NBA trade season is upon us. Let’s get it, y’all! OK, some quick particulars. Yes, the trade deadline is Thursday Feb. 10, at 3 p.m.
Dec. 15 is the unofficial start, because that is the day that players that were signed to deals this past offseason can be included in deals.
We are past the quarter mark of the NBA season and teams have a good understanding of who they are and what their chances are at making the playoffs, making a run, and contending. Teams also know if they have no shot and should be getting their war rooms ready for the 2022 draft.
Indiana Pacers
At 12-17 the Pacers are on the outside of the play-in picture. It has been reported that the team is ready to rebuild and Caris LeVert, Domantas Sabonis and Myles Turner are all available.
Sources: The Indiana Pacers are moving toward rebuild, receptive to trade talks centered on Caris LeVert and either Domantas Sabonis or Myles Turner.
Story with @bkravitz at @TheAthletic: https://t.co/2bGjubFtWe
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 7, 2021
LeVert has a bit of an injury history but he is under contract until the 2023 season at just $18 million per. He is a good one-on-one creator and can be a capable defender. He is having a down season shooting and has been trending that way for a few seasons.
Sabonis is a very good post scorer and rebounder. He is a two-time All-Star and only 25 years old. He has defensive limitations, and he will have to receive more touches than you might want on offense to be effective.
Turner is a Defensive Player of the Year candidate and a floor-spacing stretch 5 who is shooting 38 percent from three this season. He has complained recently that he wants a bigger role in an offense. The problem is, if traded, his best fit is on a title contender where he can protect the rim and knock down an open three. He won’t be getting touches or sets run for him.
Boston Celtics
Boston is 14-14 and hasn’t gained any traction this season. The team has Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum as wings. Two All-NBA-caliber players like that should have any team above .500.
Brown has battled COVID and there are some poor fits on the roster. But this team should be better.
Then there was Marcus Smart’s early season comment that Brown and Tatum need to play more team basketball.
Brown has been the subject of trade rumors on the reliable #NBATwitter space.
If I’m the Memphis Grizzlies I’m blowing up the Celtics to see what’s up with Jaylen Brown! Don’t mind tho and Carry on…
— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) December 13, 2021
🤔 Gotta think Celtics would start by asking for Desmond Bane — a dude they passed on three times in last year’s draft
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) December 13, 2021
Remember the Dec. 15 date and what that means? The Celtics signed Dennis Schroeder in the offseason and he’s played well. Plenty of teams would want his services.
Sacramento Kings
At 11-17, they are just outside the play-in tournament in the Western Conference. They’ve recently fired another head coach (Luke Walton) and the remain one of the league dumpster fires. But just outside the play-in might make GM Monte McNair more likely to pull off a deal.
The Kings have insisted that De’Aaron Fox, Tyrese Haliburton, and Davion Mitchell are off the table. All young promising guards. But what if they could get back Ben Simmons or Bradley Beal? Would some or all of them be available?
Buddy Hield would certainly be available, and he’s a career 40 percent three point shooter. He has defensive issues and a bit of a one-track mind, but maybe a change of scenery to a winning organization could rectify that.
2019 No. 2 draft pick Marvin Bagley III is also someone that would be available. He’s had a disappointing career so far but is only 22. Maybe the right team can tap into that unrealized potential.
Detroit Pistons
At 4-22, the team in the Motor City is lottery-bound. But they have good young players to build with, led by No. 1 pick Cade Cunningham. That leaves 27-year-old Jerami Grant as a possible trade candidate.
He is averaging over 20 points per game and is a good rangy wing defender. His motor is high and he’s had seasons of 38 and 39 percent shooting from three. In his lone year in Denver with the Nuggets he gained valuable playoff experience.
Brooklyn Nets
What?! This is the best team with the best record in the Eastern Conference. Why would they want to trade anyone?
The Nets have a roster that was designed to be a juggernaut offensively. They’re missing Kyrie Irving because of his vaccination status, and James Harden has not played consistently at an All-NBA level.
To win the championship Kevin Durant and the Nets will need at least one of these two guys to play at their peak.
Harden is a free agent at the end of this season, and Philadelphia 76ers president Daryl Morey has made no secret of his desire to acquire the former MVP.
Irving is mercurial but at his best is a scintillating basketball savant. An All-NBA level offensive supernova and a more-than-capable defender. If he were traded to a team in a city that didn’t have COVID vaccine mandates he could play and help that team win. But what guarantees would a team acquiring Irving have that he would not check out before the playoffs?
DAL is among teams to have reached out to BKN about Kyrie Irving, per SNY sources; Kristaps Porzingis came up in discussion; unclear if talks advanced. More here: https://t.co/e3AjTOpnya
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) December 14, 2021
It’s unlikely that Brooklyn GM Sean Marks moves either Harden or Irving. But this is the NBA, and stranger things have happened.
