The NBA Trade Deadline is a frenzy of activity — with all the civility and patience of a piranha feeding. Rumors fly, misinformation is leaked, and through it all trades are made.
It’s been a wild day of rumors and trades. It’s almost impossible to keep up, but we’re going to do our best in this one place to encapsulate all of it for you. In the hours running up to the deadline — 3 p.m. Eastern of Thursday, noon Pacific — we’re going to do our best to encapsulate all of it right here. Consider it a little bit news scrawl, a little bit running diary, but we will have everything you need to know right here. Then as the day goes on check back to NBC Sports and its NBA page for a podcast breaking down the trade deadline, plus analysis of the Cavaliers moves, and Winners and losers.
3:14 PM: Joe Johnson was moved from Utah to Sacramento as part of a three-team deal, and he’s understandably going to ask for a buyout.
Joe Johnson will seek a buyout from Sacramento after going to the Kings in three-team deal Thursday, per source. He goes to the top of the list of playoff teams as a pre-March 1 signing (postseason eligible) once that is executed.
— David Aldridge (@davidaldridgedc) February 8, 2018
3:05 PM: Adding to the wild day — the guys we expected to see traded, and teams we thought would be active, were quiet. At the top of that list, Tyreke Evans, the man most expected to be traded, stayed in Memphis because nobody would cough up a first round pick for him.
Memphis has kept guard Tyreke Evans, league sources tell ESPN.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) February 8, 2018
Also, DeAndre Jordan is still a Clipper. Los Angeles couldn’t get an offer it liked, and now with DJ, just re-signed Lou Williams, and Tobias Harris, Los Angeles will try to make the playoffs in the crowded back half of the West.
Also, Boston did not pull the trigger on anything. They will play the cards in their hand (which may well be good enough to reach the NBA Finals).
3:00 PM: We have reached the trade deadline. Teams can no longer submit deals to the league office, but some deals that just snuck in under the wire will still trickle in.
Be sure to check back at NBCSports.com throughout the afternoon as we will have stories on what the Cavaliers have done, winners and losers, and a podcast breaking down a wild day.
2:57 PM: The Orlando Magic have thrown in the towel on Elfrid Payton, trading him to Phoenix, a team looking for a point guard to put next to Devin Booker and willing to take a risk.
Orlando has traded Elfrid Payton to Phoenix for a second-round pick, league source tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 8, 2018
Phoenix is sending a 2018 second-round pick via Memphis to Orlando in the Payton deal, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 8, 2018
2:53 PM: Time is running out for deals and the big ones — DeAndre Jordan, Tyreke Evans — seem to be without resolution. However, we do have a minor trade that could get Sheldon Mac a little extra run in Atlanta.
Washington is trading guard Sheldon Mac to Atlanta, league sources tell Yahoo.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 8, 2018
2:34 PM: LeBron James was not left in the dark by the Cavaliers before their radical roster makeover on Thursday — and that included letting him know about the Dwyane Wade trade. Ramona Shelburne has it all:
I'm told by a Cavs source that GM Koby Altman went to LeBron James before they traded Dwyane Wade to make sure he understood what was behind the move. Altman told James that the decision would be up to Wade and James thought that was fair. Cavs felt... https://t.co/yJJGQzD5Kk
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) February 8, 2018
Before Thursday's conversation with LeBron re: Dwyane Wade, Cavs GM Koby Altman had talked to LeBron before Wednesday night's game vs Minnesota to tell him the Cavs had traction on a few deals.
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) February 8, 2018
2:32 PM: The one guy that seemed a sure bet to be traded today, Tyreke Evans, is the one guy who may be staying put. There’s still not a first rounder for him out there.
Memphis is still without traction on a Tyreke Evans trade and may keep him, league sources tell ESPN. Grizzlies would try to re-sign him using their mid-level exception this summer.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 8, 2018
2:25 PM: When the Nets picked up Rashad Vaughn in a trade just days ago, I thought it might be his last step before sliding out of the league after the season. I was wrong, he’s on the move again to New Orleans for Dante Cunningham. (Brooklyn turns guys like Cunningham into far more productive players, this will be interesting to watch.)
New Orleans is trading forward Dante Cunningham to Brooklyn for guard Rashad Vaughn, league sources tell Yahoo.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 8, 2018
2:22 PM: The Trail Blazers have not been able to add a piece that vaults them up in the Western Conference hierarchy, so they have made a move to save them some cash.
Portland has traded Noah Vonleh and cash to Chicago for the rights to Milocan Rakovic, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 8, 2018
2:18 PM: There are reports that if the Lakers plan to bring Isaiah Thomas off the bench he will ask for a buyout. However, as soon as Lonzo Ball returns from injury (maybe before the All-Star break, or right after) that is exactly what Los Angeles should do — this is all about developing Ball and the other young parts of the Lakers core (Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma, etc). The Lakers can buy IT out if he gives them a steep enough discout to make it worth it, but they don’t have to.
Thomas is going to be disappointed in the size of the Brinks truck that is going to back up to his house this summer.
2:05 PM: The Knicks have landed another young point guard in a three-way trade broken by Adrian Wojnarowski.
Denver, New York and Dallas agreed on a three-way deal, league sources tell ESPN. Mudiay to Knicks; Devin Harris to Denver and Doug McDermott to Dallas.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 8, 2018
Sources: Dallas is also acquiring second-round pick from Denver in trade sending Emmanuel Mudiay to New York, Devin Harris to Denver, Doug McDermott to Mavs.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 8, 2018
Emmanuel Mudiay is a former lottery pick but one pushed aside in Denver because Jamal Murray is just better at the point. The Knicks can experiment playing him and Frank Ntilikina together to see if that’s a backcourt pairing that works. (With Kristaps Porzingis out and the playoffs dead to New York, they should experiment a lot the rest of the season.)
2:00 PM: One hour to go.
1:58 PM Utah plans to waive Derrick Rose once the trade is complete, which makes sense, he doesn’t fit what they want to do so give him a chance to play for something (including his next contract).
How about with his old friend Tom Thibodeau in Minnesota?
The Timberwolves will try to sign Derrick Rose if he clears waivers after his looming release by Utah, according to league sources
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) February 8, 2018
The problem with this: Tyus Jones needs more run, not less, and to cut his minutes for the empty shell of Derrick Rose?
1:28 PM: We have a swap of project players that have not really worked out well for their respective teams so far. Maybe new surroundings change things up for these guys (probably not, but it’s worth the shot because what the teams have been doing is not working).
Toronto is finalizing deal to send Bruno Caboclo to Sacramento for Malachi Richardson, league sources tell Yahoo.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 8, 2018
The Kings will waive Caboclo, this clears up a roster spot for their involvement in all the other trades involving Cleveland. The Raptors get a guy who a number of teams wondered could be developed into a good shooter and rotation player outside of Sacramento. Good gamble by the Raptors.
1:16 PM: Just to sum up Cleveland’s day:
LOL
— Tom Haberstroh (@tomhaberstroh) February 8, 2018
OUT
-Isaiah Thomas
-Dwyane Wade
-Derrick Rose
-Jae Crowder
-Iman Shumpert
-Channing Frye
-2018 own 1st
IN
-Jordan Clarkson
-Larry Nance Jr
-George Hill
-Rodney Hood
-Heavily-protected future 2nd
With more going out than coming in, Cleveland also has a couple of roster spots and can be aggressive on the buyout market.
1:07 PM: NOBODY SAW THIS COMING — Dwyane Wade is being traded out of Cleveland.
Cleveland is trading Dwyane Wade to Miami, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 8, 2018
That’s LeBron’s buddy, but this is business. The Cavaliers needed to get younger and more athletic and have done that with bold strokes today — long-term payroll be damned — and with that Wade was going to get squeezed. So they offered him an out.
As Cleveland remade its roster with young, athletic wing players, organization gave him a chance to return home to Miami and worked out a deal to send him back to the Heat, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 8, 2018
Wade and family are all good with this.
🌞🌞🌞🔥🔥🔥🌴🌴🌴 305 HOME!!!! Let's goooooooo HEAT!!!! Can't. Wait.
— Gabrielle Union (@itsgabrielleu) February 8, 2018
For a Miami team that has lost five in a row and is in danger of falling behind both Philly and surging Detroit — and out of the playoffs — this is a shot in the arm. Limited though he is, Wade can help the Heat.
1:00 PM: Cleveland is going all-in on this season, reworking a roster that needed it to get younger and more athletic, and to add more shooting. The Cavs got Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr. from the Lakers first.
Now they have added Rodney Hood from Utah and George Hill from Sacramento in a three-team deal that sees Iman Shumpert headed to Sacramento and both Derrick Rose and Jae Crowder going to Utah. The Cavaliers have completely remade their roster.
Utah has traded Rodney Hood to Cleveland, league source tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 8, 2018
Utah will also send Joe Johnson to Sacramento, and Cleveland will send Jae Crowder and Derek Rose to Utah, league sources tell ESPN. Sacramento sends George Hill to the Cavs.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 8, 2018
Cleveland sends Iman Shumpert to Kings in deal, league source tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 8, 2018
12:45 PM: Cleveland took on a big risk with this Jordan Clarkson/Larry Nance trade. First, they did it without asking LeBron James about it, and just took on $28 million in long-term salary without a commitment from Lebron he would stay past this season. That’s one big gamble — they can sell it as a sign of long-term commitment, but it’s still a big risk.
The other is on Clarkson himself. He’s putting up 14.5 points a game off the bench for the Lakers this season, but it’s one thing to be the attacking energizer player on a team not expecting wins, it’s another to go against the John Wall/Kyle Lowry/Kyrie Irving group of guards in the East in the playoffs. Clarkson also is an okay but not great shooter from three (32.4 percent). He’s dangerous in the pick-and-roll and in isolation, things Tyronn Lue runs a lot, but he’s not a shooter in the classic sense. Clarkson is an upgrade from where Isaiah Thomas is right now, but is he really ready for this step?
Look forward to hearing LeBron's thoughts on the trade, but I'm getting positive reactions from those close to him so far. Cavs get younger. Take on future money, which sends message of commitment. Lakers component aside, being framed as a thumbs-up.
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) February 8, 2018
12:25 PM: Detroit is shipping Brice Johnson to Memphis, but not for Dante Cunningham, rather for Long Beach State’s own James Ennis.
Memphis has traded James Ennis to Detroit for Brice Johnson and a second-round pick, league sources tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 8, 2018
Ennis gives the streaking Pistons another solid rotation wing, he can shoot the three (35.7%), finish in transition and at the rim, and is a good defender. He will fit into the rotation where some of those Tobias Harris minutes were (he’s not as good as Harris, but Ennis is solid).
12:20 PM: We have the Luke Babbitt trade everyone has been waiting for. Miami adds a little shooting in this move.
The Hawks are sending forward Luke Babbitt to the Heat for forward Omari White sources said.
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) February 8, 2018
Sorry, Okaro White https://t.co/luUxyVSjQs
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) February 8, 2018
12:06 PM: The Cavaliers needed to add youth and athleticism, and they are doing that by being close to a deal that lands them Jordan Clarkson (the Lakers wanted to move to get off his salary) and Larry Nance Jr., a story broken by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Lakers sending Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance to the Cavaliers, league source tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 8, 2018
For whom? Isaiah Thomas — who did not want to be traded and is not going to be re-signed by the Lakers — Channing Frye and a pick. This deal is reportedly done.
I'm hearing it's Isaiah Thomas, Channing Frye, and the Cavs first to Lakers for Clarkson and Nance.
— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) February 8, 2018
The Cavs get another playmaking guard — one fully healthy and playing better on both ends than Thomas — and some help on the wing with an athlete like Nance. This is an upgrade for Cleveland. Not a “watch out Golden State” upgrade, but one that helps them in the East. Is that enough to sway LeBron James this summer... I doubt it, but they probably think so.
The Lakers get off Clarkson’s salary helping open up free agency room in 2018 to go after both LeBron and Paul George — the Lakers will have the cap space with another couple moves like renouncing Julius Randle, now whether those two big fish are interested is a completely different question — and get a first (Cleveland’s late first, protected). They will not keep Thomas or Frye around after this season but are expected to keep them through the remainder of this season and not buy them out. Both are free agents come July 1.
Three impactful details on trade for Lakers: They'll have space for two max contract slots in 2018 or 2019, replenish first-round pick in 2018 Draft and gets Lakers some shooting for rest of season with Thomas and Frye.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 8, 2018
12:01 PM: Clippers are remaining active trying to find a new home for DeAndre Jordan. The Raptors have long seen him as an upgrade to Jonas Valanciunas but the Clippers don’t want to just take on an inferior big man, so they want a lot more in the deal. The Raptors are trying, though.
They would likely need a third team to help facilitate, but the Raptors have tried to work their way into the DeAndre Jordan trade mix, league sources say
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) February 8, 2018
11:45 AM: Not much buzz around the Knicks, who aren’t going to make a win-now playoff move at the deadline after the Kristaps Porzingis injury. The Knicks would love to trade Joakim Noah, but I would love to date Margot Robbie. About the same odds. Other teams are circling like vultures.
Assuming the Knicks don’t find a trade for Joakim Noah, opposing executives expect OKC and Minnesota to be among the teams interested in Noah if he’s waived or bought out by the Knicks, per sources. As of earlier this week, Noah remained opposed to a buyout, sources say.
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) February 8, 2018
I have no idea why the Knicks would do this. Noah has zero reason to give the Knicks a discount on the more than $37 million he is owed, and if the Knicks stretch and waive him he’s on the books for five more seasons. Why do that? Just tell him to stay home and eat the cost for a year, maybe find a deal next season.
11:43 AM: The Pelicans and Pistons are talking about switching guys on their bench, according to Adrian Wojnarowski.
Pistons and Pelicans seriously discussing a Brice Johnson-Dante Cunningham deal, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 8, 2018
11:08 AM: We have a trade! A minor trade, but a trade. Chicago is sending Jameer Nelson to Detroit — a team in need of help at the point — for center Willie Reed.
Sources: Detroit is sending center Willie Reed to the Bulls for Jameer Nelson, who shores up Pistons' PG rotation.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 8, 2018
The teams are also swapping second rounders. Detroit had just gotten Reed from the Clippers in the Blake Griffin trade. Expect the Pistons to be one of the teams very active on the buyout market.
The Pistons create a $1.47M trade exception with the trade of Willie Reed. Detroit also has a $7M trade exception and $5.2M Disabled Player Exception.
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) February 8, 2018
10: 55 AM: Not to start this tracker on a down note, but Adrian Wojnarowski just tweeted something along the lines everyone has been hearing — this may be a dull deadline. Teams overspent in 2016 and don’t have cap space to take on money, and with that nobody wants to give up the cheap labor of a first-round pick. So the market has stalled.
Several teams tell ESPN that they're already easing out of the trade market today to focus on filling needs with what is expected to be a strong post-deadline pool of free agents in the buyout market.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 8, 2018
10:52 AM: Adrian Wojnarowski reports the Clippers and Cavaliers are still talking DeAndre Jordan trade, maybe even trying to find a third team. I had heard the Clippers were not in without the Brooklyn pick from Cleveland, which is not on the table, so it’s going to take a third team or one side to cave to get a deal done. (The Cavs will give up their own first in the 20s, but the Clippers want more than that and some big salaries.)
The Clippers and Cavaliers continue to discuss the possibility of a trade centered on DeAndre Jordan, including conversations with potential third teams to help create a pathway to a deal, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 8, 2018
10:49 AM: Teams have called the Lakers, who would prefer to move Jordan Clarkson (and his contract), but most teams are interested in Julius Randle. With good reason, he’s a quality rotation big man (he makes a quality small-ball five). But in the theme of this deadline, nobody yet is willing to part with a first-round pick to get him (in part because he’s a restricted free agent this summer) so the Lakers will wait. They don’t mind keeping through the rest of the season.
10:47 AM: The Grizzlies are still not trading Marc Gasol, and they are still holding out for a first-round pick for Tyreke Evans. Memphis is not budging on Gasol. Eventually, they will have to on Evans unless a team panics and caves.
10:45 AM: The Clippers have no intention of moving Tobias Harris, they already re-signed Lou Williams, and it’s hard to see a deal getting done for DeAndre Jordan. But Avery Bradley, he could be on the move. The Clippers reportedly want a first-round pick, but nobody is willing to give one up yet (that may be the theme of the day).
The Spurs have emerged as a trade suitor for the Clippers' Avery Bradley, according to league sources
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) February 8, 2018
10:40 AM: No, Cleveland is not putting the Brooklyn pick in play. Nor should they.
