Mavericks Receive: Khris Middleton, AJ Johnson, Malaki Branham, Marvin Bagley III, two first-round picks, and three second-round picks
Washington Receives: Anthony Davis, Jaden Hardy, D’Angelo Russell, and Dante Exum
If we hadn’t already lived through the 2025 NBA Trade Deadline, this one might’ve been the weirdest, most perplexing week of trades yet. Only a year removed from flipping Luka Doncic into Anthony Davis, the Mavericks decided to completely punt on the idea altogether. In return, they didn’t receive any meaningful rotation pieces nor any draft picks that are guaranteed to be near the lottery. The initial Doncic-for-Davis deal is universally considered one of the worst trades in history, but this somehow makes it even worse. If they didn’t fall face first into Cooper Flagg, the fanbase would be in pure disarray right now. The theoretically “valuable” picks are a 2026 first-rounder from OKC (basically a second-rounder) and a protected 2030 Golden State first-rounder
Meanwhile, the Wizards get to take a chance on Davis—who is still an incredibly valuable player when healthy. It’s unclear if the Davis-Trae Young pairing will ever work out (or even play together). However, acquiring two talented, damaged assets gives Washington the low-risk/high-reward opportunity to boost their respective trade value and potentially flip them for more/better assets down the road. It would be foolish to assume that Davis or Young has any place in this organization’s long-term plans. Again, smart, low-risk move for Washington.
Thunder Receive: Jared McCain
76ers Receive: 2026 first-round pick and three second-round picks
It became increasingly clear that Jared McCain was going to be the odd man out in Philadelphia after the Sixers struck gold with VJ Edgecombe in the draft. Despite being sidelined for most of the last year, it’s somewhat surprising that McCain didn’t hold more value on the open market. Perhaps he did, but the Thunder’s array of assets was enough to entice Daryl Morey to make a move. Philadelphia turned McCain into a 2026 Houston first-rounder (will fall in the mid to late 20s) and three second-rounders.
On the other side, this feels like a homerun trade for Oklahoma City. They gave up zero contributing players and some of their less valuable draft capital to acquire a guy who was favored to win Rookie of the Year before getting hurt. It seems like a heist by Sam Presti. If the justification is “bringing Quentin Grimes back in free agency,” then that seems like a bad reason to trade a potential young asset below his expected market value.
Hornets Receive: Coby White and Mike Conley Jr.
Bulls Receive: Collin Sexton, Ousmane Dieng, and three second-round picks
Rounding out this group of deals, Coby White returns back to his home state of North Carolina. Even if he was due for a nice payday and Chicago didn’t want to retain him, White is a very nice player who will be more valuable than this trade implies. Since becoming a full-time starter in 2023-24, White has averaged 19.5 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 4.8 APG, and 0.8 SPG with 45/37/86 splits. Getting White and Mike Conley (due to be waived) for Sexton, Deing, and three second-rounders feels like another victory for Charlotte.
That being said, it’s really difficult to understand what the Bulls are doing. They’ve decided to form a collection of guards, many of whom are on expiring deals, with an odd mix of proven and unproven guys. It seems far-fetched to imagine someone like Simons or Sexton passing up opportunities to try and help develop Robert Dillingham. Head-scratching. Regardless, Charlotte should be able to move some salaries around to sign White for a multi-year deal this offseason.