Before the trade deadline, several players who may be traded

The 2025-26 season has begun. At the beginning of the season, each team in the league will observe for a while, and there will not be many breaking news. The management of each team will also first look at the effectiveness of off-season reinforcements and evaluate the areas that need improvement in the second half of the season before deciding on the direction of reinforcements. Free agents signed this summer cannot be traded until December 15th.

Once December 15th passes, the trading market will be another world.

Before the trade deadline last season, there were two blockbuster transactions, namely the swap deal between Doncic and Davis, and Butler joining the Warriors.

In comparison, there may not be transactions of the same level this season, but the popularity of the transaction market will still not be small. Some teams will use the main players who will become free agents next summer as trading chips to avoid a gap in combat strength in the future. In addition, some operations are for team salary considerations to avoid the luxury tax from affecting the team's offseason operations next year.

With reference to the above reasons, let's discuss the players who may become the protagonists of the transaction before the trade deadline on February 5 next year.

Oubre, Drummond

The 76ers demonstrated an operation last season to clean up the team's salary to avoid luxury taxes, giving away future draft picks while giving up some of their actual combat power. But this season, will the 76ers continue?

Grimes did not successfully sign a rookie contract extension, but instead signed a contract with an annual salary of 8.7 million. The team's annual salary is only about 7 million higher than the luxury tax threshold. The terms of Grimes' contract give him the right to refuse a trade, so it is difficult for him to become the team's operation target, but Oubre, with an annual salary of 8.4 million, and Drummond, with an annual salary of 5 million, have a high probability.

According to NBA legend Jack Fischer’s statement during the live broadcast, before the start of the season, the 76ers had been looking for opportunities to send away Oubre and Drummond. And if the team cannot show its championship potential by the middle of the season, the management will most likely find ways to reduce the team's annual salary before the trade deadline.

If it is impossible to move on young players such as Embiid, George, or even Maxi, in order to avoid the luxury tax, the most likely people the team will move are Oubre and Drummond.

Vincent, Kleber

After the end of last season, the Lakers did not make large-scale reinforcements in order to allow the team to retain salary operation space. However, with Doncic signing a maximum salary contract, the Lakers seem to have changed their attitude towards reinforcements from a conservative to a proactive one.

Although the salary pressure is huge, the Lakers can use transactions to improve their combat effectiveness. However, James has the power to veto transactions, and any transaction involving him requires his consent. Rui Hachimura and Reeves will become unrestricted free agents in the future. If the Lakers are worried about losing them later, they can use trades to exchange for corresponding combat capabilities. But the embarrassing thing is that they are the core combat capabilities of the team this season.

Looking at it spread out, Vincent, with an annual salary of 11.5 million, and Kleber, with an annual salary of 11 million, are likely to become bargaining chips. As long as there is any possibility of trading in the middle of the season to improve the Lakers' strength, these two contracts that are about to expire can be turned into trading chips.

Nurkic

Due to the failure of the Jazz and Kessler to renew their contract, outside media began to speculate that the Jazz had plans to trade Kessler. But according to reporters, the team's main purpose is to keep him on the roster with only a qualifying offer of 14.9 million in 2026. Fortunately, there will be more room for salary manipulation in 2026. And if a contract extension is signed before the season, the higher starting salary will seriously reduce the team's operational flexibility.

If the Jazz and Kessler maintain their intention to continue cooperation, then the team may transfer their trading ideas to another long-term player of the Jazz: Joseph Nurkic.

This season, Nurkic is the substitute behind Kessler. For the Jazz, if Kessler is injured or traded, Nurkic can still be a qualified starter. However, the 31-year-old Nurkic is no longer in the team's future plans, and his annual salary of 19.4 million is also the second-highest in the team, second only to Markkanen's 46.4 million.

Judging from the team's situation, the rebuilt Jazz are willing to trade for players with longer contract terms in the trade market, as long as they can get draft picks or young potential players, and Nurkic is the player in the Jazz team who can best meet salary parity in the transaction.

Kuminga

Before the start of the season, Kuminga and the Warriors went through months of farce. In the end, the two sides signed a two-year contract worth 46.8 million, with a team option reserved for the second year.

According to ESPN reporter Shams, both Kuminga and the Warriors know that each other will become the main target of the trade market after they are not subject to trade restrictions in January next year. In the current contract, Kuminga waives the right to refuse to be traded, and this contract contains a trade protection clause. If he is traded during the contract period, he will receive an additional 15% of the remaining salary as a bonus.

Kuminga’s team used the media to state last year that they did not think Warriors coach Cole would give him enough opportunities in the new season. But the clever thing is that the chemical reaction between Kuminga and the Warriors this season is much better than expected, so whether he will be used as a trading chip is still unknown.

Simmons

After Tatum ruptured his Achilles tendon, it meant that the Green Army renewed his contract and re-planned the future. The team went through quite a few personnel changes during the offseason, with Holiday and Porcelain being traded away from the team. Although the team's current team salary is a safe distance away from the second-tier hard cap, the management still needs to find ways to reduce the team's total annual salary.

The current total annual salary of the players in the team is about 12.1 million yuan more than this regulation. The Celtics' team salary has exceeded the luxury tax threshold in the past three seasons. If they violate the rules again this season, they will face higher fines due to the recidivism penalty mechanism.. Unless the remnants of the Green Army can also achieve their championship potential this season, the management may be reorganized, which also means that Simmons Jr. is likely to be traded.

Simmons Jr.’s salary of 27.7 million this season is the fourth-highest in the team. If the Greens want to avoid the luxury tax this season, unless they are willing to send away Tatum for 54.1 million, Jaylen Brown for 53.1 million, or White for 28.1 million, the simplest way is to send Simmons away in exchange for a transitional player with an annual salary of less than 12.1 million.

However, the salary matching rules of the transaction rules prevent the Green Army from completely solving the problem with one transaction. Of course, another alternative is to add a minimum-salary player to the 10 million Hauser, but according to ESPN reporter Brian Windhorst's previous report, the team's main trading idea still lies in Simmons Jr.

McCollum, Middleton

The Wizards' total annual salary is currently the third lowest in the league, and there is still 30 million yuan left before the luxury tax threshold. There is great flexibility in transaction operations this season.

There are currently two high-paid players in the team who will become free agents after this season, Middleton with an annual salary of 33.3 million and McCollum with an annual salary of 30.7 million. Neither of them is in the Wizards' future blueprint. If other teams want to get rid of the burden of large contracts, as a rebuilding team, the Wizards are likely to be willing to use these two expiring contracts as bargaining chips to obtain corresponding compensation assets, such as draft picks or young strength.

If the team chooses to let Middleton and McCollum part ways after this season, the Wizards will have 80 million in space after the season. However, due to the NBA's salary floor regulations, the total player salary cannot be lower than the minimum amount stipulated by the league the day before the regular season starts. Therefore, having too much salary space during the offseason may not necessarily be a completely good thing for the team.

Therefore, the Wizards may use Middleton or McCollum as bargaining chips in the middle of the season in exchange for players with longer contract years to stabilize the team's salary.

Vucevic

Although the Bulls have not yet planned to fully rebuild, they have gradually begun to promote it. LaVine was sent to the Kings last season in exchange for Huerter, Collins, Tre Jones, and the first-round pick that selected Essenger. And come this season, Vucevic is also likely to follow LaVine's old path.

Before the trade deadline last season, most people believed that the Bulls would trade Vucevic, but they ultimately failed. According to reports, the Warriors tried to contact Vucevic last season, but ultimately did not make a decision because the two sides could not reach a consensus.

The 34-year-old Vucevic will finish his current contract after this season. The current average age of other Bulls players is in their early 20s, and Vucevic is somewhat out of place. But according to reports, no team is interested in Vucevic in the off-season, which may lead to the worst-case scenario, which is that the Bulls choose to buy out Vucevic before the trade deadline.

Of course, if the season progresses and there is a subsequent wave of injuries, Vucevic's market situation may change. From the perspective of a center with starting ability, Vucevic's annual salary of 21.5 million is considered a worthy investment. After entering December, his trade rumors should also slowly surface, unless he performs beyond expectations in the Bulls and regains the team's confidence.