January 2026 Basketball Wiretap

The Cleveland Cavaliers are trading forward De'Andre Hunter to the Sacramento Kings. Cleveland will acquire guards Dennis Schroder and Keon Ellis from Sacramento. The Kings are also trading Dario Saric to the Bulls, who will acquire a 2027 second-round pick from the Cavaliers and a 2029 second-round pick from the Kings.

The Cavs will save nearly $50 million in terms of salary and tax penalties by trading Hunter. Cleveland also picks up more backcourt depth with the additions of Schroder and Ellis. The Cavs guard rotation has been hit with injuries with Darius Garland and Max Strus out, and Sam Merrill having missed considerable time this season.

The Kings are said to be excited to add Hunter to Keegan Murray in a new-look forward pairing, while opening up backcourt minutes for rookie Nique Clifford.

Chicago will bring Saric in via a trade exception and is picking up two second-round picks for helping to facilitate the deal. The Bulls will reportedly waive Jevon Carter to create the roster spot to complete this trade.

The NBA has fined Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson $50,000 for aggressively pursuing, berating and making inadvertent contact with a game official. The incident took place with 10:59 remaining in the fourth quarter of the Cavaliers loss at the Phoenix Suns on Friday, January 30. Atkinson was given his second technical foul and ejected from the game for the incident.

The Sacramento Kings are expected to trade guard Keon Ellis ahead of next week's trade deadline. Sacramento has had several express interest in Ellis, including the Los Angeles Lakers, Indiana Pacers, San Antonio Spurs and Boston Celtics.

For the Celtics and Lakers, Ellis would be a way to upgrade the teams' guard rotations without adding a high-priced player. The Spurs could be looking for off-guard depth. The Pacers would be making a sort of "pre" agency. A team that trade for Ellis will presumably being doing with plans of re-signing the guard this offseason, if not extending him when he's eligible shortly after the trade deadline.

The Portland Trail Blazers have been linked as a potential facilitator in Giannis Antetokounmpo trade talks. However, Portland as let the Milwaukee Bucks know that they have some interest in acquiring Antetokounmpo themselves.

Portland has both Damian Lillard and Jrue Holiday on their roster, who the Bucks star enjoyed playing with in Milwaukee. The Blazers also have control of future Bucks first-round picks and swaps from 2028 through 2030.

It's the draft capital that has had Portland linked to trades where Antetokounmpo lands elsewhere. In those constructions, the Trail Blazers would receive a player or two themselves, while routing the draft capital to the Bucks for a team that doesn't have sufficient draft assets of their own to offer.

Detroit Pistons guard Daniss Jenkins turned down a contract that would have run for the remainder of this season and covered next season. Jenkins has been a regular rotation player for the Pistons this season while on a two-way contract.

After playing against the Golden State Warriors on Friday night, the second-year guard has just three games of NBA eligibility remaining this season. If Jenkins exhausts that eligibility, he'll be unable to be active in NBA games for Detroit for the remainder of the regular season. In addition, two-way players aren't eligible to play in the postseason.

The Pistons have the ability to convert Jenkins to a rest-of-season contract, which would make the guard eligible to play in remaining games, as well as the postseason. Jenkins would then be a restricted free agent this offseason.

Detroit also has their $5.1 million Bi-Annual Exception, which could be used to offer Jenkins more money. However, using the BAE this season means that it would not be able to be used next season.

Philadelphia 76ers forward Paul George has been suspended for 25 games for violation the NBA/NBPA Anti-Drug Program. George will begin serving his suspension with Saturday's game between the Sixers and the New Orleans Pelicans.

George took responsibility for the suspension, telling ESPN: "Over the past few years, I’ve discussed the importance of mental health, and in the course of recently seeking treatment for an issue of my own, I made the mistake of taking an improper medication. I take full responsibility for my actions and apologize to the Sixers organization, my teammates and the Philly fans for my poor decision making during this process.

"I am focused on using this time to make sure that my mind and body are in the best condition to help the team when I return."

Philadelphia has 35 games remaining this season. That means George could return with 10 games to play in the regular season, starting with the 76ers home game on March 25.

George has played in 27 of Philadelphia's first 47 games. The veteran forward has averaged 16 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.5 steals in 30.5 minutes per game. George has shot 42.4% from the field, including 38.2% on 6.4 three-point attempts per game.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have been tied to two different reports where De'Andre Hunter would be on the move this week. The latest is that the Cavs and Sacramento Kings have discussed a trade would see Hunter moved to Sacramento with Dennis Schroder, Keon Ellis and Dario Saric headed to Cleveland.

The Cavaliers would save about $1.5 million in the proposed trade, while adding a talented wing in Ellis and another backcourt option in Schroder. Saric would likely be waived, as he's rarely played this season.

Sacramento would add a bit of money this season, and about $10 million next season, by bringing Hunter. Hunter would give the Kings another versatile forward alongside Keegan Murray, as they retool their roster.

The New York Knicks have been linked to Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo since last summer. However, if New York makes a move before the deadline, it might be for a lesser-known, smaller-salaried frontcourt player.

The Knicks have shown interest in veteran center Goga Bitadze of the Orlando Magic and second-year center Yves Missi of the New Orleans Pelicans. Both players would cost a lot less to acquire than Antetokounmpo, both in terms of the outgoing assets and matching salary. New York is tight to their second-apron hard cap, which means adding salary in a trade is a no-go for the team.

Bitadze makes $8.3 million this season and $7.6 million next season. He's been in and out of the Magic rotation this season. Bitadze has averaged 5.9 points, and 5.2 rebounds in 16.4 minutes per game.

Missi makes $3.3 million in the second year of his rookie scale deal. He has two more season on his first contract at $3.5 million in 2026-27 and $5.6 million team option in 2027-38. Missi has averaged 5.6 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 19 minutes per game this season.

The breakout season for Utah Jazz guard Keyonte George could hit a bit of a pause as January comes to an end. George exited Friday's loss to the Brooklyn Nets late in the fourth quarter with a sprained left ankle. Postgame, George was spotted limping heavily on the injured leg, despite x-rays returning negative.

The Jazz have been cautious with players dealing with injuries and illness this season. They're likely to take a similar approach with George, who has been one of the most improved players in the NBA this season.

The third-year guard is averaging career-highs nearly across the board. George has averaged 24.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, 6.6 assists and 1.1 steals per game. He's also improved his efficiency, hitting for 46/38/89 shooting splits on the season.

The Washington Wizards recalled AJ Johnson and Skal Labissiere from the Capital City Go-Go on Friday.

Johnson is averaging 1.7 points and 1.1 rebounds on the season with the Wizards.

Labissiere signed a 10-day contract with the Wizards earlier this week.