Ranking the 3 Best Trade Assets for NBA's Buyers and Sellers
It's never too early to start thinking about the NBA trade deadline. And at this point in the season, there's no better way to prepare for Feb. 5 than by taking stock of every team's top assets.
Ranking them requires tackling two questions, the first of which is: What would each squad do if the NBA trade deadline were tomorrow? That answer determines who belongs in the discussion. If the Milwaukee Bucks are buyers, then Giannis Antetokounmpo isn't among their best assets, because the idea would be to add talent around him.
From there, we must ask: Which players or draft picks would opposing teams inquire about first or be most attracted to in hypothetical negotiations? The primary answers will populate our top-three-asset big board.
Finally, only those trade-eligible prior to Dec. 15 will be considered for inclusion. Recently signed players like Fred VanVleet and Dennis Schröder cannot appear until we update rankings later in the season.
Atlanta Hawks
1 of 30
Buyers or Sellers: Buyers
Top Assets:
- 2026 first-round pick (most favorable from Milwaukee or New Orleans)
- Zaccharie Risacher
- 2027 first-round pick (less favorable from Milwaukee or New Orleans; top-four protection)
After giving up too much in the 2022 Dejounte Murray trade, the Atlanta Hawks have successfully restocked their asset armory—with plenty of, if not too much, help from the New Orleans Pelicans.
Few teams are better set up to swing a blockbuster while having enough left over to feel great about the future. The bound-to-be 2026 New Orleans first-round pick is gold. That 2027 selection could also be a lottery selection if the Pelicans continue to be the Pelicans, and if the Milwaukee Bucks don't convince Giannis Antetokounmpo to stay past this season.
Heck, the Hawks themselves could be a Giannis destination. Risacher gives them that cache: a young player with plenty of time left on his rookie scale, who plays both ends of the floor and fits inside any offensive ecosystem.
Boston Celtics
2 of 30
Buyers or Sellers: Sellers
Top Assets:
- Derrick White
- Payton Pritchard
- Sam Hauser
To what extent the Boston Celtics will sell is debatable. They will certainly look to duck the luxury tax, which requires shaving $12.1 million in salary. But they have Jayson Tatum's return to consider, whether it comes this season or next.
White is the line of demarcation. At 31, he's best suited on an immediate contender. The Celtics could probably get at least three first-rounders if they're willing to move him.
Pritchard is under contract through 2027-28 and will never even make 5 percent of the salary cap. His meld of shooting, ball-handling, rebounding at his position and defensive effort is worth first-round equity as well.
Hauser continues to fit the complementary flamethrower mold and is someone else on an ultra-team-friendly deal. He has another three years left on his contract after this one, during which time he'll never take up 7 percent of the salary cap.
Brooklyn Nets
3 of 30
Buyers or Sellers: Sellers
Top Assets:
- Haywood Highsmith
- Nicolas Claxton
- Michael Porter
Pickings are slim for the Brooklyn Nets after filtering out first-rounders and the rookies other teams would actually want.
Highsmith has yet to play while recovering from right knee surgery. That'll scare off some squads. Then again, he makes less than $6 million and typifies the three-and-D wing archetype.
Claxton is not having the cleanest start to the season, and the three years and $69.5 million on his deal could function as a deterrent. But his ability to blow up plays on the defensive end is intact, including from the perimeter. His offensive impact should even out on a team with more established facilitators.
Paying Porter $38.3 million this year and $40.9 million next season is not for everyone. On the other hand, a 6'10" deadeye shooter who fires off triples with absurd volume is for everyone. The relative short-termness of his contract works in service of upping his value.
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Charlotte Hornets
4 of 30
Buyers or Sellers: Sellers
Top Assets:
- Miami Heat's 2027 first-round pick (lottery protection; unprotected in 2028)
- Collin Sexton
- Josh Green
The Charlotte Hornets front office has taken a big-picture view at each of the past two trade deadlines. Nothing suggests that'll change this year.
Putting the Heat's first-rounder on the table is counter-intuitive to that mission. But Charlotte has two others picks in 2027: Its own, and the Dallas Mavericks' selection (top-two protection). Flipping Miami's first-rounder could net distant picks with higher upside down the line from teams who need more immediate sweeteners to complete other deals.
Sexton is a multipurpose asset. His expiring contract can help teams lop off longer-term money, and his meld of shooting, driving, and capacity to play off other ball-handlers renders him a legitimate needle-move to win-now squads prowling the market for perimeter punches on offense.
Though Josh Green is overrated as a defender, he's a body you can throw at any guard, along with some wings. There is some live-dribble juice to his game at the other end. And while he doesn't take enough threes, he's shooting almost 39 percent on them the past four seasons.
Chicago Bulls
5 of 30
Buyers or Sellers: Buyers
Top Assets:
Break up the Chicago Bulls…for reasons other than you're thinking.
One of the NBA's biggest early-season surprises used to have "Seller who won't sell" written all over them. Chicago is now intriguing enough to view itself as a buyer. Whether that's the right call is debatable. (It's not.)
Any Bulls first-rounder the conveys after this year is catnip to other sellers. The same goes for Dosunmu, a pesky defender who has three-point touch and some downhill fuel on offense. If his contract wasn't expiring, he'd be the equivalent of a first-rounder.
Kevin Huerter could slide into the third and final spot if a sizable expiring contract is your thing. Coby White can't qualify. Chicago would presumably keep him if it wanted to buy. Essengue was just drafted at No. 12 and gives off an air of a more reckless Giannis Antetokounmpo before he had grown-adult muscle definition. He wins.
Cleveland Cavaliers
6 of 30
Buyers or Sellers: Buyers
Top Assets:
- 2031 first-round pick
- Jaylon Tyson
- De'Andre Hunter
No team is more all-in on this season than the Cleveland Cavaliers—financially speaking, anyway. They are the league's lone second-apron squad.
That inherently inflates the value of an already-valuable 2031 first-round pick. Cleveland cannot aggregate salaries, but it can attach this selection to a single contract.
Tyson has immense value if you guy into his becoming the Jimmy Butler of Caris LeVert-Caleb Martin hybrids. His $3.5 million salary is infinitesimal, making any deal somewhat complicated. The Cavs can't take back more money than they send out, so they'd either be acquiring someone uber cheap or using Tyson to net first-round equity to facilitate a bigger-salaried move.
Dealer's choice is the default for spot No. 3…unless you're picking someone from the Core Four. I'll roll with Hunter, for now. His price point is a little steep, with two years and $43.2 million remaining on his deal, but the three-and-pull-ups-plus-some-D skill set has value. He could prove useful if Cleveland is taking a surprise wing to upgrade its wing rotation.
Dallas Mavericks
7 of 30
Buyers or Sellers: Buyers
Top Assets:
- 2032 first-round pick
- Dereck Lively II
- 2029 Los Angeles Lakers first-round pick
Landing Cooper Flagg should deflate the value of any ultra-distant Dallas Mavericks first-round pick. At the same time, they've traded away enough of their future that rival teams can envision scenarios in which they burn out before the No. 1 pick from last June enters his prime.
Lively has provided extended flickers of being an excellent defensive anchor and rim-runner who can make decisions beyond finish-or-bust. He'd have a case as Dallas' crown jewel if his health wasn't such a question mark.
That Lakers pick is subject to the same scrutiny as the Mavs' own distant first. Luka Dončić raises the floor of any team for which he plays. Much like Dallas, though, Los Angeles' supplemental assets are sparse.
Unlike the Mavs, the Lakers do not have a supporting cast with staying power. Even if you believe in Austin Reaves as Luka's long-term co-star, the ceiling on that pick has a ton of prospective shine.
Denver Nuggets
8 of 30
Buyers or Sellers: Buyers
Top Assets:
- 2031 first-round swap
- 2030 first-round swap
- Peyton Watson
The Denver Nuggets do not have an outright first-round pick to peddle after sending their 2032 selection to the Brooklyn Nets in the trade that brought back Cam Johnson. Swaps are now their primary assets, particularly after Christian Braun signed an extension that renders him harder to move prior to the offseason.
Teams offering the right to exchange first-rounders bear an uncanny resemblance to that one person in your fantasy league attempting to justify why giving you a handful of their most underwhelming performers for your star stat-stuffer is actually a good idea. Denver is not going to nab a flashy acquisition with its swaps.
Watson could be higher on this list if he wasn't up for a new contract after this season and still an offensive mystery box. Both the 2030 and 2031 drafts are far enough into the future for front offices to place a premium on their optionality over him. Those swaps convey after Nikola Jokić's age-34 and age-35 seasons. Even if he ages well, the floor could come out from underneath the Nuggets as their core prices and/or ages itself out of contention.
Detroit Pistons
9 of 30
Buyers or Sellers: Buyers
Top Assets:
- Ron Holland II
- 2027 or later first-round picks
- Isaiah Stewart
Let's start with who isn't here: Ausar Thompson. The only player more valuable to the Detroit Pistons than him is Cade Cunningham. He's closer to off-limits than realistically gettable.
Holland is taking more threes this year, with a release that seems more fluid. Combine that willingness to shoot with live-dribble decision-making in transition, finishing, defensive disruption and a rookie-scale contract with two more years left on it, and you've got the Detroit Pistons' most tantalizing asset.
Detroit should be good enough for its imminent draft picks to have limited value. But we need more information on this team before declaring it a playoff staple. With Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren both headed for restricted free agency next summer, this is a squad that could run into more turnover and see the appeal of its post-2026 selections skyrocket.
Stewart is a defensive monster on a team-friendly contract who's taking threes again. If the Pistons are swinging for the fences on the trade market, his value far exceeds that of contract-year Duren and Ivey.
Golden State Warriors
10 of 30
Buyers or Sellers: Buyers
Top Assets:
- 2030 first-round pick (protected for Nos. 21-30)
- Brandin Podziemski
- 2028 first-round pick
Contracts for Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green are all slated to expire at the end of the 2026-27 season. Even if they all stick around, they'll be deep into their twilights.
Any Golden State Warriors first-rounders conveying thereafter are potential goldmines—so much so that the team's 2032 first-rounder is being treated as borderline untouchable for this exercise and, thus, excluded.
Podziemski decidedly earns a top-three spot, even if you'd rank him elsewhere. His extension eligibility next summer adds a wrinkle to the equation, but he's a does-bits-of-everything guard with an underrated three-point stroke.
Maybe Jonathan Kuminga challenges him once his trade restriction lifts in January. For now, Podz lands in the top three with relative ease.
Houston Rockets
11 of 30
Buyers or Sellers: Buyers
Top Assets:
- Phoenix's 2027 first-round pick
- 2029 first-round pick (via Phoenix or Dallas)
- 2027 first-round pick (swap rights with Brooklyn)
Reed Sheppard failing to crack this trio is potentially a problem. Time is still on his side—for now. If he's not here closer to the deadline, it'll be time for a separate, more uncomfortable conversation.
Tari Eason's exclusion is debatable. Combo wings who terrorize opposing offenses and hit juuust enough of their triples always carry immense value. He'd be more of a given if restricted free agency wasn't right around the corner.
More than anything, this is about the upside of Houston's draft stash. The Phoenix Suns' future is an unmitigated disaster. You can quibble over the order of 2027 and 2029. It's splitting hairs.
The Brooklyn Nets' 2027 first has a top-spot case. They're in the early throes of a rebuild, and the front office has gone about its starting-over business before without paying mind to pick obligations. Yet, their own draft stash combined with plenty of cap space next summer gives them a shot, however unlikely, at meaningfully revamping their roster before the 2027 draft.
Indiana Pacers
12 of 30
Buyers or Sellers: Sellers
Top Assets:
- Pascal Siakam
- Bennedict Mathurin
- Jarace Walker
This season is a wash for the Indiana Pacers without Tyrese Haliburton. Given the fickleness of recoveries from torn Achilles, next year might be, too.
Returning to contention with both Hali and Siakam is clearly Plan A—and the preferred outcome. The front office would nonetheless be remiss if it didn't gauge the value of an All-NBA hopeful who turns 32 in April and could be 33 before the Pacers are ready to contend again.
Mathurin's inclusion is non-negotiable with a foray into restricted free agency on the horizon. His scoring arsenal is intriguing, but it doesn't align with the fast-and-furious randomness with which Indy likes to play at full strength.
Walker slides into third-place by default. If the Pacers are married to both Siakam and the recently extended Aaron Nesmith long term, he's unlikely to move much further up the pecking order than he is now.
Los Angeles Clippers
13 of 30
Buyers or Sellers: Buyers
Top Assets:
- 2030 first-round pick
- 2032 first-round pick
- John Collins
Virtually none of the Los Angeles Clippers' players are worth tossing onto the board. The roster is a mix of placeholders and aging and/or injury-prone stars.
You could make a case for Derrick Jones Jr. edging out Collins. He will win the argument from a basketball perspective. But Collins' $26.7 million expiring deal is a perfect salary-matcher for teams moving off bigger-time money.
First-rounders in 2030 and 2032 go unchallenged for the top-two spots. Their order is the only question.
Targeting the more imminent pick makes the most sense. It is still five drafts into the future, and trade partners shouldn't count out any L.A. team for too long. Free agency is largely dead, but the Clippers' geographical coordinates continue to matter.
Los Angeles Lakers
14 of 30
Buyers or Sellers: Buyers
Top Assets:
- Austin Reaves
- 2031 first-round pick
- 2032 first-round swap
Ranking Reaves as an asset isn't problematic because he's "older," or because he's headed for free agency next summer (player option). It's difficult because the Los Angeles Lakers could be hard-pressed to upgrade from him. LeBron James could be more likely to land on the board next time around at this rate.
Throwing in the 2031 first is an easy call. Luka Dončić is organizational stability unto himself, but six years is a long time. Anything can happen.
Actual debate ensues between Rui Hachimura, Dalton Knecht and that 2032 swap. The latter squeaks by on long-term mystique, but Hachimura is right on its tail.
Memphis Grizzlies
15 of 30
Buyers or Sellers: Buyers
Top Assets:
- 2026 first-round pick (it's complicated, but via Phoenix or Washington)
- Jaylen Wells
- Orlando's 2030 first-round
Hashing out the Memphis Grizzlies' top trade assets is finicky because their direction is hazy. They don't seem truly married to anyone other than Jaren Jackson Jr. and Cedric Coward. We'll leave Ja Morant off the board…for now.
Depending on how a labyrinth of obligations shake out, Memphis will either have the two best first-rounders from itself, the Phoenix Suns and Orlando Magic or itself, the Washington Wizards and the Magic. General managers will mortgage parts of their souls for a crack at a Suns or Wizards pick.
Wells has not shot the ball exceptionally well to start the year, but he's a try-hard wing defender who's making pennies through next season. Scotty Pippen Jr. or Zach Edey would snag the No. 3 slot…if either had played yet. A distant pick from a Magic squad that may not be as well positioned as we thought, immediately and long term, gets the nod instead.
Miami Heat
16 of 30
Buyers or Sellers: Buyers
Top Assets:
- 2030 first-round pick
- Kel'el Ware
- Kasparas Jakučionis
The Miami Heat can deal a 2029 first-rounder conditional upon next year's obligation to the Charlotte Hornets expiring. Kicking the can to 2030 allows them to guarantee the pick, and it probably has more upside unless you think they'll stumble into a superstar before then.
Ware is still more of a concept than an actual player. If he improves his defensive instincts, starts hitting the threes he's taking and avoids getting called out by head coach Erik Spoelstra for three straight months, he's building-block material in the middle.
Jakučionis may already be the best passer on the Heat, which is why they won't trade him for just anything. As part of a play for a superstar, though, he's a second higher-upside prospect they can bake into packages. If things go badly for either him or Ware over the next few months, look for Miami's 2032 first-rounder to enter the top-three running.
Milwaukee Bucks
17 of 30
Buyers or Sellers: Buyers
Top Assets:
- 2032 first-round pick
- 2031 first-round swap
- Kyle Kuzma
There isn't much to rank just yet for the Milwaukee Bucks. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kyle Kuzma and Andre Jackson Jr. are the only trade-eligible players before Dec. 15. And as long as Milwaukee is winning enough to count itself among buyers, Giannis is off the board.
So, here we are.
Milwaukee's draft picks speak for themselves. They'd have value even if you guaranteed Giannis stays put for the foreseeable future. He remains outstanding but turns 31 in December. World dominance will not be his default setting forever. Also: You can't guarantee he'll stick around for the foreseeable future.
Owed $22.4 million this season and $20.3 million in 2026-27, Kuzma's value at this point is almost strictly as a salary-matching tool. If the Bucks had a second-rounder they could trade, it would get the pre-Dec. 15 nod over him.
Minnesota Timberwolves
18 of 30
Buyers or Sellers: Buyers
Top Assets:
Jaden McDaniels vaults to the top of this ladder if you think the Minnesota Timberwolves can survive defensively without him. Related: They probably can't.
Dillingham has shown very little through his first season-and-change. It's unclear whether that says more about him, or about Minnesota's decision to mortgage its future on a No. 8 pick it wasn't prepared to develop. The 20-year-old is fast turning into the quintessential second-draft candidate.
Swaps get overromanticized, and Anthony Edwards is young enough that 2032 falls smack dab in the middle of his prime. Looking at the bigger picture, though, the Wolves don't have a hell of a lot more in place than him and McDaniels. Distant swap rights will capture other teams' attention.
Shannon isn't having the full-fledged breakout many forecasted. That detracts from his appeal a tad. But a 25-year-old who's provided glimpses into bulldog defense, three-point shooting and purposeful drives, on a cost-controlled contract through 2027-28, is bound to incite plenty of interest.
New Orleans Pelicans
19 of 30
Buyers or Sellers: Sellers
Top Assets:
- Trey Murphy
- Zion Williamson
- Yves Missi
Can we all, as a family, come together and agree to stop pretending like the New Orleans Pelicans are a real franchise? This organization is run with the awareness of someone wearing a blindfold and noise-canceling earmuffs, whose feet have been bound to their hands. New Orleans needs to burn whatever this era is to the ground.
We also need to stop pretending as if Murphy should be untouchable. He is a 25-year-old non-star on an excellent contract who will be 30 and on a not-as-team-friendly contract by the time these Pelicans are ready to do anything other than toil in obscurity again.
Zion's checkered record of availability puts a hard cap on what New Orleans can get for him. But a now-svelte wrecking ball with drive-and-spray chops is still going to nab something.Choose your own adventure for the third spot. It's Missi, Saddiq Bey or Jose Alvarado. Moving Missi officially clears the deck for DeAndre Jordan Derik Queen and can be a rotation big elsewhere, so let's go with him.
New York Knicks
20 of 30
Buyers or Sellers: Buyers
Top Assets:
Trade assets are few and far between for the New York Knicks.
None of their youngsters are especially desirable, and they can't promise an outright first-rounder. The three players who would draw the most interest—Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby—aren't going anywhere short of Giannis Antetokounmpo falling into New York's lap. (Bridges also can't be dealt until January.)
Josh Hart isn't playing nearly well enough to have a frothy market. The same goes for Karl-Anthony Towns, who's on a contract few teams will actively seek out.
This leaves the Knicks with distant first-round swaps and McBride, a feisty three-and-D guard who can't run the offense but earns just $4.3 million this season and just $3.9 million next year.
Oklahoma City Thunder
21 of 30
Buyers or Sellers: Buyers
Top Assets:
We all know Oklahoma City isn't going to make a big splash on the trade market. We also know it could if it so chose.
Wallace is a defensive menace who can cover basically four positions. He may never shoot as well from three as you'd like, but he has downhill oomph to his ball-handling.
Believe it or not, Oklahoma City is no longer sitting on the most tantalizing future first-round stash. You'd have to believe in the Philadelphia 76ers or Los Angeles Clippers imploding this year or next.
Intrigue seems highest with the Dallas Mavericks selection. They have Cooper Flagg, but his top teammates don't align with his developmental curve. Dallas also doesn't have the usual amount of draft resources to continue building around a No. 1 pick.
Shorting the Denver Nuggets' future is iffy. It's not reckless. A 2029 first post-dates Nikola Jokić's contract and conveys on the heels of his age-33 season. Reasonable minds can assume he'll remain a top-five player at that point. Can they also count on Denver having sustained a contender around him?
Orlando Magic
22 of 30
Buyers or Sellers: Buyers
Top Assets:
- 2032 first-round pick
- Tristan Da Silva
- Anthony Black
Going close to all-in on Desmond Bane has boosted the Orlando Magic's urgency and the value of their only tradeable first-rounder. Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner are young enough to anchor an extended window, but they need to hit and sustain their highest-percentile outcomes. And then Orlando needs to keep bankrolling a supporting cast around them.
Da Silva has quietly established himself as a rotation player on a team with deep-playoff aspirations. A 6'8" wing, he holds his own defensively, doesn't let the ball stick and looks more comfortable this year getting off threes. Having another two years on his rookie scale is the cherry on top.
Black will likely never be able to run an NBA offense, but he moves well without the ball and has shot well from the corners for most of his career. His defense is the main attraction—equal parts exhaustive, physical, disruptive and rangy.
Philadelphia 76ers
23 of 30
Buyers or Sellers: Buyers
Top Assets:
- Los Angeles Clippers' 2028 first-round pick
- Jared McCain
- Kelly Oubre Jr.
Unless star players begin leaving teams via free agency again, the 2028 Clippers pick has the chance to be a special asset. Bogdan Bogdanović is currently the only player with guaranteed money on their books during the preceding season.
McCain was a find in the 2024 draft. Still, between his availability question marks, the arrival of VJ Edgecombe and Tyrese Maxey's continued ascent, the 21-year-old falls short of mission critical. The Philadelphia 76ers could even consider moving him to fatten up their future first-round stash, as opposed to targeting a specific player.
Pinning down the third spot gets dicey. We know it's not Joel Embiid or Paul George. Not on their contracts. A case can be made for the Sixers' own 2030 or 2032 first, but their outlook is shaky enough for both to be cornered off with a velvet rope.
Oubre grabs the final pole position as an offensive firecracker on an expiring contract. This spot will be worth revisiting as we see more from Adem Bona, and once Justin Edwards becomes trade-eligible.
Phoenix Suns
24 of 30
Buyers or Sellers: Sellers
Top Assets:
- Dillon Brooks
- Ryan Dunn
- Royce O'Neale
Good luck finding someone on the Phoenix Suns aside from Devin Booker (who isn't trade-eligible until Jan. 10) capable of netting the franchise extra first-round picks.
Brooks comes closest. The on-ball defense hits, and although his offensive freelancing evokes frustration, he's shown he'll tamp it down inside deep pecking orders. The three-ball should fall at a higher clip alongside better playmaking, too.
Dunn's shooting and overall offensive package are concerns. Teams will value him anyway. The defensive activity persists, he can make plays in transition, and he'll earn just $7 million combined over the next two seasons.
O'Neale's being signed through 2027-28 will repress part of his market appeal. He is 32 and will be wrapping up his age-34 season when his contract concludes. And yet, he emanates utility with a high three-and-D baseline, whereas someone like Mark Williams or Grayson Allen is more of a risk.
Portland Trail Blazers
25 of 30
Buyers or Sellers: Buyers
Top Assets:
- Milwaukee's 2029 first-round pick
- Milwaukee's 2028 first-round pick (swap rights)
- Milwaukee's 2030 first-round pick (swap rights)
Act like control over any Milwaukee Bucks first-rounders beyond this season isn't the Holy Grail of assets if you must.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is clearly taking his future year-by-year. He could be gone by 2026-27. Or 2027-28. Or—well, you get the point.
The Bucks can't even guarantee these picks will be so-so if Giannis sticks around. His athleticism isn't going to improve as he plays out his 30s, and beefing up the supporting cast around him will be tough sledding when they don't have any blue-chip prospects to develop or control over their own first-rounder again until 2031.
Portland made building this board even easier by extending Shaedon Sharpe and Toumani Camara and removing them from the table. Arguments can be made for Scoot Henderson, but odds are almost every rival team would prefer a stake in Milwaukee's long-term future.
Including Donovan Clingan, meanwhile, requires an overarching organizational preference for Yang Hansen, Robert Williams III and centerless lineups—a reach at this point.
Sacramento Kings
26 of 30
Buyers or Sellers: Sellers
Top Assets:
- Keon Ellis
- Malik Monk
- Zach LaVine
This big board changes to incorporate draft picks if the Sacramento Kings are out-of-touch enough to fancy themselves buyers. (Of note: They might consider themselves buyers.) Selling should be the goal if they have any semblance of self-awareness.
Ellis would typically be considered off-limits as a three-and-D spark plug, but he's headed for free agency. Sacramento has no business backing up the (miniature) Brink's truck it'll take to keep him when it's an eternity away from contention.
Monk's driving and shot-making can slide into a good team's starting five or run the offense for a bench mob. His price point could drive some suitors away, but a balance of three years (including this one) and $60.6 million isn't quite prohibitive, either.
LaVine gets buckets even in the crummiest of situations. It'd be nice to see him in a better one. Domantas Sabonis might net more than him in a vacuum, but while steep, LaVine's contract comes off the books after next season. More importantly, he's not someone around whom must tailor your entire offense.
San Antonio Spurs
27 of 30
Buyers or Sellers: Buyers
Top Assets:
- Stephon Castle
- Sacramento's 2031 first-round pick (swap rights)
- Atlanta's 2027 first-round pick
Including Castle isn't as controversial as it might seem. The San Antonio Spurs would almost assuredly need to move one of him, De'Aaron Fox or Dylan Harper in any blockbuster. Fox isn't trade-eligible until the day before the Feb. 5 deadline, and Harper already looms as the more plug-and-play option.
All the typical "It's only swap rights!" disclaimers apply to the Sacramento Kings selection. Except, we're talking about the Sacramento Kings. Their incompetence is among life's greatest certainties.
The Atlanta Hawks initially looked like they maneuvered themselves out of imminent disaster watch. A lackluster start to the season coupled with Trae Young's injury and his impending free agency (player option) begs to differ. Their 2027 pick has more upside than any of San Antonio's own picks, or a swap with the Dallas Mavericks or Minnesota Timberwolves in 2030.
Toronto Raptors
28 of 30
Buyers or Sellers: Buyers
Top Assets:
- Ja'Kobe Walter
- Gradey Dick
- Ochai Agbaji
Having the payroll of a buyer contributes to the Toronto Raptors being classified as such. With this in mind, they are not the type of buyer who should consider dangling any of their future first-rounders—or their most recent one in Collin Murray-Boyles.
Toronto's higher-salaried players miss the cut because even with RJ Barrett and Brandon Ingram putting up good numbers, Scottie Barnes is the only one of them who would certainly yield net-positive value.
And so, we pivot to the supplementary guys—each of whom is playing a relatively small role thus far.
Walter impressed last season with his catch-and-shoot stroke and ball-pressure defense. Dick's efficiency never quite aligns with what it looks like he's doing, but the in-motion tool belt continues to stand out. Assuming Agaji can nail down threes at a clip similar to last year's mark (39.9 percent), he's a universally scalable three-and-D role player who'd receive higher billing if not for his impending foray into restricted free agency next summer.
Utah Jazz
29 of 30
Buyers or Sellers: Sellers
Top Assets:
- Lauri Markkanen
- Walker Kessler
- Jusuf Nurkic
Markkanen has quashed the notion that he suddenly devolved into one of the NBA's worst contracts with scintillating production. The four years and $195.8 million he's owed (including this season) remains steep, but the Utah Jazz should be able to recoup multiple first-round picks for it if they lean further into the rebuild.
Kessler did not sound thrilled about the absence of an extension. Though the Jazz could have delayed paying him so they could work with his lower cap hold next summer, such a strategy requires the organization and player being on the same page. This doesn't seem like one of those situations.
Nurkić's $19.4 million salary can be a vehicle through which Utah gets compensated to help teams save money in midseason trades. It has enough room under the tax to take back someone earning more than $27 million, and that number can climb if the front office aggregates other salaries in tandem with Nurkić.
Washington Wizards
30 of 30
Buyers or Sellers: Sellers
Top Assets:
- Corey Kispert
- Justin Champagnie
- CJ McCollum/Khris Middleton
Kispert's three-ball isn't falling at its usual clip, but he'll recover. His movement alone has value, and he remains hyper-efficient inside the arc. Including this season, he'll earn an average of 7.7 percent of the salary cap through 2028-29 (team option). Contenders should be calling about him.
Ditto for Champagnie. A crowded wing rotation has left him whiling away on the bench. Since joining the Washington Wizards, he has routinely checked one of the opposition's two best players while delivering some help-side rim protection, sneaking onto the offensive glass and hitting spot-up triples. Oh, and he'll earn less than 2 percent of the cap through 2027-28 (team option).
Washington is unlikely to move any future draft equity, so the expiring contracts of McCollum ($30.7 million) and Middleton ($33.3 million) slide into third place. The Wizards have enough room beneath the tax to max out the return on either deal ($40-plus million), as well as the cap flexibility moving forward to eat up longer-term money.
Dan Favale is a National NBA Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Bluesky (@danfavale), and subscribe to the Hardwood Knocks podcast, co-hosted by Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes.
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