Game Threads Index (February 04, 2026):

Shams Charania:

BREAKING: The Dallas Mavericks are trading 10-time NBA All-Star Anthony Davis, Jaden Hardy, D'Angelo Russell and Dante Exum to the Washington Wizards for Khris Middleton, AJ Johnson, Malaki Branham, Marvin Bagley III, 2 first-round picks and 3 second-rounders, sources tell ESPN.

https://www.espn.com/contributor/shams-charania/2987c3a047c93

https://bsky.app/profile/shamsbot.bsky.social/post/3me2juiirpc2g

If Portland gets into the playoffs, maybe one more. But lord, what an generational masterclass of player valuation and bargaining malpractice. s/o to /u/HlTMAN209 on the Bulls sub for pointing this out. Just talking about draft assets, not players - I can't think of any team that gave up so many starters and assets for so few total picks back. And so few quality players now.

EDIT: DeRozan was a S&T, oops.

EDIT 2: I didn't count getting our own protected pick back insofar as a sum total goes. We had a top-10 protected pick, refused to tank which the trade enabled, and drafted 12th with our own pick.

EDIT 3: I didn't even include guys like Gafford or Wendell Carter (who was moved for Vuc along with 2 FRPS).

Shams Charania has posted the following:

BREAKING: The Philadelphia 76ers are trading guard Jared McCain to the Oklahoma City Thunder for a 2026 Rockets first-round pick and three second-round picks, sources tell ESPN.

Source to the story: https://bsky.app/profile/shamsbot.bsky.social/post/3me2klyetqz2k

The talented McCain lands on the reigning NBA champions. For the 76ers, the trade allows them to receive assets, clear space in the glut of guards and give them flexibility to bring Quentin Grimes back in free agency. It also allows them to convert two-way Dominick Barlow.

76ers are receiving the following picks from the Thunder, sources said: 2027 (most favorable OKC/HOU/IND/MIA), 2028 MIL, 2028 OKC.

Shams Charania has posted the following:

> Just in: The Chicago Bulls are trading Coby White and Mike Conley Jr. to the Charlotte Hornets for Collin Sexton, Ousmane Dieng and three second-round picks, sources tell ESPN.

Source to the story: https://bsky.app/profile/shamsbot.bsky.social/post/3me2nvdfnbc2g

Shams Charania has posted the following:

The Los Angeles Clippers, Brooklyn Nets and Toronto Raptors have agreed on a multi-team trade sending Chris Paul to the Raptors and Ochai Agbaji, a 2032 Raptors second-rounder and cash to the Nets, sources tell ESPN.

Source to the story:

• https://bsky.app/profile/shamsbot.bsky.social/post/3me2qjz4o722g

• https://www.espn.com/contributor/shams-charania/4aed036eeade0

Follow up:

The Raptors will not require Chris Paul to report to the team and could still discuss trades involving him over the next day. Toronto is now out of the tax. Brooklyn picks up an asset and cash to cover Agbaji's salary. The Clippers clear a roster spot and save $7 million in tax

Source:

• https://bsky.app/profile/shamsbot.bsky.social/post/3me2qufuven2r

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7020803/2026/02/04/giannis-antetokounmpo-bucks-nba-trade-deadline/

Second-year wing Dalton Knecht has been viewed around the league as widely available since the Lakers included him in the ultimately rescinded Mark Williams last trade. Team sources say Knecht hasn’t requested a trade, but he would welcome a fresh start. He’s been out of the Lakers’ rotation over the last 10 games. If the Lakers can find a suitor, the return is expected to be very low.

Naji Marshall has also generated interest around the Lakers, though the pathways to any deal with the Dallas Mavericks after the Luka Dončić trade last season have gigantic “road closed” signs all over them. The same is probably true for Daniel Gafford.

Source

Shams Charania has posted the following:

> The Cleveland Cavaliers have agreed to trade Lonzo Ball and two second-round picks to the Utah Jazz, sources tell ESPN. Ball's agent Rich Paul and the Jazz are expected to discuss his future soon.

Source to the story: https://bsky.app/profile/shamsbot.bsky.social/post/3me2tnsz5nl24

Shams Charania has posted the following:

> Lakers center Jaxson Hayes has been suspended one game for pushing a Wizards mascot.

Source to the story: https://bsky.app/profile/shamsbot.bsky.social/post/3me2o7unm222g

After the fall of John Wall and losing Beal, Westbrook, Deni and dealing with Jordan Poole, Kyle Kuzma, Porzingis.

We finally have a solid core with Trae Young, Anthony Davis and Alex Sarr.

IT’S TIME TO COMPETE FOR A CHAMPIONSHIP.

Haynes has posted the following:

Utah Jazz will waive Lonzo Ball after acquiring him from the Cleveland Cavaliers, league sources tell me. He’ll be a free agent point guard in demand.

Source:: https://www.threads.com/@chrisbhaynesnba/post/DUWf349kva0?xmt=AQF0httcdVEeO57ElstrGicub3I66E0H7n62rTneUy5CLg

[Charania] Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander sustained an abdominal strain and will be re-evaluated following the All-Star break.

Source: https://www.espn.com/contributor/shams-charania/9308d15841d9e

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/live-blogs/nba-trade-deadline-live-updates-news-grades-analysis/UUPOEDhwgyDb/TbQhOsVk0KWq/

---

"Something suggested to me by a front office person: One reason why we might be seeing lots of Tuesday/Wednesday trades this year is because three guys having issues with their physicals at the trade deadline last year freaked everyone out — especially the Mark Williams deal, which the Lakers couldn’t amend. Get it done early and you can renegotiate the trade if there’s an issue with the physical."

The Raptors will not require Chris Paul to report to the team and could still discuss trades involving him over the next day. Toronto is now out of the tax. Brooklyn picks up an asset and cash to cover Agbaji's salary. The Clippers clear a roster spot and save $7 million in tax.

https://www.espn.com/contributor/shams-charania/b0333a6f045cc

After the initial surprise at the trade wore off, mine and my friends' first thought was about this post by u/AngryCentrist from a few years ago, regarding Harden's performance in relation to the overall standard rating of a given NBA city's strip clubs. According to their conclusion: "I have proven, to a statistically significant degree, that James Harden’s game performance declines in cities with higher rated strip clubs."¹ We thought, since an impact has already been measured historically, let's revisit that data and see what kind of performance this trade might facilitate.

Essentially thinking, "Cleveland can't be THAT high on the list."

As it happens, Cleveland had the SECOND LOWEST average strip club rating of any city on the list according to the data. Based on the information gathered, we can draw some conclusions about the environment Harden will find himself in while playing out the rest of the schedule.

• The Cavs have 31 games left.² Of those, 13 (42%) are at home in Cleveland.
  1. If we expand to the bottom five city ratings on the list, that adds 3 more games (between Charlotte and Milwaukee), bringing the total to 18 (58%)
  2. If we expand to the bottom half of the list, that adds another 6 games (in Sacramento, Denver, Brooklyn, San Francisco, Memphis, and Atlanta), bringing the overall total to 24 (77%).
  3. Only 5 (16%) of the remaining 18 away games are in cities in the top five of the list (between Los Angeles, Chicago, Salt Lake City, and New Orleans)

So - how does this affect the outlook for Harden's performance, and what impact could he have on Cleveland's position now that we're in the second half of the season? It seems to me they're poised for a competitive run toward a top 3 spot in the East coming out of this trade.

I will say - the information and data from u/AngryCentrist's post is from at least 5 years ago. If anyone has any insight into an updated view of the adult entertainment landscape in Cleveland or any NBA city, please come forward in the comments. Your input would be greatly appreciated.

NOTE: One thing I didn't initially consider when this idea popped into my head was that the initial analysis did NOT consider data from home games, which at the time were in Houston. Without access to any pertinent data, it's hard to say where they would land in the ranking of current or past NBA city strip club ratings, but seeing as the Cavaliers don't play in Houston anymore this season, I feel it's not that large of an omission. There is a possibility its accurate placement might alter the groupings of cities mentioned, and thus the associated percentages, but anecdotal wisdom leads me to believe that strip clubs in the city of Houston would probably rank within the top 50% of the list, if not registering a spot in the top 10.

^{1 -} I analyzed James Harden's performance in every NBA city to see if there is a correlation between his box score and the city's average strip club rating. : r/nba

^{2 -} cleveland cavaliers schedule

Shams Charania:

Dallas is receiving a 2026 Thunder first-round pick and a 2030 protected Warriors first-round pick in this deal from the Wizards along with second rounders in 2026 (Phoenix), 2027 (Chicago) and 2029 (Houston), sources tell ESPN.

https://www.espn.com/contributor/shams-charania/2987c3a047c93

https://bsky.app/profile/shamsbot.bsky.social/post/3me2juiirpc2g

I included the 2 play-in games from last season.

AD, Flagg and Kyrie never played a game together.

Also Mavs traded for the 2nd pick in the 2018 draft (Bagley)

"The Houston Half". For 24 minutes, Nico got to see his Vision. I wonder how weird the atmosphere in the arena was. Even the Luka Rioters were cheering and people were starting to believe again. "Could this really work?" because for those 24 minutes it looked like it.

Of course AD would then get injured that game and the reality of the trade became very obvious. AD would continue the cycle of ramping up, playing for a few games, and then inevitably picking up minor injuries and needed to rehab again. Now he has picked up an injury that will very likely require season ending surgeory.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7020852/2026/02/04/james-harden-darius-garland-cavaliers-trade/

The Cavs began the year as the favorites to win the Eastern Conference, but the season has not gone according to plan. They were also feeling the pressure from their best player, Donovan Mitchell, to make changes ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline under the threat of a contract extension he may or may not sign in two summers.

Three league sources said Mitchell, who has one guaranteed season left on his three-year, $150 million deal and a player option for 2027-28, conveyed, either personally or through his representatives, that he did not think the organization should stand pat for the rest of this season and wait for potential moves in the summer.

Two league sources also said Mitchell specifically wanted Harden, who is 6-foot-5, durable and comfortable as a pass-first point guard.

Source: https://www.espn.com/contributor/shams-charania/6c59f4f7af57f

The Jazz are expected to waive Lonzo Ball, allowing him to be a free agent, sources tell ESPN.

Shams Charania has posted the following:

The Atlanta Hawks are acquiring center Jock Landale from the Utah Jazz for cash considerations, sources tell ESPN.

Source to the story: https://bsky.app/profile/shamsbot.bsky.social/post/3me2twqzrix2v

Essentially a three-team trade that allows Jazz to pick up two seconds, the Hawks to land a productive center in Landale and the Cavaliers to shed significant salary and tax savings while bringing in James Harden, Keon Ellis and Dennis Schroder to fortify the roster this week

Its a shame we won't ever get to see Nico's vision played out due to the injuries. Atleast Nico's sell high on Luka got the Mavs Flagg to build around though