Shams Charania’s Inside Pass goes behind the scenes of the NBA to tackle the biggest news and storylines — on and off the court.
Before the calendar turns to 2026, the NBA’s 30 teams and their front office executives, coaches and players trek toward two important dates.
On Monday, 82 players signed in the offseason will become trade-eligible, which means 90% of the league can be moved. Then, team officials will descend upon Orlando, Florida, for the G League Showcase from Dec. 19-22, serving as the NBA’s version of MLB’s winter meetings.
“This is the unofficial start to having real, high-stakes conversations,” one top team executive said this week.
As franchises reach the 25-game mark, front offices have evaluated their rosters enough to determine whether they’re a contender and their needs in the trade market. All eyes across the NBA are on the Milwaukee Bucks and Giannis Antetokounmpo, their nine-time All-Star, two-time league MVP and the 2021 Finals MVP.
As reported last week, Antetokounmpo, who is out for several weeks because of a right calf strain, and his agent, Alex Saratsis, have opened discussions with the Bucks about the future and whether the best path forward is to stay in Milwaukee or be traded. The Bucks are 10-15 after losing 10 of their past 12 games and have spent most of the past few weeks at No. 10 or No. 11 in the Eastern Conference standings. Should the Bucks’ slide continue, sources said discussions between Antetokounmpo’s representation and the franchise will escalate and lead to a resolution before the Feb. 5 trade deadline.
Bucks general manager Jon Horst built the title-winning team in 2021 and has creatively shaped a contending squad around Antetokounmpo for the past six years. It has been a gradual decline since 2021, however, as they lost in the East semifinals in 2022 and then have had three consecutive first-round exits. Over the summer, the Bucks made a massive commitment in waiving and stretching Damian Lillard’s remaining $113 million for the next two years to sign Myles Turner to a $108 million deal. The Bucks went all-in — again — understanding that a gap season was not a valid sell to their franchise cornerstone, who has made it clear he wants to compete for his second championship.
Horst, coach Doc Rivers and team ownership believed in the Bucks as a championship-contending roster entering the season, a vision Horst expressed during his late July meeting with Antetokounmpo in Greece.
However, Antetokounmpo’s concerns with the roster and his desire to explore external options — he wanted to play for the New York Knicks if he were to be moved — led to talks between the Bucks and Knicks for multiple weeks in August. New York submitted offers, according to sources, but no traction was made, and both Milwaukee and Antetokounmpo moved forward.
Trying to build a contender around Antetokounmpo has left the Bucks with just one first-round pick eligible to be traded — either in 2031 or 2032, the next drafts they can control — and zero second-round picks eligible to be dealt.
Horst will undoubtedly survey the landscape for potential trades to see whether he can make a big move. The Bucks’ largest tradeable contracts outside of Antetokounmpo and Turner are Bobby Portis (three years, $44 million) and Kyle Kuzma (two years, $40.7 million). Ryan Rollins, 23, and AJ Green, 26, have been tremendous finds for the front office and the two players mentioned by rival teams with upside value, though Green is not eligible to be traded during the season. The Bucks could use either a 2031 or 2032 first-round pick in a trade, but they have been reluctant over the past year to mortgage more of their future assets unless it is for a difference-maker. Now, they might have to start over without their landmark star.
“The writing is on the wall,” one source with direct knowledge of the Bucks’ dynamics with Antetokounmpo told ESPN this month.
If the Bucks are open to discussing Antetokounmpo with teams, the Knicks will no longer have the exclusive negotiating window as his preferred destination, sources told ESPN.
For now, the Bucks and Antetokounmpo will focus on his health and evaluate the team’s performance through the remainder of December. They fell to the Philadelphia 76ers at home and Detroit Pistons on the road after losing Antetokounmpo to the calf injury. Six of their remaining nine games this month are on the road.
“I think it’s a very pivotal time for us; it’s sink or swim,” Kuzma told reporters in Detroit on Saturday night. “We have to treat it like that.”
Antetokounmpo’s contract status — he’s guaranteed through the 2026-27 season and has a player option for 2027-28 — gives him significant sway in his future destination. Executives believe the NBA’s new apron rules, combined with his maximum salary and supermax extension to come, make a trade difficult and would require him to show a desire to sign long term with the team that deals for him. That gives him a seat at the table for his future.
Dallas Mavericks forward Anthony Davis, another former NBA champion, is expected to be a critical trade target of several teams, including many of the East’s contenders. The Detroit Pistons, Atlanta Hawks and Toronto Raptors are expected to be suitors for Davis, league sources told ESPN.
The Mavericks are open to exploring the trade markets for Davis, center Daniel Gafford and guards Klay Thompson and D’Angelo Russell, sources said. Davis’ agent, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul, has met with Mavericks interim co-general managers Michael Finley and Matt Riccardi and requested clarity about whether the franchise wants to extend Davis in the offseason or trade him ahead of the deadline. Finley and Riccardi stated the franchise wants to keep its options open and view how the team plays for the next few weeks. They have not ruled out the possibility of an extension.
The Pistons (19-5), Raptors (15-10) and Hawks (14-11) represent high-level threats in the East and are having seasons that give hope that a player like Davis — a 10-time All-Star who has spent his entire career in the Western Conference — can elevate them into a viable championship-quality team.
Davis, who turns 33 in March, will become eligible Aug. 6 to sign up to a four-year, $275 million max extension. The extension would pay him $76 million in his age-37 season. Without an extension, he can be a free agent in 2027 if he declines his $62.8 million player option that offseason.
Thompson, who joined Dallas during free agency in July 2024, was sold on joining the Mavericks to play alongside Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving on a team coming off a run to the Finals. With Doncic gone and the franchise winning at a below-.500 clip, teams across the league know Thompson prefers to be part of a contender over the remaining two years of his three-year, $50 million deal. After a slow start to the season, the four-time champion is averaging 12.8 points per game on 39.5% 3-point shooting in his past 10 games while holding opponents to 38.5% shooting as their closest defender, which ranks 10th out of 120 guards to defend 50-plus shots since the stretch began.
Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont has taken a patient approach since firing general manager Nico Harrison on Nov. 11. Dumont has relied on Finley, Riccardi, coach Jason Kidd and minority owner Mark Cuban in his front office corps, and he has given Finley and Riccardi the power to lead conversations on the franchise’s future. A GM search is still expected in the offseason, and Finley and Riccardi are expected to be candidates, sources said.
Dallas has wanted to evaluate its roster as much as possible, even as Irving, who tore his left ACL in March, is out indefinitely. At 9-16, the Mavericks are in the play-in picture, but the 2026 draft is the last one in their control until 2031, providing a pathway to retool the roster at the deadline, acquire future assets and similarly position the team next June as it did when it lucked into No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg.
Teams are already preparing for conversations with the Mavericks at the deadline, and those talks could create significant decisions leaguewide.
Here are more news and notes for six other teams:
Hawks star Trae Young, who sustained a sprained MCL on Oct. 29, is optimistic about returning to action this month, sources said.
The Hawks have gone 12-8 without Young in the lineup, and they believe his fit with a rising core in Jalen Johnson, Dyson Daniels, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Zaccharie Risacher and Onyeka Okongwu will elevate the team.
The Nets have $15 million in cap space and can create more, which has led to increased trade talks about using their room to absorb salary while receiving assets, sources said. The Nets, Pistons ($14.1 million trade exception) and Utah Jazz ($18.4 million trade exception) are the only teams with significant room that can take in larger deals and not be impacted by the apron.
Brooklyn could also work with Cam Thomas’ agents at Octagon to navigate his future, potentially via trade, as he plays the remainder of the season on the qualifying offer and will be an unrestricted free agent next summer. Thomas is averaging 21.4 points but hasn’t played since Nov. 5 after injuring his hamstring.
The Nets, who made five first-round picks in June’s draft, have seen rookies progress in their development, including Egor Demin and Danny Wolf. Third-year forward Noah Clowney is also having a career season so far, averaging 13.3 points, 3.8 assists and 36.1% from 3.
The Warriors will discuss trades for forward Jonathan Kuminga when he is eligible to be moved Jan. 15, sources said, after discussions with the Phoenix Suns and Sacramento Kings in the summer failed to progress. Golden State wants to find upgrades on its roster, and Kuminga’s $22.5 million salary could be used in bigger trade scenarios.
Kuminga, who missed just over two weeks in November because of knee tendinitis, has had fluctuating roles and performances since a strong start to the season. He was a DNP-CD in Sunday’s blowout win in Chicago.
The Pacers are in active trade talks around the league to find a center of the future after losing Myles Turner in free agency, sources said.
It’s now versus the future in L.A. Respected officials across the NBA believe the Clippers, who are 6-18 this season, must be open-minded about recouping assets for the valued veterans on their roster — even as the franchise owes Oklahoma City its first-round pick next June.
One high-ranking executive floated this theory recently: Instead of trying to win every game to prevent Oklahoma City from receiving a top-five pick, could the Clippers make a trade (or trades) to better position themselves for the next five years?
Many in the league are waiting to see whether L.A. is open to shifting to the bigger picture. Stars James Harden and Kawhi Leonard are performing at a high level and are signed to tradeable contracts that would allow the Clippers to retool for the future. They could also hold firm and reshape the team around Harden and Leonard, as they will have cap space in the summer.
The Kings and first-year general manager Scott Perry are using this season as a patient evaluation campaign, trying to build a gritty culture. They are open-minded about trade talks throughout the roster, sources said. Teams are monitoring veterans Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan, along with 25-year-old guard Keon Ellis.
