NBA Intel: Trae Young, Anthony Davis, Michael Porter Jr, Ivica Zubac, Pacers, Cavs, Nets, Celtics, Wolves

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One month ahead of the NBA trade deadline, HoopsHype has gathered the latest intel on Trae Young, Anthony Davis, Michael Porter Jr, Ivica Zubac, the Pacers, Cavaliers, Nets, Celtics, Timberwolves, Wizards, and Pelicans.

Is Trae Young’s Hawks tenure coming to an end?

Trae Young, a four-time All-Star and Atlanta’s franchise leader in assists and 3-pointers made, appears headed for a split from the only team he’s played for during his career, with Young’s CAA agents and Hawks management working together on a potential trade destination, as ESPN first reported.

Once both sides didn’t agree on an extension during the offseason, executives around the league were bracing for this moment. Now, with a month to go until the trade deadline, Young’s trade market is beginning to take shape.

The Washington Wizards have discussed a trade for Young centered around CJ McCollum’s $30.67 million expiring contract, as The Stein Line first reported. Stein also notes that the Wizards would likely seek additional draft capital, as Young has a $48.97 million player option for next season.

In addition, the Milwaukee Bucks, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Los Angeles Clippers have monitored Young’s situation, league sources told HoopsHype.

The Bucks have diligently explored roster upgrades around Giannis Antetokounmpo and rank 26th in the league in points per game (113.3). The Timberwolves have actively explored the trade market across the league in search of a potential starting point guard upgrade, league sources told HoopsHype. The Clippers have underwhelmed overall to start the season despite a recent winning spurt. They must determine their long-term plan for James Harden, who has a player option for next season, which includes a $13.3 million partially guaranteed salary that becomes fully guaranteed for $42.32 million on July 11th.

Amid these trade discussions picking up, the 27-year-old guard has currently been sidelined with a right quad contusion, coming off his previous MCL injury.

Anthony Davis trade talks between the Mavericks and Hawks

There’s been palpable chatter recently about trade talks between the Atlanta Hawks and Dallas Mavericks, but where do things ultimately stand?

In trade discussions with the Mavericks regarding Anthony Davis to this point, the Hawks have resisted including former No. 1 pick Zaccharie Risacher and the Pelicans’ unprotected 2026 first-round draft pick via the Derik Queen trade, league sources told HoopsHype.

Atlanta has labeled the unprotected 2026 first-round draft pick from New Orleans as virtually untradeable heading into the deadline, HoopsHype has learned. The Pelicans are currently tied at 14 percent for the highest odds of winning the lottery with the Indiana Pacers and Sacramento Kings.

Meanwhile, Dallas and other teams around the league have called to inquire about Risacher, league sources said.

Atlanta has expiring contracts Dallas would seek in a potential Davis trade, including Kristaps Porzingis ($30.73 million) and Luke Kennard ($11 million). Given Porzingis’ inability to stay healthy this season, expect Atlanta to gauge the trade value of his expiring contract on the market ahead of the deadline.

Atlanta also has Cleveland’s 2026 first-round pick to dangle in trade talks for Davis. Looking ahead, the Hawks also have a 2027 less favorable first-round pick between the Pelicans and Bucks, another swap in 2028 (the best selection between their own pick and the worst of Utah and Cleveland), and then all of Atlanta’s first-round picks are available to be traded until 2032.

Another note worth mentioning amid trade talks is that Hawks Senior Vice President of Basketball Operations Bryson Graham is close with Davis, and both were part of the Pelicans during the former No. 1 overall pick’s seven-year tenure with the franchise.

Ivica Zubac’s trade market

Los Angeles Clippers 28-year-old center Ivica Zubac has drawn significant interest from several teams on the trade market. Predominantly, teams heavily called while the Clippers were in the midst of a 6-21 start to the season. However, amid winning seven of their last eight games, the noise around the Clippers selling off players has lessened for now.

During earlier trade inquiries, it would have taken at least two first-round picks for the Clippers to consider parting with Zubac, league sources told HoopsHype.

Among the notable teams to express interest in trading for Zubac were the Indiana Pacers and Boston Celtics, HoopsHype has learned.

Dating back from last season through Monday, Zubac is having the best stretch of his career, averaging 16.3 points on 62.2 percent shooting from the field, 12.2 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks.

Indiana center targets

Following Tyrese Haliburton’s torn Achilles tendon in the NBA Finals, the Indiana Pacers were expected to enter a gap year by many around the league. Once the season began, more Pacers players dropped like flies. This has resulted in Indiana having the league’s worst record, including a current 12-game losing streak entering Tuesday’s home game versus the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Following the departure of Myles Turner this past offseason, the Pacers have been searching for a long-term starting center upgrade with the hope of returning to contention next season while also evaluating current centers Isaiah Jackson, Jay Huff, and Micah Potter.

With that in mind, the Pacers gauged the price tag on various centers leaguewide this season, including Utah’s Walker Kessler, Los Angeles’ Ivica Zubac, Brooklyn’s Nicolas Claxton, Dallas’ Daniel Gafford, New Orleans’ Yves Missi, and others, league sources told HoopsHype.

Kessler will enter restricted free agency, and Utah wants to re-sign him, as I previously reported here at HoopsHype and on YES Network. Zubac’s trade market was noted above in this story. Claxton is in the midst of his best offensive season, averaging 13.5 points, and he helped anchor Brooklyn’s top-ranked defense (105.4 defensive rating) in December. Gafford has drawn significant interest in the trade market amid Dallas’ slow start to the season. Missi, a 21-year-old center who showed flashes of potential last season, has had a reduced role in his second season with the Pelicans under the new regime of Joe Dumars and Troy Weaver.

Cleveland Cavaliers drawing trade interest amid underwhelming start

Amid an underwhelming start to the season for the Cleveland Cavaliers, rival executives have poked around to see if the franchise would consider trading Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen, and even shooting their shot for All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell, which the Cavaliers have rebuffed to this point, league sources told HoopsHype.

With max contracts being paid to Mitchell and Evan Mobley and the Cavaliers above the second apron, rival executives will continue to gauge Cleveland’s appetite for the possibility of changes – particularly on Garland and Allen – if the team continues to underperform due to the roster’s salary books.

The backcourt pairing of Mitchell and Garland has always been under the microscope of NBA executives across the league. For teams interested in starting-caliber centers, Allen has always been on their radar. With that said, the current belief among NBA executives is that the possibility of a Garland or Allen trade is more likely in the offseason if it’s going to happen at all.

Where the Brooklyn Nets stand heading into the trade deadline

The Brooklyn Nets have had an impressive December with a 7-4 record, including the league’s top-ranked defense for the month with a 105.4 defensive rating.

Michael Porter Jr. is making the case for an Eastern Conference All-Star berth, averaging career-highs in points (25.9), rebounds (7.6), and assists (3.4), while shooting an efficient 49.5 percent from the field and 40.8 percent from beyond the arc.

Amid a career season for the 27-year-old forward, NBA executives have marveled at the growth he’s shown as a go-to scorer. While Porter Jr. is expected to draw trade interest leading up to the deadline and the Nets have prioritized developing their young core with a potential high lottery pick in play, Brooklyn can elect to retain Porter Jr. through the offseason since he’s on the books for $40.81 million next season when the Nets will look to improve their roster and have a 2027 pick swap owed to Houston.

Nicolas Claxton has drawn calls from teams eying center upgrades around the league, including the Pacers, as noted above. The 26-year-old center has helped anchor Brooklyn’s top defense in December, is averaging a career-high 13.5 points, and has a descending contract with $23.15 million owed next season and $20.94 million owed for the 2027-28 season.

After missing 20 games with a hamstring strain, Cam Thomas has returned as a microwave scorer off the bench, averaging 20.3 points in 21 minutes on a scorching 54 percent shooting from the field and 38 percent from downtown. Thomas is thriving in a role executives around the league have always felt he’d be best utilized in if he played on a more competitive team. While on a one-year $6 million deal, Thomas has a no-trade clause.

Heading into the trade deadline overall, Brooklyn has $15.3 million in cap space and is open to taking on money this season in exchange for draft pick compensation, league sources told HoopsHype. More on that below.

Will the Boston Celtics try to duck the tax or be buyers ahead of the trade deadline?

The Boston Celtics are $12.1 million above the luxury tax heading into the trade deadline, and teams across the league are wondering if they’ll try to duck the tax to get out of the repeater tax or look to bolster themselves, which is currently second in the East despite playing without star forward Jayson Tatum.

While the Celtics have been linked to a potential center upgrade in Ivica Zubac, as noted above, they’ve also been linked to potential Anfernee Simons trades, which could allow them to duck the luxury tax.

As reported by HoopsHype in late November, the Celtics are under no pressure to reduce their current luxury tax bill, which they’ve budgeted for, but wouldn’t mind going below the tax for the right deal, league sources told HoopsHype.

The Celtics have been unwilling to part with a future first-round pick to move Simons, league sources told HoopsHype. Simons is in the final year of his contract worth $27.68 million, averaging 13.5 points on 39.6 percent shooting from 3-point range as a Celtics reserve. He’s also drawn interest from the Milwaukee Bucks, as HoopsHype previously reported.

Should Boston decide to trade Simons and duck the tax, could there be a pathway to a deal with the Brooklyn Nets, for example?

In any potential Simons trade scenario, there’s been a hesitancy to take on future long-term money for Boston. Thus, acquiring a player such as Terance Mann, who’s owed $31.5 million over the following two seasons, would not align with Boston’s preferred stance. Instead, players such as Day’Ron Sharpe and Ziaire Williams, who each have a $6.25 million team option for next season, would be more likely to appeal to Boston. The Celtics also showed interest in signing Sharpe as a free agent this summer to compete for their starting center role, per league sources, but only had a minimum contract available at the time.

Nets guard Cam Thomas has recently returned to the lineup and is on a one-year, $6 million deal, but it's unclear how Boston views the 24-year-old guard. Thomas also holds a no-trade clause this season and will become an unrestricted free agent after this season.

It’s worth noting that executives Brad Stevens and Sean Marks were seen chatting in Boston before their two teams faced each other. Thus, while Boston has yet to show a willingness to part with a first-round pick, is there a compromise of a protected first-round pick or several second-round picks to be had here? Time will tell.

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This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: NBA Intel: Trae Young, Anthony Davis, Michael Porter Jr, Ivica Zubac

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