Basketball Intelligence For 2/6/26
Today's Best NBA Reporting And Analysis
FEATURE OF THE DAY
Jeff Peterson Talks Hornets’ Trade Deadline
Will Eudy, The Eudy Report
TRADE NEWS AND ANALYSIS
11 Takes on a Strange NBA Trade Deadline
Royce Webb, 5x5
What every NBA team’s trade-deadline decisions tell us about their future
Fred Katz, The Athletic
2026 NBA Trade Deadline Winners and Losers
Michael Pina, The Ringer
Trade Deadline Winners And Losers
Jeremias Engelmann, 5x5
Why the too-late NBA trade deadline was a weird one, and the best and worst of it all
John Hollinger, The Athletic
NBA trade deadline’s 4 winners and 3 big losers after 2026 deals
Ricky O’Donnell, SBNation
LEAGUEWIDE
NBA buyout market tiers: Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul and more names to watch
John Hollinger, The Athletic
let’s take a look at the market. I came up with 52 players on expiring deals (or deals that are non-guaranteed after this season) who either have already been waived, or have at least some reasonable likelihood of either being cut outright or wrangling a buyout in the next 23 days.
Here’s how I’ve ranked them from 1 to 54:
Tier 1: Rotation-caliber additions
1. Russell Westbrook, SG, Sacramento Kings — The Russ Show isn’t for everyone, and his fit on a contender can be clunky if it doesn’t need whatever-you-can-get-us shot creation at a modest efficiency clip. Still, Westbrook has had a decent year for an indecent team, and at 37 there’s no reason for him to be in the rebuilding Kings’ plans.
2026 Two-Way Conversion and Buyout Candidates
Yossi Gozlan, Third Apron
NBA Power Rankings
Ky Carlin, USA Today
THE DRAFT
2026 NBA Mock Draft
Christopher Kline, Fansided
NBA mock draft 4.0
Bryan Kalbrosky, USA Today
Countering Common Misconceptions About Cameron Boozer
Latif Love, Love My Takes
Karim Lopez looks like a legitimate first round pick
Sam Vecenie, Game Theory
Labaron Philon: The Sophomore Surge
Rowan Kent, No Ceilings
Henri Veesaar has the Type of Skill that NBA Teams Should Covet
Bryce Simon, Game Theory
TEAM-SPECIFIC
BKN: Why the Nets waived Cam Thomas months after signing him to a new deal
Mike Vorkunov, The Athletic
BOS: The Celtics Tax Dodge: A necessary, and potentially brilliant, piece of business
Paul Flannery, Hoopology
CHA: Jeff Peterson Talks Hornets’ Trade Deadline
Will Eudy, The Eudy Report
BI Note: This is an important read for everyone; most especially anyone who owns, follows, roots for or is othwerise affilliated with a team with a weak front office. Jeff Peterson succinctly spells out some of the most important insights into how to team build a right way. So add to the list of must-readers: weak front office denizens who can start applying Jeff’s perspectives instead of the random nonsense they have been using to destroy their teams’ futures.
CHA: Summarizing what the Hornets are getting from the incoming players
Richie Randall, Buzz Beat
CLE: Cavs, Donovan Mitchell, James Harden were biggest winners at trade deadline
Jason Lloyd, The Athletic
CLE: Evaluating the Cavaliers Actions at the Trade Deadline
Danny Cunningham, The Inside Shot
CHI: The Bulls are finally rebuilding, even if they won’t say the word
Joel Lorenzi, The Athletic
