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ESPN Senior Writer- Tim Bontemps is a senior NBA writer for ESPN.com who covers the league and what's impacting it on and off the court, including trade deadline intel, expansion and his MVP Straw Polls. You can find Tim alongside Brian Windhorst and Tim MacMahon on The Hoop Collective podcast.
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ESPN Senior Writer- ESPN.com NBA writer since 2010
- Covered Cleveland Cavs for seven years
- Author of two books
The NBA on Wednesday began its sprint to the Feb. 6 trade deadline, as virtually every player in the league became eligible to be moved.
One of those players -- forward Josh Okogie -- was traded from the Phoenix Suns to the Charlotte Hornets within hours of becoming eligible, marking the first deal of 2025 and the league's third significant trade of the regular season. The Suns, who have been perhaps the most active team in trade discussions since Jan. 1, acquired center Nick Richards from the Hornets in the deal that also saw four second-round picks change hands.
It's fair to ask if these types of deals -- for borderline starters and role players -- are going to define the run up to the deadline, or if there will truly be a star-quality player moved, such as the Miami Heat's Jimmy Butler, Chicago Bulls' Zach LaVine or Suns' Bradley Beal.
League coaches, agents and executives are wondering the same.
We have the five names they're watching closest with less than three weeks until the deadline, plus the ever-growing tail of the Suns' Kevin Durant trade from 2023, an upcoming turning point in the Philadelphia 76ers' season, and what to make of the news that Maverick Carter, LeBron James' longtime business manager, is advising a $5 billion effort to start new basketball league.
Jump to league intel:
Five to watch ahead of the deadline
Suns still paying after KD trade
The $5B plan to rival the NBA
Sixers stall; time for a strategy shift?
