3 teams likely to rebuild after 2025 NBA Trade Deadline

The NBA trade deadline will be on Feb. 6 next year at 3 p.m. ET. With roughly a month before the date, teams will look to improve this season or prepare for next year and beyond. Legitimate championship contenders will hope to make a deal to improve their chances of winning the title while struggling teams look to add future assets.

Teams like the LA Lakers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Denver Nuggets and other underperforming teams could look at sellers. A trade could help them bolster their hopes of winning the championship.

Meanwhile, other teams with highly coveted players could engage in trade talks for the right price.

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Three teams poised to rebuild after the NBA Trade Deadline

#3 Brooklyn Nets

The Brooklyn Nets signaled the start of another rebuild when they sent Mikal Bridges to the New York Knicks. Nets GM Sean Marks might not have wanted to trade him to a fellow Eastern Conference team, let alone a city rival. But the massive haul proved too difficult to ignore.

Brooklyn got three players and a staggering four first-round picks (2025, 2027, 2029, 2031) and a 2028 first-round pick swap. The haul included a top-four protected 2025 first-round pick from the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Nets aren’t likely done, as a full rebuild is on the cards. Marks is reportedly listening to offers for Cam Johnson, Dorian Finney-Smith and Bojan Bogdavonic.

The Lakers, OKC Thunder, Dallas Mavericks and a few other teams are reportedly interested in trading for at least one of the trio. Brooklyn will likely reset after the 2025 NBA trade deadline.

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#2 Chicago Bulls

The Chicago Bulls have been fixtures in NBA trade deadline talks over the last few years. They have been reportedly trying to shop Zach LaVine, who's having a solid season. LaVine’s resurgence could finally see the Bulls start a rebuild.

A LaVine trade could push the Bulls to clean house for a reset. Nikola Vucevic has a team-friendly contract but could be traded for the right haul. Lonzo Ball, Torrey Craig and Talen Horton-Tucker, unrestricted free agents, are likely out once the big guns have a change of scenery.

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#1 Sacramento Kings

De’Aaron Fox is in the limelight as the NBA trade deadline talks start to peak. Following the controversial firing of Mike Brown, a rebuild could be underway if Swipa and the Sacramento Kings want to go separate ways. Fox is eligible for a contract extension, but if he wants out or the Kings don’t see him as a part of their future, a reset is likely.

The San Antonio Spurs, LA Lakers and the Houston Rockets are reportedly monitoring the situation in Sac-Town. Even the Miami Heat, who announced that they aren't trading away Jimmy Butler, are rumored to be interested in Fox.

Kevin Huerter, Trey Lyles, Keon Ellis, Jae Crowder and Doug McDermott aren’t off-limits if De’Aaron Fox plays elsewhere before the NBA trade deadline.

Sacramento missed the playoffs for 16 straight years before Mike Brown made them relevant again in 2023. They missed the postseason again in 2024 before Brown was dismissed a few days ago. Sacramento could break the Fox-Sabonis tandem if it can get a king’s ransom for the cat-quick point guard.