Sawt Falasteen - Cavs add Hunter, Nurkic to Hornets as NBA trade deadline nears

In the final two hours before the deadline for all transfer deals, ESPN reported the Atlanta Hawks were trading Hunter to the Cavaliers for guard Caris LeVert, forward Georges Niang, three second-round picks and two future pick swaps.

Hunter is averaging 19 points a game for the Hawks, who rank ninth in the Eastern Conference at 23-28.

He joins a Cavs squad that stands atop the East at 41-10, just behind Oklahoma City (40-9) for the NBA's best overall record.

With Charlotte sending center Mark Williams to the Los Angeles Lakers, the Hornets found another 7-footer (2.13m) in Nurkic, who went from Phoenix along with a 2026 first-round pick in exchange for swingman Cody Martin, Serbian guard Vasilije Micic and a 2026 second-round pick, ESPN reported.

Nurkic has not played for the Suns in a month after being benched by Phoenix in early January.

Final deals were in the works in the wake of Luka Doncic's trade to the Lakers and Wednesday's night's reported deal sending Jimmy Butler from Miami to the Golden State Warriors.

Phoenix's Kevin Durant, according to ESPN and The Athletic, did not want to return to Golden State, where he won NBA titles in 2017 and 2018, so the Heat and Warriors swung a deal for Butler without him.

Instead, the Warriors sent Andrew Wiggins, Dennis Schroder, Kyle Anderson and a first-round draft pick to the Heat for Butler, who had grown unhappy in Miami and was serving a third team suspension for conduct detrimental to the team.

The 35-year-old playmaker, who helped the Heat to the NBA Finals in 2020 and 2023, will join Stephen Curry and Draymond Green in trying to lift the Warriors into a Western Conference playoff spot.

Butler is expected to decline a player contract option for next season in favor of a two-year deal with Golden State worth $121 million.

The Lakers, meanwhile, welcomed Doncic after a Sunday trade that sent Anthony Davis to Dallas and made another move for a big man to replace Davis alongside LeBron James.

ESPN and The Athletic reported the Lakers had agreed to obtain Williams from the Hornets for rookie sharp-shooter Dalton Knecht, Cam Reddish and future draft picks.

Williams is averaging 16.0 points, 9.8 rebounds and 1.2 blocks a game this season. The 23-year-old 7-footer is in his third NBA campaign and figures to blend with Doncic to spice the Lakers' attack alongside 40-year-old four-time NBA Most Valuable Player James.

- Raptors add Tucker -

The Toronto Raptors, 13th in the Eastern Conference at 16-35, swung two deals according to ESPN, landing forward P.J. Tucker from Miami only hours after he arrived from Golden State in the Butler trade and injured forward Brandon Ingram from New Orleans.

Ingram, out the past two months with an ankle injury, is averaging 22.2 points, 5.2 assists and 5.6 rebounds.

The Raptors sent the Pelicans Bruce Brown, Kelly Olynyk and future first- and second-round draft picks.

Tucker and a second-round pick arrived from Miami in exchange for guard Davion Mitchell.

The NBA-worst Washington Wizards, who struck deals with Milwaukee for forward Kyle Kuzma and Sacramento for center Jonas Valanciunas earlier in the week, have reportedly landed guard Reggie Jackson and a 2026 first-round pick from Philadelphia in exchange for reserve swingman Jared Butler and four future second-round selections.

J.AbuShaban--SF-PST