Thursday, we get the NBA trade deadline. That means this week is going to be full of smoke and mirrors. Trade rumors will swirl around the internet. Attempts to put public pressure on teams and front offices to get something done will intensify. The landscape of the NBA could change dramatically in the pursuit of pouncing on an NBA Finals run this year.
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Last season, we saw the Toronto Raptors bring in Marc Gasol, and that acquisition heavily affected them in their path to their first NBA championship. In 2004, leading up to the deadline, the Portland Trail Blazers moved on from Rasheed Wallace, sending him to the Atlanta Hawks. Then 10 days later, the Hawks sent Wallace to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for Bob Sura, Chris Mills, Zeljko Rebraca and the draft pick that would become Josh Smith. The Pistons marched to the championship thanks to Rasheed putting them over the top.
For this year’s trade deadline, it’s hard to predict just how active it is. We have a lot of teams in the mix for the 8-seed, who normally wouldn’t be in the mix. This could make things murky for trying to figure out if they should be buyers or sellers. In the Power Rankings this week, let’s go through all of the teams to figure out where they should land with buying or selling when it comes to Thursday’s buzzer.
AUTHOR’S NOTE:In an attempt to get back to normalcy, I’m going to try to use game results this week to fairly judge where a team ranks. However, we all saw the massive outpouring of emotions and grief over the last week with Kobe Bryant. I don’t know how to weigh which players and teams were affected most by it, outside of the Los Angeles Lakers. Kobe’s reach was seemingly infinite when it came to influencing the NBA and its players. So there may be some inconsistency this week in how teams are judged with the results. Next week should be a lot more normal for how the games affect the rankings, but this will definitely be a touch-and-go week with this stuff.
Here’s how the Power Rankings work:
- It’s up to my discretion how the rankings shake out each week. For some teams, they’ll be hit in the short-term. Others will be given the benefit for the long-term.
- If I have a team ahead of another team, there’s no reason to ask why they’re ranked above the team you like. The answer is pretty simple: I think that team is set up better for success.
- I probably don’t care as much about a head-to-head matchup on a random night in the regular season than most do. Season series doesn’t mean much to me when it comes to figuring out if a team is overall better.
- Leave a fun, snarky comment toward me, a team, or a player and it will likely get picked by Wosny Lambre for our Power Rankings podcast for subscribers only, which has Wos reading the best comments each week.
- Only 15 teams will be deemed worthy of a GIF or video each week. That’s to help cut down on eating up your data and computer’s processor.
- This is supposed to be fun so let’s have fun with it.
The 15th week of Power Rankings for the 2019-20 season starts now.
1.Milwaukee Bucks (Previously 1st), 42-7 (+11.8 net rating)
Buy or sell? Buy, buy, buy! The Bucks are on the cusp of competing for the championship. I say on the cusp because they’re not a lock to make the NBA Finals, although their historic march through this season definitely has them as the heavy favorites in the East. The Bucks will still hear the talks of teams trying to poach Giannis Antetokounmpo from them in the 2021 offseason. I would assume he stays in Milwaukee on his next contract, but it doesn’t mean the Bucks don’t have to still impress their MVP. They have to do what they can to convince him to stick around on this contender.
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The Bucks may not need much. Their downfall last season came out of stubbornness, rather than personnel. They refused to adjust to Toronto in the conference finals, and they couldn’t be an effective battering ram to break through to the Finals. Without Malcolm Brogdon this season, the point guard position is a bit of a question mark. Eric Bledsoe has been spotty at best in the playoffs. George Hill is their most reliable option. Donte DiVincenzo is the wild card. The Bucks might benefit from trying to acquire an insurance policy at the point, just in case they need a guy to create. But they believe Giannis and Khris Middleton are more than capable of keeping them moving forward. Part of me wishes they swung for the fences and figured out a Chris Paul trade, but no way that happens now.
GIF ON THE BEAT:
2.Los Angeles Lakers (Previously 2nd), 37-11 (+7.0 net rating)
Buy or sell? Buy, definitely. First and foremost, I don’t know how Rob Pelinka and this organization compartmentalize the tragedy that happened only to turn around and handle a potentially very active trade deadline. The Lakers have been through so much, and now they have to just get back to business as usual. That’s how life goes for everybody, but it doesn’t make the situation any easier to navigate. But that’s what Pelinka has to do. The Lakers are buyers in this market as they try to put themselves as the absolute frontrunners in the Western Conference. They might already be the best team in the West, but that is far from being cemented. Over the next few days, the Lakers have to figure out how to get another creator on offense.
The pressure and responsibility on LeBron James to create offense is just too great. When he sits on the bench, everything unravels. The Darren Collison rumors are still there. If we assume he comes to the Lakers and that the time and focus away from the NBA haven’t derailed his ability on the floor, Collison plugs into the rotation seamlessly. He can come off the bench or be a starter. He’s capable of filling the void the Lakers currently have when James isn’t creating. But the Lakers also don’t have timing on their side. Collison isn’t expected to make his decision until well after the trade deadline. They may need to give up some kind of asset to go after someone like Derrick Rose. He would also fit pretty perfectly into that creator role.
3.Toronto Raptors (Previously 3rd), 36-14 (+6.7 net rating)
Buy or sell? I will hesitantly say buy here. While I fully believe in Masai Ujiri to use his executive genius however it needs to be used when it comes to creating cap space, I’m a little hesitant about any move that could impact their long-term plan. That plan is trying to sign Giannis Antetokounmpo in 2021. I think most trades they could make right now would probably end up taking on money in some form past the 2021 summer. Ujiri can still easily move that money elsewhere whenever they need him to, but the Raptors are in a great position to get back to the NBA Finals. The Bucks are the only team definitely in their way, and everybody else feels like a hypothetical.
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One hypothetical move is them acquiring Dewayne Dedmon for some big man depth. Marc Gasol has been in and out of the lineup throughout the season, and the Raptors just don’t have a lot of options with their interior if someone goes down for an extended period. There would be several ways to go about this. They could move Norman Powell to Sacramento for Dedmon. Powell is having a fantastic season, but has dealt with a lot of injuries, including a fractured finger most recently. Raptors fans probably wouldn’t love this deal initially, but they have the depth on the wings to replace Powell. Also, Powell might pick up a player option that impacts the 2021 summer cap space while Dedmon is just $1 million guaranteed. Or the Raptors could throw a second-round pick with a combination of Patrick McCaw, Stanley Johnson and Dewan Hernandez for Dedmon. But that’s just my idea for getting them depth inside.
GIF ON THE BEAT: Apparently, there are only old GIFs of Masai Ujiri on GIPHY, and wow, so many people from this are gone from Toronto…
4. Boston Celtics (Previously 6th), 33-15 (+7.1 net rating)
Buy or sell? Buy. I’ve been on this all season, as have many other pundits talking about the possibilities of this Celtics team. A lot of us knew they would be really good because they have a ton of perimeter talent and they’re really tough to play against on random nights in the regular season. But hunker down in a seven-game series and that interior depth (or lack thereof) becomes a glaring hole for them. They need a defensive-minded big man who can give them 25 minutes each night in the playoffs. You could swing big with trying to acquire someone like Steven Adams, but there is no motivation for the Oklahoma City Thunder to start selling off parts when they’re so entrenched in playoff positioning.
One trade target I’ve loved for the Celtics is getting Taj Gibson out of New York. He’s not going to solve all of their problems with the interior, and he can be a bit undersized against the bigger men in the East. But Gibson is a fantastic, intelligent defensive option who also plays smart offense. The issue with acquiring him from New York is it likely means a combination of Enes Kanter and Vincent Poirier to make the money work. I don’t know how attached the Celtics are to either of those players, but Poirier could be a guy you want to develop. The nice thing about making this trade work for the Knicks is Kanter is one of the few former players who openly praised the organization after he left. You could trick James Dolan into wanting this deal to get done.
5. LA Clippers (Previously 4th), 34-15 (+6.0 net rating)
Buy or sell? Need to buy. We’ve only seen two games this season in which the Clippers have had their expected 10-man rotation healthy, perThe Athletic’s Jovan Buha. While the Clippers slow play getting ready for the postseason, it’s hard to know what to expect out of them because we just haven’t seen all of these guys on the court together that often. We’ve only seen Kawhi Leonard and Paul George play in the same game 19 times this season (they’re 15-4, which is basically a 65-win pace). The Clippers need some depth on the interior, and they also could use another playmaker on the perimeter. We’ve heard some rumors about Darren Collison coming back for a spot on one of the Los Angeles teams, but I doubt the front office banks on that. I’m not sure how confident they are in JaMychal as the third big man behind Ivica Zubac and Montrezl Harrell.
Going out and grabbing a big man may be the move for them. In having to deal with the size of the Lakers and maybe a matchup like Nikola Jokic, the Clippers need some options. Aron Baynes in Phoenix is a guy a lot of contenders will consider. The Clippers can certainly get by with what they have because they can impose their will with smaller lineups. However, the Clippers should want an insurance policy of a big man who can help them protect the rim and grab defensive rebounds to end possessions. They probably don’t need to be aggressive shoppers at the deadline, but one more move could help solidify them. Plus, we know the Lakers will be active.
GIF ON THE BEAT:
6. Miami Heat (Previously 8th), 33-15 (+3.5 net rating)
Buy or sell? Sell, sort of. The Heat are in an interesting position. They’ve surprised a lot of people with how good their youth has been. Nobody expected Duncan Robinson and Tyler Herro to be this good this fast. I’m not sure how many people expected Bam Adebayo to be an All-Star this season. And nobody really knew who Kendrick Nunn was, let alone that he would be so productive and impactful right away. The Heat have a few contracts they can play with on the trade market. If Miami attaches a sweetener to a contract like James Johnson or Dion Waiters, it can move them for a rotation player who can help now. The Heat have had their eyes on Marvin Williams, and players like him, for a while now.
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The problem with attaching a sweetener is you don’t want to give up the young guys and you can’t move a first-round pick until the 2025 draft. The Heat also have grand designs of trying to convince (earmuffs, Bucks fans) Giannis to take his talents to South Beach in 2021. So they don’t want to take on any salary. Maybe the trade sweetener is attaching someone like Derrick Jones Jr. to the trade. That would be enough for some teams to feel good about giving up a rotation guy. I’d rather see the Heat keep the core intact and move someone like Goran Dragic for some moveable assets this summer. That’s why I think they should be more sellers than buyers here, but I don’t think they need any huge transactions.
7. Philadelphia 76ers (Previously 9th), 31-19 (+2.8 net rating)
Buy or sell? Buyers, big time. The 76ers making a big move here is complicated because so much money is tied up in their starting lineup. Unless Elton Brand wants to be hyper-aggressive by moving Al Horford before the deadline to bring in some depth and flexibility, I just don’t see major moves being made. They also can’t feel great about the buyout market because they’ve struggled with consistency this season and there are plenty of attractive spots around the league for any post-buyout ring-chasers. The Sixers need some guys off the bench though, preferably shooters. Furkan Korkmaz has been a pretty reliable offensive spacer off the bench for them this season. Other than that?
As good as Matisse Thybulle has been as a rookie, his shot-making has been pretty mediocre aside from a couple of 3-point attempts per game. Relying on Mike Scott and James Ennis to make shots can’t be the way to go. Shake Milton has been okay, but Trey Burke has been more reliable. The Sixers can still be a wrecking ball at full strength when they activate their expected starting lineup of Ben Simmons, Josh Richardson, Tobias Harris, Al Horford and Joel Embiid. But any mixing and matching outside of that lineup (if it can get healthy) has been too unreliable. The Sixers are still looking for their identity, and if they can’t find it, they’re going to need role players to step up. Where are those guys?
GIF ON THE BEAT:
8. Denver Nuggets (Previously 7th), 34-16 (+3.4 net rating)
Buy or sell? Sit pat. Aha! A third option you didn’t expect! Or maybe you did at some point. I don’t think there’s a real move the Nuggets could do to improve their lot in the West. They are what they are at this point, and I don’t think you can tinker with this roster construction in the regular season very easily. Maybe they could move Malik Beasley and some cap-filler for a significant rotation piece, but the slow emergence of Michael Porter Jr has the Nuggets not really needing to do anything. Even though I don’t expect the Nuggets to be able to rely on a rookie (no matter how talented he is) in the playoffs for consistent production, this team is set for where it needs to be in the third real year of its journey as a good team.
Right now, the Nuggets just have to get healthy. Get Jamal Murray, Paul Millsap, Mason Plumlee and even Porter (ankle injury) healthy by March and see where the team gets to by mid-April. Then if you feel there needs to be some overhaul of the existing supplementary parts around Nikola Jokic, the Nuggets could make a bevy of moves this summer or the next. I just don’t think the Nuggets need to acquire anybody right now, despite the fact that they can be very aggressive in trying to find another star to put next to Jokic.
Why did the Nuggets fall this week?I had them fifth in the rankings until their overtime loss to a terrible Detroit Pistons team. It was all razor-thin enough to feel like they should drop a few spots.
9. Dallas Mavericks (Previously 10th), 30-19 (+6.0 net rating)
Buy or sell? Stand pat. I’m not convinced the Mavericks have a move out there that can actually swing things in their favor. They do have the dangling expiring contract of Courtney Lee at their disposal. Maybe that could net them a rotation big man to help soften the blow of losing Dwight Powell this season. We don’t have enough of a sample size with Willie Cauley-Stein on the Mavs to really go through, but considering he hasn’t been good or impactful for a couple of years now, I’m not sure how much they can rely on him. The other side of that, though, is the continued wizardry of Rick Carlisle and how he handles this bench. Maybe he can just make WCS a lot better by putting him in only advantageous positions to succeed.
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The Mavericks appear ahead of schedule, and I’m not sure there’s a realistic move at the deadline that can put them in a deeper round of the playoffs. They can revel in Luka Doncic being this absurd at this age, and focus on bringing Kristaps Porzingis up to speed. That’s why the Mavs don’t really need to be buyers or sellers in my mind. They’re in such a good place with this team and the flexibility moving forward. Don’t just let Lee’s expiring deal come and go without actively shopping or taking calls. But also don’t feel the need to do something and jeopardize the continuity this team is building each week.
GIF ON THE BEAT:
10. Houston Rockets (Previously 13th), 31-18 (+3.7 net rating)
Buy or sell? Buyers. Unfortunately, moving Nene’s $10 million contract is actually like trying to move a $2.5 million contract. The Rockets tried to set up this entire contract in order to move him, but it doesn’t work out that easily. We know they’re set in the backcourt with James Harden (assuming he gets his powers back full-time) and Russell Westbrook. Eric Gordon, Austin Rivers, Danuel House Jr and Ben McLemore are locked in with the wings. That leaves PJ Tucker and Clint Capela for the interior. Everybody else on the roster can have some promise of contributing (Thabo Sefolosha, Chris Clemons) at some point, but the Rockets need real, tangible options to consider for their playoff rotation.
Depending on what’s available, the Rockets should probably look for another stretch big man who can play some defense. Is that guy Dedmon? Am I trying to put Dedmon on too many teams at the deadline already? Finding a way to make the money work without giving up one of the core guys is almost impossible unless they find some complicated deal with a third team. What about trying to go get Baynes? For Nene, Tyson Chandler and some small contract filler, the Rockets would be in the balance sheets for Baynes. They’d probably have to attach a first-round pick to get Phoenix to bite and give up its chance at a playoff run.
11. Utah Jazz (Previously 5th), 32-17 (+4.3 net rating)
Buy or sell? Buy minimally. The Jazz might still need an insurance policy off the bench in the backcourt. There’s no reason to truly doubt Mike Conley getting it together, but there hasn’t been much of a reason to truly believe either. It’s just been a peculiar season for him with the injuries and the lack of rhythm even when he’s been relatively healthy. Ed Davis didn’t work as a backup big man in this system (yet), but the Jazz have developed and brought along Tony Bradley enough to feel good about their depth in the middle. We know they have enough good forwards/wings to feel like they can play a lot of different lineup combinations in any matchup. But the backup guards just don’t quite have enough oomph if Conley can’t get it together.
Behind Donovan Mitchell’s great play this season, we haven’t seen consistency from his understudies. Jordan Clarkson is newly acquired, and has been quite good, but he’s not a playmaker for others. Emmanuel Mudiay has had some encouraging stretches and he’s had some pretty inconsequential stretches, as well. The other options are too young and inexperienced to feel confident in for a playoff run. The Jazz don’thave to make any moves, but they should look at insuring the depth of their backcourt off the bench. They were in a great place until this week, but they clearly have some work to do still.
Why did the Jazz plummet to 11th this week?Four straight losses in a stretch in which people believed their legitimacy would be challenged. After beating up on a bunch of bad teams over a 20-game period, the Jazz have fallen off track. They’re still the No. 4 seed right now, but this week was very deflating for them.
12.Oklahoma City Thunder (Previously 12th), 30-20 (+2.6 net rating)
Buy or sell? Nothing. All season I would have said the Thunder need to sell. But at this point, they’re slowly morphing into the team nobody wants to play in the Western Conference playoffs. Yes, there were exploratory talks around the league about whether or not it’s prudent to acquire Chris Paul’s owed money. Steven Adams is a player a lot of teams would love to pry away from OKC, but they know the asking price is exorbitant just to get in the conversation with Sam Presti. Danilo Gallinari is the next option because he’s an expiring contract with a lot of ability to impact a playoff team. But the salary ($22.6 million) isn’t simple to match and the Thunder have become good enough to demand a steep bounty for one of their most impactful players.
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The Thunder did a great job of hauling in trade assets this summer. They should be in the driver’s seat for making things happen around the league over the next couple of summers because of their flexibility and treasure chest. I expect Presti to be active in taking phone calls, but pulling the trigger on a deal seems unnecessary with their current position. If a team gets desperate this week for a playmaker, you can throw Paul into the mix and just see what it looks like in creating that deal. But the Thunder are almost exactly where they need to be in a realistic best-case scenario for this season.
GIF ON THE BEAT:
13. Indiana Pacers (Previously 11th), 31-18 (+2.8 net rating)
Buy or sell? Another team I don’t think should do anything. The Pacers big acquisition came during the summer in the sign-and-trade for Brogdon. Now they’re finally working Victor Oladipo back into the mix. The Pacers are good where they are. They have a mix of top talent and big time role players. They have some young guys they’ve worked into the rotation, and they’re performing reasonably well. The Pacers don’t have to go out there and shake things up with a big acquisition. Oladipo coming back to them this past week is their big acquisition for the season. Maybe the Pacers feel like they’re in a position to pounce on a relatively open Eastern Conference, and that’s a fair thing for them to feel. But that doesn’t mean they have to make a trade without knowing what they have with the current group.
Maybe they still need to figure out if they have a long-term logjam at the big man position. Can Domantas Sabonis and Myles Turner truly coexist at their contracts on the same team? The Pacers feel like they can, and keeping both around gives them plenty of flexibility down the road with roster construction. The Pacers could move on from Sabonis or Turner at any time during the life of their respective deals and expect a great return. But even with two versatile bigs like them, deciding to play them alongside each other long-term is something flying in the face of today’s NBA. That’s not a bad thing, but it’s a stylistic decision the Pacers need to either fully embrace or move on from in the next season and a half.
Why did the Pacers fall to 13th this week?They lost to the Knicks at home. That should never happen if you’re a good team, and the Pacers are a good team.
14. Portland Trail Blazers (Previously 19th), 23-27 (-1.1 net rating)
Buy or sell? Buy. I don’t necessarily know how you get the Blazers to buy here, unless moving Hassan Whiteside’s expiring contract is attractive for a trade partner. But the Blazers have to capitalize on whatever superpowers Damian Lillard has acquired. Because the way Lillard is going lately, extending this and turning his ridiculous production into victories will move him way up the MVP voting. I’m not sure what it would take to unseat Giannis from going back-to-back on MVP awards. LeBron James has been incredible. James Harden has tailed off, but is also highly capable of going on a run to put him back at the front of the conversation. But what Lillard is doing right now is making everybody wonder just how long he can keep these performances going.
Lillard has 47 points or more in five of his last six games. The one game he didn’t hit that mark? He only scored 36 points. During this six-game stretch Dame has averaged 48.8 points, 10.2 assists, 7.2 rebounds and only 3.0 turnovers. He’s taking 28.0 shots per game and has a true shooting of 74.5 percent. Most important? Lillard’s production has resulted in five victories in six games. Not too long ago, I wrote in this space that Lillard’s production was being wasted because he didn’t have enough help this season. Now? The Blazers are 1.5 games out of the eighth seed in the West and Dame is moving his way into MVP voting, even with a losing record so far.
TWEET ON THE BEAT: This stat from Tom Haberstroh is truly staggering for any six-game stretch.
Logo Lillard during this six-game run is shooting 13 of 21 (62%) from 30-40 feet away from the basket. SIXTY TWO. Makes this video from last year seem quaint. https://t.co/xKQivvrY47
— Tom Haberstroh (@tomhaberstroh) February 2, 2020
15. New Orleans Pelicans (Previously 14th), 20-30 (-2.3 net rating)
Buy or sell? Leave it alone. Now that we have a glimpse of what the Pelicans look like with Zion Williamson, there is absolutely no reason to move anybody involved on the roster. I’m not sure how much of an incentive there was before, but the conversation of possibly moving Jrue Holiday or a good veteran before the deadline was certainly there. Instead, the Pelicans know they have something special in Zion that is galvanizing the state of the team. They have an All-Star in Brandon Ingram, who is steadying a lot of the attack with Holiday. Derrick Favors and JJ Redick can help provide balance to the youth of the team. And we’re getting a lot of great play on both ends of the floor from guys like Lonzo Ball.
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The Pelicans should let this team breathe the rest of the season. Unless someone blows you away with a Godfather offer for Holiday, David Griffin should be content with keeping everybody the rest of the season and seeing where they can go. Can this team beat out Memphis and Portland for the No. 8 seed? It doesn’t seem far-fetched, even after digging such a big hole to climb out of earlier this season. Zion makes the presumed direction of the preseason look all the more real. They just need to gel on the court.
TWEETED VIDEO ON THE BEAT: From the pass to the finish, wow this team is fun.
Dear God Zion pic.twitter.com/bU6ImkkXVG
— Preston Ellis (@PrestonEllis) February 2, 2020
16.Memphis Grizzlies (Previously 16th), 24-25 (-2.0 net rating)
Buy or sell? Sell. The Grizzlies have been a stellar story so far this season, but they need to be sellers. Even if they fizzle out at the end of a playoff push, the Grizzlies have had a highly successful season. Their crop of young players looks like legitimate guys moving forward. Ja Morant has quickly become a star in this league and Jaren Jackson Jr. is playing some really good basketball. Throw Brandon Clarke into the mix and it’s hard not to fall in love with the future of this team. However, the Grizzlies have some veterans they could absolutely move before the deadline to contenders desperate for wing help.
We don’t even have to get into the Andre Iguodala stuff. He’ll likely be bought out because there isn’t much buzz around the NBA regarding a trade coming to fruition. Maybe it would have been helpful to have him step into Memphis and possibly even play a little basketball to entice potential trade partners? Outside of Iguodala, Jae Crowder and Solomon Hill could, and should, be had. Hill isn’t much of a shooter, but some team will believe he’s capable of getting hot. Same thing for Crowder, who at least brings a very strong veteran presence. Kyle Anderson would be a good trade possibility if he didn’t eat into the 2021 salary cap situation of any team he’s on. I’d love to see the Grizzlies sell and still try to make the playoffs.
17. San Antonio Spurs (Previously 15th), 22-26 (0.0 net rating)
Buy or sell? Sell. They’re really close to extending their playoff streak, but I want to see them move on from LaMarcus Aldridge. This team’s issue all season has been the defensive end of the floor. You can’t really get by with Aldridge on defense. He’s too slow to defend on the perimeter, and he’s not willing to be an effective paint stopper, despite his size at the center position. It’s not easy to move on from a deal like this because he’s a human statue making $26 million this season and $24 million next season. It doesn’t affect 2021 summer flexibility, but this deal was a lot more attractive to acquire before next season was guaranteed. I just don’t see how a team gets excited about bringing Aldridge into the mix, unless the Blazers really want to get Whiteside out of the picture and don’t mind a nostalgia run with Aldridge next season.
Outside of that, the Spurs shouldn’t do too much. DeMar DeRozan has been so good that I think his presence is very helpful for the young guards on the roster. They can see what his work ethic and attention to detail can result in. Also, we all know by now that the Spurs don’t love making trades during the season. They’d rather run with the roster they’ve planned on having all season long. If the Spurs can move on from Aldridge, great. If not? Just keep rolling through and see if they can carve out a 23rd straight playoff appearance.
18. Phoenix Suns(Previously 17th), 20-29 (-0.6 net rating)
Buy or sell? Sell. After discussing the idea a couple of weeks ago that Aron Baynes should be a trade target for a lot of teams, I remain adamant that the Suns should move him before the deadline. He’s an easy contract to move at $5.4 million. He plays great defense, is a solid rebounder and can stretch the floor. He’s the easiest player on the trade market to plug into a contending team because he doesn’t even need to start. Teams should be dangling a first-round pick in front of James Jones and seeing if he’s willing to give up on the rest of this regular season. Well… it wouldn’t be giving up necessarily, but it would make it a lot harder for the Suns to make the postseason. And they’re only 3.5 games out, but they have three teams to leap over. That’s not the only name they should look into moving though.
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What about trading Dario Saric? It’s a little tough to swallow if you’re the acquiring squad because Saric will be a free agent. But having Bird Rights on Saric to re-sign him will give an advantage. The Suns really like him and are hoping to keep him long-term, but there is an opportunity to acquire him at the deadline. It would be crazy to move both Saric and Baynes at the deadline, so I’d only expect one to leave Phoenix if the Suns pull the plug on being as competitive as possible. But they also need to figure out how to make Deandre Ayton the other consistent cornerstone of this team’s attack. He’s working toward it, but they need to fast track that a little bit. I’m very curious to see how Jones and the Suns explore this deadline when they’re within shouting distance of the 8-seed.
GIF ON THE BEAT:
19. Brooklyn Nets (Previously 20th), 21-27 (-1.8 net rating)
Buy or sell? Stand pat. Especially after the injury to Kyrie Irving last week, the Nets are reminded of this season being a placeholder season. They could try to swing moves to become more competitive, but no move is going to be even close to the drama and the shot of adrenaline of getting Kevin Durant into the lineup next season. This season was always about finding role players next to Irving and then making sure the team was as good as possible before KD gets added to the mix. That’s no longer the case. The Nets can still make the playoffs, and probably will considering the state of the East. But they’ve had so many key injuries that they just need to keep trying to develop the role players for next season.
There is no point to a grand shake-up for them. They can dangle some role players if they want to bring in assets, but their rotation guys are all players they want to keep in the mix for next season. They need to concentrate on continuing to develop Jarrett Allen as the leader of the interior and then get Caris LeVert back on track as a Spencer Dinwiddie-esque tertiary weapon. The long view for Brooklyn has been the necessary perspective all season. Nothing changes now.
20. Orlando Magic (Previously 18th), 21-28 (-1.8 net rating)
Buy or sell? Buy. The Chicago Bulls are technically in the mix in the East playoffs with only 3.5 games separating them and the Magic. But this Magic team is way better than what the Bulls are able to be. That makes me think the Magic are virtual locks to make the postseason. Technically, they don’t have to make a panic move or an aggressive move at the deadline to get that sweet, sweet playoff revenue in April. However, the Magic probably want to avoid the Bucks at all costs in the first round. That means making it to the seventh seed, and with the Nets struggling with their health, that half-game distance is even easier to overcome. I don’t know if I’d give Orlando much of a shot against Toronto, either, but at least it’s a small percentage more likely.
Orlando is terrible at offense. It’s dealing with an injury to D.J. Augustin, which means it’s relying more and more on Michael Carter-Williams. If you want to believe that’s an acceptable option as backup point guard the rest of the season, go ahead. I do not feel the same way. Ideally, I’d love to see Orlando pepper Detroit with trade calls to try to get Derrick Rose into their rotation. Having him and Markelle Fultz as two lead guard options at all times is a hell of a way to jump start the offense. It allows for a lot of dribble-drive attacks, which puts the defense on its heels and scrambling to recover from help. That might be what the Magic need to move up the standings. Maybe that option isn’t Rose, but I want to see another creator on this team.
21. Sacramento Kings (Previously 22nd), 18-31 (-3.0 net rating)
Buy or sell? Don’t do anything. For once, I just want to see the Kings have some continuity. With Sacramento’s struggles this season, I’ve seen people question whether Luke Walton is the coach for the Kings. He was just hired this past summer. They removed Dave Joerger to bring him in. The Kings have had 10 coaches in the past 13.5 seasons. They don’t need to change the coach yet. They also don’t really need to make huge shake-ups with the roster. If they want to move on from Dewayne Dedmon, considering the trade demand earlier this season, that’s fine. Same goes for Cory Joseph, who didn’t have a trade request, if they decide a contender needs him more.
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Outside of that, the only real significant roster decision for them comes with the restricted free agency of Bogdan Bogdanovic this summer. They control that situation, so I would just pay the man what it takes in the summer and figure out whom to move in the future to make the money work long-term. The Kings need to build together. They have a lot of good, young pieces who probably won a bit too much last season. That raised expectations and they certainly haven’t met those. But sticking together through a disappointing season can build character. Let this team ride out the season and start building momentum for next season.
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22. Washington Wizards (Previously 21st), 17-31 (-4.8 net rating)
Buy or sell? Don’t do anything. Wizards fans won’t like me bringing this up (again), but the extension for Bradley Beal moved all of those trade rumors for him to this summer. Maybe they keep him long-term, or maybe the teams around the league feel compelled to give up more for a non-rental star. Regardless, the Wizards are in a state of limbo. They don’t really have that veteran piece that contenders would love to acquire, within reason. Obviously, if they made Davis Bertans available, the Wizards would get flooded with calls. However, they want to keep Bertans past this season. Nobody else, outside of the young guys in their plans, really moves the needle for the Wizards at the trade deadline.
So just don’t do anything. It’s pretty simple. The Wizards can revisit their roster around the draft and see what kind of offers start coming in for Beal. Luckily for them, they don’t have to trade him any time soon, if at all. They can be patient with the trade process and use their poise here to drive up the asking price. Beal is so good that he’ll definitely get a lot of teams interested. Outside of that, just continue to develop the young guys and see what you can cobble together by the end of the season.
23. Chicago Bulls (Previously 24th), 19-33 (-2.7 net rating)
Buy or sell? Buy. I don’t really feel like the Bulls have enough to put together a proper playoff push. Even though Chicago is only 3.5 games outside of the No. 8 seed, the Orlando Magic — even as banged up as they are — are still a much better team. So it might be a bit of a futile attempt by the Bulls to push for the postseason. At the same time, this team needs to be in a constant state of games that matter. If the Bulls want to grow, they have to learn how to beat good teams. The Bulls and Golden State are the only two teams in the NBA with only one win against teams .500 or better. Chicago needs to be thrown into the fire time and time again to learn how to push through to becoming a good team. That probably won’t happen without trying to bring in someone who gives them positive production on offense.
The Bulls need to acquire shot-makers at the deadline. Guys who can put the ball in the hole. This team is so bad at just making shots. Maybe that comes from acquiring a point guard who can set them up. Zach LaVine looks like the best pickup basketball player in the world on NBA courts, but he’s terrible at setting his teammates up. His passes just don’t go to the shooting pocket of his guys at all. The Bulls need someone to orchestrate the offense and dictate the game to the defense. They need to find ways to make life easy for Wendell Carter Jr. and Lauri Markkanen. The Bulls need to move some of their young pieces to go get a veteran offensive presence who matters. Whether that’s now or this summer, that needs to be their exploration in trade talks.
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24. Detroit Pistons (Previously 23rd), 18-33 (-2.2 net rating)
Buy or sell? Sell anything. Move Derrick Rose to a contender. Get rid of Andre Drummond so he doesn’t try to come back for big money in the summer and you panic into making such a deal. See if someone wants Reggie Jackson’s expiring contract. Show them Langston Galloway’s shooting numbers and figure out if they want to give you a second-round pick or two for him. I’d say to look at the Blake Griffin trade possibilities, but his latest injury has effectively made that an impossibility for now. The Pistons are moving in the wrong direction. Before winning in overtime on Sunday, they’d lost five straight. This is not a good team in any way, and it should be concentrating completely on developing the young guys.
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The Pistons making up five games between them and the No. 8 seed the rest of the season sounds impossible. Even if you magically brought a healthy Griffin back into the mix. Detroit is in a position to get a good deal for Rose at the deadline. He’s been so good this year and his contract is extremely easy to acquire. That means the Pistons can definitely try to demand a pick, unless the Lakers are in the mix (Lakers can’t move a pick for a long time). Then they have to try to pry Kyle Kuzma out of their grasp. Regardless, I want to see a clearance here for the Pistons this week. Everything must go!
25. Atlanta Hawks (Previously 27th), 13-37 (-8.8 net rating)
Buy or sell? Do nothing. The Hawks have massive expiring deals with Chandler Parsons (get better), Evan Turner and Jeff Teague. For anybody looking to clear some cap space for 2020, that would be a huge help. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be anybody worth clearing that cap for, unless you’re expecting Anthony Davis to shock the world and leave the Lakers. You shouldn’t. That leaves the Hawks with the rest of the roster and trying to figure out if there is a deal to be done. They explored Andre Drummond possibilities earlier in the season, and they decided it wasn’t worth a first-round pick to get that deal done. That was a smart decision. If you’re going to use/waste money by signing him this offseason, then don’t give a pick to make that happen. The rest of this season should be about the young guys.
Trae Young and his teammates have found a much better balance to being competitive over the last month. They’re still a very bad team, but they’ve at least used some of the tutelage from Lloyd Pierce to win some games recently. That’s the type of progress they’re looking for. They never needed to push for the postseason this year, so they might as well keep the long-term view in their field of vision. Getting guys like Kevin Huerter, John Collins, De’Andre Hunter and Cam Reddish developing is paramount to finding running mates for Young. Hopefully between now and Thursday, they don’t get frisky and call up Detroit again.
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26. New York Knicks (Previously 28th), 14-36 (-7.4 net rating)
Buy or sell? Sell. The Knicks are frustrating and confusing. According to league sources, the Knicks are not planning on moving Marcus Morris before the deadline, confirming previous reports from various outlets in January. Nothing has changed on that front with the Knicks and potential trade partners. Just as a reminder, Morris signed a one-year deal this past summer after not being able to work out a deal with the Clippers and then bailing on a deal verbally agreed to with the Spurs. Morris should be a valuable trade piece from a basketball standpoint, in theory. But the Knicks want to keep Morris with the intention of re-signing him during the summer. They’d probably just sign short-term deals until Bird Rights come into play for Morris, but they’re not engaging any trade talks with Morris at the moment. That could also be a negotiating tactic for the Knicks, but the interest in keeping him long-term is the belief around the NBA.
Any of the guys the Knicks should be looking to deal (Taj Gibson, Julius Randle, Wayne Ellington, Elfrid Payton, Bobby Portis, or Reggie Bullock) are being attached to a very high asking price. The Knicks just don’t seem willing to part with any of the decisions they made during the summer when Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant went to the other part of New York. Unless it brings a star player or All-Star back in return. It comes both from a team-building perspective and trying to show people the Knicks invested in pieces that yield stars in return. Portis seems to be the only piece the Knicks would deal, but it’s coming at too high of an asking price to open the door. Maybe the Knicks can move some guys during the summer?
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27. Charlotte Hornets (Previously 26th), 16-33 (-7.7 net rating)
Buy or sell? Sell. I’ve been waiting for them to deal Marvin Williams all season long. The Hornets should be able to get a couple of second-round picks for Williams, at worst. He’s a stretch-4 who can actually defend. He doesn’t play outside of his abilities. Williams is just a perfect role player for a contending team looking to get depth in a modern frontcourt. Outside of that, the Hornets should also consider moving on from Cody Zeller. Well, they should consider moving on from everybody except the young guys, but Zeller could be another guy that yields a decent return. Without many sellers out there right now, Mitch Kupchak should be highly aggressive in trying to get deals done.
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Usually, this is a scenario in which the seller gets to sit back and watch the calls roll in. But the Hornets need to be the aggressors here. They have some expiring deals of pretty decent veterans. They could also move someone like Michael Kidd-Gilchrist or Bismack Biyombo. This Hornets team has been surprisingly competitive, despite having one of the worst net ratings in the NBA. It’s a confusing bunch, but James Borrego has been stellar as a coach this season. Take this season as a win and go try to shed these veterans at the trade deadline.
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28. Minnesota Timberwolves (Previously 25th), 15-33 (-3.6 net rating)
Buy or sell? Sell. My goodness, sell it all if you can. Well, not Karl-Anthony Towns, of course. You have a couple of years to put a good team around him before he requests a trade prior to his next free agency. But for now, everybody else should actively be on the table. There isn’t a single player on this roster outside of Towns that the Wolves should be hesitant about moving. And that’s with the understanding that I really like the futures of Jarrett Culver and Josh Okogie. I think they can end up being valuable rotation wings on good teams in a couple of years. But if someone wants to give you assets or cap flexibility or both based on trying to acquire them (even on rookie deals) then I think Gersson Rosas has to do it.
Robert Covington? Move him. Andrew Wiggins? Move him. Gorgui Dieng? Move him. All of these guys can have a trade market. Wiggins looks back to being the more productive version of himself from the start of the season. The Wolves probably can heighten this by the end of the season by using Wiggins as more of a lead guard. Dieng probably doesn’t have more value until he’s on an expiring deal this summer/next season. Covington is a guy lots of contenders are dying to acquire, but the Wolves’ asking price is high. The Wolves should be looking to move everybody, or set up negotiations that can be figured out this summer. And this summer? They should be actively trying to acquire someone like Bradley Beal. Time to swing for the fences on putting stars next to Towns before he does what all good players on bad teams end up doing.
29.Golden State Warriors (Previously 29th), 11-39 (-8.3 net rating)
Buy or sell? Buy. I actually think this is the perfect time for the Warriors to be aggressive in the trade market. We all know they aren’t going anywhere this season and we won’t see Steph Curry for another month. But the Warriors are trying to set themselves up for the future. They can be buyers while also dangling D’Angelo Russell as trade bait. The deal they’ve been linked to all season has been some combination with Minnesota that brings back Robert Covington or maybe even Andrew Wiggins in some odd deal. The Wiggins thing sounds highly unlikely, according to league sources. But the Warriors still remain hot on the trail of Covington, and perhaps want to start buttering up working with Rosas enough in case some day Karl-Anthony Towns decides he wants out of Minnesota. They’d like to have that working relationship to make a deal easily.
The Warriors will run into the same issue a lot of other teams have. There aren’t enough sellers at the moment. But the Warriors have the advantage of being buyers for the future, rather than buyers for a playoff run. So maybe it helps them a bit in constructing a deal with a team that is looking for that Russell boost by the deadline. A deal before the summer is going to be far more complicated to pull off for Bob Myers and the Warriors, but they’ll be active on the phone lines during this week with their sights on next season.
30.Cleveland Cavaliers (previously 30th), 13-37 (-8.9 net rating)
Buy or sell? Please sell. The Cavaliers are harboring veterans who could help out contenders. Everybody will look to the Kevin Love possibilities, but his salary is hard to match and he has some real limitations on the defensive end of the floor. It’s not going to be easy to mortgage the future of your salary cap, especially for the summer of 2021, when the guy you’re grabbing is a liability defensively. Tristan Thompson is a much easier player to obtain from a logistical standpoint. He’s on an expiring deal at $18.5 million, so it’s much easier to match the money and not feel like you’re hurting your cap situation moving forward. Also, Thompson is a good defensive player who can help you own the boards. He’s an ideal rental for a contending team looking to add productive depth to its interior.
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However, figuring out what Cleveland wants for Thompson has been a struggle. The asking price is apparently pretty high for Thompson at the moment, but that’s also just a good negotiating tactic by the Cavs. Any team looking to clear some cap could acquire Brandon Knight ($15.6 million) or John Henson ($9.7 million), but this isn’t the summer to really clear money. Cleveland has been very active under Koby Altman, but it may have hit a stalemate in deals before Thursday’s deadline.
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(Top photo: Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
