NBA Power Rankings: Where Every Team Stands as De'Aaron Fox Joins the Trade Market

We're officially in the NBA's trade deadline week, and this year's market just got a lot more exciting.

On Tuesday, we learned that Sacramento Kings star guard De'Aaron Fox could be on the move. And he's the kind of player who can make a meaningful difference in both the power rankings and the title chase.

He's far from the only player we'll hear rumors about between now and Thursday's deadline, though. Plenty will be attached to contenders and near-contenders. The tanking teams will surely try to unload veterans in an effort to get worse, too.

Prepare for turnover all over the league over the next several days.

And in the meantime, take a look at where everyone stacks up ahead of the moves, based on our regular criteria: team and individual numbers, recent performance, championship chances and plenty of subjectivity.

Previous Ranking: 30

Net Rating: -14.6

This Washington Wizards tank campaign may have graduated from tragedy to comedy.

After losing by 38 to the Anthony Davis-less Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday, they're on pace for 10 wins. Their minus-15.2 average point differential (per game) is tied with the 1992-93 Dallas Mavericks for the worst mark of all time.

And one of their veterans who came into the season as a supposed trade chip is throwing up shots like this.

After going 3-of-14 in Washington's latest loss, Kuzma is now shooting 41.5 percent from the field and 27.0 percent from deep.

Previous Ranking: 29

Net Rating: -7.8

The Utah Jazz are almost certainly going to finish the 2024-25 campaign with one of the two worst records in the Western Conference and a decent shot at this summer's top pick.

But they can still leave their mark on this campaign by unloading some of their veterans prior to the deadline. At the very least, Collin Sexton and John Collins can be boosts for some contenders' second units.

The former is averaging 18.6 points and can-be a heat-check scoring guard. The latter is at 18.0 points and 8.3 rebounds, can play the 4 or the 5 and shoots the three well enough to force opposing bigs to chase him outside.

Surely, some team will give Utah real assets for one or both.

Previous Ranking: 28

Net Rating: -4.9

The Charlotte Hornets didn't really need anything to accelerate their tank, but LaMelo Ball rolling his ankle while backpedaling after a made three should do exactly that.

News broke on Wednesday that he'll be out for at least a week with a sprained ankle, and his replacement, Vasilije Micić, has been one of the worst players in the league this season.

By the time Ball returns, Charlotte could very well have a bottom-three record (and a 14 percent chance at the top pick).

Previous Ranking: 27

Net Rating: -7.2

The Brooklyn Nets ended their week with a win over another rebuilding team (the Charlotte Hornets), but that shouldn't do much to derail their pursuit of a top pick in 2025.

Brooklyn had dropped 12 of its previous 13 games, and Nicolas Claxton could join Dennis Schröder and Dorian Finney-Smith as former 2024-25 Nets before the deadline.

The Nets center has emerged as a trade candidate for the Los Angeles Lakers (who could use another big to push Anthony Davis to the 4). If he's out prior to the deadline, this kind of losing is certain to continue.

Previous Ranking: 23

Net Rating: -8.3

On the heels of a four-game winning streak, the New Orleans Pelicans have now dropped four in a row. And Zion Williamson has been available for three of those losses.

Since his latest return, Williamson is averaging 29.3 points, 8.0 rebounds and 3.7 assists, but the team is minus-24 in his 82 minutes.

If that little winning streak generated any doubt about New Orleans staying in the mix for a top 3-5 pick in the 2025 draft, it's likely gone now.

Previous Ranking: 26

Net Rating: -5.1

Even in the East, a late-season surge into the play-in tournament isn't likely for the Toronto Raptors. So, in the next couple weeks, it wouldn't be surprising to see some of their vets (like Kelly Olynyk, Bruce Brown and Chris Boucher) moved in rebuild-boosting trades.

That, of course, will mean more losing and a greater need for patience from the fans.

On the bright side, they've at least seen some flashes of playoff-level competitiveness from their point-forward combo of Scottie Barnes and RJ Barrett.

This season, Barrett is at 21.7 points and 5.7 assists, while Barnes is adding 20.3 points and 6.5 assists.

In the future, when those two are presumably surrounded by more reliable shooting, having two wings who can create could give Toronto a dynamic attack.

Previous Ranking: 25

Net Rating: -6.1

Fans hoping for a full-fledged tank from the Portland Trail Blazers can't be thrilled by this recent stretch.

After annihilating the Orlando Magic on Thursday, Portland has won six of its last seven. And it's starting to look like a bottom-three record (and 14 percent chance at the No. 1 pick) could be out of the question.

There's still plenty to be optimistic about, though.

Deni Avdija is emerging as a potential alpha forward. He had a down night on Thursday, but over his six previous games, he averaged 20.8 points, 8.2 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.0 steals.

Even Scoot Henderson is suddenly showing more consistent signs of upside. He had 23 points and seven assists against Orlando. And earlier this month, he had a four-game stretch in which he averaged 25.3 points and 7.8 assists.

The likelihood of adding Cooper Flagg to those two may be declining, but Portland fans still have reasons to smile.

Previous Ranking: 17

Net Rating: -3.1

The Atlanta Hawks are in a total tailspin.

They've now dropped seven straight, with two of those losses coming against the sub-.500 Toronto Raptors. We just learned that Jalen Johnson is out for the season for shoulder surgery. And on Thursday, when the East's All-Star reserves were revealed, the league leader in assists per game (Trae Young) wasn't on the list.

On the bright side, being in the Eastern Conference means Atlanta is still firmly in the play-in range. And in Thursday's loss, 2024 No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher got to 30 points for the second time in his career.

Previous Ranking: 24

Net Rating: -3.6

At the end of last week, the Philadelphia 76ers had just wrapped up a seven-game losing streak. Joel Embiid was still a part-time player, and it was starting to feel like tanking for a top pick in 2025 might be the right way to go.

Seven days later, only one of those things remains consistent. The Sixers went 4-0 this week. And in the East, that's drawn them into a virtual tie for 10th place (and a spot in the play-in tournament).

And they have their young star guard to thank for that. During this streak, Tyrese Maxey is averaging 33.3 points, 6.5 assists and 3.5 threes.

Previous Ranking: 22

Net Rating: -3.7

Jimmy Butler and Jusuf Nurkić, both of whom seem pretty intent on getting out of their current situations, would've been wise to approach this season the way Zach LaVine has.

He too entered 2024-25 surrounded by trade rumors. He's on a mediocre team. And instead of publicly trying to force his way out, LaVine has simply kept quiet and balled out.

LaVine missed Wednesday's loss to the Boston Celtics, but over his last 14 appearances, he's averaged 27.9 points, 4.9 assists and 3.1 threes while shooting 44.3 percent from deep.

Outside of De'Aaron Fox, LaVine might be the biggest prize potentially on the trade market this February.

Previous Ranking: 18

Net Rating: -2.1

The San Antonio Spurs have lost five of their last six, and a play-in spot in the West is a little harder to imagine than it was a couple weeks ago.

Help could be on the way, though.

This week, news broke that the Sacramento Kings may move De'Aaron Fox. And apparently, there's mutual interest between the star and San Antonio.

The Spurs can put together one of the best offers in the league for Fox, and combining his slashing with Wemby's floor spacing would instantly make this one of the game's best and most interesting duos.

Previous Ranking: 19

Net Rating: 0.0

It feels sort of appropriate that the Miami Heat have an even .500 record and a 0.0 net rating.

All the Jimmy Butler drama aside, they've just been pretty average on the basketball court this season.

That's not to take away from Tyler Herro's All-Star candidacy (he's averaging 24.1 points and 5.4 assists) or Kel'el Ware's recent breakout (14.9 points, 9.3 rebounds and 1.3 blocks over his last nine games), but it just feels like Miami will be stuck in the middle until it resolves the Butler situation.

Previous Ranking: 20

Net Rating: +0.2

The Golden State Warriors are capable of occasional highs that lead to results like Wednesday's, when they beat the Oklahoma City Thunder, but this season has taught us they're likely not legitimate title contenders.

So, between now and the February 6 trade deadline, they have some big questions to answer.

Are the Warriors OK with spending one of the few years Stephen Curry has left hovering around the middle of the West? Or, will they mortgage some portion of the post-Curry future to bring in a real difference-maker (like, oh say, Jimmy Butler)?

Golden State has multiple future picks and intriguing young players (like Jonathan Kuminga and Brandin Podziemski) who could be moved in exchange for a star who'd help Curry have a puncher's chance in the playoffs.

Previous Ranking: 15

Net Rating: -1.5

The macro view of this Detroit Pistons campaign is still undeniably encouraging.

They already have nine more wins than they did all of last season. Their preseason over-under is likely going down in the next couple of weeks. And Cade Cunningham is averaging career highs in both points (25.0) and assists (9.3).

But Detroit is in the middle of a three-game losing streak (all on the road) that should remind it that a return to the playoffs won't be a given.

Previous Ranking: 16

Net Rating: -1.5

The Orlando Magic suffered an embarrassment on Thursday, losing 119-90 to the Portland Trail Blazers.

And since that loss knocked them below .500 and continued a troubling trend of Paolo Banchero playing wildly inefficient basketball, it'd probably be fair to bump Orlando down a few spots.

They're hanging on (at least for now) because of the active, athletic defense that had them 15-7 earlier in the season and an earlier-than-expected return from Franz Wagner.

On the season, the Magic have a point differential around that of a 59-win team when Franz is on the floor and one one around that of a 26-win team when he's not.

With a couple more weeks of Wagner back in the lineup, Orlando should start to look solid again soon.

Previous Ranking: 10

Net Rating: +2.3

Whatever good vibes came from the Sacramento Kings' midseason coaching switch are now gone (or mostly gone).

They've lost three of their first four games in this current six-game road trip. The next two contests are against the Oklahoma City Thunder and Minnesota Timberwolves. And this week, we found out their star point guard might want out.

There's probably enough talent on the rest of the roster for Sacramento to stay in the hunt for a play-in spot, regardless of what happens with Fox.

But if he's moved ahead of the trade deadline, it's hard to imagine the Kings' ceiling being much higher than that.

Previous Ranking: 21

Net Rating: -1.0

The Phoenix Suns ended their week with a loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, but they'd won eight of their previous 10 games. And the switch to an active, rim-running center certainly played a role in the turnaround.

In six games with Phoenix, Nick Richards is averaging 11.0 points and 10.2 rebounds in just 25.4 minutes.

And more important than those individual numbers, the Suns are a net plus in his limited minutes. Their season-long point differential, on the other hand, is still negative.

Previous Ranking: 14

Net Rating: -0.6

The Los Angeles Lakers just lost Anthony Davis for at least a week to an abdominal muscle strain. They still have a sub-zero net rating. And they're likely to remain in the trade rumor mill all the way through the deadline.

But any uncertainty brought on by any or all of the above can't erase the fact that things are generally cruising in the right direction for L.A. lately.

The Lakers have won seven of their last nine. During this stretch, LeBron James is averaging 24.3 points and 9.7 assists, AD is at 24.7 points, 11.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.1 blocks and Austin Reaves is adding 18.7 points, 6.7 assists and 2.3 threes, while shooting 39.6 percent from deep.

Previous Ranking: 12

Net Rating: +0.8

The Indiana Pacers are 10-2 in their last 12 games, with those two losses coming to the San Antonio Spurs in Paris and the Cleveland Cavaliers before that.

And after a relatively slow start to the campaign, the reemergence of Tyrese Haliburton has been a big part of this team's turnaround.

During this 12-game run, Haliburton is averaging 20.3 points, 8.6 assists and 3.2 threes while shooting 44.3 percent from deep.

Previous Ranking: 6

Net Rating: +4.1

The Denver Nuggets are making it impossible to take them seriously as title contenders.

Early in the year, they had a stretch in which they won seven of eight, but they also had losses to the free-falling New Orleans Pelicans and Washington Wizards.

Just this month, they won eight out of nine, but now they're on a three-game losing streak that includes a blowout against the Minnesota Timberwolves, a loss to the should-be-rebuilding Chicago Bulls and another double-digit loss to the New York Knicks.

Denver's defense can (and often does) look hopeless against anyone. And even with the best offensive player in the world in Nikola Jokić, the Nuggets are nowhere near overcoming their weaknesses on the other end.

Previous Ranking: 11

Net Rating: +3.1

It's been pretty rough sledding for most of what is now a 17-game absence from Luka Dončić, but the Dallas Mavericks are 3-1 in their last four. And one of those wins came against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

This is further evidence that Dallas now has a bona fide, contender-worthy supporting cast around its superstar. And if the rest of the Mavs can just keep this team afloat till Luka comes back, they can vault right back onto that contenders' tier.

With reports from late December saying Dončić would miss a month, it feels safe to assume he'll at least be back after the All-Star break.

Previous Ranking: 9

Net Rating: +3.5

The Los Angeles Clippers better than survived Kawhi Leonard's prolonged absence to start the season, and he's starting to look like his healthy self now.

In Wednesday's win, he had 27 points, seven assists and six rebounds in 29 minutes.

Adding this version of Kawhi to a core mostly filled with selfless, defense-first players should be a cinch. And the Clippers suddenly look like a major potential spoiler in the West.

Previous Ranking: 13

Net Rating: 3.2

It feels like the Minnesota Timberwolves are finally starting to find a little rhythm in 2024-25.

After blowing out the Utah Jazz on Thursday, Minnesota has now won five straight and is 10-4 in its last 14 games.

And you don't have to look much further than Anthony Edwards for reasons for the surge.

Over his last 15 games, Ant is putting up 31.3 points, 5.7 assists and 4.5 threes, while shooting 46.4 percent from the field and 45.3 percent from three.

Previous Ranking: 8

Net Rating: +2.9

The Milwaukee Bucks just lost to the sub-.500 Blazers in a return to Portland for Damian Lillard, but that probably doesn't warrant a big reaction.

It was Milwaukee's third matchup in a four-game Western Conference road trip. The Bucks had won nine of 11 prior to that letdown. And after there was some question about Lillard's fit alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo last season, the 34-year-old guard has been one of the absolute best guards in the East in 2024-25.

He's had two triple-doubles in his last four games. On the year, he's averaging 25.3 points, 7.3 assists and 3.4 threes (all up from 2023-24), and when he's on the floor with Giannis, Milwaukee is plus-5.9 points per 100 possessions.

Previous Ranking: 7

Net Rating: +7.0

The New York Knicks have been one of the top teams in the league all season. Their current five-game winning streak includes a trio of victories against above-.500 Western Conference teams (the Sacramento Kings, Memphis Grizzlies and Denver Nuggets). And their star duo of Jalen Brunson (25.9 points and 7.5) and Karl-Anthony Towns (24.6 points, 13.7 rebounds and 3.4 assists) is one of the best in the NBA.

But it's probably fair to wonder about the workload head coach Tom Thibodeau is putting on his starters' shoulders.

Mikal Bridges (1,842 minutes), Josh Hart (1,763), OG Anunoby (1,761) and Brunson (1,653) are first, second, third and fifth, respectively, in total minutes played this season.

Previous Ranking: 5

Net Rating: 6.9

On Thursday, Jaren Jackson Jr. was named to his second career All-Star team. And later, he helped his Memphis Grizzlies get off the schneid against the Houston Rockets (were 3-0 against Memphis this season).

Last season was undoubtedly rough for the Grizzlies. But in hindsight, it helped develop this version of Jackson and set Memphis up for a brighter long-term future.

His willingness and ability to do a little more as an alpha scorer has allowed the team to be ultra-conservative with Ja Morant's health all season. His outside shooting pulls bigs out of the paint and widens driving lanes for his teammates. And his range as a rim protector allows everyone else to be a little more aggressive outside.

Previous Ranking: 3

Net Rating: +9.1

It's been a disappointing several weeks for the reigning-champion Boston Celtics, who are 7-6 in their last 13 and 14-11 in their last 25.

But they looked more like their formerly dominant selves against the Zach LaVine-less Chicago Bulls on Wednesday, thanks in large part to a big night from Kristaps Porziņģis.

The big man had 34 points and eight threes, and Boston is now 4-0 when he scores at least 23 points.

Previous Ranking: 4

Net Rating: 5.8

The Houston Rockets ended their week with a one-point road loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, but they were without first-time All-Star Alperen Şengün in that one, and they'd already done enough to creep one spot higher in the rankings.

Houston is 10-3 in its last 13 games. During the 10-game stretch that preceded Thursday's loss, they beat the Grizzlies (twice), Denver Nuggets, Cleveland Cavaliers (twice) and Boston Celtics on an Amen Thompson buzzer-beater.

And speaking of Thompson, his breakout as a permanent fixture of the starting five should have Rockets fans feeling wildly optimistic about the team's prospects this season.

Over his last 16 games, Thompson is averaging 17.3 points, 10.3 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.9 steals and 1.6 blocks. The addition of his playmaking, defense and finishing to lineups with Şengün, Jalen Green and Fred VanVleet has Houston flummoxing the best teams in the league.

And while it's far from a given that that will keep happening in the playoffs, the Rockets have shown enough to know they'll at least be competitive against everyone.

Previous Ranking: 2

Net Rating: +9.8

The Cleveland Cavaliers have looked a bit closer to mortal since the calendar flipped to 2025, but they're still the runaway first seed in the East. And they rightfully have three players representing the conference in the All-Star game.

In fact, there might even be an argument that Jarrett Allen should be joining Evan Mobley, Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell in San Francisco.

This season, when you sort every qualified player by the average of their ranks in eight catch-all metrics, Garland, Mitchell, Mobley and Allen come in at ninth, 12th, 16th and 18th, respectively.

Previous Ranking: 1

Net Rating: +11.9

It's probably still a little early to really dig into this season's MVP debate, but whenever that discussion takes hold, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's consistency has to be a part of it.

SGA dropped 52 points in Wednesday's road loss to the Golden State Warriors, and he hasn't had a game with fewer than 22 points since November 4 (and that 22-pointer looks like an outlier in his game log).

For the entire season, Gilgeous-Alexander now has a league-leading 40 games with at least 25 points (he's only played in 45). Giannis Antetokounmpo is second on that list with 32 such games.

The exercise referenced in the Cleveland Cavaliers slide provides a shorthand way of showing what various catch-alls like box plus/minus, estimated plus-minus and LEBRON think of every player's performance this season.

And if All-Stars, which were finally revealed on Thursday, were selected based on these numbers alone, it would've shaken out a bit differently.

• East Starters: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jayson Tatum, Karl-Anthony Towns, Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell
• East Reserves: Jalen Brunson, Damian Lillard, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen, Tyrese Haliburton, Franz Wagner and Tyrese Maxey
• West Starters: Nikola Jokić, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Anthony Davis, Domantas Sabonis and Jalen Williams
• West Reserves: Victor Wembanyama, Alperen Şengün, Jaren Jackson Jr., Luka Dončić, Stephen Curry, LeBron James and James Harden

Half the numbers in play are cumulative, so the results are affected by players missing a lot of games. That makes Wagner and Dončić's inclusions, perhaps, even more impressive.

And while this approach (or anything like it) isn't going to replace the current model for All-Star selections, it does provide a fun way to see who might've been the biggest "snub."