The Athletic has live coverage of sports and college teams affected by FAA nationwide ground stop.Welcome to monitoring season.It’s that time of year again in the NBA, when the teams that are falling short of their own expectations — and on the lookout for roster upgrades — start watching every other situation very closely. Which players have promise that is going untapped in their current situation? Which guys with real talent might be miserable in their current predicament and looking for a new challenge? With the Feb. 11 trade deadline still quite a ways away, this is the fact-finding part of the program that typically lasts a few months.But the tricky part of this process, and the reason that there are more questions being asked than answered right now, is that most of the team executives who make these decisions, as well as the players themselves, are still in the data-gathering stage. And there’s still plenty of time left to bluff before some of those executives — as happens every year — change their minds.Make no mistake, though, there is some clarity to be had when you get to the bottom of the standings. The issue for teams there, historically speaking, is that it’s not easy to create a meaningful market for the players you want to part with if the entire league knows you’re trying to move them along.We can’t cover everything just yet — largely because it’s all evolving — but there’s plenty more to come in these next few months. With that in mind, let’s take a look around the league — starting in Dallas.(Editor’s note: For this column, team and league sources spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss players on other teams or matters on which they are not authorized to speak publicly.)The Kyrie conundrumKyrie Irving may not be traded before the deadline, what with the Mavericks (7-5) looking better than expected and their 34-year-old point guard fitting in so well alongside their young franchise centerpiece, 19-year-old Cooper Flagg. Their blowout loss to Minnesota on Thursday night notwithstanding.All in all, I’d lean strongly toward Irving staying put at this point.Yet when you talk to rival teams about players who would truly change the playoff landscape if they were dealt, and who are widely expected to generate serious interest because of that belief, Irving still tops the list. Never mind that the Mavericks, and Irving for that matter, have shown no signs of wanting a split. Quite the opposite, in fact.Around the NBA: Cade Cunningham’s historic night, Sixers win without LeBronThe reason for the continued Irving chatter is obvious, as he can be a free agent this summer (player option worth $42 million for next season). The lack of a long-term deal between the Mavs and Irving, all by itself, justifies the outside interest. Add in the speculation that he might be longing for greener pastures at this late stage, with time certainly of the essence, and it’s not hard to see why this has been a thing. The fact that Irving still looks like Irving, after all he has been through, has only added to the intrigue.After missing all of last season with the torn left ACL that he suffered in early March 2025, he’s providing the sort of production that would elevate any top-tier program (21.6 points, 4.3 assists, 3.2 rebounds, 30.1 minutes per game). Consider this much: The Mavericks are now 7-3 this season when Irving plays, and one of his two absences was a revealing loss to lowly Sacramento on Nov. 2 that gave the Kings their only win of the season (Flagg missed 16 of 19 shots in that game).First-year team president Masai Ujiri said in the summer that he had a “great curiosity” to see Flagg and Irving together, and the early returns have been wildly positive. His interest in maximizing Irving’s presence should come as no surprise, as the Mavs — who don’t have outright control of their own first-round pick until 2031 — are otherwise limited in ways to surround Flagg with talent.For Irving’s part, he made it clear recently that he’s genuinely focused on this Mavericks task at hand.“I think we heard a lot of the noise before the season and some of the predictions,” Irving told reporters on Monday when he was asked about this very topic. “I let the team know out of my own mouth that these trade rumors, anything that’s going on with me, do not let this infiltrate our locker room. Don’t let this get in the way of what we have building here.”Things can always change, of course. But the odds of Irving being traded are likely notably less — if not nonexistent — if these Mavericks manage to play winning basketball.
Anthony Davis is playing well for the Wizards, but it remains to be seen how long he’ll remain in Washington. (Sarah Stier / Getty Images)AD’s auditionMeanwhile, in our nation’s capital, where there is another high-profile player who teams are keeping a close eye on, there are similar dynamics in play between Anthony Davis and the Washington Wizards.Like Irving, the 33-year-old Davis is an aging star with an extensive injury history who is still showing an ability to perform at a very high level (he’s averaging a team-high 25.6 points and a team-high 10.6 rebounds). And like Irving, Davis finds himself on the last guaranteed season of his contract (player option worth $62.7 million in 2027-28) while playing for a team that does not, by any objective measure, give him a chance to contend for a title this season. But it’s the differences here that make you wonder what might come next.For one, it’s no secret that the Wizards’ decision to give Trae Young a four-year, $212.9 million deal in June was seen by Davis’ camp as a major obstacle to him getting a max, or near-max, deal from Washington down the line. With youngsters like Alex Sarr and Kyshawn George extension-eligible this summer, and No. 1 pick AJ Dybantsa now the team’s primary building block, those numbers just don’t add up.
Davis tried to quiet the noise about his contract at the team’s media day, saying that he expected to play through this season before discussing his deal with the Wizards “when the season is over.” Yet as our David Aldridge and Josh Robbins reported last month, there is “almost no chance” that there’s a max deal coming his way from Washington.Secondly, the Wizards (4-9) haven’t shown the kind of early promise as a group that might mitigate whatever restlessness exists in late-in-life Davis’ basketball soul. He obviously wants the money — and lots of it — but it’s also safe to assume that Davis wants to compete at a high level in whatever chapter might come next.To that end, Davis is putting on quite an effective audition for any team that might be pondering making a move on him closer to the deadline. His outing against Detroit on Thursday night was a microcosm of this growing dilemma with the Wizards, as he had 30 points, 15 rebounds and four assists in the double-overtime loss.The question from here, of course, is whether teams will emerge that signal a willingness to go big on his next contract before the trade deadline. Add in the fact that his longtime agent is Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul, who has a long history of applying pressure to organizations when he sees fit, and you start to see why there is a fair amount of focus on this situation around the league.
Orlando guard Anthony Black could be a name to watch at the trade deadline. (Rich Storry / Getty Images)An odd man out in Orlando?It’s now or never for these Orlando Magic.With a payroll like this (just $2.5 million below the dreaded second apron threshold), and a playoff track record that hardly justifies the exorbitant cost (three consecutive first-round losses), tough roster choices are coming for the team’s president of basketball operations, Jeff Weltman. Especially if history repeats itself — or even worse — this time around.All of which has rival executives wondering if Anthony Black might eventually be available.The 22-year-old guard didn’t come to terms with the Magic on an extension during the summer, and is now on track to be a restricted free agent next offseason. And considering the massive deals already on Orlando’s books, with Franz Wagner, Paolo Banchero, Desmond Bane and Jalen Suggs all making north of $30 million annually on long-term deals, the confusion about how Black’s payday might fit in has heightened the curiosity among his admirers.Yet team and league sources with knowledge of the Magic’s thinking pushed back on the idea that Black might ultimately be the odd man out. Depending on what happens from here, the notion of Orlando breaking up its core (outside of Black) if the Magic fall short of expectations again is clearly in play.As for Black, the Magic made their strong interest in him clear during the negotiations in the summer but ultimately couldn’t reach a deal. The internal focus now — from the front office to first-year coach Sean Sweeney on down — is on making the most of this current roster and taking it from there.As it stands, the injury-riddled Magic are just 4-7 with a net rating of minus-5.0 that is 21st in the league. Black, who stepped into Suggs’ starting role after he went down with a right knee bone bruise on Oct. 25, is on a career-high pace in scoring (17.8 per game), rebounds (six per), assists (5.5) and minutes (31.5) in eight games played.Elsewhere around the league• It’s all bad in the Bayou right now, where the New Orleans Pelicans (4-8) have a bevy of talented (and clearly unhappy) players who will surely draw interest as the deadline draws near. Again.It was Herb Jones and Trey Murphy III drawing most of the attention from suitors last season, with executive vice president of operations Joe Dumars keeping the price tag so high on them that they wound up staying put. And now, as anyone who has been on social media in this past week has noticed, you can add Dejounte Murray and Jordan Poole to that mix.The energy in New Orleans around Dejounte Murray is ‘fairly negative’ Sam Amick and Zach HarperFirst, it was Poole (who is on an expiring contract) openly campaigning for a reunion with the Warriors. Then Murray (who has a $30.7 million player option for next season) vented on X about the sordid state of affairs before deleting his posts. On Friday, it was revealed that Murray asked for a trade.It remains to be seen whether a market will surface for those two, but Murray’s choice to air dirty laundry publicly will most certainly not incentivize potential suitors. As one rival executive pointed out, the same could be said for Jones’ contract.For all of the 28-year-old’s defensive prowess, his already-limited offense (and playing time) has decreased in recent years. That’s a tough development to reconcile with the structure of his deal, as it escalates from $14.8 million this season to $20.8 million next season, $22.5 million in 2028-29 and a player option worth $24.1 million in 2029-30. The 26-year-old Murphy III, who is averaging 15.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.6 assists, should continue to draw significant interest (he’s owed $27 million this season, $29 million next season and $31 million in the 2028-29 campaign).
Jalen Green, a key part of the Kevin Durant trade two years ago, faces an uncertain future in the desert. (Alonzo Adams / Imagn Images)• When Phoenix owner Mat Ishbia approved the Kevin Durant trade with Houston in the summer of 2025, it was because the Rockets had finally relented on the players that the Suns coveted. And Jalen Green, the No. 2 pick in the 2021 draft who was entering his fifth season at the time, was seen internally as a must-have part of the package.“(It) was never gonna get done without Jalen and Dillon (Brooks) in the deal,” Ishbia told me earlier this year. “Those are the two players we wanted. It wasn’t, ‘Hey, how do we fill a salary with these numbers?’ It was, ‘In order to have Kevin Durant on your team, I want Dillon Brooks to help me with my culture and my identity. I want Jalen Green as a 23-year-old up-and-coming leading scorer.’”They landed Green, of course, but that last part about him heading up their offensive efforts has simply not come to bear for these Suns (5-6). After averaging 21 points per game in his final Rockets season, Green’s scoring dipped to 17.8 in his first season with the Suns (in just 32 games) and currently stands at just 11.8 through his first 10 games (he’s fourth in scoring behind Devin Booker, Miles Bridges and Brooks). In turn, there is a great deal of interest around the league in how Phoenix will handle Green (who has a player option worth $36 million for next season) heading into the deadline.The outside belief is that they are motivated to swap Green for a proven point guard. The Suns, according to a team source, insist that they’ll remain patient with their roster and don’t plan to truly engage in trade talks, potentially, until later in the season.• If you call the Brooklyn Nets (3-8) about any of their players, they will listen. Per a team source, it’s just that simple.Such is life when you’re a rebuilding team, not to mention an organization that has two veterans — Michael Porter Jr. and Julius Randle — who could help any number of contenders.Those two players are widely discussed as top targets in league circles, with Porter (21.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per) above all the rest of the Nets. The 28-year-old small forward who won a title with Denver in 2023 is in the last year of his deal ($40.8 million). Randle, the 31-year-old forward who helped Minnesota reach the West finals in 2025, has a player option worth $35 million for next season.• Speaking of teams that are open for business, team sources say the Kings (1-10) are willing to discuss anyone not named Darius Acuff Jr. With their prized rookie on a historic pace, averaging 26.2 points, 7.3 assists and 3.8 rebounds, this should come as no surprise. The internal excitement over his start has the Kings, quite naturally, pondering ways to speed up their roster reconstruction with the hopes of building around him.Tom Thibodeau to the Kings?Sam Amick, Dave DuFour and moreWe’ve been writing and talking for more than a year now about the need for Sacramento to get off the contracts of Domantas Sabonis ($45.4 million this season, $48.6 million next season), Zach LaVine ($48.9 million expiring), and Malik Monk ($20.1 million this season, player option for $21.5 million next season). But those players continue to be a tough sell — at least to this point. It’s fair to wonder if teams might show interest in fifth-year forward Keegan Murray, who signed a five-year, $140 million extension just 13 months ago (it kicked in this season). Murray has been ravaged by health issues ever since signing his deal, playing just 23 games last season (left thumb and left ankle injuries) and missing seven of the first 10 games this season (left ankle).The Bulls (1-9) and Clippers (2-8) are often mentioned because of what they have in common: the desperate need to retool the roster, and an abundance of expiring contracts.In Chicago, that means that Norman Powell (19.3 points per, team option worth $22.5 million next season and not trade-eligible until Dec. 15), big man Jalen Smith ($9.4 million expiring) and guard Isaac Okoro ($11.8 million expiring) are front and center. For the Clippers, that’s Rui Hachimura (team option for $14 million next season), Max Strus ($16.6 million expiring), Derrick Jones Jr. ($10.4 million expiring), Brook Lopez ($9 million expiring) and Kris Dunn ($5.6 million expiring).• The Bucks (1-11) are a mess in the post-Giannis Antetokounmpo era, and not just because of their record. As if their struggles aren’t bad enough, the verdict on the NBA’s investigation into whether the Gary Trent Jr. contract constituted salary cap circumvention is still looming.But they have several players of interest on the trade front, from Tyler Herro ($33 million expiring; team-leading 21.9 points per game) to Jaime Jaquez Jr. ($5.9 million expiring), Kyle Kuzma ($20.3 million expiring) to Caris LeVert ($14.8 million and out of the rotation). Veteran center Myles Turner ($27.8 million next season and a player option worth $29.1 million in 2028-29) is clearly not part of the Bucks’ long-term plans, but his early-season struggles have certainly not helped the perception of his market.