NBA Trade Rumors: Lakers’ Bronny James, OKC’s ‘Target’ & Miami Heat Dilemma

By admin — In News — July 16, 2026

   ​Anthony Davis has been a rumored trade target of the Golden State Warriors. GettyCam Johnson GettyAnother spin for the NBA trade rumor mill as the league’s summer presses forward. We’re nearing (hopefully) the conclusion of the latest LeBron James saga, which should free up some other teams to finally make deals. Around the NBA …AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementOne of the challenges the Miami Heat have in the wake of completing the trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo is filling out the roster, which currently has 12 players and needs at least two more. Obviously, they’d like one of those spots to go to LeBron James, but they’re also seeking to add rotation-worthy veterans who can help them win immediately. They’d hoped that there would be a trade market for Nikola Jovic, the 2022 first-round pick who has not developed as the Heat envisioned.He is only 23, though, and at 6-foot-10, there is something to work with. Jovic has been mentioned as a potential trade piece in a deal for the Mavericks’ Klay Thompson, but the Mavericks (and teams around the league) are wary of the four-year, $62 million contract that kicks in this season.  Coming off a season in which he averaged 7.3 points and shot 36.6%, the Jovic market is decidedly tepid–teams can’t afford to have useless 10-figure contracts on their books in the apron era.…As per usual, the Thunder move in stealth, and that appears to be what’s happening this summer. The team is still about $12 million over the second apron, and is looking at a luxury-tax payment of $100 million even after offloading the contracts of Aaron Wiggins and Isaiah Joe. The Thunder picked up the team option of Lu Dort, and the presumption was that they’d trade him to an Easter Conference team (they sent Wiggins to Atlanta and Joe to Detroit, and don’t want Dort in the West.)AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThat’s still a possibility. But, it was pointed out, the Thunder do not have to get below the second apron in short order–they can circle back to this once other teams settle their pending business. “Lu Dort is a popular target,” one GM texted.It was back on July 5 that we referenced what we’ve been told repeatedly about Bronny James and the Lakers. Yes, L.A. would be open to trading him if it was what LeBron James wanted–out of respect for LeBron–but the Lakers have no plans to dump Bronny James just for the sake of it. Reporting by Dan Woike of The Athletic this week confirms it.As we wrote, the talk of Bronny James’ future, “harkens back to last summer, when we were told that for all the nepotism criticism the Lakers took by adding him to the roster, the team actually likes Bronny James’ upside as a 3-and-D player, which he showed in small spurts last year (38.6% on 3s in the NBA, 45.6% in the G League). … At some point, Bronny James needs to sink or swim in the NBA without his Hall of Fame father.”AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement…Also of interest to the  

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