With two days until the NBA's trade deadline (Thursday, 3 p.m. ET), what once appeared to be a quiet week has become one of the loudest in league history.
With Luka Doncic and Anthony Davis being traded for each other in a historic and unprecedented swap, De'Aaron Fox becoming the first star to seek a chance to play with Victor Wembanyama, and Jimmy Butler's situation remaining unresolved in Miami, there could be plenty of fireworks remaining.
Now that the dust has begun to settle on the Lakers-Mavericks blockbuster and the deadline draws closer, here's a look at what we've heard about the completed trades, which stars could be moved next and what we'll be watching as this wild week shakes out.
Jump to a section:
Latest fallout of the Luka-AD deal
How will the Jimmy Butler saga end?
More drama, more megadeals this week?
New stars headed to Warriors, Suns?
Has the league recovered from the shock of this weekend's Luka Doncic trade?
Windhorst: The league is rarely caught off guard by a transaction, but here we are, even after two days to digest the deal. The two takeaways I've heard the most: The Mavs' relationship with Doncic was more fractured than anyone comprehended, and the return from the Lakers was less than anyone expected.
Bontemps: From the moment of the trade late Saturday night, the commentary has been: "Why now?" and "Why this way?" And no one has had a good answer for either question.
Windhorst: Doncic's immense talent is unquestioned, but that his franchise appeared to move so quickly and get relatively little in return has left the league considering both the possibility of future infamy for the Mavs front office or whether the decision-makers have knowledge that saved the team from a potential $350 million quagmire had it extended him this summer.
Bontemps: After Mavericks GM Nico Harrison said he is looking at a three-to-four-year window for contending with Davis and Kyrie Irving, as opposed to a longer timeline, it would be a significant surprise if Dallas doesn't make further moves to augment its roster before the deadline. The Mavericks need help in the backcourt, where they are woefully thin with just one high-level ball handler in Irving, who is dealing with a bulging disk in his back.
There has been speculation that the collective bargaining agreement played a part in this trade. Is that true?
Shannon Sharpe and Stephen A. Smith believe that the relationship between Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks must have been strained to spur this trade.
Bontemps: The CBA's new apron rules have impacted roster building across the league, and that will continue. But this trade was a matter of the Mavericks -- specifically Harrison -- deciding that they would rather have Davis than Doncic, and making that happen.
Windhorst: Without question. A longtime executive recently told me, "With the new rules, we have to understand there are probably only about 10 true max salary players in the league." Whether you accept that premise, Doncic would certainly have been on any short list. Except, it seems, the Mavericks'.
Bontemps: The CBA has undoubtedly impacted the way teams are operating. We've spent all season discussing the group of players -- from Brandon Ingram to Julius Randle to Zach LaVine (although he was finally traded) to others -- who are stuck in a bit of a no-man's-land when it comes to the new rules.
I've had similar conversations in recent days about the long-term outlook for Fox's massive extension coming in San Antonio.
Windhorst: The salary cap has grown very meagerly over the past few years after COVID-19's effects, and the new rules crushing high-spending teams' flexibility has led to perhaps an overcorrection from teams fearing a bad contract. With the new TV money, the cap will increase significantly over the next few years and a new equilibrium will be found.
But now, many league decision-makers are afraid of a mistake that could kneecap their franchise and cost them their job. Then again, trading a possible future first-ballot Hall of Famer before his prime to a team in your conference is hard on job security, too.
Where do things stand with Jimmy Butler?
Windhorst: Butler's obsession with getting to the Phoenix Suns is bizarrely admirable. He has torched his relationship with the Heat and hurt the team's season. He has also blocked trade options that would be good fits, where he could have potentially gotten paid and been on a contender. But he's the rare difference-maker who can tilt the outcome of a playoff series and that comes with a lot of power. Butler is trying to use it.
Bontemps: For all of the bluster from Butler and his camp, this is not a situation where the Heat are unwilling to find a suitor for him. There isn't a lot of interest in acquiring Butler. To your point, the few options he has had outside of Phoenix have been told he isn't interested in being there.
The reason a Butler trade hasn't happened is the same one that has existed since Phoenix's pursuit began: There has not been a suitable home for Bradley Beal, his $50.2 million salary and his no-trade clause. Until that changes, the conversation of Butler to Phoenix is academic.
Windhorst: That hasn't stopped the Suns from trying everything they can to pull off a triple miracle of finding a home for Beal and his unwieldy contract, getting Beal to accept going to that place with his no-trade clause, and getting assets in return that can entice the Heat to send Butler. They have and are trying three/four/five-team deals to make that sea part. Butler is doing his part to buy them time.
With a couple of days left until the deadline, the Suns' dream is alive, but it's going to require a complex alliance. The Heat are very motivated to move Butler and could abandon the Suns option and send him somewhere else. (Golden State remains a possibility if the Heat run out of time and then let the new team deal with the fallout.)
Bontemps: The Heat's position has remained unchanged: They'd like to move on from Butler, but they aren't making a bad deal. If they can't make one that satisfies them, they'll deal with this again in the summer, when Butler will certainly pick up his $52 million player option -- a gigantic expiring contract.
It has been a wild week, and it's only Tuesday. What's next?
Luka Doncic arrives in Los Angeles and takes a photo with Rob Pelinka after the Lakers' massive blockbuster trade involving Anthony Davis.
Windhorst: Unprecedented ingenuity. I used to say a three-team trade is a no-team trade because I got tired of listening to ridiculous trade constructions that only need "a third team" to make everyone happy. Making three sides happy is 50% harder than making two happy. But with all of the apron rules making trades harder, there's a chance multiteam trades will outnumber old-fashioned two-team trades.
Bontemps: Not only will multiteam trades outnumber old-fashioned ones, virtually all trades are going to become three-or-more-team deals as franchises attempt to avoid the aprons. That brings a lot more possibilities for deals, but it also creates more obstacles.
Windhorst: When trades involve more teams, they also involve more concepts and more brainstorming. This leads to constructs teams never would've come up with in the past. So, I think there will be some giant deals where lots of players/picks/swaps/cash/considerations move around. It will be harder to declare winners and losers, but there will be some sneaky maneuvers to study.
Bontemps: Perhaps the least discussed part of the Doncic trade is that it opened an unexpected timeline of events for how this week will play out. Dallas and Los Angeles, for example, have wildly unbalanced rosters and almost certainly will be attempting more moves this week. That will cause conversations that wouldn't have happened. We're not done seeing the impact of the deal.
What teams are you watching the closest between now and 3 p.m. ET on Thursday?
Shams Charania tells Pat McAfee that the Warriors are trying to acquire a star to pair with Stephen Curry.
Bontemps: The Suns. Butler might wind up in Phoenix, and the months-long pursuit of him by owner Mat Ishbia -- coupled with Butler's focus on getting there -- will have paid off. If not, things could get more interesting.
Phoenix has already made a pretty controversial trade, breaking up its 2031 first-round pick -- Utah Jazz general manager Justin Zanik correctly labeled it the most attractive trade asset on the market -- into three far less valuable ones to make more moves.
If Ishbia's plans for Butler fall through, would he stand with this roster? That seems highly unlikely.
Windhorst: The Warriors. They have vacillated between looking for a superstar to declaring they don't want to do anything for months. Their on-court play has seen similar inconsistencies. But they just can't help themselves. They love making big deals and they want to squeeze every drop out of the glorious Curry era.
They're going to do something, and they want it to be big. Last year, they investigated getting LeBron James at the deadline. This year, sources say, they've investigated whether they can get Kevin Durant back and have conducted talks for Butler. Whatever happens, at least the Warriors are always entertaining.
Bontemps: It will be interesting to see how top teams such as the Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Memphis Grizzlies and Houston Rockets supplement their rosters for the stretch run.
With the NBA in its longest stretch of parity, and the defending champion Celtics in a two-month period of middling play, it will be fascinating to see if any of these contenders sense an opportunity to strike before Thursday's deadline.