The NBA trade rumor mill is in its pre-training camp buffering zone, but as things progress in the next three weeks, and as camps begin to open up, expect it to start rolling in full force.
Already here in September, there are still plenty of possibilities and loose ends that need tying up. Probably the most prominent is one than is now in its 11th day without a resolution. And for the Golden State Warriors, that is a good thing.
There has been no immediate update on the contract status of one Stephen Curry, who is playing on the final year of his contract here in 2026-27, and has been eligible for a two-year, $137 million extension going back to August 29. We’ve covered the options closely in the run-up to his extension eligibility, but a quick rundown of his options: One, a max deal from the Warriors; two, a discount deal for the Warriors to allow them to keep some cap space open; three, no extension until next summer, allowing the Warriors to carve out more than $100 million in space.
Curry has said there is no hurry on a deal. Indeed, there has not been much by way of discussions between Curry and the Warriors–Curry knows what his options are, and it will be up to him to decide how he wants to proceed. No one would begrudge him the right to take his full max. But he could give the team options by waiting, or by taking less.
To be clear, the Warriors have about $40 million committed to next season. They could give Brandin Podziemski an extension, or tell him to wait till next summer. In that case, even with a full Curry extension, the Warriors would still have about $70 million in space. So a Curry deal won’t preclude Golden State from adding next summer.
Generally, though, the thought is that if Curry was going to take the max, he would have done so relatively quickly. That’s unscientific speculation. But it still gives the Dubs some hope that there will be a lot of space next summer.
Pelicans, Grizzlies Make a Trade
The Pelicans have been shopping Jordan Hawkins for quite some time and finally found their taker–the Grizzlies, who continue to pile up young assets and appear well on their way in an interesting rebuild.
The Pelicans needed to make a move tog et Bennedict Mathurin’s contract on the books. Hawkins has one year and $7 million left on his contract. He never lived up to his lottery billing after his impressive UConn tournament run in 2023, so the fact that he was on the trade block was probably not exactly newsworthy. Still only 24, but he is a career 37.4% shooter … from the field.
The Grizzlies now have 10 second-round picks to trade, as well as 12 firsts in the next seven drafts–nine of which they can trade. They sent out AJ Johnson and Taj Gibson in the deal.
NBA Trade Rumors: Pistons, Jalen Duren ‘Deadline’ Looming
There’s really no changes in the Jalen Duren situation with the Pistons. He wants to be paid a near-max contract, at five years and $200 million. The Pistons are offering less, but it is not quite a chasm, despite some negative reporting on the situation. Detroit’s training camp is just three weeks away, and while there have been mild negotiations between the sides, they will ramp up in the coming days.
Despite media threats, Duren does not want to take the $9.6 million qualifying offer that would allow him to become an unrestricted free agent next season. That only makes sense if the contract next summer was to be miles bigger than what the Pistons are offering now. It’s not. Thus, the expectation is that the process will inch forward until both sides comrpomise, ideally ahead of camp.
“Sometimes you just need a deadline to make these things happen,” one NBA executive noted.
NBA Trade Rumors: Heat in the Market for PG
The Miami Heat have been poking around the NBA’s free-agent market, but the long-term idea is to find a trade that will bring in a point guard. As it stands, the Heat about $3 million under their first-apron hard cap, and are badly in need of point guard depth. Davion Mitchell is the starter, and Dru Smith, who has mostly been a fringe roster player (though he did play 70 games for the Heat last year) in Miami is the backup.
The Heat have weighed the likes of veteran backups Gabe Vincent and Cam Payne, but would prefer to find someone with a better upside. They do need a placeholder for that spot, though.
NBA Trade Rumors: Point Guard Stars on the Market
Darius Garland, Clippers. (Remaining contract: two years, $87 million.) The Aspiration-Kawhi Leonard punishment could set into motion a series of events that winds up with Garland being placed firmly on the market as the Clippers seek to recoup as many future draft picks from the roster. Anyone want to give up two picks for him?
Kyrie Irving, Mavericks. (Remaining contract: two years, $82 million, player option in second year.) Marc Stein mentioned him, so we’re putting him on the list, but nothing is imminent. Like a lot of veterans, the idea is to play him through January, build value and see if something can be done at the deadline.
Dejounte Murray, Pelicans. (Remaining contract: two years, $63 million, player option.) Teams will want to see how he looks now that he should be fully healed from his Achilles tendon injury, but expect him to be a trade candidate as the deadline nears.
Jamal Murray, Nuggets. (Remaining contract; three years, $161 million.) Maybe? It’s not likely to happen now, but the finances in Denver are grim. It’s not hard to see a Jaylen Brown situation here.
Mikal Bridges, Knicks. (Remaining contract: four years, $150 million.) It would make sense for the Knicks to give them flexibility going forward, so we’ll slide him on this list. But the Knicks appear determined to try to hammer the team under the second apron for as long as it can stay there–there will be a breaking point, though.
Shaedon Sharpe, Trail Blazers. (Remaining contract four years, $90 million.) Sharpe is out with a torn meniscus, a tough break for him and the Blazers that will probably remove him from trade consideration. Still, he averaged 20.8 points last season and Portland has a guard logjam.
Ty Jerome, Grizzlies. (Remaining contract: two years, $19 million, including player option.) Jerome took advantage of the mess in Memphis last year and averaged 19.7 points, shooting 42.0% from the 3-point line. The Grizzlies will need to thin out their roster, and the 29-year-old Jerome really does not fit here. He would have good value if Memphis wants to flip him for future assets, but the Grizz do not have much else at point guard.
Dalton Knecht, Lakers. (Remaining contract: two years, $10 million, including two team options.) Knecht showed some promise as a rookie but fell off in Year 2 and is now a contract filler in a potential trade. It has been surprising that no team has been willing to gamble on his upside–he is only 25.
Jaden Hardy, Lakers. (Remaining contract: one year, $6 million.) The Lakers need to drop a player, and Hardy is a good candidate if they can find a taker. Using him in a Jonathan Kuminga deal was their dream scenario, but now they just want to be rid of him.
NBA Trade Rumors: Trey Murphy & the Wings
Brandon Ingram, Raptors/Clippers. (Remaining contract: two years, $82 million, player option.) The Clippers should be seeking to do what they can to pile up draft picks, and moving off of Brandon Ingram next offseason could fetch them one.
Moses Moody, Warriors. (Remaining contract: two years, $26 million.) Moody is potentially going to be ready for the start of the season, and is said to be staying put. But if the Warriors do anything trade-wise this summer, speculation holds it will involve Moody.
Trey Murphy, Pelicans. (Remaining contract: three years, $88 million.) There have been rumblings that the Pelicans would deal Murphy, and equal rumblings have indicated they won’t. Murphy is a favorite in NBA trade rumors, but New Orleans is slow-playing any potential trade.
Saddiq Bey, Pelicans. (Remaining contract: one year, $6.5 million.) Bey came back with a strong season last year after tearing his ACL, averaging 17.7 points and shooting 45.1% from the field and 36.7% from the 3-point line. They were hollow numbers on a bad team, but he showed he still could be an adequate wing off someone’s bench.
Patrick Williams, Bulls. (Remaining contract: three years, $54 million,) It would be symbolic and probably cathartic for fans to see Williams dumped as a new front office and coaching staff comes in. But Williams’ contract is prohibitive.
Michael Porter Jr., Nets. (Remaining contract: one year, $40 million, partial guarantee.) Porter will wind up in the trade-candidate bin if extension talks falter. They appear to be faltering, so watch from him to be a name on the market in the coming months.
Derrick Jones Jr., Clippers. (Remaining contract: one year, $10 million.) Jones is a defensive ace still, and his expiring contract gives the Clippers some wiggle room to move him. They’re caught in the Aspiration pause, however.
Kyle Kuzma, Bucks. (Remaining contract: one year, $20 million,) His expiring contract is attractive and if the Bucks pull a sign-and-trade for Peyton Watson, Bennedict Mathurin or Jonathan Kuminga, he could be involved.
DeAndre Hunter, Kings. (Remaining contract: one year, $25 million.) The Kings want to keep him as an expiring contract they could potentially flip, but he’s being mentioned as a possible target. If Sacto can get back an asset without taking long-term money, he could be dealt at the deadline.
Royce O’Neale, Hornets. (Remaining contract: two years, $21 million,) The Hornets still have some sorting to do. O’Neale is not a long-term piece, of course, but he has value. The team could hang onto him, see how he fits and flip him at the deadline.
Jake LaRavia, Lakers. (Remaining contract: one year, $6 million.) Hustles, plays every game, but inconsistent. His contract makes him an attractive piece, though, as the Lakers are still figuring out the back end of their roster.
Herb Jones, Pelicans. (Remaining contract: four years, $82 million, including player option.) Jones is a popular name on the market, but the Pelicans are said to want two first-round picks, and with Jones having struggled with injuries and his 3-point shot in the past two seasons, that’s too steep. His remaining contract scares off potential suitors, too.
Cam Johnson, Nuggets. (Remaining contract: one year, $23 million.) The Peyton Watson move probably means Johnson stays put, but he will be very tradeable in the coming months before the deadline. Johnson struggled in his lone season in Denver, and he has been a prominent feature on the NBA trade rumor mill for years now. But teams wanted the Nuggets to include picks in a Johnson deal, and that was not happening. He still has enough of a reputation around the league to warrant trade interest, but the apron-addled Nuggets value the fact that he has an expiring contract. They need that space for Nikola Jokic next summer.
PJ Washington, Mavericks. (Remaining contract: 4 years, $90 million.) Like Daniel Gafford, Washington is aging out of the Mavericks’ timeline, as he turns 28 this summer. He’s a stretch 4 who plays good defense, but his shooting has been suspect–he made just 32.5% of his 3s last year. Like Gafford, they’re hoping to get a first-round pick in a deal for him, but the contract is prohibitive and the production is not worth it.
Checking the Center Market
Jalen Smith, Bulls. (Remaining contract: one year, $9 million.) Plenty of teams are still on the hunt for a backup center, and Smith would be a nice fit in multiple situations. The Bulls could cash in for younger assets or wait and move him during the season.
Nikola Jovic, Heat. (Remaining contract: four years, $62 million.) There is trepidation about trading for Jovic, who is certainly available and is still only 23 years old. But the remaining contract is a hefty bite for teams to take.
Grant Williams, Hornets. (Remaining contract: one year, $15 million.) The Hornets are not quite done with their roster, and Williams’ expiring deal has some value. He can still be a worthy big man off the bench.
Zeke Nnaji, Nuggets. (Remaining contract: four years, $32 million.) The Nuggets shopped Nnaji this summer, but there were no takers. He does not have a weighty contract, but four years is lengthy for him.
Jarred Vanderbilt, Lakers. (Remaining contract: two years, $26 million.) The Lakers have been trying to find a taker for Vanderbilt, but no one has been eager to take on his contract. It’s possible the Lakers will use him in their rotation, much to JJ Redick’s chagrin, and attempt to trade him during the season.
Aaron Gordon, Nuggets. (Remaining contract: three years, $110 million.) Someone may have to go in the coming months because of the Nuggets’ impending financial crunch. If it is not Jamal Murray, it could be Gordon, though his recent injury history makes that tough.
Daniel Gafford, Mavericks. (Remaining contract: 3 years, $54 million.) Gafford will be 28 in October, and with the Mavs focused on getting younger, moving him along has been one of the team’s goals.
NBA Trade Rumors: Stephen Curry Update, Grizzlies-Pelicans Trade & Jalen Duren vs. Pistons