I'm pretty sure this is the earliest that I've had to start this post, but teams aren't wasting any time with most free agents from this past summer becoming trade eligible on December 15th. Like last year's edition, I'll be adding deals to the top of this post as they happen so that the latest news is easily accessible and including in parentheses who broke the story and when. Future draft pick details are typically from RealGM.com, and the salary figures are from Keith Smith's work at Spotrac.com with future money color-coded in case of a player option, team option, or not fully guaranteed.
Utah bets on upside (Shams 1/21)
Jazz receive:
2031 Suns 1st round pick
Suns receive:
2025 1st round pick (Worse of Cavaliers or Wolves)
2027 1st round pick (Worst of Cavaliers, Jazz, or Wolves)
2029 1st round pick (Worst of Cavaliers, Jazz, or Wolves)
Phoenix wastes no time adding big man help (Shams 1/15)
Suns receive:
| Nick Richards | $5,000,000 | $5,000,000 |
2025 2nd round pick (Worse of Nuggets or 76ers)
Hornets receive:
| Josh Okogie | $8,250,000 | $7,750,000 |
2026 Nuggets 2nd round pick2031 Nuggets 2nd round pick
2031 Suns 2nd round pick
DLo returns to another former team (Shams 12/29)
Lakers receive:
| Dorian Finney-Smith | $14,922,980 | $15,378,480 |
| Shake Milton | $2,875,000 | $3,000,000 | $3,287,406 |
Nets receive:
| D'Angelo Russell | $18,692,307 |
| Maxwell Lewis | $1,891,857 | $2,221,677 | $2,406,205 |
2027 (conditional), 2030, and 2031 Lakers 2nd round picks
Golden State replaces injured guard (Shams 12/14)
Warriors receive:
| Dennis Schroder | $13,025,250 |
2025 Heat 2nd round pick (protected 31-37)
Nets receive:
| De'Anthony Melton | $12,822,000 |
2026 and 2028 Hawks 2nd round picks2029 Warriors 2nd round pick
Another trade that's pretty much reported as done and will be finalized once Melton is trade-eligible tomorrow. He was a great fit for the Warriors as a 3+D guard who can act as an ancillary creator but unfortunately suffered a partial ACL tear last month, so his one-year contract at the MLE level became an obvious trade piece. Golden State being hard-capped at the First Apron limits their trade flexibility, so having to only give up 2nd round draft capital to add the proven secondary playmaker that they need is a really solid move. I would guess that the '26 and '28 Hawks 2nd rounders that they own are a part of this and that Shams' later report of getting a 2nd back will be a protected pick, possibly Miami's (protected 31-37) this year.
12/15 Update: Anthony Slater confirms that it is exactly the two Hawks picks and protected Heat pick involved as I speculated, along with the inclusion of Beekman that I mentioned below from Fischer's report. The terms are now updated above.
I think Schroder has been overrated a bit in the past, but he is more than qualified to be a backup point guard who can also close games next to the star like when he finished second in Sixth Man of the Year voting back with the Thunder. He was backing up Chris Paul then, and I would guess that he steps into the role that CP3 had with the Warriors last year, funnily enough. Schroder's 6'7.75" wingspan and outside shooting improving to 37.8% over the past two seasons (34.4% for his career) makes him easier to fit into different lineup combinations, and he could provide the type of spark they need after a 2-7 stretch following their 12-3 start to the season.
It does feel like a little bit of a light return for Brooklyn given the year that Schroder is having, but a cynic might say that he was hurting their chances of tanking too much. At the very least, they're adding to their cache of draft picks instead of simply losing a free agent at the end of the season. Jake Fischer did mention in his report that rookie point guard Reece Beekman could also be heading their way in a rare instance of a player traded while on a Two-Way contract. He was considered a 2nd round prospect at various points of his Virginia career for his defensive prowess, so that could be a sneaky addition to the Nets' return. Beekman is averaging 18.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, 7.2 assists, 2.8 steals, and 0.8 blocks through his first nine G League games, and he could be in line for some point guard minutes at the next level with Schroder out the door.
Indiana adds center depth (Shams 12/13)
Pacers receive:
Heat receive:
2031 2nd round pick swap
This was reported on Friday but can't become official until Sunday since Bryant opted out and re-signed at a slightly lower number over the summer to help lower Miami's luxury tax bill. Now they lower it even more by shipping him out and replacing him with a pro-rated minimum salary, which is understandable considering he's only played 115 total minutes this year after just 441 last season.
Bryant has bounced around a lot in recent years but has had flashes of being a stretch big (35.5% career 3P%) who still helps on the glass. This could be a nice homecoming for the former Hoosier since Indiana has unbelievably lost both James Wiseman and Isaiah Jackson to torn Achilles tendons and need another backup big. The addition comes at a pretty minimal cost, and they'll still be able to stay out of the luxury tax.
