Nine NBA trade season questions: What's next for Giannis? Did the Lakers improve?
The 2026 NBA trade deadline is officially over, and a flurry of deals has shaken up both conferences with just a few months left in the regular season. Superstars were on the move this week, with James Harden heading to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Darius Garland, leaving fans wondering why the 11-time All-Star…
The 2026 NBA trade deadline is officially over, and a flurry of deals has shaken up both conferences with just a few months left in the regular season.
Superstars were on the move this week, with James Harden heading to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Darius Garland, leaving fans wondering why the 11-time All-Star exited the surging LA Clippers.
After months of speculation on where one of the biggest names this trade season would land, Giannis Antetokounmpo ultimately stayed with the Milwaukee Bucks. And the Chicago Bulls, after staying relatively quiet the last two trade seasons, made a plethora of trades in an attempt to move the franchise forward.
Our NBA insiders answer nine of the most pressing questions coming out of the trade deadline, including whether the Los Angeles Lakers did enough to help Luka Doncic and LeBron James, and what the future might hold for Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies.
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This season’s trade deadline was ______?
Bobby Marks: Free agency in February. Instead of waiting until the summer, the teams with projected cap space and also limited spending power improved their rosters five months earlier.
The Minnesota Timberwolves traded for the expiring contract of Ayo Dosunmu and are now allowed to exceed the cap to re-sign him. Minnesota had only the $6 million tax midlevel exception available if there was no trade.
The Pacers, in need of a center after losing Myles Turner last July, traded for the Clippers’ Ivica Zubac. The Washington Wizards turned their projected $80 million in cap space into Trae Young and then Anthony Davis. The Utah Jazz added former All-Star and Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr. from the Grizzlies, but at the cost of three first-round picks.
The Clippers, the oldest team in the NBA, could have retooled their roster in July by waiving 36-year-old Harden. But instead, Harden was traded to Cleveland for former All-Star Garland.
At one time, nearly a third of teams were projected to have cap space. That list has now shrunk to four: the Brooklyn Nets, Bulls, Lakers and Grizzlies.
Tim Bontemps: All about 2027. Antetokounmpo wasn’t moved, and Milwaukee will try to persuade him to stick around or deal him this summer.
Cleveland dealt for Harden to try to make a deep playoff run and persuade Donovan Mitchell to extend his contract this summer. The Lakers gave up one second-round pick for Luke Kennard to add some shooting, but kept their books clean — and picks in hand — to try to remake the roster around Doncic this summer.
As Bobby mentioned, the Wizards (Davis and Young) and Jazz (Jackson) made moves designed to compete next season. For as much movement as there was around the league, it’s fascinating that hardly any of it was focused on teams being competitive right now.
What should we be watching as the Giannis trade saga continues?
Bontemps: The whole league. Yes, the teams Giannis was linked to over the past few weeks — the Knicks, Warriors, Heat and Timberwolves — will continue to be in those trade conversations.
None of them did anything to take itself out of a possible Giannis deal down the road. But pay attention to the Davis and Jackson deals this week — no one had either the Wizards or the Jazz in the mix to land a star this week, and yet both did. Mitchell is another example of a prior star trade that came out of nowhere when he was dealt to the Cavaliers, or when Rudy Gobert went to the Timberwolves — or the Doncic trade to the Lakers last year.
So when a player like Giannis becomes available, expect most, if not all, teams to take a look — particularly when they have the summer to remake their roster around one of the game’s biggest stars.
Anthony Slater: Nothing substantial. Kristaps Porzingis, the Warriors believe, will return imminently and give them a new look at the center position.
Maybe they gain a little late-season momentum with Porzingis paired next to Draymond Green. But with Jimmy Butler III out, this version of the Warriors looks like nothing more than a play-in team and first-round playoff bait.
They’ll maintain salary flexibility and draft assets to take another big swing in the summer, but Stephen Curry turns 38 next month and the Kuminga trade represents a loud organizational failure. Despite his tools and talent, they were never able to develop or maximize Kuminga, ruining the relationship and ultimately receiving little back in return for the 2021 No. 7 pick.
As Memphis rebuilds, are we looking at the final few months of Ja Morant’s Grizzlies career?
Michael C. Wright: That appears to be the case here.
While unlikely, perhaps Morant can make a compelling case to remain with the Grizzlies beyond the summer by showcasing the production and explosive playmaking skills over the back half of the season that made him one of the NBA’s most popular players. Remember, Morant expressed a desire earlier in January to stay with the Grizzlies, saying, “representing Memphis is what it’s all about.”
But moving forward, general manager Zach Kleiman and the Grizzlies brass will want to see how Morant represents the franchise — both on and off the floor, considering his checkered history rife with injuries and suspensions.
It’s important to note that Memphis tried to move Morant at the deadline, and it wasn’t working in concert with the two-time All-Star and his camp to land him at his preferred destination. The Grizzlies attempted to obtain the package that was best for the franchise, but nothing substantial materialized.
Memphis’ decision to trade Jackson, along with Jock Landale, John Konchar and Vince Williams Jr., to Utah on Wednesday landed the Grizzlies three first-round picks in addition to Walter Clayton Jr., Kyle Anderson, Taylor Hendricks and Georges Niang. The deal created a $28.8 million trade exception, which is the largest in NBA history, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks.
Most importantly, the move set the stage for a roster teardown and subsequent rebuild with Morant, 26, left as the only remaining domino to tip off that process.
With no serious suitors emerging, Morant stays in Memphis with two years remaining on his deal after this season. Interestingly, he could be eligible to sign a three-year extension after the season.
Once Morant returns from a left elbow injury that has sidelined him for the last seven games, perhaps the remainder of the 2025-26 season becomes an audition for the seventh-year veteran to stay with the Grizzlies beyond the summer. At the very least, it’s an opportunity for Morant to boost his value for a potential trade to one of his preferred destinations.
Which of the Bulls’ deals at the deadline is most important to their future?
Jamal Collier: Trading Coby White to the Charlotte Hornets could be the most impactful move going forward, not because of the return it netted the team but for the lessons still not learned by the franchise. White, whose contract was expiring, would have almost certainly had more trade value a year or two ago, but the Bulls moved on after White’s best trade value had passed.
This was a departure from the norm for the Bulls; they were among the most active teams ahead of Thursday’s deadline, but it’s unclear how consequential any of their moves will turn out.
Chicago collected second-round picks (nine in the past week) and small guards (four players under 6-foot-3) in exchange for veterans not in the future plans or expiring contracts that weren’t planned to renew.
If the Bulls are getting younger to focus on collecting assets and draft picks, they are choosing to do so at a time when the upcoming draft classes, in 2027 and 2028, are considered weaker.
As with the White deal, the Bulls might have waited too long to pick a direction.
How much does Luke Kennard solve the Lakers’ ongoing ‘lasers’ problem?
Dave McMenamin: Kennard, at 44.2%, is the second-most efficient 3-point shooter in NBA history, behind only Steve Kerr’s 45.4%. And he’d been having one of the best seasons of his career from beyond the arc — hitting 49.7% from 3 in 46 games off the bench for the Atlanta Hawks.
To acquire a player with that proven skill set, with what limited assets the Lakers had at their disposal this week, was a win. However, to think he can solve the Lakers’ 3-point shooting woes single-handedly is asking a lot of the nine-year veteran.
The Lakers rank 22nd in 3-point percentage (34.8%) and 23rd in made 3s per game (11.9). Kennard will help, of course, but he averaged only 1.6 made 3s for Atlanta this season.
Still, Kennard is a 6-5 target for Doncic, James and Austin Reaves to create looks for when they penetrate opposing defenses.
The challenge for Lakers coach JJ Redick in finding minutes for his fellow Duke alumnus will be putting things together in which Kennard can contribute as a team defender without being the target of opposing offenses to exploit one-on-one.
Why did the East-leading Pistons make moves while being one of the best teams in the league?
Vincent Goodwill: The Pistons have been happy with their young core all season and haven’t wanted to deviate from their seasonlong plan of seeing how their trove of draft picks handles the cauldron of the playoffs.
Pressing the fast-forward button by making an all-in move is not something the front office has an appetite for, just yet.
Coach J.B. Bickerstaff believes he can find decent enough shooting in the postseason, while putting a lot of weight on the Pistons’ second-ranked defense. Getting Kevin Huerter in a deal for Jaden Ivey helps their low-volume shooting in the meantime, yet keeps their books clean for this summer.
Why did the Mavs choose to trade AD now rather than wait until the summer?
Tim MacMahon: The simplest reason is that they found a trade that made sense, primarily because of the dollars saved and the flexibility that cost cutting provides as the franchise focuses on a long-term rebuild around rookie sensation Cooper Flagg.
If Dallas waited, no deal was going to materialize over the summer that would have made the Doncic trade of last season any less of a disaster. The Mavs’ interim front office wisely advised governor Patrick Dumont to consider last year’s blockbuster debacle a sunk cost and view this piece of business purely through the prism of 19-year-old Flagg’s future.
The Mavs needed to move on from Davis, soon to be 33 and seeking a lucrative contract extension this summer, sooner rather than later. Dallas also managed to dump the contracts of Jaden Hardy and D’Angelo Russell in the trade, going from the fourth-highest payroll in the NBA to under the luxury tax this season. The Mavs can be nimble entering the summer instead of searching for ways to avoid what would have been a massive luxury tax bill.
Dallas hoped to get three things in return for Davis: financial relief/flexibility, draft capital and young talent. It wasn’t realistic, considering Davis’ contract and durability concerns, for the Mavs to get what they wanted in all three categories. They settled for a ton of financial relief and some draft capital, but no premium pick and a flier on guard AJ Johnson, a late first-round pick in 2024 who has already been traded twice.
Most importantly, the Mavs flipped the page, making it clear that the franchise’s sole focus is building around Flagg.
Which offseason/free agent move should we keep an eye on?
Marks: Giannis — and extensions. For a second consecutive offseason, the spotlight is on the future of Antetokounmpo, who is entering the last year of his contract (he has a player option in 2027-28).
Will the Bucks finally trade their franchise star, or will Antetokounmpo again commit long-term to the only franchise he has called home?
He is eligible starting Oct. 1 to sign a four-year $275 million extension. If he balks at signing a new deal, the Bucks will be forced to trade him.
As for extensions, there is an All-NBA lineup of eligible players: Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic, Stephen Curry, Anthony Davis, Anthony Edwards, Zion Williamson, Trae Young, Donovan Mitchell, Jaylen Brown, Draymond Green, Pascal Siakam, Kawhi Leonard, Karl-Anthony Towns and Ja Morant.
Bontemps: While Giannis is going to be the obvious headliner, the other thing that’s going to hang over the league is the status of LeBron James. There’s a possibility James will remain in Los Angeles, where he’s been a member of the Lakers for the past seven seasons, but things have obviously shifted there since they traded for Doncic a year ago.
So, if not L.A., where? Could James join Curry a few hours north in San Francisco? Could he return to Cleveland for a celebratory reunion tour back home in his final trip around the league? What about finally playing at Madison Square Garden, or with Jokic in Denver, or with budding star Cooper Flagg — and Kyrie Irving — in Dallas?
It’s safe to say that until we know what James is going to do, his future will be a huge topic of conversation around the league.
