The NBA trade deadline is right around the corner on February 18th and while the fact that 25 of the league’s 30 teams are still within reach of a postseason spot has kept some deals from getting done that doesn’t mean there haven’t been some serious trade talk behind the scenes. A lot could change for the teams that are on the fringe over the next couple of weeks and that will have a major impact on their outlooks heading in to this year’s deadline. Here is a look at the five NBA teams most likely to have a fire sale before this year’s trade deadline.
Phoenix Suns
The Suns have been absolutely atrocious since late December and with just tow wins over their last 18 games it’s pretty interesting that they haven’t already made a major trade. Phoenix is freefalling towards the bottom of the Western Conference standings and while it would have seemed impossible a couple of months ago there is still an outside chance that they catch the Los Angeles Lakers for that bottom spot. The loss of Eric Bledsoe was yet another blow this team couldn’t overcome and with the Suns struggling in nearly every area and Marcus Morris continuing to want out of town it might only be a matter of time before general manager Ryan McDonough hits the reset button. Morris, Tyson Chandler and even PJ Tucker could be prime trade bait for other teams at the deadline so don’t be surprised if McDonough finally relents and pushes all three out the door before this year’s NBA trade deadline.
New Orleans Pelicans
Injuries really hurt the Pelicans out of the gate this season and while New Orleans is under pressure to win now the bottom line is that the best course moving forward might be to trade their moveable pieces before the NBA trade deadline in order to acquire the future assets that will really help their chances to contend moving forward. Ryan Anderson will be a free agent in the summer and will be hard to convince to come back while Eric Gordon and Omer Asik both appear to be expendable. The Pelicans are still just 3.5 games back of a playoff spot in the Western Conference but if they lose any more ground ahead of February 14th then there is a very good chance that they will be one of the teams most likely to have a fire sale.
Brooklyn Nets
Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov fired Lionel Hollins as head coach and reassigned Billy King as GM on the same day he told the basketball world his franchise needed to rebuild in order to become a long-term contender but everybody knew that already and it isn’t like they have made any major player personnel moves since then. Brooklyn is hamstrung by the fact that it traded away so while their current roster players won’t net a massive return they would benefit from trading what they can in order to acquire some future assets. Joe Johnson could help in that department despite the remaining cash he is owed this year while Thaddeus Young could be the best available trade bait they have on their roster right now. It doesn’t help that Jarrett Jack is out for the remainder of the year with a torn ACL but the Nets have to find a way to get creative in order to acquire future assets even if it means conducting a fire sale at the deadline.
Minnesota Timberwolves
Minnesota is stocked with prime young assets including the reigning Rookie of the Year award winner Andrew Wiggins and this year’s ROY favorite Karl-Anthony Towns but they won’t contend for an NBA title this season so the best course of action right now might be to sell off their expendable assets in order to continue to build for the future. Wiggins, Towns, Zach LaVine and Shabazz Muhammad are the core players that will lead the way for the Timberwolves moving forward but veterans like Kevin Martin and Nikola Pekovic could be prime trade bait if Minnesota feels like the time is now to make some moves. Something will have to give eventually for the Timberwolves and with the core players locked in and several expendable veteran pieces they could end up making some major deals at the deadline.
Los Angeles Lakers
The Kobe Bryant farewell tour has worked to perfection with the Lakers falling hard enough that they should be able to maintain their protected top-five pick in this year’s NBA Draft and with D’Angelo Russell, Julius Randle and this year’s top pick they could complete a strong core three of young franchise players that will serve as the building blocks moving forward. However, Los Angeles could still acquire at least one or two more key pieces and they certainly have the veteran pieces to move for future assets. Kobe isn’t going anywhere but Roy Hibbert, Nick Young and Brandon Bass are all quality veteran players available at a reasonable price so don’t be surprised if the Lakers are one of the teams most likely to have a fire sale.
