SI:AM | Names to Watch Ahead of Thursday’s NBA Trade Deadline
Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. I hope no NBA trades broke between when I wrote this and when you’re reading it.
In today’s SI:AM:
🏈 Ranking every Super Bowl game
💰 Payouts for PGA Tour legends?
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It’s been quiet so far
The NBA trade deadline is mere hours away, and the market has been pretty quiet. Will that change before the 3 p.m. ET deadline?
There were a couple of minor deals yesterday, with the Detroit Pistons acquiring Simone Fontecchio from the Utah Jazz, the Minnesota Timberwolves acquiring Monté Morris from the Pistons and the Boston Celtics acquiring Xavier Tillman from the Memphis Grizzlies. Hopefully, we get a few deals today that are more exciting.
So who could be on the move? Here are a few players and teams to watch.
Dejounte Murray
Murray is the best player on the trade market this year. His current team, the Atlanta Hawks, aren’t going anywhere this season, but that isn’t Murray’s fault. He’s averaging 21.4 points per game this season and would be a welcome addition to any team looking for another scoring threat.
Murray is a combo guard who can score, pass and play stout defense, but pairing him with Trae Young hasn’t worked out as well as the Hawks hoped when they traded four first-round picks for Murray in 2022. He signed a four-year, $114 million contract extension before this season that’s set to kick in next year, so any team will have him for the foreseeable future at a decent value. But that extension also means the Hawks aren’t going to feel forced to trade him for anything less than their full asking price.
The Los Angeles Lakers are strongly linked to Murray, yet face constraints in negotiations. According to regulations, they can only offer their 2029 first-round pick, while Atlanta reportedly desires two first-round picks.
The Lakers
Speaking of the Lakers, they’re at a fascinating crossroads as the deadline looms. They’re currently in ninth place in the Western Conference and must decide whether they feel comfortable standing pat and trying to squeak into the playoffs again like last year or taking a big swing to add reinforcements at the expense of their future.
The Lakers already did an on-the-fly retool last season when they traded away six players in the two weeks before the deadline. They won’t overhaul the roster like that again, but they have to do something, right? LeBron James continues to play at a championship level and Anthony Davis is finally healthy for the first time since the 2019–20 season, when L.A. won its last title. Last year showed that, thanks to those two stars, the Lakers are capable of making a deep playoff run regardless of their seeding.
But their postseason future is very much in doubt at the moment. They’re only two games ahead of 11th place and could easily miss the playoffs. Upgrading the supporting cast will help them solidify their playoff position and make another run at the title.
The Golden State Warriors
Speaking of 11th place in the West, that position is currently occupied by the Warriors. You might be thinking, Oh, maybe they just got themselves in a hole while Draymond Green was suspended. Nope! They were 8–9 during his absence and are 5–4 since he came back. They’re just a thoroughly average team at this point.
Ohe reason? Klay Thompson hasn’t been his usual self. (He’s shooting a career worst 37.7% from three.) Thompson’s name has surfaced in trade rumors, but nothing serious, and he dismissed that speculation while talking with reporters last night. But one player the Warriors are more likely to trade is Andrew Wiggins. He’s seen a reduced role (averaging a career-low 27.0 minutes per game) and has three years and $85 million left on his contract, so Golden State could give itself some salary cap by moving him. Yahoo’s Jake Fischer reports that the Milwaukee Bucks and Dallas Mavericks are among those interested.
Other players who could be on the move
- Kyle Kuzma, who just signed a four-year, $102 million contract with the Washington Wizards, is another top trade target. The Wiz are abominable right now and would be smart to kickstart their rebuild by turning Kuzma into some assets for the future.
- Veteran point guard Malcolm Brogdon is reportedly a target for the Philadelphia 76ers.
- Be sure to read any trade rumors today very carefully. Both Bojan Bogdanović and Bogdan Bogdanović are among the most sought-after players available. Bogdan has been a useful bench contributor for the Hawks, while Bojan is logging serious minutes for the Pistons. Both guys are solid wing players who can help a contender.
- The Brooklyn Nets are said to be shopping a pair of wing players, Royce O’Neale and Dorian Finney-Smith.
The best of Sports Illustrated
Geoff Burke/USA TODAY Sports
- Here’s what Albert Breer is hearing from around the NFL during Super Bowl week, including what to make of speculation that Andy Reid could retire.
- Matt Verderame ranked all 57 previous Super Bowl games.
- Greg Bishop explains how Kyle Shanahan’s attention to detail makes him such a great coach.
- PGA Tour players, including legendary retired players, are in line to get payouts from the Tour’s new round of funding, Bob Harig reports.
- Gabrielle Herzig is out in Arizona for this week’s tournament at TPC Scottsdale, where Scottie Scheffler and Justin Thomas weighed in on the possibility of welcoming LIV Golf players back to the PGA Tour.
- Nick Saban is joining ESPN’s College Gameday.
- Two-time WNBA MVP Elena Delle Donne is reportedly taking a break from basketball.
- Heat forward Haywood Highsmith missed last night’s game after he was involved in a car accident.
The top five...
… things I saw last night:
5. Jimmy Vesey’s backhand goal from a tight angle.
4. Philipp Kurashev’s dangle through a defender’s legs, leading to a goal.
3. Evan Mobley’s block before the ball even left the shooter’s hand.
2. Jimmy Butler’s technical after pointing at all three referees.
1. Jeremy Sochan eating a fan’s popcorn after tumbling into the stands.
SIQ
Women’s ice hockey made its Olympic debut on this day in what year?
- 1992
- 1994
- 1998
- 2002
Yesterday’s SIQ: On Feb. 7, 1970, LSU Tigers star Pete Maravich set an NCAA record by scoring 69 points in a 106–104 loss to the Alabama Crimson Tide. Maravich’s record stood for more than 20 years until it was broken by a player from which school that is no longer a member of Division I?
- St. Francis (N.Y.)
- U.S. International University
- West Texas A&M
- Savannah State
Answer: U.S. International University. Kevin Bradshaw had 72 points in a 186–140 loss to Loyola Marymount on Jan. 5, 1991. (The Lions’ gaudy score still stands as the highest total for a team in a D-I game.)
Bradshaw had an unusual college career. His journey began at Bethune-Cookman, where he played two seasons. But as Phil Taylor detailed in a 1990 SI story, Bradshaw’s girlfriend told him during his sophomore year that she was pregnant. The pair got married, welcomed a daughter, Jiana, and Bradshaw dropped out of school to join the U.S. Navy to support his family. Bradshaw kept playing basketball, though, including on the All-Armed Forces team, where he was teammates with David Robinson. Bradshaw was stationed in San Diego and, while playing in a summer league game there, caught the eye of USIU coach Gary Zarecky. (The school was also located in San Diego.) Zarecky recruited Bradshaw, who, after getting divorced, decided to return to school.
The Gulls didn’t win many games, but Bradshaw put on a show every time he stepped on the court. He averaged 31.3 points per game as a junior (second in the nation) and led the nation with 37.6 points per game as a senior. He went on to have a long career playing professionally in Israel. In 1993, he scored 101 points in a game there.
