Ten NBA Teams That Need To Make a Trade

By trading for Jermaine O'Neal, the Raptors looked ready to contend after being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs the previous two years.

But one coach firing and 25 quick losses later, the Raptors are lacking direction.

There's uncertainty with defensive matchups, who should start and if this group of players can accomplish anything.

O'Neal hasn't been the scoring and rebounding presence that Toronto wanted. He has a mediocre .470 FG% and the Raptors are 27th in rebounding.

O'Neal was the X factor going into the season and with a contract that expires in two seasons, Toronto may be able find another team who's desperate for a post player.

The Warriors have a lot of long-term commitments with Monta Ellis, Stephen Jackson, Corey Maggette and Adris Biedrins all signed for five years, along with Jamal Crawford for three years.

You can blame the 12-29 record on playing without Ellis, which is a lot of the problem, but a bigger problem is the lack of a defensive presence.

The main point of coach Don Nelson's fast break system is not to score a lot of points, but to control the tempo.

The Warriors have lost so many games because they have had no control on the defensive end.

When Ellis returns, the Warriors will have depth in the backcourt with Crawford, Jackson, and rookie Anthony Randolph.

Crawford, Jackson or Maggette may be available at the deadline depending on the team's direction when Ellis is back on the court.

Sooner or later, the Pacers will need a championship-caliber supporting cast around Danny Granger.

In the next two years, the Pacers don't have a lot of money coming off the books. Their payroll is $70 million and in 2010, it will be $56 million with the players they currently have.

Jamaal Tinsley looked like a guarantee to be traded last off-season with the acquisition of TJ Ford. Now Tinsley is still a Pacer, but there's not a place for him on the team.

Another trade commodity is either Mike Dunleavy or Marquis Daniels. Daniels showed excellent scoring ability while Dunleavy was injured, but with Dunleavy back, there may not be room for both.

This is a rather controversial pick, but I think the Jazz need to make a move. They are currently the eighth seed and they could be without Carlos Boozer, Paul Millsap and Mehmet Okur after this season.

To make a championship run this year, Utah will need a better big man than Millsap, as good a job as he's done.

Okur isn't an interior presence and Boozer might not be the same when he comes back in a month.

Just about every championship team is built around a big man and despite Millsap's success, he's gonna need someone else alongside him in the post.

The Jazz have plenty of depth on the bench to trade.

The Head shouldn't take Dwyane Wade for granted. He's not a guarantee to re-sign after next season.

A player of Wade's caliber is almost impossible to come by, and the Heat will need to put great players around him now.

Shawn Marion's expiring contract has interested other teams, and you could probably make a whole website about Marion trade rumors.

The Heat are an inexperienced team, relying a lot on rookies Michael Beasley and Mario Chalmers.

While both have had pretty easy transitions into the pros, neither will probably help the Heat with a championship run this year or the next.

The Mavericks have plenty of talent, but all of them are players who are tough to build around.

The big four (Dirk Nowitzki, Josh Howard, Jason Kidd, Jason Terry) have given Dallas only a 23-17 record.

Nowitzki and Howard have contracts that expire in 2010, giving them higher value than they would be if their contracts were longer.

Both could help the Mavs begin a rebuilding process if they resort to that.

This core of players probably won't win anything for Dallas at this point if they aren't re-signed.

The Bucks sold their souls for cap space by trading Mo Williams.

Now they are building around Michael Redd and Richard Jefferson, both of whom will become free agents in 2011.

Redd and Jefferson are too inconsistent to lead a team and are better suited as sidekicks on a different team.

Coach Scott Skiles came to the Bucks emphasizing defense. Redd and Jefferson aren't particularly know for that.

When Baron Davis signed with the Clippers, everything was gonna be great.

Elton Brand was gonna re-sign to form an unbeatable team with Chris Kaman and Al Thornton.

Brand decided that wasn't in his best interests and how the Clippers are stuck at 9-30.

The Clippers have depth in the frontcourt, making either Kaman, Marcus Camby or Zach Randolph tradeable.

Hell, maybe even Davis will be available if coach Mike Dunleavy still isn't sold on him.

The Bulls have depth in the backcourt and need an interior presence.

The Raptors have an interior presence, but may want an upgrade over Anthony Parker.

Larry Hughes for Jermaine O'Neal? I don't know.

The Bulls have gotten to the point of developing through the draft where they've signed all their good players to extensions and they're supposed to be contending.

The Bulls are now 11th in team payroll. They're probably listening to offers for Hughes, Kirk Hinrich and Ben Gordon.

They probably want an upgrade over Joakim Noah and Aaron Gray.

The Suns are in a similar position as the Mavericks. A bunch of talented players who are struggling to fit into a system.

Since D'Antoni has left, players like Amar'e Stoudemire and Steve Nash have struggled to fit in the new half-court offense.

Another similarity the Suns and Mavs share is all the expiring contracts.

Nash, Stoudemire and Shaquille O'Neal are coming off the books in 2010.

There's no way that Stoudemire is traded, but if the Suns fall out of contention by the time the deadline arrives, they shouldn't hesitate to make Nash and O'Neal available.

The Suns are looking to get more athletic, as they showed by trading for Jason Richardson.

The team is full of aging veterans and they might need to give up on them to compete in the Western Conference.