One player each contender should trade for
It's crunch time for every front office right now (except Golden State and San Antonio, where Bob Myers and RC Buford can just sit back, have a bottle, and relax). The trade deadline got moved up to early February this year as opposed to its usual post-All star break date. This means teams have had less time to evaluate how well their roster meshes and how potential replacements might fit.
This accelerated timeline is probably going to produce some short-sighted and panic-stricken transactions by executives attempting to save their jobs, but at least it should be entertaining. And while contenders are already in excellent shape since they are, well, contending, every team can improve in one way or another.
None of these projected moves are drastic, but they could very easily push some teams over the top. Right now, I'd say the seven teams with a realistic shot of winning it all are the Warriors (duh), Cavaliers (even though they look like a pile of garbage, can't count out LeBron), Rockets (James Harden is the MVP), Celtics, (Brad Stevens is a wizard) Spurs, (because, Spurs) Raptors (probably will not win, but have played such good basketball they deserve to be in this group) and Thunder (Russ and Paul George can make magic happen).
Golden State Warriors
I remain convinced this team could plug in my 97-year-old grandfather next to Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson and still coast to a championship. It's just ridiculous for a team's four best players to be so talented and have no weaknesses on either side of the ball.
Their one small, quiet weakness that nobody notices since every other team in the league would kill to have this weakness is some reliable bench shooting. Shaun Livingston and David West are savvy veterans, but they earn their paychecks in the midrange. Patrick McCaw is rounding into a quality defender, but his 3 is inconsistent. Jordan Bell and JaVale McGee are strictly rim-runners who refuse to shoot.
Marco Belinelli would be perfect. He's on an expiring contract worth only $5 million, meaning he won't complicate the Warriors' future cap sheet, which is looking like it's going to resemble the budget for a Jerry Bruckheimer production soon. Belinelli has shot an efficient 37% from deep this season, and at 31-years old, he's someone the rebuilding Atlanta Hawks reportedly want to unload. Negotiations should also go smoothly, since the Hawks' current GM Travis Schlenk is the Warriors' former assistant GM.
Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cavs are in crisis mode. The whole team is old and slow and disengaged. Ty Lue hasn't drawn up a successful play in months. LeBron has clearly checked out. Nobody plays defense. The only player who can make a three is Kyle Korver, but he is so slow he has a hard time getting a clean shot up. The owner is reportedly acting as the GM, and we all know how disastrous that setup is.
Every year the Cavs have their midseason crisis where they play no defense, throw passive aggressive shade at each other and look like a team that wants to just get away from everything. But this year is just amplified. The Kyrie Irving trade has proven to be a disaster thus far. Jae Crowder suddenly aged five years in one offseason and poor Isaiah Thomas just does not look physically right. Sure, the Brooklyn draft pick could be very valuable, but not to LeBron, who wants to win now.
The Cavs desperately need some new blood in the building. Especially blood that actually is competent at stopping the other team from scoring, which is a novel concept to these Cavaliers. DeAndre Jordan's name has been thrown around, but any trade this team makes must be in the context of how it matches up with the Warriors, and DJ has been played off the court against them in the past. He can't create for himself or space the floor.
George Hill the player would be a nice fit. He's clearly disinterested on the Sacramento Kings, but George Hill the contract should have the Cavs balking. He's set to make $20 million next season, and for a Cavs team that is already swallowing $25 million in luxury taxes, that kind of contract doesn't even come close to matching Hill's modest production.
Jonathon Simmons would be a great player to trade for. He's actually realistically attainable, since he's not a star, but he's also no scrub. Simmons is currently playing on a reasonable contract with the hapless Orlando Magic and his perimeter defense would be welcomed. Simmons has also shown that he matches up very well with the Dubs. When Kawhi Leonard's ankle twisted in the playoffs, Simmons was up for the task. He ran the Spurs' offense competently against the Warriors and was not scared of the moment at all. His competitive fire would be a godsend for a Cavs team that has looked lifeless.
Toronto Raptors
The Raptors are one of the few teams that have successfully struck the balance of remaining competitive in the present while stocking the bottom half of the roster with promising, young contributors on cheap contracts. CJ Miles, Fred VanVleet, Jakob Poeltl, Delon Wright, Pascal Siakim and Norman Powell aren't exactly household names, but they compose the NBA's deepest and best bench. Tyreke Evans would be perfect for this team. He's become a playmaking wing monster who can knock down threes and lock down on defense. After DeMar DeRozen and Kyle Lowry, the Raps are short on dribble penetration. Evans would come off the bench and just destroy.
Houston Rockets
The Rockets are probably the most complete team in the league. They boast two legitimate superstars in James Harden and Chris Paul, a rim-running fiend in Clint Capela who has drastically improved on defense, a trio of superb 3-and-D wings in Trevor Ariza, Luc Mbah a Moute and PJ Tucker, a sweet-shooting sretch forward in Ryan Anderson and lastly, Eric Gordon, possibly the best 6th man in the league after Lou Williams. There is also the grizzled, savvy Nene, though his availability is always in question due to a severe case of Nene-itis, a disease that prevents him from playing unless he feels 100% healthy.
They could totally stand pat at the deadline, and still have no weakness, but the one area I see a small weakness in is wing scoring, where all of Paul-Harden-Gordon are guards, and the rest of the team depends on them to score. A combo forward such as Joe Johnson, who reportedly is angling for a buyout in Utah, would be perfect. His contract expires after this season, and he can still score at will. Just this past playoffs he played the Night's Watch role to the Clippers' Jon Snow, stabbing them in the gut with a beautiful game winning floater to seal game 1, and ultimately that series. Johnson is a true pro, and the Rockets could find themselves relying on him for buckets when the game's pace slows to a crawl in the postseason hothouse.
Boston Celtics
We all thought they were goners after Gordon Hayward gruesomely dislocated his ankle five minutes into the season. But in his absence, young wings Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have stepped up while Kyrie Irving and Al Horford have shouldered a huge load of playmaking duties.
The Celtics recently inked Greg Monroe, a ground-bound back-to-the-basket scorer and ravenous offensive rebounder. He's an excellent fit for a team light on front court scoring. After shoring up that need, the Celtics can now focus their attention on their other weakness: perimeter scoring off the bench.
While he's nothing to write home about, Doug McDermott is a feasible acquisition for a Celtics team very reluctant to part with real assets. McDermott is someone who could be attained without giving up much in return and his sweet-shooting would be welcomed for a Celtics team low on shooters.
Oklahoma City Thunder
The Roberson injury was a cruel twist of fate. Even though his jump shot's mechanics were completely broken and he had very little confidence in himself to make anything positive happen on offense, he's the best defender in the entire league. Roberson would routinely guard the opposing team's best wing player, letting Paul George, a superb defender in his own right, torture that team's second option. Nobody can replace just how valuable Roberson is on defense, but the Thunder must try. However small their chances of winning a ring this season are, anything can happen with Paul George and Russell Westbrook on the same team. The perfect player for them is Avery Bradley, a rabid defender and capable three point shooter.
The issue is the Thunder's assets are painfully depleted. They can't trade a 1st round pick until 2024, and none of their bench players are all too enticing. For that reason, the likelihood of swiping Bradley from the Clippers is low, but maybe GM Sam Presti can work some of his magic and convince the Clippers Josh Huestis and Alex Abrines have some untapped potential worth investing in (spoiler: they don't).
This accelerated timeline is probably going to produce some short-sighted and panic-stricken transactions by executives attempting to save their jobs, but at least it should be entertaining. And while contenders are already in excellent shape since they are, well, contending, every team can improve in one way or another.
None of these projected moves are drastic, but they could very easily push some teams over the top. Right now, I'd say the seven teams with a realistic shot of winning it all are the Warriors (duh), Cavaliers (even though they look like a pile of garbage, can't count out LeBron), Rockets (James Harden is the MVP), Celtics, (Brad Stevens is a wizard) Spurs, (because, Spurs) Raptors (probably will not win, but have played such good basketball they deserve to be in this group) and Thunder (Russ and Paul George can make magic happen).
Golden State Warriors
I remain convinced this team could plug in my 97-year-old grandfather next to Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson and still coast to a championship. It's just ridiculous for a team's four best players to be so talented and have no weaknesses on either side of the ball.
Their one small, quiet weakness that nobody notices since every other team in the league would kill to have this weakness is some reliable bench shooting. Shaun Livingston and David West are savvy veterans, but they earn their paychecks in the midrange. Patrick McCaw is rounding into a quality defender, but his 3 is inconsistent. Jordan Bell and JaVale McGee are strictly rim-runners who refuse to shoot.
Marco Belinelli would be perfect. He's on an expiring contract worth only $5 million, meaning he won't complicate the Warriors' future cap sheet, which is looking like it's going to resemble the budget for a Jerry Bruckheimer production soon. Belinelli has shot an efficient 37% from deep this season, and at 31-years old, he's someone the rebuilding Atlanta Hawks reportedly want to unload. Negotiations should also go smoothly, since the Hawks' current GM Travis Schlenk is the Warriors' former assistant GM.
Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cavs are in crisis mode. The whole team is old and slow and disengaged. Ty Lue hasn't drawn up a successful play in months. LeBron has clearly checked out. Nobody plays defense. The only player who can make a three is Kyle Korver, but he is so slow he has a hard time getting a clean shot up. The owner is reportedly acting as the GM, and we all know how disastrous that setup is.
Every year the Cavs have their midseason crisis where they play no defense, throw passive aggressive shade at each other and look like a team that wants to just get away from everything. But this year is just amplified. The Kyrie Irving trade has proven to be a disaster thus far. Jae Crowder suddenly aged five years in one offseason and poor Isaiah Thomas just does not look physically right. Sure, the Brooklyn draft pick could be very valuable, but not to LeBron, who wants to win now.
The Cavs desperately need some new blood in the building. Especially blood that actually is competent at stopping the other team from scoring, which is a novel concept to these Cavaliers. DeAndre Jordan's name has been thrown around, but any trade this team makes must be in the context of how it matches up with the Warriors, and DJ has been played off the court against them in the past. He can't create for himself or space the floor.
George Hill the player would be a nice fit. He's clearly disinterested on the Sacramento Kings, but George Hill the contract should have the Cavs balking. He's set to make $20 million next season, and for a Cavs team that is already swallowing $25 million in luxury taxes, that kind of contract doesn't even come close to matching Hill's modest production.
Jonathon Simmons would be a great player to trade for. He's actually realistically attainable, since he's not a star, but he's also no scrub. Simmons is currently playing on a reasonable contract with the hapless Orlando Magic and his perimeter defense would be welcomed. Simmons has also shown that he matches up very well with the Dubs. When Kawhi Leonard's ankle twisted in the playoffs, Simmons was up for the task. He ran the Spurs' offense competently against the Warriors and was not scared of the moment at all. His competitive fire would be a godsend for a Cavs team that has looked lifeless.
Toronto Raptors
The Raptors are one of the few teams that have successfully struck the balance of remaining competitive in the present while stocking the bottom half of the roster with promising, young contributors on cheap contracts. CJ Miles, Fred VanVleet, Jakob Poeltl, Delon Wright, Pascal Siakim and Norman Powell aren't exactly household names, but they compose the NBA's deepest and best bench. Tyreke Evans would be perfect for this team. He's become a playmaking wing monster who can knock down threes and lock down on defense. After DeMar DeRozen and Kyle Lowry, the Raps are short on dribble penetration. Evans would come off the bench and just destroy.
Houston Rockets
The Rockets are probably the most complete team in the league. They boast two legitimate superstars in James Harden and Chris Paul, a rim-running fiend in Clint Capela who has drastically improved on defense, a trio of superb 3-and-D wings in Trevor Ariza, Luc Mbah a Moute and PJ Tucker, a sweet-shooting sretch forward in Ryan Anderson and lastly, Eric Gordon, possibly the best 6th man in the league after Lou Williams. There is also the grizzled, savvy Nene, though his availability is always in question due to a severe case of Nene-itis, a disease that prevents him from playing unless he feels 100% healthy.
They could totally stand pat at the deadline, and still have no weakness, but the one area I see a small weakness in is wing scoring, where all of Paul-Harden-Gordon are guards, and the rest of the team depends on them to score. A combo forward such as Joe Johnson, who reportedly is angling for a buyout in Utah, would be perfect. His contract expires after this season, and he can still score at will. Just this past playoffs he played the Night's Watch role to the Clippers' Jon Snow, stabbing them in the gut with a beautiful game winning floater to seal game 1, and ultimately that series. Johnson is a true pro, and the Rockets could find themselves relying on him for buckets when the game's pace slows to a crawl in the postseason hothouse.
Boston Celtics
We all thought they were goners after Gordon Hayward gruesomely dislocated his ankle five minutes into the season. But in his absence, young wings Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have stepped up while Kyrie Irving and Al Horford have shouldered a huge load of playmaking duties.
The Celtics recently inked Greg Monroe, a ground-bound back-to-the-basket scorer and ravenous offensive rebounder. He's an excellent fit for a team light on front court scoring. After shoring up that need, the Celtics can now focus their attention on their other weakness: perimeter scoring off the bench.
While he's nothing to write home about, Doug McDermott is a feasible acquisition for a Celtics team very reluctant to part with real assets. McDermott is someone who could be attained without giving up much in return and his sweet-shooting would be welcomed for a Celtics team low on shooters.
Oklahoma City Thunder
The Roberson injury was a cruel twist of fate. Even though his jump shot's mechanics were completely broken and he had very little confidence in himself to make anything positive happen on offense, he's the best defender in the entire league. Roberson would routinely guard the opposing team's best wing player, letting Paul George, a superb defender in his own right, torture that team's second option. Nobody can replace just how valuable Roberson is on defense, but the Thunder must try. However small their chances of winning a ring this season are, anything can happen with Paul George and Russell Westbrook on the same team. The perfect player for them is Avery Bradley, a rabid defender and capable three point shooter.
The issue is the Thunder's assets are painfully depleted. They can't trade a 1st round pick until 2024, and none of their bench players are all too enticing. For that reason, the likelihood of swiping Bradley from the Clippers is low, but maybe GM Sam Presti can work some of his magic and convince the Clippers Josh Huestis and Alex Abrines have some untapped potential worth investing in (spoiler: they don't).
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