NBA Pacific

A miscommunication with a fan led to Boston Celtics forward Kristaps Porziņģis initially believing that he was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers.

According to Sunday's ESPN broadcast of the clash between the Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers, Porziņģis said that he was "walking around in Philadelphia" when a fan questioned him about the blockbuster deal involving Luka Dončić and the Dallas Mavericks, asking "What do you think of the trade to LA?"

Porziņģis thought that he was getting dealt to the Lakers before receiving clarification that the fan was referring to Dončić, his old teammate on the Mavericks.

"He was like, 'Yo, you heard about the trade?'" Porziņģis said, per Jay King of The Athletic. "I was like, 'What happened? Did I get traded?' And he was like, 'No, Luka to the Lakers.' And I was like, 'Yo, no way.' Then I got my phone back and read all about it. Honestly, I can't believe it. I think this is the craziest trade in NBA history. Unbelievable."

In a blockbuster three-team deal that also involved the Utah Jazz, Dončić, Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris were dealt to Los Angeles while Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first-round pick headed to the Mavericks in return.

The Jazz came away from the trade with Jalen Hood-Schifino and two second-round picks.

Porziņģis and Dončić played together in Dallas from the 2019-20 season until the forward was traded during the Mavericks' 2021-22 campaign.

"Man, this is like, Luka Dončić," Porziņģis said, via King. "That is wild. I mean, that is truly like, I still can't really believe it. Twenty-five years old. I don't know what happened behind the scenes. You never know. But I'm speechless, honestly."

While it would have been difficult to imagine the Celtics moving on from Porziņģis after winning a championship in 2024, it was also hard to picture the Mavericks trading away Dončić prior to his move to the Lakers on Sunday.

Sacramento Kings forward DeMar DeRozan acknowledged his reunion with Zach LaVine following a blockbuster three-team trade involving the Kings, Chicago Bulls and San Antonio Spurs on Sunday.

DeRozan posted a picture of himself with his current Kings teammate and former Bulls teammate on his Instagram story.

According to ESPN's Shams Charania, LaVine and three first-round picks were sent to the Kings while star point guard De'Aaron Fox headed to the Spurs. The Bulls also received Zach Collins, Tre Jones, Kevin Huerter and their own 2025 draft pick back from San Antonio.

DeRozan and LaVine were teammates in Chicago from the 2021-22 season through the team's 2023-24 campaign.

While the Bulls only made one playoff appearance during their shared tenure, they combined to earn three All-Star nods over that span.

Although DeRozan left to join the Kings in a sign-and-trade agreement in July 2024, there never appeared to be any animosity between the two players. In fact, he called for LaVine to receive All-Star consideration following a clash between Sacramento and Chicago on Jan. 12.

"The way Zach is playing I hope he makes All-Star," DeRozan said after the game, via Sam Smith of NBA.com. "I hope he's credited for the play he's been having; it's not easy. That dude works extremely hard. I remember the times he was dealing with his knee. He was so frustrated; he just wanted to be out there and play and contribute, playing through injuries."

"So to see him healthy and doing what we all know he's capable of doing, it's not surprising to see," he added. "But it's definitely gratifying."

In 42 starts with Chicago prior to the trade, LaVine averaged 24.0 points and 4.8 rebounds to go along with 4.5 assists per game. He shot a career-high 51.1 percent from the field and 44.6 percent from three-point territory.

With Sacramento sitting at No. 10 in the Western Conference standings with a 24-24 record, DeRozan and LaVine will look to help the Kings close out the year strong and compete for a playoff berth.

When Jimmy Butler first requested a trade from the Heat, he was "open to playing anywhere other than Miami," but he's since indicated that there are a handful of teams he doesn't want to play for long term.

The Golden State Warriors joined the list on Sunday.

Per ESPN's Brian Windhorst, Butler told the Warriors that he's "unwilling to sign an extension" with them, thus ending trade talks between the two teams "for now."

The Warriors seemed like one of the most likely landing spots for Butler along with the Phoenix Suns. Golden State was such a frontrunner that ESPN's Shams Charania called last week's matchup between the Warriors and the Suns "the Jimmy Butler bowl."

The Warriors, currently in 11th place in the West at 24-24, need to find another scoring option alongside Stephen Curry, but they'll have to find it from someone besides Butler unless he changes his mind about his willingness to sign with Golden State.

In the short term, missing out on Butler could be the difference between competing in the playoffs and missing out this season, but it could work out for Golden State in the long term. With Curry in the late stages of his career, the Warriors will soon need to shift their focus toward the future, and having to trade young players or picks for an aging star such as Butler would not set them up well.

The Warriors aren't the only team to find themselves out of the running for Butler. NBA insider Chris Haynes reported in January that the Memphis Grizzlies "along with a few other teams" have been told not to trade for Butler.

With the Warriors now out of the mix, all signs point to the Suns landing Butler. ESPN's Tim Bontemps and Brian Windhorst reported last week that Phoenix's "top objective" before the deadline is trading for Butler, and Butler is making it easier by telling teams not to bother making a deal for him.

Time is ticking for the Suns, however, as the trade deadline is now just days away.

The Golden State Warriors were reportedly interested in trading for a pair of Chicago Bulls players before a blockbuster trade on Sunday.

According to NBA insider Marc Stein, the Warriors "did seriously explore trade constructions" that would have landed them Zach LaVine and Nikola Vučević, but Golden State "opted to focus on other trade pursuits."

LaVine ultimately ended up with the Sacramento Kings as part of a three-team trade that sent De'Aaron Fox to the San Antonio Spurs, per ESPN's Shams Charania.

LaVine, 29, is putting up 24 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game this season and was keeping the Bulls alive in the Eastern Conference playoff race before the trade. Per The Athletic's Anthony Slater and Marcus Thompson, some within the Warriors organization viewed LaVine as the safer option over another potential trade target, the Miami Heat's Jimmy Butler.

Whether Golden State will pivot its focus fully to Butler remains to be seen, but it will at least have to find another option besides LaVine.

The Athletic's Fred Katz, Sam Amick and Eric Nehm reported Sunday that "talks between the Warriors and Bulls regarding Vučević are very real" while noting that Kevon Looney, Gary Payton II and Kyle Anderson were "believed" to be the players that would have been involved on Golden State's side. Katz, Amick and Nehm also reported that "all signs" pointed to Vučević being enthused by the deal.

Vučević, 34, is playing at a high level, putting up 19.9 points and 10.4 rebounds per game this year.

The Warriors might be pivoting away from LaVine and Vučević, but it would be somewhat surprising if they didn't make a move or two ahead of the deadline. Golden State is currently in 11th place in a tough Western Conference at 24-24 and needs to get Stephen Curry some help to make a run at the playoffs.

Butler is an option as the Heat try to find a home for their disgruntled star, but a handful of other available players could present themselves in the coming days.

After enjoying a few years as a contender, the Sacramento Kings might be back in the NBA wilderness again.

The Kings are trading star guard De'Aaron Fox to the San Antonio Spurs in a three-team deal that also includes the Chicago Bills sending swingman Zach LaVine to Sacramento, according to NBA insider Chris Haynes.

Shams Charania of ESPN provided the full details of the trade:

Sacramento hitched its wagons to Fox midway through the 2021-22 season when it sent Tyrese Haliburton to the Indiana Pacers in a deal for Domantas Sabonis. While the trade was panned at the time, Fox and Sabonis propelled the Kings into the playoffs in 2022-23.

The franchise's failure to build on that success and Fox's free agency in 2026 began to raise big questions about his future in Sacramento, however.

This past December, The Athletic's Sam Amick and Anthony Slater reported how the Kings were in a "danger zone" with their best player. His agent, Rich Paul, had met with general manager Monte McNair and assistant GM Wes Wilcox to discuss their long-term vision.

Paul didn't request a trade on his client's behalf, but he and Fox were "reading the room in Sacramento before deciding what comes next," per Amick and Slater wrote.

"But the Kings' beam isn't burning as bright as it was two seasons ago, when Fox and Domantas Sabonis led the group that broke the franchise's league-record playoff drought," The Athletic report said. "And now, the prospect of him declining an extension again this summer — or perhaps telling them ahead of time that he plans on doing so—would inevitably force the Kings to consider trading Fox rather than losing him for nothing in free agency two summers from now."

The firing of head coach Mike Brown, only months after he signed a sizable extension, was widely viewed as a move with Fox in mind, though that was far from the only factor at play. At the very least, Fox didn't sound heartbroken to see Brown gone.

While Sacramento was making an effort to appease the 2022-23 All-Star, rival teams were smelling blood in the water. ESPN's Tim MacMahon reported in December the San Antonio Spurs, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat were prepared to pounce if a trade became a possibility.

Things took another turn when Shams Charania of ESPN reported on Jan. 28 the Kings were "expected to open talks" on a possible Fox trade. Fox denied making an outright trade request, which might've raised even more questions about the team's pivot with a little more than a week until the trade deadline.

McNair was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Losing Fox as a free agent would've been a disaster. In some cases, letting a star player walk isn't necessarily a bad thing under the current collective bargaining agreement because payroll flexibility can be huge toward filling out a veteran-laden roster. But that's not really where the Kings are right now.

Trading Fox, meanwhile, was always going to be an unpopular decision despite the fact fans are well aware of the ticking clock his free agency presents. The discontent stems largely from the fact Sacramento doesn't enjoy the benefit of the doubt on basically anything.

The 2023 playoff run sparked hope the dysfunction that long plagued the franchise was a thing of the past. The Kings had a young, fun roster and stability within the front office and coaching staff.

The way everything has unraveled since then raises fears that the "Kangz" are well and truly back. Or maybe they never left at all.

A trade of this magnitude was inevitable for the Spurs as they continue their work of building a contender around French phenom Victor Wembanyama.

San Antonio exercised some patience after only winning 22 games in Wembanyama's rookie year. The approach worked relatively well as the team is currently 21-25 in 2024-25.

But the front office wasn't going to sit on its hands forever. The Spurs had ample draft capital to acquire pretty much whichever star player became available. It was just a matter of waiting for the right target to hit the market.

In Fox, general manager Brian Wright saw an opportunity too good to pass up.

Meanwhile, the Kings will receive a package headlined by LaVine and a haul of draft picks.

The 29-year-old LaVine is averaging 24 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game this season. He shot 51.1 percent from the field and 44.6 percent from three-point range in 42 appearances with the Bulls.

LaVine is owed $3 million this season, $46 million next season and has a $49 million player option for the 2026-27 season.

Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard struggled in a Sunday night reunion with his former team.

Leonard went 6-for-18 from the field for 14 points as a Clippers team missing Norman Powell conceded an 115-108 loss to the Toronto Raptors.

The Raptors, who lost 10 straight games earlier this season, claimed their sixth win in seven thanks in part to 20 points from RJ Barrett.

The game marked the first time Leonard lost during a game at Scotiabank Arena since Game 5 of the 2019 NBA Finals, per Clippers reporter Justin Russo.

Before the game, the Raptors honored Leonard alongside Powell and Danny Green for the contributions to Toronto's 2019 run as part of the franchise's 30th anniversary celebration.

Leonard did not make his 2024-25 season debut until Jan. 5 after sitting out the first half of the campaign with right knee inflammation.

The same problem sidelined him for the end of the 2023-24 regular season and the beginning of the 2024 postseason. It also stopped him from representing Team USA during the 2024 Paris Olympics.

While playing under a minutes restriction, Leonard had averaged 16.6 points and 4.3 rebounds per night heading into Sunday.

He then struggled with shooting accuracy against the Raptors, going 1-for-5 from behind the arc and making just one of four free throw attempts.

Leonard also struggled with four turnovers, several of which were caused by Barrett's aggressive defense. His game ended with two straight missed free throws in the fourth quarter.

The Clippers fall to 28-21 with the loss. Leonard's team is in danger of losing the final guaranteed playoff spot in the West to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Leonard and the Clippers return to action with a Tuesday home game against LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers, who headed into Sunday half a game ahead of the Clippers for the fifth seed in the West.

The Clippers will hope for the return of Powell and better accuracy from Leonard as they prepare for a game that could have serious impact on the conference standings.

LeBron James and Anthony Davis' five-and-a-half-year run together has come to an end.

The Los Angeles Lakers traded Davis to the Dallas Mavericks in a blockbuster deal that landed them Luka Dončić.

After the trade, James showed love to Davis with a message on social media.

"Love you my dog!! Go crazy over there!" he wrote on Instagram.

Davis arrived in Los Angeles from the New Orleans Pelicans in the summer of 2019 in a blockbuster trade featuring Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart and a slew of first-round picks.

In his first year with the Lakers and James, Los Angeles won a championship in the NBA bubble during the COVID-19-shortened season.

From there, Davis, James and the Lakers never had the same level of success. They reached the Western Conference Finals in 2023, but had a pair of first-round exits and missed the playoffs entirely in 2022.

Still, Davis and James had a special bond and were at least in the mix for competing for a championship when on the same team.

James has had a voice in past Lakers trades but reportedly wasn't involved in the deal that sent Davis to the Mavs. ESPN's Dave McMenamin reported that James found out about the trade while at dinner with his family following the Lakers' matchup against the New York Knicks. According to McMenamin, James was "surprised by the news" and "had no idea it was in the works."

It will likely take James a while to get adjusted to not having Davis on the court, but the good news is he'll now get to play alongside a generational talent. Dončić, already a five-time All-Star and five-time member of the All-NBA First Team, is just 25 years old and seemingly only at the beginning of his prime.

The Lakers have some work to do to become a championship contender, namely getting some rim protection, but pairing James and Dončić automatically makes them a team to watch coming out of the West.

There don't appear to be any hard feelings between LeBron James and Anthony Davis following the power forward's surprising trade to the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday.

"Everyone is good," a league source told Joe Vardon of The Athletic regarding the relationship between James and Davis. "It's business."

ESPN's Shams Charania reported that the Lakers were sending a package including Davis to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for superstar Luka Dončić as part of a three-team trade that also included the Utah Jazz.

James had "no idea" that the deal was in the works and found out about the news while he was out to dinner with his family following a game against the New York Knicks on Saturday night, per ESPN's Dave McMenamin.

The NBA's all-time leading scorer "was said to be more concerned with Davis' emotions following the trade than anything," via Vardon.

After the deal, Ben Reiter of CBS Sports reported that James had become frustrated with his former teammate. The four-time MVP fired back at the narrative on social media, though.

James and Davis' tenure as teammates in Los Angeles was undoubtedly successful, making four playoff appearances together and winning the 2020 NBA Finals. They continued to excel to start the 2024-25 season, combining to average 49.7 points, 19.5 rebounds and 12.5 assists per game.

The Lakers also sit at 28-19, good enough for the No. 5 spot in the Western Conference standings.

While Davis will now be suiting up for the Mavericks moving forward, he reportedly remains on good terms with James.

Many are still reacting to the trade that sent star guard Luka Dončić from the Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for star forward Anthony Davis, and some reportedly have struggled to find any positivity in the deal.

NBA insider Zach Lowe revealed that one executive graded the trade as "a terrible deal" amid other reactions of astonishment:

The Mavs traded Dončić, Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris to the Lakers for Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first-round pick in a three-team deal that also involved the Utah Jazz. In addition to being shocked that Dallas was even willing to trade Dončić, many are surprised that the franchise didn't receive a larger return for the 25-year-old superstar.

Mavs general manager Nico Harrison told reporters on Sunday that he only discussed trading Dončić with the Lakers and offered other head-scratching explanations for the deal.

"We definitely understand the magnitude of what just transpired. It's definitely not lost on us," Harrison said.