A valuable player to trade on every NBA team: Morant, Kuminga, and additional players to keep an eye on.

The NBA trade deadline is less than a month away, and teams are evaluating their rosters and the market to see who can make a difference in a playoff berth or a new era.

With players such as Ja Morant and Jonathan Kuminga circulating as potential trade targets, teams must decide which players are worth stashing and which could be a part of a package to facilitate a win-now or rebuild strategy before 3 p.m. ET on Feb. 5.

Whether a team makes a move or stands pat, each has at least one player who could be used in a trade to strengthen its playoff push or take further steps in a rebuilding process. ESPN analysts Bobby Marks (Eastern Conference) and Kevin Pelton (Western Conference) detail the top player on all 30 NBA rosters who could be traded and how a potential deal could help that team.

Teams are listed in alphabetical order.

Jump to a team:
ATL | BOS | BKN | CHA | CHI | CLE
DAL | DEN | DET | GS | HOU | IND
LAC | LAL | MEM | MIA | MIL | MIN
NO | NY | OKC | ORL | PHI | PHX
POR | SAC | SA | TOR | UTA | WAS

Player: Kristaps Porzingis

Trae Young was originally on the watch list before he was sent to Washington for CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert. The Young trade now allows Atlanta to move off Porzingis’ expiring $30.7 million contract and gain flexibility to take back salary in future years — for example, Anthony Davis. But with Davis out for an extended period of time with a left hand injury, holding on to Porzingis for the remainder of the season is the more viable option. Porzingis has missed 14 games due to illness but has been effective on the hardwood, providing Atlanta with much-needed size in the frontcourt.

The Hawks do have Luke Kennard‘s $11 million expiring contract and the $14 million salary of the recently acquired Kispert if they are looking for frontcourt help, but on a much smaller scale than Davis. Kispert’s salary is not subject to aggregation. — Marks

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Player: Chris Boucher

Anfernee Simons should be the player to watch because of his $27.7 million expiring contract, but Simons has played a key role in Boston’s surprise surge into the East’s top tier. For the first time since the 2021-22 campaign, Simons is coming off the bench, averaging 13.5 points per game and 40.2% shooting from 3. Boucher signed a one-year, $2.3 million contract in the offseason, and there was belief he could provide frontcourt depth, especially after averaging 10 PPG last season with Toronto. Instead, he is playing just 11.4 minutes per game behind Luka Garza and Josh Minott on Boston’s depth chart.

While it is unlikely the Celtics get under the luxury tax this season (they are $12 million over), trading Boucher would save them $9 million. — Marks

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Player: Michael Porter Jr.

Porter or Cam Thomas could be chosen as the player to watch in Brooklyn. Thomas signed a one-year, $5.9 million qualifying offer in the offseason, and he is on pace to average at least 20 PPG for a third straight season. But Thomas has veto power on any trade and loses Bird rights in free agency if he were moved. Porter is averaging a career-high 25.7 PPG on the rebuilding Nets and would fit a need for numerous playoff teams looking for shooting and size on the wing.

Before being traded to Brooklyn, Porter had never eclipsed 20 PPG in his first six campaigns on a Denver roster featuring Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. Porter’s deal has two years remaining ($38.3 million and $40.8 million), and he is eligible for an extension in the offseason. The Nets could add to the 2032 unprotected first-round draft pick they received from Denver if Porter is moved again. They could also keep Porter and add to their roster this offseason with cap space and a high lottery pick. Remember, Brooklyn does not control its own first-rounder in 2027. — Marks

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Player: Collin Sexton

If Charlotte abides by the fictional rule that lottery-bound teams must trade a veteran on an expiring contract, Sexton would be a top candidate. Acquired in the offseason from Utah, Sexton is on a $19 million expiring contract and has been one of the better reserves this season. In 19 games off the bench, Sexton is averaging 14.9 PPG, 50.3% shooting from the field and 46.4% shooting from 3. The Hornets are $56 million below the luxury tax next season and can bring back Sexton on a new contract if a trade does not materialize.

The Hornets also have the $8 million salary of Tre Mann, who signed a three-year, $24 million contract in the offseason — only the first year was guaranteed — and is averaging the second-fewest minutes in his career. — Marks

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Player: Nikola Vucevic

In fairness, we could list half the roster. The Bulls have a league-high eight players (Vucevic, Zach Collins, Kevin Huerter, Coby White, Ayo Dosunmu, Jevon Carter, Dalen Terry and Julian Phillips) on expiring contracts, something coach Billy Donovan noted at the beginning of the season.

»They have to understand the urgency because they all have something to do with each other’s success and they all have something to do with each other’s future,» Donovan said.

The 35-year-old Vucevic is the most accomplished of that group. Vucevic has averaged at least 16 points and nine rebounds per game in six straight seasons and has played at least 70 games in five consecutive campaigns. His $21.5 million salary this season ranks 14th among starting centers. — Marks

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Player: Lonzo Ball

Trading for Ball made sense in the offseason, considering Cleveland was likely losing Ty Jerome in free agency and had prioritized bringing back Sam Merrill. The heralded move has not translated to the court.

Although Ball has not suffered any setbacks with his left knee, his production has been inconsistent. Ball averaged at least 22 minutes in the first three months of the season, but he has seen his minutes per game drop to 13.0 in January. Ball is shooting a career-worst 31.2% from the field and 27.6% on 3s.

If the Cavaliers move off his $10 million salary this season, their luxury tax penalty would drop from $164 million to $102 million. Because there is no financial liability next season (Ball has a $10 million team option for 2026-27), Cleveland also could wait until the offseason to make a decision. The Cavs are a second-apron team and are not allowed to combine Ball’s salary with another player in a trade. — Marks

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Player: Anthony Davis

ESPN’s Shams Charania reported earlier this week that the Mavericks have reengaged teams on a possible Davis trade despite a hand injury that is expected to sideline him through the deadline. There’s urgency for Davis to find a new team as part of «pre-agency» before he becomes eligible for an extension this August, and his timeline does leave open the possibility of Davis returning before the playoffs.

The key question with a Davis deal is how much Dallas will be affected by the sunk cost of Davis being the primary return for Luka Doncic less than a year ago. If the Mavericks are looking for that kind of value, no Davis trade is likely to materialize. — Kevin Pelton

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Player: Zeke Nnaji

Any move of consequence for the Nuggets likely has to include Nnaji, one of just two nonstarters on the roster with a cap hit greater than $3.2 million this season. (Backup center Jonas Valanciunas, currently sidelined, is the other.) Nnaji has responded well to increased playing time during Nikola Jokic‘s injury absence, averaging 14.8 points and 1.5 blocks per game while shooting an effective 65% in a recent four-game stretch.

If Nnaji keeps that up, Denver might not find it necessary to make a move before the deadline. Conversely, if Nnaji reverts to a noncontributor, teams might not want to take back his contract given the Nuggets have limited draft picks to incentivize a deal. — Pelton

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Player: None

It would be easy to put Tobias Harris on his $26.6 million expiring contract as the player to watch. The Pistons also have all their first-round picks available to trade for the first time since 2020. But team president Trajan Langdon and the front office have shown patience in rebuilding a roster that averaged 19 wins from 2019-20 to 2023-24.

«You don’t need to skip steps and go out and trade for some sort of superstar right away, because you never know how that’s going to end up for you. Trajan will always make the smart decision and the right decision for the team,» coach J.B. Bickerstaff told FanDuel TV last month. «We’re in a really good spot with a really good group of guys.»

If there is a move to make in Detroit, it likely comes with converting the two-way contract of Daniss Jenkins. — Marks

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Player: Jonathan Kuminga

Given Kuminga hasn’t appeared in a game since Dec. 18, sitting out with last-minute back soreness when he was set to see extended minutes with several stars sidelined on Jan. 2, the long-running will-they-or-won’t-they Kuminga trade saga finally appears near its conclusion.

Unfortunately, Kuminga’s on-court performance is unlikely to increase his trade value. A hot start from 3 (9-of-20 over the season’s first six games) quickly faded, with Kuminga shooting 23% beyond the arc since. At this point, Kuminga’s most important role might be as a matching salary in a trade for a key player who better fits with Golden State’s veteran stars. — Pelton

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Player: Dorian Finney-Smith

Unless the Rockets are willing to trade guard Fred VanVleet during his rehab from September’s ACL surgery, Finney-Smith is their only player making more than $6.7 million and averaging fewer than 20 minutes per game.

Coming off his own offseason surgery (left ankle), Finney-Smith has started slowly since returning to the lineup in December, shooting 25.8% from the field. That’s far out of line with the remainder of Finney-Smith’s career, and a trade now would seem unlikely to maximize Houston’s return. That could portend a quiet deadline for the Rockets. — Pelton

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Player: Bennedict Mathurin

Tyrese Haliburton‘s right Achilles tendon injury opened up the full-time starting role for Mathurin, who scored 36 and 26 points, respectively, in the first two games of the season. A right foot injury sidelined Mathurin for the next 11 games. He would eventually return and start the next 22, though he is now out indefinitely after injuring his right thumb on Jan. 2.

After losing Myles Turner in free agency, Indiana will explore options in the center market, making Mathurin and his expiring $9.2 million expiring contract a valuable trade option. Signing Mathurin as a free agent could be challenging, despite the ability to match any offer sheet. Not including a likely top-five pick, Indiana is $16 million below the luxury tax next season. — Marks

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Player: Kobe Brown

The Clippers’ surge to within one game of a play-in spot should keep them focused on maximizing the James Harden–Kawhi Leonard era rather than dealing away veterans. Considering LA’s limited ability to add to the roster because of an NBA investigation into cap circumvention that could strip the team of its remaining draft picks, the simplest path could be clearing roster room to convert the two-way contracts of Jordan Miller and Kobe Sanders.

In this scenario, Brown looks like the odd man out, having played barely 900 career minutes in three seasons since being drafted No. 30 in 2023. The Clips declined a 2026-27 option on the final year of Brown’s rookie contract. — Pelton

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Player: Dalton Knecht

The Lakers’ challenge as the deadline approaches is finding ways to supplement their meager cache of draft picks. L.A. currently has one first-round pick that is tradable outright (either in 2031 or 2032) and just one second-rounder (in 2032). That makes a trade contingent — in large part — on another team vaulting on Knecht, the No. 17 pick of the 2024 draft who has yet to prove the kind of steal the Lakers thought they were getting.

Defensive challenges limited Knecht’s role as a rookie, when he was shooting 37.6% on 3s. Now that Knecht has slumped to 31.1% beyond the arc in Year 2, he has dropped to 12th on the roster in minutes per game. — Pelton

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Player: Ja Morant

The unanswered question about a Morant trade is whether other teams should feel the guard is worth giving up draft picks or young prospects. Since Morant was voted to the 2021-22 All-NBA second team at age 22, his production and availability have trended in the wrong direction.

Morant has been one of the league’s least efficient volume scorers this season, shooting 21% on 3s and a career-low 47% inside the arc. As the explosiveness that made Morant a star fades, he hasn’t shown enough skill to compensate. There have been bright spots lately, most notably a 40-point game against Philadelphia on 16-of-22 shooting. But a team dealing for Morant would have to bet that his poor start has more to do with frustration in Memphis than his career peaking early. — Pelton

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Player: Terry Rozier

Rozier was placed on immediate leave Oct. 23 after he was indicted with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering, charges to which he pleaded not guilty in December.

Sources told ESPN in December it was unclear what would happen if the Heat attempted to trade Rozier’s $26.6 million expiring contract before the deadline. Notably, the Heat elected not to waive Rozier before the Jan. 7 guaranteed date, a move that would have saved Miami $1.7 million in salary relief and opened a roster spot. –– Marks

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Player: Kyle Kuzma

For now, the Bucks are looking to improve the roster around Giannis Antetokounmpo and not trade the two-time MVP. Because this roster is top-heavy in salary (11 players earn less than $5.1 million), Kuzma is the likely odd man out if the Bucks were to pursue Michael Porter Jr. or even Ja Morant. Kuzma has a $22.4 million cap hit this season and a $20.3 million cap hit in 2026-27.

Kuzma has started 73% of the games he has played in since 2017-18 but has fared better as of late coming off the bench. In 23 games as a reserve this season, he is shooting 54.8% from the field and 36.7% from 3. — Marks

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Player: Rob Dillingham

How the Timberwolves and the rest of the NBA value Dillingham could be one of the more interesting questions before the deadline. Minnesota believed enough in Dillingham to trade a precious 2031 first-round pick, as well as a 2030 swap with a San Antonio Spurs team likely to be contending, to draft the guard at No. 8 in 2024.

Nineteen months later, Dillingham has yet to consistently crack coach Chris Finch’s rotation, and his production has trended the wrong way this season. Dillingham is shooting just 33% on 2-point attempts, worst among players with at least 100 attempts this season. This could be an opportunity for another team to get a recent top-10 pick on a bargain contract — or the last, best chance for the Wolves to salvage some value from the original trade. — Pelton

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Player: Trey Murphy III

Despite last week’s report that the Pelicans would not make Murphy available — along with Herbert Jones, Zion Williamson and rookie lottery picks Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen — they’ll surely field plenty of calls. Murphy’s reasonable contract (an average of $28 million) and versatile skill set would be more valuable to a contending team than one that should be rebuilding around Fears and Queen.

Per Stathead.com, Murphy is the only player in the league this season with at least 60 dunks and 60 3-pointers. It would be fun to see how that translates in the playoffs, but New Orleans’ 2024 sweep at the hands of Oklahoma City was his only appearance as a starter. — Pelton

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Player: Guerschon Yabusele

Yabusele has struggled to find a role with New York this season after averaging a career-high 27.1 minutes and 11 PPG with Philadelphia last season. Instead, he has been a DNP in three games and has played fewer than 15 minutes in his other 27 games.

The 30-year-old veteran signed a two-year, $11.3 million contract with New York over the summer with 2026-27 as a player option. New York is $148,000 below the second apron, and trading Yabusele would allow the franchise to sign two players while remaining under the second apron. Removing Yabusele’s salary next season would allow New York to re-sign Mitchell Robinson and possibly remain below the apron. The Knicks are a projected $16.3 million below entering the offseason. — Marks

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Player: Ousmane Dieng

In the final season of his rookie contract, Dieng is the most obvious candidate if the Thunder want to clear a roster spot to convert rookie Brooks Barnhizer or reserve center Branden Carlson from two-way contracts. Dieng has shown promise this season, shooting 15-of-33 (45.5%) from 3-point range after hitting just 29% across his first three campaigns.

Dieng is still just 22 years old, but retaining him beyond this season will be challenging as Oklahoma City’s payroll balloons with extensions for Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams. — Pelton

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Player: Tyus Jones

The Magic signed Jones to a one-year, $7 million expiring contract with the belief he would provide an anchor to their bench and a potential lead guard in closing lineups. Although he has started eight games in place of the injured Jalen Suggs, Jones is on pace to play his fewest minutes since 2016-17. Jones is averaging 3.2 points and shooting below 40% from the field for only the second time in his career. The Magic are minus-7.5 points per 100 possessions when Jones is on the court. — Marks

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Player: Open roster spot

If the 76ers’ struggles had carried over to this season, Quentin Grimes, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Andre Drummond could have been players to watch. All are on expiring contracts, and trading either Grimes or Oubre would drop Philadelphia below the luxury tax line. But unlike last January, when injuries decimated the roster and left the Sixers at the bottom of the standings, they are in the top six of the East.

Although president of basketball operations Daryl Morey has been active at the deadline since taking over in 2020, it is more likely the 76ers will use their open roster spot to convert the two-way contract of Dominick Barlow. The 22-year-old forward has started 26 games, averaging 8.3 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. — Marks

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Player: Nick Richards

The Suns making a move to duck the luxury tax is one of the more obvious outcomes before the deadline. Phoenix is close enough that shedding a minimum contract — such as that of forward Nigel Hayes-Davis, who has fallen out of coach Jordan Ott’s rotation — would accomplish it. But the Suns might be able to recoup some value for Richards after giving up two second-round picks to acquire him a year ago.

Richards started 34 games in Phoenix after the trade, but the center is now buried on the depth chart behind starter Mark Williams and reserve Oso Ighodaro. The Suns also have lottery pick Khaman Maluach at the position as injury insurance. — Pelton

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Player: Jerami Grant

After a lost 2024-25 campaign in which he played just 47 games, Grant has performed well enough this season (20.0 PPG on 38.9% 3-point shooting) that teams could be willing to take on the two years and $70 million remaining on his contract. The question instead is whether Portland would be willing to move Grant for cap flexibility and/or draft picks.

The Blazers are comfortably in the play-in mix, and Grant’s shooting is an important part of the rotation. At the same time, creating cap space this offseason would give Portland the ability to save up for renegotiating Deni Avdija‘s contract simultaneously with a long-term extension. Given Avdija’s importance and that a conventional extension is unrealistic, that’s worth exploring. — Pelton

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Player: Domantas Sabonis

If Anthony Davis isn’t a realistic trade candidate, Sabonis could become the best big on the market — depending on his return to the court. Sabonis is attempting to rehab a meniscus tear without undergoing surgery and hasn’t played since Nov. 16. A healthy Sabonis is a walking double-double who led the NBA with 13.9 rebounds per game last season, and his $42.3 million salary is workable in a trade.

If Sabonis can’t come back by the deadline, attention would shift to guard Keon Ellis, whose 3-and-D skill set might be valued more by other teams than by the Kings. — Pelton

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Player: Jeremy Sochan

After starting 73 games and averaging nearly 30 minutes per game in 2023-24, Sochan’s role has diminished with the Spurs as they reconfigure around Victor Wembanyama. Sochan is averaging a career-low 13.6 minutes in the final season of his rookie contract, mostly as a backup center in Wembanyama’s absence.

A team with more shooting might be able to support Sochan’s defensive versatility and the high-percentage finishing he showed last season, when he made 59% of his 2-point attempts. Meanwhile, San Antonio can use the expiring contracts of Sochan and journeyman Kelly Olynyk to upgrade in advance of what the team hopes is a deep playoff run. — Pelton

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Player: Ochai Agbaji

Agbaji will be a free agent in July after failing to reach an extension in October. After averaging a career-high 27.2 minutes last season and starting 45 games, Agbaji has seen his minutes and role decrease. He is on pace to average the fewest minutes (15.5) and points (4.3) in his career. Agbaji did have a 10-game stretch in December of averaging at least 20 minutes, however. Toronto is $967,000 above the luxury tax and could get under it by offloading his $4.1 million expiring contract. — Marks

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Player: Jusuf Nurkic

Utah’s deadline will likely be relatively quiet, unless it considers a trade involving All-Star forward Lauri Markkanen. Nurkic is the lone Utah starter headed to unrestricted free agency, and his $19.4 million salary makes him a tough fit for contending teams via trade.

More realistically, the Jazz could try to work a buyout with Nurkic, who has averaged a career-high 4.3 assists per game by making plays when opposing defenses trap Utah guard Keyonte George. — Pelton

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Player: Khris Middleton

As we saw with the Trae Young trade, Washington is not afraid to lose cap space next season if there is a player who can help in the future. The Wizards were projected to have $80 million in salary before trading for Young and his $49 million player option for next season. Acquired as part of the Kyle Kuzma trade to Milwaukee last season, Middleton is on an expiring $33.3 million contract and has an additional $3.2 million in unlikely bonuses that count toward the apron.

If Middleton is instead bought out after the deadline, he is ineligible to sign with teams over the first or second apron. — Marks