On January 16th, Beijing time, the Suns and Hornets completed a 4-for-2 trade. The Suns used Okeke + the Nuggets' second-round picks from 2026 to 2031 + their own second-round pick in 2031 to acquire Richards + the Nuggets' second-round pick in 2025! This trade finally solved the Suns' problem of starting center, as Richards' athleticism, rebounding, rim protection, and ability to score close to the basket are all urgently needed by the Suns. However, the Suns' problems cannot be solved by one person alone, and there will definitely be more trades to come. The Suns currently have the following remaining trade resources: Draft picks: first-round pick in 2031, second-round pick from the Nuggets in 2025; Players who cannot be traded (ranked from strongest to weakest): Beal, Jones, Durant, Booker, Dunn, O'Neal, Allen. Among them, Beal's trade veto power is unshakable, and Jones agreed to a starting position when he joined at the minimum salary; Players who can be traded: Plumlee/Iguodala (one of the two), Morris, Ball; Players the Suns most want to trade: Nurkic (no market); In summary, the Suns can use 2 draft picks + Morris + Ball + Plumlee/Iguodala + Nurkic for trading, and at most add Allen (in case of emergency). Among these, Morris (2.8 million), Ball (2.43 million), and oyster (3.3 million) can only be considered as extras with little trading value; Iguodala (1.86 million) is also not very valuable; only the draft picks and Allen (annual salary of 15.63 million) are truly attractive chips! And Nurkic (18.13 million) can only be a negative asset…

The Lakers suffered a heartbreaking loss, falling to the Cavaliers with a final score of 110-112. LeBron James contributed 23 points, 7 assists, and 4 rebounds, but it wasn't enough as he walked off the court and into the player's tunnel with just 8 seconds remaining in the game. At halftime, the Lakers were trailing the Cavaliers by 5 points, with a score of 53-58. Let's take a look at the scoring breakdown for both teams at the half: For the Lakers: Reeves had 16 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists. James had 12 points, 2 rebounds, and 1 block. Davis had 11 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 block. Knnekt had 4 points and 2 rebounds. Hachimura had 3 points and 3 rebounds. Milton had 3 points and 2 rebounds. Christie had 2 points and 2 assists. Finney had 2 points and 2 rebounds. For the Cavaliers: Mitchell had 15 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists. Allen had 14 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 blocks. Mobley had 9 points and 2 rebounds. Garland had 7 points and 4 assists. Strus had 4 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists. Wade had 3 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists. Jerome had 3 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists. Despite playing at home and having the advantage of rest, the Lakers faced a Cavaliers team that had played against the Warriors the previous day and traveled to Los Angeles for this match. Although the Cavaliers have an impressive record this season, they were expected to be physically fatigued. This presented an…