All-NBA honors handed out after the regular season come with a trophy, or in the case of some superstars, a significant increase in salary.
The first annual All-Trade Buzz team — ESPN’s look at 10 players league scouts and executives are watching closely with trade season underway — comes with weeks of speculation leading up to the Feb. 6 deadline.
Guard Dennis Schroder, who had headlined our list, was the player named most by NBA decision-makers — and for good reason. He was traded Sunday to the Golden State Warriors for De’Anthony Melton and three future second-round picks.
But don’t count on all these players getting moved. The stringent trade rules in the new collective bargaining agreement — for example, nearly a third of the league’s franchises are not allowed to take back additional salary in deals — could make it difficult for teams to acquire higher-paid players.
With the deadline less than two months away, let’s examine the players on our All-Trade team and what lies ahead for each star in 2024-25.
All-Trade Buzz: First team
Current deal: Butler has two years remaining on his contract, $48.8 million this season and a $52.4 million player option in 2025-26. He has a 15% trade bonus that is valued at $407,000.
Out of the list of trade candidates, Butler’s future is the most interesting.