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Hoops Rumors Live Chat: 1/26/2026
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Luke Adams
3:01
Thanks for the early questions, guys! Keep 'em coming and I'll get to as many as I can during the next hour.
Wizards Fan
3:02
Are the Wizards really serious about Trae Young being part of the future or is this just a way to more easily reach the salary floor next year? Surely given Hawks gave up on the Trae experiment as top dog (still a real good player), the Wizards wouldn't then extend him at a max salary beyond the current deal. He seems like a 6th man candidate at half his current salary.
Luke Adams
3:05
I'm not sure the Wizards are ready to commit to a long-term future with Young, but I can see why they feel like he could be a good fit. He's the exact kind of player who's capable of elevating several of the Wizards' young players who aren't great at creating their own shots. And with most of those young guys still multiple years away from their second contracts, the Wizards can afford to pay Young big money in the short term.

I don't get the sense they're gonna sign him to a long-term, max-salary extension, but I think they'd be very open to discussing an extension in the three-year, $100-120MM range (replacing his $49MM player option).
DEE-TROIT BASKETBALL
3:05
I don't see the Pistons doing anything big. They do have a TPE that is the approximate value of the full MLE - who do you see being available in that range that fits the Nasty Dogs roster?
Luke Adams
3:08
If I were them, I'd be looking to add more scoring and/or shooting. Luke Kennard, Quentin Grimes, Saddiq Bey, Svi Mykhailiuk, Josh Green, and Ayo Dosunmu are some guys that might be available and might be fits. Coby White or Bennedict Mathurin would make a lot of sense, though it's sometimes harder to deal with division rivals.
Lavine
3:08
Is there any possible teams who want zach lavine? Looks like the bucks give up on him
Luke Adams
3:09
Don't see the Kings getting positive or even neutral value for LaVine this season. If they trade him, they'll need to attach a more valuable asset (Ellis?) to move off his contract. Not sure it's worth it for Sacramento -- they might be better off waiting until the summer.
GrizzMan
3:09
Could the Grizz move JJJ before (or instead of) moving Ja? Would moving JJJ make it easier or harder to move Ja?
Luke Adams
3:13
Unless there are significant problems behind the scenes there that we don't know about yet, I'd be pretty shocked if trading JJJ is a serious consideration at this point. He just signed an extension last summer (one that Memphis essentially organized the rest of its offseason moves to accommodate) and all indications are that the Grizzlies want to keep him.

In the event that they surprise me and do move Jackson, I don't really see how that helps them trade Morant. Potential trade partners would see that they're going into rebuilding mode and probably recognize that Ja (whose happiness in Memphis has already been an open question this season) wouldn't be thrilled with his situation, so it would hurt the Grizzlies' leverage.
Kings fan
3:13
Why aren’t more teams in the market for Derozan? Only 10 million guaranteed next year and he’s instant offense for a contender. I think he’s best suited for a 6th man spot where he spells the star and you can get offense through him but there’s many teams that could use a guy like him in crunch time. The warriors and the Pistons who have concerns about who else can get a bucket late in games come to mind. I know the contract isn’t great but I feel like a move for him should happen this deadline
Luke Adams
3:15
The $10MM partial guarantee for next season isn't really as valuable as it seems -- it's nice that it gives you more flexibility than a full guarantee would, but if you want to keep him beyond this season, you still have to pay the full $25.7MM. And if not, you either eat that $10MM or have to trade him again.

As for why he's not more popular on the trade market, it seems like contending teams are very wary of investing too heavily in players whose defense will make them a liability in the playoffs. I like DeRozan as a scorer but he's never been great on defense and he's 36 now. He'd get targeted defensively in a playoff series.
Yoshii83
3:16
Are the Clippers for real or just on a hot streak?
Luke Adams
3:17
An obvious hedge here, but: I don't think they're as bad as the 6-21 start suggested or as good as the 15-3 run since then.

Having said that, I was sort of struggling to explain why they were so bad after that 6-21 start, so the 15-3 version feels closer to the real Clippers to me. I expect them to make the playoffs.
Kevin in Houston
3:18
Do the Rockets stand pat, trade for a backup PG, or look to find someone in the buyout market after the trade deadline?
Luke Adams
3:20
I get the sense they'd like to add a guard, but it's hard to find expendable trade candidates earning more than the minimum on that roster. VanVleet has a de facto no-trade clause, Finney-Smith is now a negative contract, and most of the other non-minimum guys are useful contributors that Houston probably won't want to move. Wouldn't shock me if they end up standing pat or making a move for a very low-salary trade target (Jose Alvarado would be gettable using a couple minimum salaries, for example).
Edwill
3:20
The Raptors are having a good season. One of the biggest surprises this season. Can they be a serious contender in the east
Luke Adams
3:22
The East is wide open enough that I wouldn't rule out the possibility of them winning a playoff series or two, even without any additional roster moves. On the other hand, a bad first-round matchup could lead to a quick exit. It feels like the Eastern Conference playoffs this spring will hinge in large part on which teams get hot at the right time and which teams get favorable matchups.
3:23
I'm torn on whether the Raptors should be aggressive at the deadline in an effort to add an impact player (Sabonis? AD?). On one hand, it feels like there's a real opening this year to make a deep run. On the other hand, the big-name trade candidates this season are all so risky that it definitely doesn't make sense to overpay for any of them. Which the Raptors might have to do if they want to include a contract like Quickley's or Poeltl's (or both).
Randy
3:23
Any more moves for the Hawks leading up to the trade deadline
Luke Adams
3:26
After the Trae trade, I assumed they'd do something with Porzingis too. Now I'm not so sure. It would have to be something that makes sense beyond this season, since I think there's a limited ceiling on this year's team and making a win-now move doesn't really make sense.

I suspect they'd also like to see where that Bucks/Pelicans first-rounder lands before doing anything too significant for the future. Landing a player like Peterson or Dybantsa or Boozer would have a major impact on what else they need to add going forward.
3:27
Trading for De'Aaron Fox and then ending up in position to draft Dylan Harper has worked out pretty well for San Antonio so far, but I imagine the Hawks don't want to make their equivalent of the Fox trade until they see who their equivalent of Harper could be.
Canaryville Mike
3:27
Help me understand the true value of Coby White? How can Desmond Bane get 4 1st rd pick in return, and Coby white not get atleast 2 future 1st rd pick in return?
Luke Adams
3:30
Desmond Bane has one of the more coveted skill sets in the NBA (three-and-D wing) and was under contract for four years at the time he was traded. The Grizzlies also took on a couple not-great contracts (KCP, Anthony) in that trade.

White is on an expiring contract, has battled injuries this season, and isn't a great defender. He's obviously a talented player, but you're not getting multiple first-round picks for him when he could turn out to be a two-month rental.
Hornets
3:31
Do the Hornets use the deadline to improve or to add more assets?  At what point do they start using some of their draft assets to add talent?
Luke Adams
3:35
Honestly, I wouldn't bat an eye if they decided to be buyers at this deadline. Again, they're not the sort of team who should be looking for a short-term upgrade, but if they can find a sort of "pre-agency" deal that helps them beyond this season (sort of like Toronto's trade for Brandon Ingram last year), they should absolutely jump on it -- they look ready to take a step forward beginning in 2026/27.

Just double-checked to confirm this stat: Over the last two months (since Nov. 27), the Hornets have the fifth-best net rating in the league. Better than New York, Denver, San Antonio, Minnesota, Houston, Clippers, etc. Pretty wild.
Guest
3:35
Are there any big moves Portland can make without losing Deni or Sharpe or is it just dumping the contracts of Grant and Williams?
Luke Adams
3:38
It'd be tricky because most of their tradable contracts don't have value on their own, so you'd need to be tacking on draft picks to get anything worthwhile and I'm not sure that's the right move at this point. I'd continue developing the young guys and wait until the offseason to reassess if I were them.
Parker
3:38
Should the Sixers consider selling high on Joel Embiid while he is still healthy and productive?
Luke Adams
3:40
It's great that he's looked good recently but I don't think a solid six-week stretch has turned that contract into a hot commodity. Everyone knows about his injury history. He's still more valuable on the Sixers' roster than he would be on the trade market.
Fernando
3:40
I just saw the Thunder's payroll for next season and....wow. They're looking to have the highest payroll next season with several extensions kicking in. Do you think they will try to address that by the trade deadline? Maybe trade some overpriced reserves for expiring contracts? Or maybe they'll wait until the offseason and decline the team options on some contracts?
Luke Adams
3:42
Can't see them doing anything that would risk repeating as champions. That'll be offseason work. I expect we'll see Hartenstein's option declined, Dort picked up, and maybe a trade involving a role player like Aaron Wiggins or Isaiah Joe.
Tim 093066
3:43
Hey, what pieces do you predict the Bulls will shed by the deadline? As a fan, I love the individual people, but the organization has zero big men to really play with Josh.
Luke Adams
3:46
White and Dosunmu probably have the most value, but I wouldn't be surprised if Dosunmu ends up getting extended instead of traded. I'm curious to see if the Bulls can do anything with those bigger expiring contracts like the Wizards did with McCollum. Like, the idea of Collins + Huerter + Portland's protected first-rounder for Zion Williamson is sort of interesting to me.

I will say that if the Bulls don't get offers they like, it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to just let a bunch of those contracts expire. That would give them the flexibility to reshape their roster in the summer.
Justin
3:47
Which team is gonna do a trade that no one saw coming, we hear of the usual suspects but don’t hear much from the Cavs end, they look prime for a “didn’t see that coming” move. Unless my feeds don’t show me Cavs-related rumors.
Luke Adams
3:49
The Cavs are interesting but limited in what they can do on the trade market due to being over the second apron (no aggregation, etc). We also keep hearing that they still believe in their roster when it's healthy, which it hasn't been for all of this season.

In terms of a "didn't see that coming" move, I wouldn't rule out the Timberwolves. Connelly has always been one of the league's more aggressive GMs, and if Minnesota's struggles continue over the next few games, he could become more inclined to shake things up.
MDJr
3:49
Do you expect Tatum back for the playoff?
Luke Adams
3:50
No inside information here or anything, but based on all we've heard about his recovery so far (and the Celtics' place in the standings), my gut says we see him at some point in March.
Warriors fan
3:50
The Golden State Warriors without Butler aren't beating OKC.  What does a Wiggins trade look like?  Kuminga doesn't match salary and he clearly needs to go or will probably sit rest of the year.   I'm fine attaching Moody or Buddy to make the salary work but now it's last year's team before they got Butler.   Plus might need to send some kind of protected first rounder to Miami.  Seems like best move is to stay put and release Kuminga at end of season.   Could a swing for the fences move to get say Zack Lavine, Monk, Kerosene and future first for Kuminga, Butler and whatever else makes the money work make sense? Think Kings would give up a future first to clear their books?  Giannis ain't coming.
Luke Adams
3:55
I think you have the package for Wiggins about right (something like Kuminga + Buddy + a draft pick). But you're also right about what the end result would be -- the roster before the Butler trade last year wasn't a contender, so I don't know why they'd essentially circle back to it.

The Warriors are in a really tough spot right now with that roster. As long as Butler's salary is in the books and he's not on the court, it's basically impossible for them to build a contender. I do think they need to do all they can to end the Kuminga saga now so it doesn't keep hanging over them until the offseason, but they'll need to have realistic expectations on the trade market. He's not bringing back much at this point.
Golden State Worrier
3:55
What do Nets realistically expect back for MPJ?  Is the price paid to DEN relevant in Brooklyn’s expectation of return?
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