NBA trade deadline tracker: Durant update, Mitchell added and how it ended for Heat
NBA trade deadline day is here.
No trades will be allowed this season after 3 p.m. on Thursday. But there has already been plenty of movement around the NBA, with a handful of big names traded in recent days.
That list includes six-time All-Star Jimmy Butler, who the Miami Heat agreed to trade to the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday. The Heat also sent Josh Richardson to the Detroit Pistons as part of the four-team deal.
In return, the Heat acquired Andrew Wiggins, Kyle Anderson and a top-10 protected 2025 first-round pick from the Warriors, and P.J. Tucker from the Utah Jazz.
Will the Heat make more moves ahead of Thursday’s 3 p.m. deadline? We’ll have live updates for you on the Heat’s doings here throughout the day:
4:45 p.m.: The Heat explored trying to make another move, potentially to get under the luxury tax line, but ultimately did not. So Miami ended up with Andrew Wiggins, Kyle Anderson and Davion Mitchell and a first-round pick and gave up Jimmy Butler and Josh Richardson.
1:20 p.m.: There was more confirmation today that the Heat pursued Kevin Durant before trading Jimmy Butler to Golden State, but the Suns asked for more than Miami was willing to trade for the future Hall of Famer.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said that when Miami asked for Durant, the Suns made a “massive request, picks, young players.”
ESPN said the Suns are now taking calls on Durant from others who might be more willing to give up the farm.
ESPN’s Bob Myers, the former Warriors GM, said the fact that the Suns asked for an enormous package of assets from Miami suggests to him that Phoenix doesn’t want to trade him.
1 p.m.: The Heat is expected to spend the final few hours before the deadline working to get under the luxury tax.
After acquiring Mitchell, the Heat moved under the first apron and continued to lower its luxury tax bill. The Heat now stands about $2 million under the first apron and is now just about $2.7 million above the luxury tax line.
By getting under the first apron, the Heat is now able to take back more money in a trade than it sends out and sign any player waived/bought out during the season. But if the Heat does either of these things, it will be hard capped at the first apron of $178.1 million.
If the Heat can shed another $2.7 million before the 3 p.m. deadline, it would avoid the luxury tax after being a luxury tax team last season.
This is important because it slows the clock on entering onerous repeater tax territory, which is triggered when a team finishes in the luxury tax in at least three of the previous four seasons. The tax rate for a repeater tax team is higher than a normal luxury tax team.
11:30 p.m.: The Heat upgraded its backcourt and landed a highly skilled defender on Thursday morning when it dealt P.J. Tucker to Toronto for guard Davion Mitchell. The Raptors received cash and a second-round pick in the deal, which drops Miami’s salary below the first apron.
“I feel like I’m the best defender in our league, honestly,” Mitchell said in a past interview. “Off ball or on the ball, I just feel like that’s who I am.”
Mitchell, 6-0, is averaging 6.3 points, 4.6 assists, 1.9 rebounds and shooting 43.4 percent from the field and 34.9 on threes in 44 games and 22 starts for the Raptors. This is his fourth NBA season; he spent the first three in Sacramento.
Mitchell, selected by Sacramento ninth overall out of Baylor in 2021, was traded last June — with Sasha Vezenkov, the draft rights to Jamal Shead and a 2025 second-round draft pick — to the Raptors in exchange for Jalen McDaniels.
Mitchell, 26, is holding the player he’s guarding to 44.6% shooting, compared to the 46.5% they shoot overall. That is the best of all the Heat rotation guards, except for swingman Jaime Jaquez Jr. As a comparison, Terry Rozier is allowing players to shoot 47.8%, Tyler Herro 48.8%.
Among point guards who have been starters in at least half of their appearances this season, Mitchell’s field-goal percentage against the guy he’s defending is sixth best defensively, behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jrue Holiday, Steph Curry, Immanuel Quickley and Cade Cunningham.
When I asked Heat guard Isaiah Stevens, in January, who he studies defensively and a model defensively, he cited Mitchell: “Davion Mitchell is setting the tone for smaller guards. I’ve been watching a lot of him. He has special gifts you can’t really teach [and] tenacity.”
Mitchell has 203 assists and 78 turnovers, a good but not great ratio.
Mitchell is earning $6.4 million and can be a restricted free agent this summer.
11:05 a.m.: Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry is looking forward to teaming up with Jimmy Butler.
“We know who Jimmy is,” Curry said Wednesday night. “He’s been to two Finals, he’s a winner. I understand there’s a lot of drama down there. Who really knows what the story is. We expect to have a motivated and committed Jimmy that’s ready to impact our team for the better. We got to work out the kinks of what it looks like. I’m excited to get to work.”
Curry said he texted Butler at halftime of Wednesday’s Warriors game against the Utah Jazz to welcome him to the team.
“Being able to work off each other, I’m excited to see what it looks like,” Curry said. “I’m going to watch a lot of Miami film to understand some of the sets that they like to run for him and see what we can kind of transition to our playbook. “
10:20 a.m.: While P.J. Tucker’s camp was not sure Thursday morning whether he would report to the Heat after the trade, Tucker posted a video on his Instagram account Wednesday night that suggested he was ready to return to the basketball court after not yet playing this season.
Tucker, 39, hasn’t played this season after reaching an agreement with the Los Angeles Clippers in October to remain away from the team before being dealt to the Utah Jazz on Feb. 1.
Tucker is back on the Heat’s roster after spending the 2021-22 season in Miami, when he started 70 games for the Heat and helped the team reach the Eastern Conference finals. He’s on an expiring $11.6 million salary this season.
10:05 a.m.: Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr and star guard Stephen Curry spoke about the departure of Wiggins following their 131-128 loss to the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night.
“Wigs just had a baby boy last week, girls in school,” Kerr said. “Wigs is one of my favorite players I’ve ever coached. Just a beautiful soul, just a wonderful human being. We don’t hang that banner in 2022 without him. Everything he brings every single day, the laughter, the smile, the joy. Just a wonderful human being. So I’m going to miss him.”
Wiggins, who spent parts of six seasons with the Warriors, was selected for his only NBA All-Star Game during the 2021-22 season as a member of the Warriors. He also played an important role in helping Golden State win the NBA title in 2022, averaging 16.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists, one steal and one block per game during that playoff run.
“What he meant to our team and our franchise to help us climb the mountain top again back in 2022,” Curry said. “He changed a lot for us for the better and I hope his experience with us changed a lot for him, as well. He’s got a lot of basketball left in him, obviously.”
9:30 a.m.: After the Butler trade, the Heat’s roster stands at the NBA maximum of 15 players on standard contracts: Bam Adebayo, Anderson, Alec Burks, Tyler Herro, Haywood Highsmith, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Keshad Johnson, Nikola Jovic, Pelle Larsson, Kevin Love, Duncan Robinson, Dru Smith, Tucker, Kel’el Ware and Wiggins.
The initial plan was to move Anderson to the Toronto Raptors, but that part of the trade fell through and Anderson will stay with the Heat for now.
Among the top items still on the Heat’s to-do list ahead of the deadline is to find a new NBA home for Anderson without taking back salary in return. The question is: What will it cost the Heat do that type of move in terms of cash or draft picks?
Finding another team to take Anderson would be beneficial for the Heat, as shedding his salary would bring the Heat under the punitive luxury tax and first apron. With Anderson on the roster following the trade, the Heat stands about $7.8 million above the luxury tax and $3.1 million above the first apron.
By shedding Anderson’s $8.8 million salary into another team’s cap space, the Heat would find itself $1 million under the luxury tax and $5.7 million under the first apron.
This story was originally published February 6, 2025 at 9:38 AM.
