As the NBA trade deadline on February 6 gets closer, teams and players are preparing for possible changes.
Players that could be traded usually fall into three main categories.
Some players are seen as likely to be available in trade talks, like Nikola Vučević, who is playing some of the best basketball of his career with the Chicago Bulls.
Then there are players who are definitely available, such as Jimmy Butler from the Miami Heat.
(Usually, when a team openly says it is willing to trade a player, it’s pretty clear they are trying hard to move him.)
Lastly, there are players who aren’t being mentioned in trade rumors but could still get traded unexpectedly, which happens from time to time.
Let’s look at one trade from each of these categories:
Bulls’ Nikola Vučević to the New York Knicks for Precious Achiuwa and Mitchell Robinson
The Knicks have one of the strongest starting lineups in the NBA. With Karl-Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson, they have an All-Star center and point guard, plus role players who fit well.
But they lack depth, especially when it comes to big men who can score.
Achiuwa is a solid defensive power forward, but his offensive numbers are modest, meaning Towns could end up carrying too much of the load in the playoffs.
Robinson is a valuable defender and rebounder, but he misses large parts of almost every season, so he’s a risk to be unavailable during the playoffs.
The Knicks could take a chance and hope Achiuwa improves as a scorer and Robinson stays healthy. Or they could be proactive and try to trade for Vučević, a player who could help solve their depth issues.
Vučević is playing very well this season, averaging 20.2 points per game and shooting 55.7% from the field, including 42.9% from three-point range. He’s also grabbing 10.1 rebounds per game, which would help replace the rebounding they’d lose if Robinson is traded.
Some might think Vučević wouldn’t start and would be a bench player earning $20 million. But that’s not the full picture. Vučević is capable of playing a lot of minutes, and Towns, who played two years next to Rudy Gobert in Minnesota, could play alongside Vučević at the four position.
The idea wouldn’t be to have Towns and Vučević play together the whole time, but rather to let them overlap for about a quarter each game. Whenever Towns isn’t playing at center, Vučević should take his place, and by the end of the game, the 34-year-old center should be getting close to 30 minutes of play.
Vučević brings a solid shooting option off the bench, which the Knicks currently lack. This will help lighten the scoring load for the starters, allowing them to stay fresh for what the team hopes will be a long playoff run.
For Chicago, it’s all about saving money.
Vučević’s contract lasts another year, but Achiuwa’s deal ends after this season. Robinson’s contract, which is the same length as Vučević’s, becomes cheaper over time. This gives the Bulls more financial flexibility for the summer of 2025.
The Bulls may ask for draft picks in this trade, but they didn’t get any extra picks from Oklahoma City when they traded Alex Caruso for Josh Giddey, so it’s unclear if they’ll be able to get more value here.
Regardless, the Knicks would improve, and the Bulls would save money. This fits well with how each team is being run these days.
Heat’s Jimmy Butler and Alec Burks to the San Antonio Spurs for Keldon Johnson, Zach Collins, and Tre Jones
This may be a tough pill for Heat fans to swallow, but it’s something to consider.
Miami is facing some serious challenges. The team needs to make the playoffs this season to avoid giving up an unprotected 2026 first-round pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
If the Heat make the playoffs, they would only lose this year’s pick, which would likely be outside the lottery.
The Heat could decide to keep Butler to help their playoff chances, but if they don’t make it and Butler leaves as an unrestricted free agent (he has a player option he can decline), they might end up losing a high pick in 2026, which they really want to avoid.
While Johnson, Collins, and Jones may not seem like a big return, they would help Miami stay competitive this season and could be useful for getting into the playoffs.
Jones’ contract is expiring, which means the Heat could either re-sign him or get salary relief, depending on their needs.
Johnson’s contract decreases in value over the next two years, making him not only a solid trade asset but also a player who performs better than his salary.
Collins has had a tough season, but history shows he’s better than what he’s showing now. Miami could bring him in to add depth and then use him as an expiring contract for the 2025-26 season. His value could improve, and the Heat could potentially get a good return for him later on.
This trade might not be that exciting. We understand why Heat fans could be frustrated by it. But here’s the reality: With Butler’s complicated contract, his clear wish to leave Miami, and the situation with the draft pick, the Heat don’t have much leverage in trade talks.
The Spurs might be willing to add some draft picks, like a second-round pick or two, but giving up a first-round pick for a 35-year-old player who can leave after this season seems too risky.
For the Spurs, the reasoning is simple: they take a chance this season, and if Butler doesn’t fit well, they can let him go in the summer or trade him as an expiring contract (if he unexpectedly chooses his player option).
San Antonio doesn’t really need Collins or Jones, and they have enough picks and money to replace Johnson. The Spurs will be fine no matter what.
Bulls’ Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu to the Spurs for Zach Collins, Malaki Branham, Chicago’s 2025 pick, and a 2027 unprotected first-round pick via the Atlanta Hawks
This might seem unexpected, but it makes sense.
White and the Bulls are in a tricky spot. Because of the 140% extension limit, the Bulls can’t really extend White’s contract before he becomes a free agent in 2026, as he only makes $12.8 million next season.
With the Bulls stuck in the middle, it’s likely that White will be open to moving if a winning team offers him the same or more money.
(Similar logic applies to Dosunmu, whose contract also ends in 2026.)
In this trade, the Bulls act early by moving two players who are still underpaid—$19 million in total this season and just over $20 million next year.
The Bulls are essentially telling the Spurs, “You’ll get two players who fit well with Victor Wembanyama’s timeline, and they’re underpaid for the next couple of years before they need new contracts.”
This is a strong offer, especially since White and Dosunmu can spread the floor, handle the ball, make plays, and defend the guard positions well. These are exactly the kinds of guards that would fit well alongside Wembanyama.
The Spurs know Chris Paul won’t be around forever, so adding two guards with these skills should be appealing to them.
However, San Antonio will have to pay for this trade, but not by giving up players, since Collins and Branham don’t have major roles. Instead, they would need to send draft picks.
Chicago would regain full control of its 2025 pick this season, which is otherwise protected for the top 10, and also get Atlanta’s unprotected pick in 2027, which is currently with the Spurs.
The Bulls could also ask for a future pick swap, though it might be protected, and the deal could still work.
This would be a surprising trade, but it makes sense for both teams as they continue to build in the right direction.
(Of course, if the Bulls want to stay competitive, this deal might not happen, but that could be a mistake.)
The Spurs also benefit in another way from this trade: White and Dosunmu’s combined salaries of just over $20 million next season won’t hurt San Antonio’s financial flexibility for the summer.
