Five NBA Teams with Potential Trade Transactions: Part 2

As mentioned in the previous article, December 15th is the unofficial start of player transactions. Before the trade deadline in February, while there shouldn’t be any trades like Kevin Durant last season or James Harden at the start of the season, there are five teams that have players who could be the protagonists of trades. The previous article mentioned two teams. This article will continue the previous article and introduce the remaining three teams…

As mentioned in the previous article, December 15th is the unofficial start of player transactions. Before the trade deadline in February, while there shouldn’t be any trades like Kevin Durant last season or James Harden at the start of the season, there are five teams that have players who could be the protagonists of trades. The previous article mentioned two teams, and this article will continue the previous article and introduce the remaining three teams.

Making waves in the trade market: Five teams with the ability to change the ecology of the league – Part 1

3. Jazz Utah

The Jazz reaped a surprising harvest from the Rudy Gobert trade during the 2022 offseason, clearing salary space and acquiring many draft picks. During the 2023 offseason, part of the reason why the Jazz acquired John Collins from the Hawks was to ensure that the team’s salary would not fall below the minimum standard.

While the Jazz are focused on building for the future, they secretly pursued Jrue Holiday during the offseason and said they wanted to become a “win-now” team. If there is a long-term plan, the team will not trade multiple first-round picks for a 33-year-old.

The Jazz are now on track for normal development. This season, the Jazz have won about 30 games, which is exactly the state of disparity that general manager Danny Ainge wants to avoid.

Since Ainge is the operator, it’s impossible to predict what decision the Jazz will make before the trade deadline. After trading Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to Boston, he could trade anyone. Recently, there have been rumors that he could put Lauri Markkanen on the trade table. Since the team with an average number still produces good statistics, along with an annual salary that is below the market, the sale of Markkanen is at a high point.

If Ainge thinks the Jazz need to tank for a while, he might let Markkanen play for another team. He would definitely do better in a big supporting role on a team trying to compete for a championship. In the Jazz, all he does is help a team with average strength maintain a not-too-bad performance.

Will the Jazz go the other way and strengthen their strength through trades? It is entirely possible. Adding a good point guard can change the situation, but the guards the Jazz acquired in last year’s trade were unable to replicate Mike Conley’s former role with the Jazz. Adding Siakam is also feasible, as the Jazz’s outside offense can actually accommodate Siakam, who primarily plays inside, but this model cannot be applied to Collins.

It is rumored that the Jazz have started to sell Collins. After all, his shooting performance has not improved and his ability to jump is not as good as when he played for the Hawks.

The Jazz have players who are good and don’t need a lot of trade cost, like Jordan Clarkson and Kelly Olynyk. There is no need to send more than two first-round picks to acquire these two players, but they can still bring some help to strong teams.

For the Jazz, keeping these two players may take away playing time for the young players, but the Jazz, like the Raptors, do not have a clear direction for the team in the future. It can be expected that Ainge will not sit on the sidelines all the time.

4. Philadelphia 76ers

There are very few situations where doing nothing before the trade deadline means this team will have dominance, but the current Sixers are an example, as long as they don’t use trades to find any players with contracts long term and high wages at this stage.

For a team like the Raptors, who have big players who are about to become free agents at the end of this season, the last thing they want to do is face Daryl Morey at the end of the season, because it will be difficult. to win

Would Morey use this situation as a bargaining chip? It’s hard to say, but it’s possible. When he negotiates a deal with the Raptors GM, he can decline his request and talk about competing in the short term. The threat of the Tyrannosaurus being left without anything could reduce their demands in the case of trade. Or maybe he can intimidate in another way, like: “I can sign your A players this summer, but if you trade me your B players, I’ll have less salary space to compete for.”

This type of negotiation is very smart. As the NBA’s best general manager at handling salary cap space, Morey definitely knows how to use it. Of course, the Sixers may still use conventional methods to add some outstanding players through trades, a more hands-on approach to the teams Morey has built in the past. He didn’t have a lot of money to work with before because he was always chasing big stars.

Photo credit: Getty Images

After James Harden was traded, the Sixers’ salary structure was back on track, and they were in no rush to find stars to fill his vacancy. It would be more reasonable to find an outside defender like Caruso or a defender who is better at distributing the ball to relieve Tyrese Maxey’s pressure on the court.

Being able to use salary cap space this summer to threaten other teams is what makes the Sixers’ deals so attractive. Maybe the Sixers can go in before the trade deadline and compete for the championship this season, or set their sights on next season or the season after that. Maybe we can strike a balance between these two possibilities and add players who won’t take up too much salary space before the trade deadline. It’s rare for a “win-now” team to have so many options, and Morey will definitely take advantage of this opportunity.

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