Just over a month away from the NBA trade deadline, now is the time when the rumor mill starts to go into overdrive, and this season’s trade market has a chance to be as robust as any in recent seasons because of the wide variety of agendas for teams across the NBA.
You have the teams like the Cavaliers, who just made a trade to land Luol Deng and are hoping to make the playoffs after three seasons in the lottery. You have teams like the Bulls, who shipped Deng out after seeing an opportunity to save money and improve their chances of finishing with a better draft pick.
That there are so many teams competing to finish as high in the lottery as possible means players like Thaddeus Young (76ers), Arron Afflalo (Magic) and Pau Gasol (Lakers) could find themselves with new addresses in the next several weeks. Then you have a team like the Rockets, a true contender, who would love to move Omer Asik to get another piece to make a run at a title this season.
The same could go for the Suns, who could have as many as four first-round picks this June, but after a stunning start are in position to parlay some of those selection for an impact player to help make a surprise run in the loaded Western Conference.
With so many teams with interests in making trades, it should make for a tumultuous month leading up to the deadline, likely affecting the playoff race in both conferences, the draft and beyond.
(Last week’s rankings in parentheses)
1. Pacers (3): Indiana continues to roll, and has opened up a two-and-a-half game lead over the Heat for first place in the Eastern Conference. If they can hang onto the top spot, it’s going to be hard to pick against the Pacers in the inevitable conference finals showdown with Miami.
2. Spurs (10): They have been ultra cautious with Manu Ginobili in recent days, sitting him down with a tender hamstring rather than pushing him into a more severe injury. Given San Antonio is 29-8 and sitting atop the loaded Western Conference, it’s easy to see why.
3. Warriors (4): Despite failing to complete what would have been a first in NBA history — going undefeated on a road trip of at least seven games — by losing to the Nets last week, Golden State is back playing the way it was late last season and in the playoffs.
4. Trail Blazers (2): As well as Portland has played this season, it’s fair to wonder just how high the ceiling is for this team considering it ranks 23rd in defensive efficiency, according to NBA.com’s stats tool.
5. Thunder (5): The Thunder continue to win games without Russell Westbrook, but it remains to be seen whether they can keep this up for another month, until Westbrook is able to retake the court following his third knee surgery in the last nine months.
6. Heat (1): Miami will head to the White House to celebrate its second straight title with President Obama this week, but something seems to be a little off. The Heat’s performances in back-to-back losses in New York were odd, and seemed to reflect that they have little to play for until the postseason.
7. Clippers (8): They may be without Chris Paul for the next several weeks, but the Clippers got revenge on their crosstown rivals Friday night when they utterly embarrassed the Lakers. The difference in talent level between the two teams right now is staggering.
8. Raptors (11): Saturday’s home win over the Nets pushed Toronto’s lead to four games in the Atlantic Division. With each week they hang onto Kyle Lowry, it looks more and more likely the Raptors will be going for it this season.
9. Rockets (9): Though they have dealt with their fair share of turmoil this season – Dwight Howard’s addition to the lineup, Omer Asik’s benching and subsequent trade drama and injuries to Jeremy Lin, Chandler Parsons and others — Houston still is 24-14 and owns a pair of victories over the Spurs.
10. Mavericks (7): The no-name (fine, one-name) Mavericks continue to motor along and remain inside the playoff picture in the West. As long as Dirk Nowitzki can remain healthy, it’s beginning to look more and more like they’ll be one of the eight teams standing at the regular season’s end.
11. Suns (6): Eric Bledsoe’s knee injury put a damper on the most stunning success story in the NBA. But with Bledsoe expected to be back at some point this season, we’ll see whether coach Jeff Hornacek, Goran Dragic and the rest of the Suns can hang onto a playoff spot in the meantime.
12. Bulls (20): No Derrick Rose? No Luol Deng? No problem for Chicago, which has reeled off five wins in a row. Tom Thibodeau is one of the league’s best coaches for a reason, and there’s little doubt he and Joakim Noah are going to fight for every win.
13. Nuggets (25): The Andre Miller situation remains unresolved after the Nuggets failed to move him before a self-imposed deadline. An already tumultuous first season under Brian Shaw likely will become more so until the veteran point guard’s status is addressed at some point before next month’s trade deadline.
14. Grizzlies (18): It’s still hard to understand exactly what Memphis was thinking in trading away an expiring contract in Jerryd Bayless for Courtney Lee and his $5.2 million contract that runs for two more years. Are the Grizzlies still thinking they can make the playoffs? That seems quite unlikely.
15. Hawks (11): This team’s ceiling was lowered considerably after losing Al Horford for the season. The Hawks went from clearly being the conference’s third best team to at least a couple of notches lower than that. But there’s still enough here for Atlanta to be a playoff team in the East.
16. Nets (27): Two weeks ago, the Nets were wrapping up 2013 at 10-21 and looked on the verge of a total meltdown. But after five straight wins – including over the Thunder, Warriors and Heat – they seem to have righted the ship.
17. Knicks (26): Like their crosstown rivals, winning five of six to open the new year has things looking up inside Madison Square Garden. That said, the J.R. Smith situation doesn’t look as if it will get better anytime soon, regardless of how he played Saturday in Philadelphia.
18. Timberwolves (12): Minnesota’s latest miserably close loss came against the Thunder last week, when Kevin Love whiffed on three straight free throws in the game’s final seconds. The Timberwolves continue to hang a couple games back of the final playoff spot in the West, but can they make a run at some point?
19. Kings (19): Given how well Rudy Gay is playing – 20.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists while shooting 52.3 percent from the field – at what point will the Internet begin to give the Kings credit for making the trade with Toronto?
20. Wizards (14): If John Wall, Bradley Beal, Nene and Marcin Gortat can remain healthy, the Wizards have a good case for being the third best team in the East – whatever that means. But keeping all four of those guys healthy is no easy task.
21. 76ers (23): Even after four straight losses followed a four-game West Coast winning streak, the Sixers are going to have to think long and hard about trading Thaddeus Young, Evan Turner and Spencer Hawes if they want to ensure they finish with the kind of high lottery position they intended to secure when the season began.
22. Pistons (17): As this season wears on, one thing continues to become abundantly clear: Pistons coach Maurice Cheeks has to come up with a better way to stagger the minutes of Josh Smith, Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond.
23. Bobcats (16): Coach Steve Clifford is still doing a wonderful job in his first year, but the Bobcats are beginning to fade after their promising start. It still would be the best course of action for this team to fade into one more top-eight draft pick in June’s loaded draft.
24. Pelicans (13): The loss of Jrue Holiday will definitely end the Pelicans’ already slim hopes for a playoff berth. The question now facing this team is whether to try to slide down into a position to potentially finish in the top five in the lottery – which would allow them to retain their 2014 first-round pick, which was shipped to Philadelphia in the trade to acquire Holiday last June.
25. Jazz (21): They’ve put themselves in prime position to pick up a top-five pick. Will they make any trades before next month’s deadline? And what kind of offer will Gordon Hayward get in restricted free agency?
26. Cavaliers (29): Trading for Luol Deng was expected to give the Cavaliers an added boost of leadership and professionalism, as well as a huge upgrade at the woeful small forward position. But it still couldn’t stop Cleveland from getting annihilated by the Kings on Sunday night.
27. Celtics (22): Just a month ago, Jordan Crawford was playing out of his mind and the Celtics were winning the Atlantic Division. But reality has set in up in Beantown, and the only question left for this season is when Rajon Rondo will return from ACL surgery.
28. Lakers (28): The lack of talent in Lakerland is finally catching up to this team, which was destroyed by the Clippers on Friday night. Will the next step for the Lakers be to pack it in, which means getting whatever they can for Gasol and shooting for as high a pick as possible?
29. Bucks (30): In your weekly “Greek Freak” update, Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with 13 points, 11 rebounds and five assists in 38 minutes against the Thunder on Saturday, earning the respect of Kevin Durant in the process. “He played hard,” Durant said. “He gave up his body for his team. I’d go to war with a guy like that any night.”
30. Magic (24): While so many teams that were expected to tank have gotten off to better starts than anticipated, the Magic’s season has gone almost exactly according to plan.