NBA Trade Rumors: Contenders Who Must Avoid Deadline Deals

As the Mar. 15th trade deadline approaches and teams are rapidly trying to work out trades to catapult themselves into contention in their respective conferences, there's no doubt that teams will make some questionable moves.

With the Golden State Warriors leading the charge of questionable trades, sending Monta Ellis, Ekpeh Udoh and Kwame Brown to the Bucks for aging talent and an injury-prone big-man, there's no doubt that some teams are going to follow their lead.

There are teams, however, that need to do absolutely nothing before the trade deadline, other than continuing to win games with the current rosters that they have.

Ahead is a list of five NBA teams that need to avoid making deadline deals before tomorrow's 3:00 PM ET trade deadline passes.  

Oklahoma City Thunder

There haven't been many trade rumors surrounding Oklahoma City, which is good news for Thunder fans.

The last thing the Thunder need to do right now is make a trade, even if it's moving one of their shooting guards not names James Harden. It would just mess up an already functional and efficient rotation that's helped the Thunder earn the best record in the Western Conference.

With the way the Thunder have been playing, they look like the favorite coming out of the West.

Sometimes no move is the right move. That's exactly the scenario the Oklahoma City Thunder find themselves in right now.  

Miami Heat

There were a few rumors coming out of Miami late last month that the Heat were interested in making a trade for Chris Kaman, which would have tanked the Heat's hopes of winning a championship this year.

It makes no sense for the Heat to make any changes to the roster and rotation they have right now. Miami is sitting pretty with the second best record in the Eastern Conference behind the Chicago Bulls.

To get Kaman, the Heat would have to give up quite a bit of talent. However, the Heat don't need much more than they currently have on their roster.

The Heat could benefit from a legitimate, offensive-minded center, but Kaman isn't their guy. Miami is better off waiting until the draft or free agency to try and add the center they need moving forward.

If the Heat make any trade before the deadline, it will seriously alter the team chemistry they've developed, holding them back down the stretch.

Los Angeles Lakers

The rumors surrounding the Lakers' interest in moving Pau Gasol are in full force. While a trade involving the seven-footer could realistically go down before the deadline, I'm going to tell you why it shouldn't.

If the season ended right now, the Lakers would be the fourth seed in the Western Conference, only .5 games behind the third seeded Los Angeles Clippers. In all honesty, that's not a bad place to be.

The Lakers could use more offensive production at point guard or small forward, but they aren't a bad team now. Breaking up the talent they have could mean a quick exit in the playoffs.

The Lakers need to keep the talent they have because it's finally clicking. They've won six of their eight games since returning from the All-Star break.

Chicago Bulls

The Chicago Bulls are arguably the best team in the NBA. It would be absolutely absurd to break up the chemistry they have moving forward.

The Bulls have one of the most productive and efficient benches in the league. They also manage to play the second best defense, allowing only 88.9 points per game, a major reason why they are so dangerous this year.

While Rip Hamilton hasn't been the answer the Bulls wanted so far this season, there's no doubt that guys like C.J. Watson, John Lucas and Kyle Korver have stepped up their production, carrying the Bulls to the best record in the NBA.

If the Bulls were to make a trade before the deadline, they would throw a massive wrench into the way their rotation is working.

The Bulls need to focus on beating the Heat Wednesday night, making a bold statement to the rest of the teams in the Eastern Conference.  

Atlanta Hawks

It's good to hear that the Atlanta Hawks have no interest in trading away power forward Josh Smith.

If the Hawks were going to move anyone, it should be the massive contract of overrated shooting guard, Joe Johnson. Either way, the Hawks are better off watching the March 15th trade deadline pass without making any moves.

If the season ended right now, the Hawks would find themselves in a first-round matchup with the Orlando Magic as the sixth seed in the East. While that's not great, it's pretty good considering they've been playing without Al Horford for a majority of the season.

There's no doubt that the Hawks are a solid team, but they don't need more talent on their roster. They instead need leadership and discipline, something one of their veterans needs to bring to the court.

The Hawks will return to legitimately contending in the Eastern Conference once Al Horford returns.

Follow me on Twitter @peteremerick.