooklyn. Nor from the Philadelphia 76ers.
That is when Harden called Sixers executive Daryl Morey “a liar” and sought a trade to the Los Angeles Clippers, who extended him twice, first for $34 million for the 2024-25 season, and then for an additional $39 million this season. He also owns a $42 million player option for the 2026-27 season, when at one point he could have been making north of $60 million.
This is so much money. Harden has been guaranteed almost half a billion dollars in salary, let alone what he has made in endorsements, and still he is chasing what he sacrificed by not signing one of those aforementioned extensions — some $50 million in lost earnings.
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This is why he is in Cleveland now, for another extension, he surely thinks. And maybe he gets one. I do not begrudge anyone for prioritizing individual salary over team success; I just have never seen a superstar player so blatant about it. He is the greatest of all time at finding the next NBA owner to offer him as much money as possible, regardless of the fit.
Why it makes any sense for the Cavaliers is a separate matter. As I’ve mentioned before, they traded a 26-year-old two-time All-Star (Garland) for a 36-year-old future Hall of Famer (Harden), and used a small asset (their second-round draft pick) to do so. This is usually bad business but for the fact that Harden has been healthier than Garland in recent years.
What did that get the Clippers? A first-round playoff exit last season and a sub-.500 record this season. Yes, Harden has set a playoff floor for his teams, which may be good enough for some, but his ball-dominance and defensive deficiencies also set a sub-championship ceiling. And isn’t the point of the NBA to win rings? In the meantime, Harden will get paid.
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3. So much of the trade deadline is financially driven
Speaking of the point of the NBA, which we thought was to win championships, why does it seem like so many deadline deals are more motivated by finances than they are winning?
This is why you cannot blame Harden for pursuing maximum money at all times.
Why were Trae Young and Anthony Davis moved to the Washington Wizards ahead of the deadline? Not because D.C. envisioned them as a championship contender but because the Wiz had to pay someone to play for them, and it may as well be a pair of ticket sellers.
You see, there is a salary floor and a salary cap. Teams must spend at least 90% of the salary cap, which for the 2026-27 season is projected to be $166 million. Teams must spend at least $149.4 million of it, or surrender the difference to every other team instead.
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Teams can spend beyond the salary cap, to a point, before they incur penalties associated with the luxury tax ($202 million), first apron ($210 million) and second apron ($223 million). You will hear more about these aprons than you ever care to learn, but know this: Nobody wants to spend more than $223 million for fear of losing additional assets.
It is, in the end, why the Cavaliers dumped Lonzo Ball’s $10 million contract, why the Minnesota Timberwolves shed Mike Conley’s $10 million salary, and why the Boston Celtics swapped Anfernee Simons for Nikola Vučević. All to save some cash and duck an apron. Follow the money, and you can almost always figure out why a deal went down.
Why did the Detroit Pistons trade Jaden Ivey to the Chicago Bulls for Kevin Huerter and Dario Šarić? Same reason the Golden State Warriors traded Jonathan Kuminga to the Hawks for Porziņģis’ expiring salary, and why the Bulls dealt Coby White to the Charlotte Hornets. Ivey, Kuminga and White are due contracts, their current teams did not want to pay them their worth, so they discovered the next team that might ahead of the deadline.
4. There is going to be some creative tanking
Both the Wizards and Utah Jazz made moves for All-Stars, only to realize: Oh, shoot, they are going to help us win games, and our first-round draft picks are only protected so much.
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The Wizards traded for Trae Young last month and Davis on Wednesday. Their first-round pick is protected 1-8, or else it is owed to the New York Knicks. Right now, the Wizards are 13-36, tied for the league’s fourth-worst record. Right now, they would keep their selection.
Win a few games, though, and they could quickly find themselves in danger of losing their pick in what is considered a loaded draft, depending on how the ping-pong balls pop out.
This is probably why we have not seen Young in a Wizards uniform. He has been nursing a quadriceps injury since December, and Washington executive Michael Winger recently hinted at the idea that we may not see the four-time All-Star point guard until next season.
Could the same be true of Davis on the Wizards? The oft-injured 10-time All-Star has not played since early January with a hand injury. Might it linger into the offseason as well?
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The Jazz, who just traded for two-time All-Star and 2023 Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr., are in the same boat. Their first-round pick in the forthcoming June draft is also protected 1-8, otherwise owed to the Oklahoma City Thunder. No way they send that selection to the defending champions, and they can’t afford to win much more.
Likewise, the Indiana Pacers reportedly traded Bennedict Mathurin, two first-round picks and a second-round selection to the Clippers for Ivica Zubac, who will be the center of Tyrese Haliburton’s offense next season. This season? Well, the Pacers are also going to want to lose as many games as possible, and Zubac does not exactly help in that regard.
And what becomes of the Sacramento Kings, who held on to Domantas Sabonis, DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine, despite their rumored interest in shopping all three of them?
It can’t be great for morale. Then again, morale was at an all-time low, as the Kings already owned the league’s worst record (12-40). Everyone is chasing them, including the Bucks. Well, everyone except for the New Orleans Pelicans, who owe their first-round pick to Atlanta. They, like the Kings, are just bad for no other reason than mismanagement.
The New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks are headed to Santa Clara, CA, to play in Super Bowl LX. The Big Game kicks off on Feb. 8, 2026, at 6:30 p.m. ET at Levi’s Stadium. Bad Bunny, the most-streamed artist in the world, is set to headline the 2026 Super Bowl Halftime Show. Looking to tune in in person? Super Bowl tickets are on sale now. Want to watch from home? The 2026 Super Bowl will be broadcast on NBC and will stream live on Peacock. Here’s what you need to know to tune in to Super Bowl LX.
The 2026 Super Bowl kicks off at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT on Feb. 8, 2026. Green Day will also be performing a pre-game special starting at 6 p.m. ET.
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2026 Super Bowl game channel
Super Bowl LX will air on NBC. A Spanish-language broadcast available on Telemundo.
Who are the 2026 Super Bowl teams?
The AFC champions, the New England Patriots, will play the NFC champions, the Seattle Seahawks, at Super Bowl LX.
How to watch the 2026 Super Bowl without cable
You can stream NBC and Telemundo on platforms like DirecTV and Hulu + Live TV, both of which are among Engadget’s choices for best streaming services for live TV. (Note that Fubo and NBC are currently in the midst of a contract dispute and NBC channels are not available on the platform.) The game will also stream on Peacock and NFL+, though with an NFL+ subscription, you’re limited to watching on mobile devices.
For $17 monthly you can upgrade to an ad-free subscription which includes live access to your local NBC affiliate (not just during designated sports and events) and the ability to download select titles to watch offline.
Who is performing at the 2026 Super Bowl halftime show?
Bad Bunny is headlining the 2026 Super Bowl halftime performance. You can expect that show to begin after the second quarter, likely between 8-8:30 p.m. ET. Green Day will also perform a pre-game show starting at 6 p.m. ET. If you’re tuning in before the game, singer Charlie Puth will perform the National Anthem, Brandi Carlile is scheduled to sing “America The Beautiful,” and Grammy winner Coco Jones will perform “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”
Although Seattle Seahawks rookie safety Nick Emmanwori suffered a low-ankle sprain during practice Wednesday, he told reporters Thursday that he’ll “be good to go” Sunday for Super Bowl LX against the New England Patriots.
The injury he’s dealing with now is to his right ankle, the same one he hurt in the season opener against the San Francisco 49ers, although that high-ankle sprain was more severe, Emmanwori clarified.
“Not sure how extensive, if at all, he’s going to practice,” Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald said Thursday, per The Athletic.
“But he’s confident. Got a great plan. Fully expect him to play. … He’s doing great and moving around.”
Emmanwori, a finalist for NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, has done a bit of everything for a vaunted Seahawks defense during his first season in the NFL. He ranked third on the team with 11 passes defended and 81 total tackles. Plus, he added 2.5 sacks and an interception.
In the regular season and postseason combined, he’s lined up 420 snaps in the slot, 329 in the box, 103 along the defensive line, 15 on the outside corner, and seven at deep safety, according to Pro Football Focus.
Emmanwori explained that his most recent ankle issue sprouted toward the end of Wednesday’s practice when he rolled his ankle.
He noted that practice was “nothing crazy” and that the injury took him by surprise.
“Nobody really wants to get hurt or banged up during the Super Bowl week, or any week at that, so it just kind of caught me off guard. It was just a little scare,” Emmanwori said, per Gregg Bell of The News Tribune.
Emmanwori said it felt different than his Week 1 setback, which cost him the subsequent three games.
“I feel like I could walk off on my own and just had to give it a break,” he said. “It feels good.”
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Macdonald said the Seahawks will be “overcautious” with Emmanwori in the coming days to make sure he’s all set for Sunday’s matchup.
The 2025-26 NBA trade deadline just wrapped, and fantasy basketball rosters are about to look very different. Here’s who’s eating and who’s getting buried in the chaos. But I gotta be honest, there aren’t many waiver wire pickups to make based on the moves that were made by Thursday — sigh.
Let’s get to it.
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📈 Fantasy Winners
Jalen Smith, FC – Chicago Bulls
Nikola Vučević was shipped to Boston, leaving Smith in an optimal position to take on more frontcourt responsibilities. Here’s my whole take on Smith’s upside, but in summary, I’m projecting he’d be at least a top-60 type of player across formats. The Bulls sold off a few of their key starters, leaving a lot of uncertainty everywhere else — but not for Smith (and Josh Giddey).
Kawhi Leonard, FC – Los Angeles Clippers
James Harden’s gone, Darius Garland’s in and Kawhi’s usage is about to detonate. The Clippers just handed him the keys to the offense again. Garland’s a complementary piece — not a co-star, plus he’s out with a toe injury. It’s Leonard’s show now, and if he stays healthy-ish, we’re looking at top-10 fantasy upside rest of season. It’s undoubtedly an “if” though.
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Bennedict Mathurin, G/FC – Los Angeles Clippers
A new home breeds new opportunity. I love this deal for Mathurin’s fantasy value, as he’ll join Kawhi and Garland as the Clippers’ primary scoring options. He’ll likely get a new contract and be given free rein to cook. I doubt he’s available in many leagues, but I’d hold if you have him rostered.
Santi Aldama, FC — Memphis Grizzlies
Memphis traded Jaren Jackson Jr. and Jock Landale, accelerating the franchise’s development plans. Zach Edey and Brandon Clarke are hurt, leaving Aldama as one of the last frontcourt players left standing for the Grizz. He returned to the court on Wednesday, scoring 12 points with 6 boards in under 25 minutes.
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Once the minutes trend back up, he’s a guy I’d want to hold onto for the remainder of the season across formats. Cedric Coward gets a boost here, too, along with Taylor Hendricks, who came over from the Jazz. He’s on my deep league watchlist.
Onyeka Okongwu, FC — Atlanta Hawks
The Hawks added Jock Landale in a minor deal, but Okongwu remains the starting center. Once Okongwu gets his teeth fixed, he’ll be squarely in the top-50 conversation the rest of the way.
Russell Westbrook, G – Sacramento Kings
With Dennis Schröder joining the Cavs, Russ will continue soaking up a majority of PG minutes for the Kings. He’s had a nice resurgence under Doug Christie, averaging 15-6-7 in under 30 minutes per game. The Kings retained all their vets, so even though the team is terrible, they’re not mailing it in yet.
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Other winners:
Wizards’ young core (Tre Johnson, Justin Champagnie and Bilal Coulibaly)
Naji Marshall – Dallas Mavericks
Isaiah Collier – Utah Jazz
Daniel Gafford – Dallas Mavericks
Jarace Walker – Indiana Pacers
📉 Fantasy Losers
Jaren Jackson Jr., FC — Utah Jazz
I expanded on it here, but landing in Utah in the midst of vying for a top pick in 2026 isn’t good for JJJ’s fantasy value. I’d look to sell, but most fantasy managers are likely well aware of Utah’s late-season shenanigans.
Anthony Davis, FC — Washington Wizards
I covered the full fallout from Dallas trading AD to the Wizards, but the TL;DR is: a move to Washington is essentially the nail in the coffin for AD this season. I don’t expect him to play much, if at all, for the Wizards. Drop him and move on with no regrets.
Coby White, G — Charlotte Hornets
White goes from a featured, starter role to the presumed sixth man of the Hornets.
He’s still looking for a new deal, so he’ll play well enough for the Hornets to consider keeping him around beyond this season. I wouldn’t drop White in fantasy yet. He’s better than Collin Sexton, and they’ll surely use him as the primary option off the bench and a secondary playmaker in certain lineups.
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Nikola Vučević, C — Boston Celtics
I’m anticipating a timeshare for Vooch in Boston. Neemias Queta is the better defender and frankly, Vooch won’t have to do as much offensively for Boston. What he does is provide them with another floor-spacing threat who can rebound and play-make enough to warrant 25-28 minutes a night — essentially the Kristaps Porziņģis role from last season. You’re not dropping Vučević, but I’d expect some decline in his raw counting stats in Boston.
Jusuf Nurkić, FC — Utah Jazz
Sorry, Nurk, your run is done. Nurk will likely be in and out of the rotation the rest of the season with unpredictable minutes. Once a waiver wire gem, Nurk will be a frustrating hold for fantasy managers across formats.
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Bulls Guard Rotation (Sexton/Simons/Ivey)
Chicago’s backcourt is complete chaos after deadline day. It moved Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu out and brought in Anfernee Simons, Collin Sexton and Jaden Ivey. Nobody knows who’s starting, closing or getting consistent minutes. Avoid this entire situation until rotations stabilize post-deadline — it’s a headache.
Players on the move — still relevant though
Ivica Zubac, FC – Indiana Pacers
The Pacers made a move to get their big man of the future to pair with Tyrese Haliburton next year. What I don’t know is how much they’ll use him when they’re tanking. Still, he’s an easy double-double no matter the team he plays for.
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Ayo Dosunmu, G/FC – Minnesota Timberwolves
The Wolves made one of the better deals at the deadline. Dosunmu is having a career year, and he’ll step into a Nickeil Alexander-Walker-type role for Minnesota. Ayo is both physical and versatile, and the Wolves will utilize his skill set well. There might be a drop-off in counting stats, but I don’t anticipate it being dramatic enough that he won’t be a fantasy asset. Keep holding.
Ali vs. Frazier. Godzilla vs. King Kong. Everyone loves a rematch. And this year’s Super Bowl promises to deliver a great one when the New England Patriots face the Seattle Seahawks at Super Bowl LX. The two teams met back at the 2014 Super Bowl, which ended with a 28-24 Patriots win, and now they meet on the championship stage again. Super Bowl LX will be held at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, CA, on Sunday, Feb. 8, with a 6:30 p.m. ET kickoff.
You can watch Super Bowl LX live on NBC and Peacock this year. Here’s everything you need to know to tune in to Super Bowl LX when it airs on Feb. 8.
The New England Patriots, winners of the AFC Championship this year, will play the NFC Champions the Seattle Seahawks at Super Bowl LX.
2026 Super Bowl kickoff time
The 2026 Super Bowl kicks off at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT on Feb. 8, 2026.
2026 Super Bowl game channel
The 2026 Super Bowl airs live on NBC and a Spanish-language broadcast will be available on Telemundo.
Where is the 2026 Super Bowl being played?
Super Bowl LX will be played at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, CA.
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How to watch the 2026 Super Bowl without cable
You can stream NBC and Telemundo on platforms like DirecTV and Hulu + Live TV, both of which are among Engadget’s choices for best streaming services for live TV. (Note that Fubo and NBC are currently in the midst of a contract dispute and NBC channels are not available on the platform.) The game will also be streaming on Peacock and on NFL+, though with an NFL+ subscription, you’re limited to watching the game on mobile devices.
For $17 monthly, you can upgrade to an ad-free subscription, which includes live access to your local NBC affiliate (not just during designated sports and events) and the ability to download select titles to watch offline.
Who is this year’s Super Bowl halftime performer?
This year’s halftime performer is Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny. His performance will begin after the second quarter, likely between 8-8:30 p.m. ET. San Francisco Bay Area band Green Day will also be putting on a hometown show featuring some of their biggest hits, which will air on NBC at 6 p.m. ET. You can also catch pre-game performances from singer Charlie Puth, who is performing the National Anthem, Brandi Carlile, who is scheduled to sing “America The Beautiful,” and Grammy winner Coco Jones who will perform “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”
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Where to buy tickets to the 2026 Super Bowl:
Tickets to the 2026 Super Bowl are available on third-party resale platforms like StubHub and Gametime, but prices are pretty high, starting at over $6,000.
The Washington Commanders added some veteran pieces last offseason. There figure to be plenty more roster changes in the coming months, as the Commanders try to rebound from a 5-12 campaign and continue building around franchise quarterback Jayden Daniels.
So who would Daniels add, if his bosses were listening?
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“There’s a couple individuals that are out there. Maybe somebody from Arizona State in my past,” Daniels told Yahoo Sports’ Nate Tice on on radio row in San Francisco ahead of Super Bowl LX this week.
“Lives on the west coast?” Tice followed up.
“Yeah, most definitely,” said Daniels, who was appearing on behalf of Xfinity.
Aiyuk, who spent a season as Daniels’ teammate at Arizona State in 2019 and has been friends with him for years, was placed on the 49ers’ reserve/left squad list in December and didn’t play a snap for the 49ers in 2025. He signed a reported four-year, $120 million contract extension just before kickoff of the 2024 season, but hasn’t played for San Francisco since tearing his ACL and MCL in Week 7 of that year.
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The 49ers placed Aiyuk on the active but physically unable to perform (PUP) list ahead of training camp last summer. Questions hovered over when he’d be ready to play again, but and reports began to surface the 49ers were getting frustrated with Aiyuk’s behavior behind the scenes.
It certainly feels like Aiyuk will be playing elsewhere next season despite being under contract with the 49ers.
Daniels seems to want it to be Washington.
“There’s people like that out there. I don’t wanna give too much,” Daniels said. “But when that time comes, hopefully we can sign those types of players.”
Giannis Antetokounmpo is officially staying with the Milwaukee Bucks — at least for the remainder of the season.
ESPN’s Shams Charania reported hours ahead of Thursday’s NBA trade deadline that the Bucks would not be trading Antetokounmpo and focus on other deals. Now that the 3 p.m. ET trade deadline has passed, it makes that official.
Antetokounmpo himself confirmed he’d remain in Milwaukee after the deadline, sharing a clip from “The Wolf of Wall Street” on his Instagram account, in which actor Leonardo DiCaprio emphatically announces, “I’m not leaving.”
Milwaukee is still expected to field offers for Antetokounmpo in the offseason, when teams have more clarity on their draft pick compensation and the market potentially widens as some contenders fall short in the playoffs.
The passing of the NBA trade deadline now officially ends months of speculation that the two-time MVP and franchise stalwart wouldn’t finish the season with the Bucks team that drafted him. The Bucks are in the midst of a losing season and are not on pace to make the playoffs.
Antetokounmpo has twice missed time this season with significant calf injuries. He sustained his second injury on Jan. 23 in a 102-100 loss to the Denver Nuggets. Antetokounmpo said after that game that he expected to miss 4-6 weeks with the injury, and head coach Doc Rivers said there’s no timetable for his return. It’s unclear if or when he’ll be able to return this season to the Bucks, who would benefit by improving their odds for the draft lottery.
Speculation of Antetokounmpo eventually leaving the Bucks started before the season began. As the losses piled up, so did the tension in Milwaukee. After home fans booed the Bucks during a blowout loss to the Timberwolves on Jan 13, Antetokounmpo pointed two thumbs down and booed them back. He played four more games for the Bucks after that incident.
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Yet, the franchise isn’t quite ready to end its most successful era since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Oscar Robertson led Milwaukee to two Finals appearances and an NBA championship in the early 1970s.
The Bucks selected Antetokounmpo with the No. 15 pick in the 2013 NBA Draft as a raw, high-upside prospect with an enormous physical tool set. He’s delivered on that upside and more.
Antetokounmpo spent his rookie season developing off the bench as a 19-year-old before joining the starting lineup full time in his second NBA season. He made his first All-Star team in his fourth season in Milwaukee and has been an All-Star in eight seasons since as a dominant two-way force.
Antetokounmpo won the first of his two consecutive NBA MVP awards after the 2018-19 season. He also won Defensive Player of the Year alongside his second MVP award the following season.
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In 2020-21, Antetokounmpo completed his NBA resumé. Playing alongside Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday, Antetokounmpo led the Bucks to the franchise’s second NBA championship. The only major accomplishment now missing from his career as a pro is entry into the Hall of Fame, which is a certainty as soon as he’s put on the ballot.
But he likely won’t complete his career having played for just the Bucks. Milwaukee didn’t maintain its contender status after winning the 2021 championship and hasn’t advanced past the second round of the playoffs since. It’s suffered first-round playoff exits in each of the past three postseasons.
Middleton and Holiday are both gone, and Milwaukee’s attempts to rebuild another contender around Antetokounmpo fizzled with Damian Lillard’s Achilles tendon tear last season.
The Bucks exceeded expectations early this season with a 6-3 start. They have since faded out of playoff contention with a losing record. A full-blown rebuild, however, will have to wait until the offseason.
All roads lead here: to Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. and Super Bowl LX. The Seattle Seahawks enter as the favorite, but there are paths to a New England Patriots victory, which we’ll hit in this Super Bowl edition of the Four Verts column. There’s a lot at stake Sunday. Let’s go over some of the biggest storylines.
Patriots’ offense appears to be outmanned again
New England’s offense has faced some of the toughest defenses the NFL has to offer en route to a Super Bowl berth. In fact, they’ve gotten completely dominated by the Chargers, Texans and Broncos defenses, riding a handful of drives, a defensive touchdown and the help of an overwhelmed backup quarterback in the snow. That’s not to say they don’t deserve to be here. Every team that can weather the storm of attrition to get to this point deserves the ability to play in this game.
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Drake Maye is as good as any player who will play Sunday. The second-year quarterback has earned his stamp as an MVP finalist considering he has done an Atlas-level carrying of the offense this season. The Patriots barely had success in the rain against the Texans and their only touchdown drive against the Broncos came on a short field following a baffling decision by Jarrett Stidham to throw the ball backward for a fumble.
Seattle will be New England’s toughest cohesive test yet, barring an explosion from Maye and the supporting cast around him. The Rams pushed the Seahawks to the brink in the NFC championship game, but Puka Nacua, Davante Adams and Sean McVay aren’t walking through that door for the Patriots’ offense. It’s largely going to be up to Maye and a shaky offensive line to stay afloat against a truly dominant defense this season.
Points will be difficult to come by. Maye will have his moments, but when looking at the non-quarterback players on this offense against the Seahawks’ defense, it’s hard not to see how they don’t get stuffed into a locker for the fourth consecutive game. It’s not unreasonable that the Patriots struggled mightily against the defenses they’ve faced this postseason, but they’ll need a little more help to get a win in what should be a clean weather environment.
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New England needs star defensive trio to dominate
The Patriots are underdogs in the Super Bowl for good reason. When stacking the rosters of the two teams, it’s clear which one recently picked in the top five of the NFL Draft two straight years, and which one has been a fringe playoff team that reached its final form this past offseason. However, the Patriots aren’t a team that’s completely bereft of talent, and they have a few high-level players who can turn the tide for them if they can play to the best of their abilities. In that respect, cornerback Christian Gonzalez and defensive tackles Milton Williams and Christian Barmore are going to be the lynchpins here.
The good thing about these players is they play positions of value and all of them can really impact the game with high-level performances, particularly their duo on the interior. There is no better way to shut down Seattle’s offense and make life difficult for the Seahawks than to have immediate disruption on the front lines with Barmore and Williams. Seattle’s interior offensive line is one of the weaker parts of its offense. This soft spot gives those two Patriots a prime opportunity to take over the game and provide some relief to their own offense.
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Specifically, Seattle’s duo of Jalen Sundell and Anthony Bradford will need help against the Patriots’ defensive tackle duo. There’s also a level of natural symbiosis between defensive line play and secondary play where Barmore and Williams taking advantage of this matchup will actually make things easier for Gonzalez, the third member of this defensive trio that New England needs to play well. Pressure forces bad plays and Gonzalez already showed his ability to make plays on the ball by closing out the Broncos’ offense in the AFC championship game with an interception.
Christian Barmore (90) and Milton Williams are one of the few clear advantages on paper personnel-wise for the Patriots in Super Bowl LX. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
Those three need to play up to their Pro Bowl billings, because overall this Patriots roster appears to be completely outmatched. If they can do that, New England has a puncher’s chance. Sam Darnold is prone to lapses that lead to turnovers, even though he hasn’t done that yet in the postseason. Getting the ball back to Maye and the offense will be imperative, but that’s easier said than done.
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Sam Darnold needs to make it just one more game
One more game, Sam. Just one more.
While the Seahawks’ offense was flustered over the second half of the season, Sam Darnold has played really clean football through these playoffs. If he can make it one more game without tanking himself and having a classic Darnold implosion, Seattle should cruise to a Super Bowl victory and he can change the narrative on himself. Darnold has become one of the most fascinating quarterbacks in the league because the great heights that he is capable of reaching have not always been attainable for him, mostly due to his own mistakes. So far in the playoffs, he’s been able to avoid them. One more game will cap off the most important three-game run in his career where he’s been able to do one thing everyone has consistently been clamoring for him to do: just play clean!
Darnold has always been one of the more physically gifted quarterbacks in the league. I can say this from personal experience as someone who spent time covering him when he was a member of the New York Jets a few years ago. He often had practices where he looked like the best QB in the league. And then would follow those practices up with some of the sloppiest stuff you will ever see. There’s a reason why he’s on his fifth team and it’s not because of his general ability. It just hasn’t been clean enough.
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Seattle hasn’t asked Darnold to do a high volume of passing through two playoff games, but he’s worked well with what he’s been asked to do. He’s thrown the ball 53 times for 470 yards, four touchdowns and nearly a 70% completion rate. He’s got a passer rating of 122.4 and the only real blemish has been the five sacks on such a small number of dropbacks. However, the most important number for Darnold: zero turnovers.
Darnold has fumbled once, but was able to recover it. That works in the one-game sample sizes of single-elimination playoffs. He needs to do it just one more time. That seems feasible considering what he’s done so far, but there is also the permanent aura of the unknown with Darnold where the bottom could fall out at any time. He has so much to gain from this if he can make it one more game without the intrusive thoughts popping in his head as he’s scanning the Patriots’ coverages.
Forging new destinies is the theme of Super Bowl LX
There are plenty of established figures in this game between the coaching staffs and the players who can begin to cement and individualize their legacies in this Super Bowl. This game has an extra weight added to it in terms of reputational benefit (or loss) with a win (or loss). With a victory, history and narratives can be forgiven, or forgotten. These are some of the most compelling storylines the Super Bowl generates and with two new(ish) teams in the Super Bowl, it feels like more is on the line than recent years.
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Sam Darnold feels like the obvious, biggest benefactor with a Super Bowl win, as long as he plays cleanly. His career has been mired by puzzlingly bad play, especially considering he has great physical skills and is capable of stringing together great play. However, the ruts are real and they still show up occasionally even though Seattle has won in the rough moments. If Darnold can get through one more game without turning the ball over, paired with a win, he can rewrite the narrative on what people think about him. There’s no better time to cap off what could be the best three-game run of his career.
Josh McDaniels and Mike Vrabel can write new stories for themselves with a win, considering their previous stops did not end in the most flattering manners. While Vrabel bounced back from how his tenure in Tennessee ended, it’s not like it was completely nonsensical for Tennessee to move on from him. The Titans were stuck in the mud following two middling seasons and never really rebounded from the losses of wide receiver A.J. Brown and offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. Moving onto then-rookie quarterback Will Levis was not a fruitful endeavor and the Titans’ offense was so bad that the team decided to move in a different direction from Vrabel. That turned out to be a bad decision, considering Brian Callahan lasted only 23 games as head coach, but it was an understandable move at the time.
McDaniels’ firing from the Raiders requires less explanation; they were awful and so was he. However, he can begin to rebuild the narrative around his career if he can provide answers for the Patriots’ offense to survive a raucous, physical Seattle defense. McDaniels can prove to himself and everyone that he can reach the mountaintop of success without the titanic shadows of Bill Belichick and Tom Brady hovering over him.
Patriots quarterback Drake Maye and Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald are new enough here where they shouldn’t be dinged too much with a loss, but they can hit the ground running on their respective careers with a Super Bowl victory in each of their respective second seasons. History can be made and rewritten with a Lombardi Trophy — at least until there’s a shaky 2026 season that turns up the heat on the hot take machine and makes everyone forget, because that’s just what we do now.
It would’ve been unfair to expect the 2026 NBA trade deadline to match its predecessor in sheer tonnage of stunnage; “Luka Dončić got traded out of nowhere in the middle of the night” is a pretty tough act to follow, after all. But despite pundits and observers continuing to wonder aloud about whether the ongoing ripple effects of the 2023 collective bargaining agreement, and the myriad challenges facing high-spending teams trying to navigate the strictures of the first and second aprons, the days leading up to Thursday afternoon’s deadline featured a flurry of movement.
It turns out that, in an environment in which 20 teams participate in the postseason, NBA decision-makers found plenty of ways to hustle and flow within the CBA’s confines. It turns out there were still plenty of front offices committed to trying to add talent for the stretch run. And, of course, it turns out there were plenty of others eager to balance their ledgers and bolster their draft-pick war chests in the hope that tomorrow they’ll find better things.
The result was a breathtaking sprint through the approach to Thursday’s 3 p.m. ET buzzer. And as the pencils-down buzzer drew nearer, the rumors rolled in and the deals got done, I sat here, like Frank T.J. Mackey, quietly judging them.
What follows are my first-draft-of-history impressions of which teams scored and which ones stumbled in this season’s grand NBA roster reshuffling. There will likely be more winners than losers because, between you and me, the world’s tough enough right now, man. Might as well find a scrap or two of joy where you can, you feel me?
We begin with the biggest move of the week — the one that wasn’t made.
(Mallory Bielecki/Yahoo Sports Illustration)
Winner: Milwaukee Bucks
At the risk of oversimplifying things: The only reasons to trade Giannis Antetokounmpo were if the two-time MVP absolutely, positively demanded in no uncertain terms that he be dealt by Thursday afternoon, or if another team absolutely, positively bowled Milwaukee over with a Godfather offer too good to refuse.
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For all the reporting about Giannis’ representatives communicating in one oblique form or another to the Bucks that the time had come for them to consider unwinding their 13-year relationship in pursuit of a respectful and mutually beneficial conscious uncoupling, or whatever the hell the language was, it appears he never actually said, “I want you to trade me.” (In fact, Antetokounmpo went out of his way on Tuesday to reach out to Bucks beat reporters Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Eric Nehm of The Athletic and tell them that, deep down, in his heart of hearts, he wanted to stay in Milwaukee, win another championship in Milwaukee, and retire a Buck.)
And for all the reporting about the teams most interested in his services, none of them actually had that kind of offer.
The Warriors could sell their post-Stephen Curry draft future, the big-ass salaries of an injured Jimmy Butler and an aging Draymond Green, and a bunch of young players who’ve never looked capable of making Joe Lacob’s purported second timeline viable. The Timberwolves and Knicks never had the draft capital to make a serious push, would’ve had to trade multiple core rotation pieces to try to find it, and never got there. And if the Heat’s best offer was, as Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald proposed, Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, another young player or two, Terry Rozier’s expiring contract, two first-round picks and two or three swaps … well, you can hardly blame the Bucks for not believing that would set them up for a quick bounce-back to perennial postseason pushes. (It hasn’t worked out all that hot for Miami, after all.)
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So the Bucks went through the process, put prospective suitors through their paces, got the lay of the land, found the market wanting … and decided not to take a bad deal just for the sake of content creation, knowing that, when the season ends in just a few short months, plenty more teams will have more draft picks, more financial flexibility and, potentially, more motivation to pony up their best offers after suffering postseason disappointment.
Maybe Jon Horst was never really all that motivated to move. I don’t blame him. Giannis is one of the three or four best players in the world. He’s arguably the most important player in franchise history. Maybe, after years of moves aimed at trying to put together championship-caliber teams around him, the Bucks as presently constituted don’t have much of a future. But I’m not convinced that any of the offers available to them before Thursday would’ve dramatically improved their future outlook, either, and I don’t think sacrificing one of your saints just to turn the page makes sense — as a way to use assets, as a business strategy in your market, as a risk of karmic affront to the basketball gods, or in any other context.
Deciding to walk away from the table on Thursday doesn’t solve the Bucks’ problems. But it didn’t compound them by guaranteeing that the next time Giannis Antetokounmpo takes the court, he does so in another jersey. And that ain’t nothing.
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The Most Stressed Out Winner Imaginable: Jon Horst
Luck into a top-five pick in what evaluators say has a chance to be a generationally great top of the 2026 NBA Draft;
Either nail that pick to give Giannis an instant-impact contributor/future superstar to play next to or auction it off to the highest bidder in exchange for multiple high-quality players and more future draft capital;
Use the multiple first-round picks that you’ll be able to deal come the end of this league year and whatever other assets aren’t nailed down to drastically improve his supporting cast and the Bucks’ overall talent level;
Present Giannis with the four-year, $275 million maximum-salaried contract extension for which he becomes eligible on Oct. 1;
Hope you’ve done enough to once again secure his signature on it;
If you haven’t, begin sifting through a whole new round of offers, and start the process all over again.
Good luck! Enjoy!
Winner: Teams That Will Have More Draft Picks Available This Summer
A bowling-ball-shouldered giant future Hall of Famer no longer sees a championship future with the team he’s been with since he was a teenager; he doesn’t want people to be mad at him for saying so and trying to get himself to a place where he does see said future; everything gets awkward; he doesn’t actually wind up moving at the deadline.
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History doesn’t repeat itself, but it rhymes.
Loser: All of Us Who Waited Breathlessly, Following the Second-by-Second IV Drip of Sourced Scuttlebutt About Giannis’ Future, Expecting a Resolution by Thursday, Only to Be Told to Put Our Phones Down and Go Home to Our Families
Oh, well. Maybe we’ll learn our lesson next time …
Loser: All of Us Who Are About to Do All of That Again All Summer
… but probably not.
Winner: James Harden
Harden went into the week on a team that, while one of the hottest in the NBA, still projects as a play-in team in the Western Conference, likely drawing dead in the first round of the playoffs (if the Clippers even made it that far); with just $13.3 million of his contract for next season guaranteed; and with an uncertain path to a lucrative multi-year extension that would carry him past his 38th birthday. He exits the week as the starting point guard for a team projected to have home-court advantage in Round 1 in the East (and that now ranks as a favorite to win the weaker conference), and with (it is heavily assumed due to his willingness to waive his implied no-trade clause and most of his $2.3 million trade kicker) a pathway to said lucrative multi-year extension.
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Harden might not have infinite wiggles. But this week proved definitively that, even after doing this a half-dozen times, the Beard remains inarguably wiggly.
Winner: Donovan Mitchell — Mover, Shaker and Weight-Throwing Motivator
On Tuesday, I theorized the Cavs’ sudden interest in Harden stemmed from a sudden awareness of the precarity of their position with Mitchell, who is eligible for a contract extension this summer, holds a $53.8 million player option for 2027-28, and could intimate an interest in declining both to threaten an exit from Cleveland if he didn’t feel Koby Altman and Co. were doing everything they could to maximize his chances of winning a championship.
The Cavs began the year as the favorites to win the Eastern Conference, but the season has not gone according to plan. They were also feeling the pressure from their best player, Donovan Mitchell, to make changes ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline under the threat of a contract extension he may or may not sign […]
Three league sources said Mitchell, who has one guaranteed season left on his three-year, $150 million deal and a player option for 2027-28, conveyed, either personally or through his representatives, that he did not think the organization should stand pat for the rest of this season and wait for potential moves in the summer.
“People don’t realize the Cavs are in the same position with Donovan as the Bucks are with Giannis,” one veteran front office executive told The Stein Line. […]
Rest assured, then, that the Cavaliers don’t make the Darius Garland-for-James Harden swap without Mitchell’s blessing.
“If Don wants it, [it’s happening],” said one league source with knowledge of the Cavaliers’ inner-workings.
Mitchell wanted Harden. He got him.
“We both know that it’s going to be an adjustment,” Mitchell told Tony Jones of The Athletic on Wednesday. “But we’re excited. I’m excited about what he can do for me as a player, and I’m excited about what he can do for our team as a whole. We want the same thing. We both want a championship.”
Whether they’ll be able to reach that lofty goal remains in doubt. What’s now beyond doubt, though: The Cavs are no longer a team built around a “core four,” a confederacy of All-Star equals. They’re Mitchell’s team. They’ll go as he goes — as far as he can take them on the court, and where he insists they move off it.
Loser: Collective Confidence in Darius Garland’s Health
On its face, trading a 26-year-old two-time All-Star for a 36-year-old making the same amount of money sounds nuts. There’s a reason why teams don’t typically trade up in age by a full decade; it’s because older guys are less likely to remain healthy and productive than younger guys. In this case, though, the Cavs eagerly signed up for the older dude.
Maybe there’s nothing to that beyond the reported fact that Mitchell had grown weary of the state of play in Cleveland and that Altman saw an opportunity to upgrade at the position and improve the Cavs’ present-tense chances even if it meant reducing their long-term odds. But — and you’ll have to pardon my Windy fingers here — it feels at least notable that the team that drafted Garland and has employed him since 2019, who would know better than anybody exactly what’s in the medical file regarding the issues with the big toes in both of his feet that hobbled him last postseason and have cost him 26 games and counting this season, decided to move on from him … right before he becomes eligible for a contract extension this summer.
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The NBA is an increasingly unforgiving place for small guards, even under the best of circumstances, and the way Garland’s exit from Cleveland unfolded invites at least some skepticism that he’s going to be operating under the best of circumstances. Here’s hoping such skepticism is unfounded; I’m a huge fan of Garland’s game, and he has a huge opportunity to become the cornerstone of the next era of Clippers basketball. I’m just saying: Let’s keep an eye on how long it takes him to come back, what he looks like when he does, and how those wheels fare as he moves into what should be his prime.
Winner (Kinda?): Jonathan Kuminga
He finally got traded! Steve Kerr doesn’t have him to kick around anymore! Now it’s time for him to get all those minutes, touches and scoring opportunities as a starting wing and top offensive option on the …
[checks notes]
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… Atlanta Hawks, who have All-Star triple-double machine Jalen Johnson at power forward, former No. 1 pick Zaccharie Risacher at small forward, and Most Improved Player candidate Nickeil Alexander-Walker and defensive demon Dyson Daniels at the guard spots?
Hmm. Well, at least the drive to the arena will look different.
Loser: Everyone Who Had to Write Multiple Columns and Devote Multiple Podcast Segments to The Jonathan Kuminga Saga
After Jimmy Butler went down, Antetokounmpo was the only move on the board that seemed like it could’ve meaningfully revitalized their chances of competing for an NBA championship. When it became clear to the Warriors that Milwaukee wasn’t going to open that particular door, they pivoted to Atlanta, shipping out Kuminga and Buddy Hield in exchange for Kristaps Porziņģis — who seems like an ideal shot-blocking stretch-5 to put next to Draymond Green, except for the fact that he’s spent much of the last year battlingillness, has missed 35 games this season, and hasn’t suited up in nearly a month.
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If Porziņģis is actually able to play down the stretch, he could really help. More likely, though, Golden State’s deadline business amounts to turning Kuminga and Hield into one larger expiring contract, moving Trayce Jackson-Davis for a second-round pick, getting a little bit of breathing room under the second apron, and … that’s about it. Not exactly the most inspiring transaction cycle for a team led by an about-to-be-38-year-old legend still throwing lightning bolts and playing at an All-NBA level. So it goes.
Winner: Ending Your Years-long Skulking at the Bottom of the Standings in Pursuit of Good, Old-Fashioned Decency
I wouldn’t say I’m convinced that dealing for Trae Young and Anthony Davis will suddenly send Washington skyrocketing into contention for home-court advantage in the Eastern Conference next season. (I’m definitely reluctant to give the Wiz a big thumbs up for their opportunistic buy-low moves until and unless I know they haven’t undone that good work by spending like $90 million a season for their new veterans.) I’m more bullish on the prospect of Utah pairing Jaren Jackson Jr. with Lauri Markkanen and a re-signed Walker Kessler in a supersized frontcourt that, flanked by Keyonte George and Ace Bailey, is bursting at the seams with positional size and offensive skill. (Though, for what it’s worth, JJJ certainly has his skeptics.)
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In general, though, while I don’t begrudge going-nowhere teams deciding that the best option available to them is a managed retreat, teardown and long rebuild, I also support teams that have been terrible forever trying, at long last, to be good. (I’m a little traditional that way.) Since moving Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, the Jazz have been functionally irrelevant to the broader NBA discourse; the Wizards have labored in that condition for most of the last several decades. I’m not saying they should start printing the Game 3 playoff programs just yet; I just respect the swing.
Winner: Getting Your Work Done Early, Like a Respectable Deep Seal in the Post (Shouts Out to Thomas Bryant)
Heading into the season, a handful of teams projected to have boatloads of cap space in the summer of 2026. But with the 2026 free agency class heavy on expensive vets on the wrong side of 30, and with cap-space-flush teams like Washington and Utah unlikely to win battles for the affection of sought-after targets against bigger markets and better teams, those teams instead opted for what’s increasingly being called “pre-agency.”
The Wizards swooping in on Young and Davis; the Jazz snagging JJJ.; the Wolves (not a cap-space-flush team, but still qualifying!) dealing for Ayo Dosunmu (whom Minnesota likely wouldn’t have been able to sign this offseason). All of these deals allowed teams to bring in players that they might not have had access to come the summer, giving them both a few-months head-start in getting them acclimated to a new structure and, crucially, gaining control over the players’ valuable Bird rights. Making those deals now ensures that those teams don’t wind up scrambling to throw good money after bad later, and affords them a leg up on the arduous process of sketching out a vision for what comes next so that you can hit the ground running next season. Procrastination: so last year.
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Winner, Passive Income/Compound Interest Division: Oklahoma City Thunder
The defending NBA champions entered deadline week holding three first-round picks in the 2026 NBA Draft — belonging to the Clippers (from the 2019 Paul George/Shai Gilgeous-Alexander trade), the 76ers (from the 2020 Al Horford trade) and the Rockets (from the 2019 Chris Paul/Russell Westbrook trade) — with a top-eight-protected potential fourth coming from the Jazz (from the 2021 Derrick Favors salary dump). But with 15 guaranteed salaries on the books for next year, and with injured recent first-rounders Nikola Topić and Thomas Sorber in line to enter the fold, they don’t really have any place to put all those dudes. Champagne problems for an organization still learning how to open Champagne bottles.
So the Thunder took one of those firsts, plus three second-round picks from their cache of future assets, and turned them into Jared McCain — a player whose struggles in his first 30-odd games after returning from a torn meniscus in his left knee landed him on the outskirts of Nick Nurse’s rotation, but who’s begun to come on of late, knocking down 15 of his last 26 3-pointers in a Sixers uniform.
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Oklahoma City — currently sitting atop the West at 40-12, with the NBA’s best defense and a top-four offense — doesn’t exactly need a whole hell of a lot to feel confident in its chances of vying for a second NBA championship. But for a team that ranks 15th in 3-point makes, 16th in 3-point attempts, 15th in 3-point accuracy and 18th in the share of its shots that come from long range, an active and accurate movement shooter — 38.1% from deep on more than 10 attempts per 100 possessions thus far in his career — who can give Mark Daigneault someone else who can create with the ball in his hands in the second unit feels like a worthwhile addition to the portfolio. Particularly when it comes at the fairly negligible cost of never-quite-developed/surplus-to-requirements fourth-year big Ousmane Dieng (later re-routed to the Bucks) and what’s likely to be a mid-20s pick that the Thunder would have a hard time rostering next season.
It seems like a pretty reasonable bet that a steady diet of opportunities in what’s proven to be an awfully good developmental system in Oklahoma City could help McCain recover the form that had him looking like the Rookie of the Year favorite before his injury last season. That would make him awfully useful, not only for this year’s title defense, but also over the next several seasons of his cost-controlled rookie-scale contract — especially for a Thunder team that’s about to get extremely expensive.
With extensions for Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren kicking in, the Thunder are about to face a salary crunch that will likely lead to some tough decisions on perimeter players like Luguentz Dort, Aaron Wiggins and Isaiah Joe — another former Sixer sharpshooter who wound up carving out a role for himself in OKC. McCain might be next in line.
And, by the way? With the Clippers shedding two of their three best players and the Jazz adding a two-time All-Star before the deadline, Oklahoma City’s odds of landing a pair of mid-lottery picks look to have increased. It’s pretty cool when, without you doing anything, your money keeps making money. (Shouts out to Benny in “In the Heights.”)
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Winner: Indiana Pacers
In what’s largely been a miserable season in Indianapolis, Kevin Pritchard and Co. had one very important goal: to find a new starting center capable of replacing Myles Turner as a viable long-term answer at the position in time for Tyrese Haliburton’s return next season. And about 45 minutes before the final buzzer, they went out and got the best one on the market.
Indiana had been linkedwith Ivica Zubac for weeks. And while the price was fairly steep — the Pacers’ unprotected 2029 first-round pick, plus an interestingly protected 2026 first (Indiana keeps it if it’s 1-4 or 10-30; the Clips get it if it lands 5-9) that converts to an unprotected 2031 first if it doesn’t convey this year, plus a Dallas 2028 second-rounder, talented swingman Bennedict Mathurin and reserve center Isaiah Jackson — the return is worth it.
The 7-foot, 240-pound Zubac is absolutely rock-solid. He was an All-Defensive Second Team selection last season who perennially ranks near the top of the NBA in defensive field-goal percentage allowed at the rim, and should provide a high-level organizing principle for a Pacers defense that ranks 21st in points allowed per possession this season without Turner. He’s a monster on the glass who’s in the top 10 in both offensive and defensive rebounding rate this season.
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He’s a sure-handed finisher on the interior who’s made more than 60% of his shots for seven straight seasons, a capable dribble handoff hub when stationed at the elbows, and a physical screener who demands help defenders’ attention when he rolls to the rim; it’s easy to imagine him replicating the pick-and-roll rhythm he found with James Harden as soon as he gets a few reps with Haliburton, one of the few players on the planet arguably as adept as Harden at facilitating in the two-man game.
Zubac also fits the Pacers’ timeline like a glove. He turns 29 next month, and he’s making less than 13% of the salary cap (an absolute steal) on the extension he signed in L.A. in the summer of 2024 that runs through 2028, which lines him up with Haliburton, Pascal Siakam, Andrew Nembhard, Obi Toppin, Aaron Nesmith and T.J. McConnell — a.k.a., the core of the team that just went to Game 7 of the NBA Finals.
If you’re forced to have a gap year, all you can do is try to make it a productive one. Landing Zubac makes this one a smashing success for Indiana, and puts the Pacers in position to return to contention atop the Eastern Conference as soon as next season.
And if the Pacers land one of those top four picks in June’s draft … oh, man.
Loser: Miami Heat
You already knew the Heat were the hardest-working, best-conditioned, most professional, unselfish, toughest, meanest, nastiest team in the NBA. On Thursday, though, they added another title:
Without landing Giannis to vault them into the upper reaches of the Eastern hierarchy or taking a moderately smaller swing for Ja Morant, the Heat wound up sitting out the trade deadline entirely. No infusion of talent; no shuffling the deck; no breath of fresh air for a team that’s gone 14-18 with a bottom-10 offense and a negative point differential since the start of December.
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Maybe a healthy return from Herro, who’s played only 11 games this season while battling ankle and toe injuries, functions as that jolt, and maybe Erik Spoelstra’s able to find just enough offensive juice to allow his Bam Adebayo-led top-five defense to grind the gears of higher-seeded opponents come April and May. Without having landed any reinforcements, though, maybe by the time spring rolls around, the Heat will wind up doing what they did on Thursday: sitting out, and watching everybody else get active.
Loser: Sacramento Kings
[sigh]
OK. You know what? That’s on me.
After weeks and weeks of reports and rumors about all the myriad players Scott Perry would look to move as he set about overhauling the league’s least cohesive or coherent roster — an accumulation of aggregation that led me to consider Sacramento one of the more interesting teams to keep an eye on at this deadline — the sum total of the Kings’ activity was to use Keon Ellis (a player that half the league was reportedly interested in employing, and in whom the Kings themselves evidently had little interest) to dump the rest of the three-year, $44.4 million contract of Dennis Schröder (which the Kings gave him seven months ago) for the right to pay De’Andre Hunter (who has graded out above replacement level twice in a seven-year career) $48.2 million over the next two seasons.
Well, the second part of Tom’s big plan didn’t come to fruition, but the Cavs should still feel pretty damn good about where they stand after the deadline.
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Cleveland exits the deadline with Harden, a pretty significant upgrade over the current, injury-inflected version of Garland; Schröder, another credible ball-handler and ball-pressuring defensive irritant with a ton of experience who gave great minutes to Detroit last postseason; and Ellis, who was a bona fide game-changer in Sacramento when he had the opportunity to play off a primary creator in De’Aaron Fox, and whose game should play up now that he’s being stationed next to Mitchell and Harden. And by moving off Lonzo Ball, they opened up a roster spot to be able to convert Nae’Qwan Tomlin from a two-way contract to a standard deal, ensuring that Kenny Atkinson will be able to keep the long, super-active second-year wing in his rotation through the rest of the regular season and into the playoffs.
The Cavs still have plenty of work to do: figuring out the ball-handling, playmaking timeshare between Harden and Mitchell; getting big men Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen reps and rhythm with a new primary pick-and-roll playmaker; finding the most synergistic lineup combinations with three new pieces coming in; etc. All told, though, they look deeper, more talented and more dangerous now than they did on Monday — a team better positioned to make the deep playoff run that has eluded them, and, in the process, to convince Mitchell that the grass wouldn’t be greener somewhere else.
Winner (I think): Los Angeles Clippers
When the Clips were 6-21 on Dec. 19, plenty of smart people wondered whether they’d pull the plug, strip the remnants of the Kawhi/PG-era roster down to the studs, and set about the difficult business of rebuilding when you don’t control your own first-round draft picks until 2030.
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When the Clips then promptly won 16 of their next 19 games — a run so stunningly prolific that it resulted in a man literally eating his own words — you wondered whether they’d go the other way, rebuffing interest from would-be suitors and instead considering adding talent to potentially propel them further up the Western standings.
In the end, though — and likely spurred on by Harden’s insistence on finding new digs — Lawrence Frank acted as if he was at the controls of a team that had largely run its course and needed to start planting seeds for a new tomorrow. (Sorry.)
Out goes Harden, replaced by Garland, an All-Star point guard a decade his junior. Out goes Zubac, returning a package headlined by Mathurin — a legit 23-year-old, 6-5 scorer who still needs to iron out some of the wrinkles in his game and enters restricted free agency this summer — and two potentially very valuable Pacers draft picks to start restocking the draft cupboard. You’d imagine youngsters Kobe Sanders, Jordan Miller and Yanic Konan Niederhauser will get plenty of opportunities down the stretch, as what began the season as the league’s oldest team now starts to look toward the future.
Kawhi stays put for now, but with Garland and Isaiah Jackson now the only non-rookie-scale money on the books beyond 2027, the Clips still have a ton of financial flexibility with which to hit the reset button in two years’ time. It’s something of a whimper of an end to an era that began with a literal earthquake. But maybe that’s better than continuing to chase an outcome that was no longer in the cards.
Maybe that was the right call. In the last six games he’s actually played — a half-dozen appearances since Christmas, which, granted, not exactly the most ringing endorsement — Morant has averaged 23.5 points and 9.3 assists in 29.2 minutes per game, driving to the basket 17.5 times per game, shooting 53.7% from the field (including 74.2% in the restricted area), 38.9% from 3-point land and 84.2% from the free-throw line on more than six attempts per game, and the Grizzlies have won his minutes. That version of Ja — one that can still get downhill, can finish on the interior, can get to the line and act as an offensive engine — is one that has value.
Maybe Zach Kleiman sees a scenario in which Morant returns to the floor after his sprained elbow heals up, puts together a string of healthy and impressive performances, and offers the league enough evidence that he hasn’t lost his All-Star/All-NBA fastball — that he’s still got enough left in the tank to be worth betting on. Maybe that’s enough to bring in some more significant offers come the offseason, enabling Morant to pursue a fresh start elsewhere and allowing Memphis to recoup something approaching value for the beleaguered face of their franchise.
Maybe, though, the lack of aggressive offers over the last month is an indication that Morant’s last three years — the suspensions, the injuries, the seemingly constant internecine drama, the inconsistent production and on-court decline — have left an awfully sour taste in an awful lot of mouths. At 26 years old, the NBA at large seems to be more or less out on Ja Morant. Here’s hoping he gives the league a reason to change that point of view.
You win some, you lose some: New York Knicks
Give Leon Rose credit for this much: When he makes a mistake, he moves quickly to try to correct it.
When the Knicks signed Guerschon Yabusele this summer, it looked like a coup. The 29-year-old big man was coming off an excellent run for the French national team at the 2024 Summer Olympics and a strong season for the Philadelphia 76ers, and seemed like a quality complementary power forward/center to play alongside and behind Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson under new head coach Mike Brown. The theory never panned out in reality, though, as Yabusele’s shooting, defensive work and overall two-way production cratered. With the Knicks getting outscored by 3.4 points per 100 possessions in his minutes, Yabusele quickly found himself out of Brown’s rotation — a $5.5 million salary slot largely gone to seed.
So, with the Knicks passing on a Giannis pursuit and suddenly scorching after having left their post-NBA Cup slump behind, Rose set about Ctrl+Z’ing the error. Step 1: Work with Yabusele on waiving the player option for the second year of his contract, turning him into an expiring — and, thus, much more movable — contract. Step 2: Move said amended contract to Chicago, in exchange for wing Dalen Terry. Step 3: Re-route Terry (along with a pair of second-round picks) to New Orleans for Jose Alvarado — whom the Knicks had reportedlybeenafter for weeks.
The 27-year-old Alvarado gives Brown a veteran backup point guard to pair with second-year man Tyler Kolek off the bench — an undersized option at 6-foot-even, yes, but one who plays aggressive, disruptive, opportunistic point-of-attack defense the full length of the court. He was born in Brooklyn, he played high school ball in Queens, and he plays with his hair on fire 100% of the time. If all he does is throw his body around and get a few steals and deflections here and there, the fans at Madison Square Garden will love him; if he can make his 3s, he’ll become a folk hero faster than you can say, “Yes, I can shoot.” Alvarado also makes $1 million less than Yabusele this year, giving the Knicks another $1 million in breathing room under the second apron, which will allow them to be able to add a player in the buyout market.
It was a tidy bit of business for Rose, replacing a player who didn’t fit New York’s style or needs with one who did while saving money and opening up more options to tinker on the edges of the roster before the start of the playoffs. But just as the vibes were threatening to get a little too immaculate …
… Fred Katz and James L. Edwards III of The Athletic reported that reserve guard Miles McBride needs core muscle surgery, which will put him on the shelf for quite a while. How long? Maybe right up until the start of the playoffs, according to Jeff Stotts of In Street Clothes:
That’s a pretty significant bummer, considering McBride — averaging 12.9 points in 28 minutes per game, shooting 42% from 3-point range on nearly seven attempts a night, all career highs — has been one of New York’s best players this season, according to multipleadvancedmetrics. But if McBride’s able to make it back for the postseason, the Yabusele-for-Alvarado swap, combined with the recent uptick in form across the roster, and especially on the defensive end, could give the Knicks everything they need to go toe-to-toe with anyone they’ll face in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Winner: Minnesota Timberwolves
In the grand scheme of things, Tim Connelly’s decision on the night of the 2024 NBA Draft to trade an unprotected 2031 first-round pick and a 2030 pick swap to the Spurs for the right to draft Rob Dillingham now looks pretty disastrous. In the here-and-now, though, Thursday’s reversal of course — moving Dillingham, who’s underwhelmed through two pro seasons, along with fellow former draftee Leonard Miller and four second-round picks, to the Bulls for Ayo Dosunmu — seems like a perfect fit to fortify the Wolves’ biggest weakness as they seek a third straight trip to the Western Conference finals.
All season long, Minnesota has seemed a guard short — the natural consequences of both letting Nickeil Alexander-Walker go to Atlanta in favor of re-signing big men Julius Randle and Naz Reid and 19 years in the NBA catching up to Mike Conley Jr. Enter Dosunmu, a tough, physical, 6-4 combo guard with a 6-8 wingspan who can check scorers at either backcourt spot, get to and finish at the rim, serve as a complementary ball-handler, and knock down triples at a 45% clip.
He’s a better all-around player than Bones Hyland, who’s been serving as Minnesota’s main source of reserve backcourt punch. He should fit neatly next to either Anthony Edwards or Donte DiVincenzo. In a season where the likes of Dillingham, Terrence Shannon Jr. and Jaylen Clark have been hit-or-miss, he adds another bona fide two-way option for Chris Finch to turn to in the crucible of a playoff series. And while Dosunmu is ticketed for free agency this summer, the Wolves now hold his Bird rights, allowing them to go over the cap to retain him.
This, it’s fair to say, is not exactly the headline-making haul that Connelly had in mind when he entered deadline week. But with Giannis off the board, he still found a way to make the Wolves better, tougher and deeper — a team other Western powers won’t be eager to face, and maybe one capable of making it even further than its predecessors. (Now go bring Conley back, after his trade to the Bulls, re-trade to the Hornets and subsequent waiving makes him eligible to return to the team that just employed him, and the vibes will be all the way right.)
No longer will Arturas Karnišovas sit idly by and allow pundits to jest and jape in his general direction for his lack of trade-deadline activity. After three years without a single transaction, last year he sent Zach LaVine to Sacramento. And this year, he went berserk, making seven deals.
Seven! That’s so many! Arguably too many!
After all the wheeling and dealing was done, Chicago had bought in bulk on two commodities: small guards and second-round picks. Like, so many second-round picks:
And in the course of bidding farewell to longtime center Nikola Vučević (on his way to be a Sort Of Al Horford in Boston), Dosunmu, Kevin Huerter and Coby White (a UNC product who I bet will look pretty good in Charlotte), they wound up bringing back Dillingham, Anfernee Simons, Jaden Ivey and Collin Sexton, to add to a backcourt mix that already featured Josh Giddey (who has played only four games since New Year’s Eve with a hamstring strain) and Tre Jones. Yabusele and ex-Suns reserve Nick Richards will join Jalen Smith, Matas Buzelis and Patrick Williams in the frontcourt mix.
Isaac Okoro’s in the mix. Mac McClung, now, too.
That is … not a very good team. Which, maybe, is the point.
Chicago currently sits 10th in the East, in its ancestral homeland of the play-in tournament, but just one game up on the red-hot Hornets … to whom they just traded a pretty good player in White, who ought to fit very neatly into their high-octane offensive system. If the Hornets pass the Bulls, and if the Bulls sink a little deeper into the lottery, it could improve their chances of rising in the first round of the draft.
They don’t have a prayer of catching the likes of the Kings, Pelicans, Pacers, Nets, Wizards and Jazz, and really improving their odds. But every little bit of hurt helps; a version of the Bulls that feeds a ton of minutes to Ivey and Dillingham, allowing them to play through mistakes and see what they can do, could wind up paying dividends for Chicago on multiple levels.
Just so long as nobody calls it a rebuild. We’re not using that word, OK? That word is off-limits.
And failing that … well, at least they added some second-rounders instead of selling them. That’s something, right?
Low-key Winner: Charlotte Hornets
The Hornets have been pretty awesome for the past month, as the core of LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller and Kon Knueppel has really taken off. I thought they did nicely to balance fostering that growth and continuing to think about the big picture. They moved Sexton to Chicago for White — a move that could make them better right now — and Mason Plumlee to Oklahoma City for Ousmane Dieng (later re-routed to the Bucks) while also adding four future second-round picks to their coffers. They also rented out their financial flexibility to take Tyus Jones off Orlando’s hands and turn him into a flyer on ex-Spur and Wizard Malaki Branham, and picked up $3.5 million in cash for taking big man Xavier Tillman Sr. to help the Celtics duck under the luxury tax.
None of that’s going to change the balance of power in the East or anything. But for years, Charlotte just kind of meandered through the wilderness in the lower reaches of the conference, doing stuff that didn’t necessarily seem to cohere to any particular long-term vision or cohesive plan. That’s changed under new ownership and management; for the past couple of seasons, the Hornets have just kept stringing together solid move after solid move, putting them in position to overhaul their roster, return to competitive play, and still have plenty of flexibility and assets to give them the chance to make even more tweaks and additions down the road. Three cheers for mature, functional leadership!
The entire 2025 NFL season boils down to Sunday. Super Bowl LX at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California will pit the AFC champion New England Patriots against the NFC champion Seattle Seahawks.
Six of our eight NFL experts are siding with one team in particular to win, though all but two think it’ll be a one-score game. Two separate players also got two of our staff’s votes for MVP.
We also had some fun with prop bets involving Bad Bunny’s halftime performance, special teams and one of the internet’s favorite outcomes.
