Just over a month from the NBA’s Feb. 6, 2025 trade deadline, ESPN’s Bobby Marks put together a list of the most likely players to be traded before Presidents Day, splitting them into two tiers (All-Trade first team and second team).

Portland Trail Blazers forward Jerami Grant makes Marks’ second team:

Current deal: Grant is in the second year of a five-year, $160 million contract signed in 2023. He has a $29.7 million salary this season.

The ink was not even dry on Grant’s contract before he was subject to trade rumors. The reason: Damian Lillard asked to be moved one day after Grant agreed to re-sign in Portland.

Entering Year 2 and with $122 million still owed, Portland once again is faced with a decision on whether it should part ways with the forward. On the surface, that answer is yes.

Grant is 30 years old and does not fit Portland’s post-Lillard timeline, but his ability to guard multiple positions is ideal for a playoff team. Unlike Ingram, who can become a free agent in the summer, the acquiring team would have Grant for the next three seasons.

Portland is facing a shrinking window to deal Grant. Unlike fellow trade candidate Kyle Kuzma , whose contract declines in each season, Grant’s salary increases, making it more difficult to trade. (He has a $36.4 million salary in the last year of his contract, when he will be 33 years old.) On the court, he is having his second-worst statistical season of his career, shooting less than 40% from the field.

Making Marks’ All-Trade first team is someone whose future Joe Cronin cannot be blamed for controlling, Miami Heat guard Jimmy Butler:

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.

ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Tuesday that, barring a change, Butler will decline the option and become a free agent in the summer. He then would be able to sign a two-year, $113 million extension with the Heat until June 30.

Butler’s market in free agency could be close to nonexistent. Out of the teams with projected cap space, only the rebuilding Nets have more than $40 million. Butler could opt in to his contract in the offseason and ask to be traded, but that would require cooperation from the Heat.

Can the Heat move off of Butler but also remain a playoff team while regaining future financial flexibility? Because of his high salary, finding a trade partner presents a problem. For example, luxury tax teams such as the Warriors and Dallas Mavericks would need to trade a quarter of their roster to match salaries. The Houston Rockets, on the other end, would make the most sense because they have the contracts (Dillon Brooks and salary fillers), first-round capital and are well below the apron.

The Heat are 13-10 but just one game ahead of the play-in tournament. With Butler on the roster next season, Miami is likely a luxury tax and first apron team. Butler, 35, is on pace to play the most games since 2018-19 and is shooting a career-high 55.7% from the field.

The complete list of players on Marks’ All-Trade first and second teams are below:

All-Trade First Team:

• Jimmy Butler – G – Miami Heat
• Zach LaVine – G – Chicago Bulls
• Brandon Ingram – F – New Orleans Pelicans
• Zion Williamson – F – New Orleans Pelicans
• Jonas Valanciunas – C – Washington Wizards

All-Trade Second Team:

• D’Angelo Russell – G – Los Angeles Lakers
• Collin Sexton – G – Utah Jazz
• Jerami Grant – F – Portland Trail Blazers
• Bobby Portis – F – Milwaukee Bucks
• Mitchell Robinson – C – New York Knicks