NBA Trade Deadline: 6 Teams That Need to Make a Deal

With roughly 60 percent of the NBA season in the books, and less than 15 hours left before Thursday’s 3pm ET trade deadline, teams have a pretty good idea of whether they should be buyers or sellers at this point.

For those general managers out there that need a little help figuring out which category they are in, I’ve provided a list of teams that should strongly consider making a deal in the next day.

Orlando Magic

Should he stay or should he go? Dwight Howard appeared to make Orlando general manager Otis Smith’s job a lot easier on Tuesday by stating that he would prefer to remain with the team through the end of the season. Apparently the Magic brass doesn’t see it that way.

Howard’s statement came off as little more than a publicity ploy, one that has only served to anger the Magic more. He has steadfastly refused to at least commit to not opting out of his contract early this summer, which would give Orlando more time to acquire another star to play alongside him.  

With the lack of any assurances beyond the end of this season, the Magic are now begrudgingly willing to listen to offers for the All-Star center.  

Despite many people’s contention that the Magic had a realistic shot at convincing Howard to sign an extension with the team, this was always the most likely scenario given the track record of other star players in his position. The real question is whether or not Orlando can find an acceptable deal with such a short window of opportunity.

The Magic have played surprisingly well this season—mostly due to the resurgence of Hedo Turkoglu and the emergence of power forward Ryan Anderson—so it’s a shame that they are now forced to do an about face for the sake of the franchise's future. They could have been a Steve Nash away from legitimate championship contention, and are now likely headed for a drastically different fate.

Regardless of any hurt feelings on either side, Orlando needs to move Howard now simply to bring closure to the madness, which has now trumped “The Decision” and “MeloDrama” as the most poorly handled pending free agency moves in NBA history.

Los Angeles Lakers

Let’s be honest. The Lakers aren’t winning a title as currently constructed, and everyone from the players to the front office to ownership knows it.

Putting aside Mike Brown’s lack of proficiency in offensive game planning and the team’s occasional lackadaisical efforts against inferior competition, nothing less than an upgrade at point guard and improvement of the bench will allow them to seriously contend in the West. 

Los Angeles is apparently close to addressing one of their needs by acquiring Michael Beasley (according to The New York Daily News) from the Timberwolves in a three-team trade with Portland, which if true—and if David Stern doesn’t find cause to void it—could be a huge low-risk/high-reward deal for them.

While trading Andrew Bynum for Dwight Howard sounded sexy earlier in the season, moving Pau Gasol for a couple of lesser players that more immediately address the team’s deficiencies might be the more savvy move. 

Mitch Kupchak never ceases to amaze me, so we’ll see what transpires.

Philadelphia 76ers

This team has a ton of depth and young players that seem to fit well together. But this is a star driven league, and the Sixers don’t have one.

Andre Iguodala and Elton Brand have All-Star level contracts—and to his credit, Iguodala did appear in his first All-Star game last month—but as currently constructed, Philly can expect to do no better than get out of the first round, and maybe steal a couple of games against Chicago or Miami. 

A scoring machine like Monta Ellis would have helped this team’s ability to close out games in the fourth quarter, but since he’s been shipped off to Milwaukee, they’ll have to search elsewhere.

Sending a package of young talent to the Lakers for Kobe Bryant would be a pipe dream, largely because Bryant would likely veto the chance to play in his native Philly and have to potentially get through Derrick Rose’s Bulls and the Heat just to get to the finals (though Kobe never met a challenge he didn’t like).

But a move for a proven scorer and star like Deron Williams might be appealing to the Nets if they are unable to put together a package for Howard. That is of course assuming that Williams would have an interest in remaining in Philly beyond this season.

Houston Rockets

Essentially the 76ers of the West, Rockets GM Darryl Morey knows all too well that his team can't seriously hope to compete in the playoffs as currently constructed, as evidenced by their play for Pau Gasol in the now infamously voided Chris Paul trade to the Lakers earlier in the season.

Their reluctance to part with point guard Kyle Lowry in any deal will make it almost impossible to acquire an All-Star level talent, but the Rockets have some enticing, young frontcourt players.

If anybody can get something done, Morey would be the guy to bet on.

New Jersey Nets

Dwight Howard’s about face, and Brook Lopez’s second injury of the season, had apparently killed any chance of the Nets being able to acquire the Orlando center in a pre-deadline deal. But now, with the Magic reportedly unsatisfied with Howard’s refusal to bypass free agency this summer, there is a glimmer of hope in Brooklyn, causing an interesting dilemma for the team. 

If they have a serious shot at acquiring Howard, then they have to do it now. It's unlikely that the Nets could catch all four teams ahead of them for the final playoff spot in the East, but the hope it would bring for Brooklyn’s future is the ultimate prize, especially as they look to steal some shine from the cross-borough Knicks.

As nice as that idea sounds, the Nets need to quickly figure out where they stand in the Howard sweepstakes, because if they can’t acquire him, they should strongly consider moving Deron Williams while they can still get something back for him. 

Such a decision would all but kill the team’s chances of opening their new Brooklyn home with a major star this fall, but it may shorten their long-term rebuilding efforts if...

New York Knicks

Will the Knicks do the unthinkable and move Carmelo Anthony? This blasphemy only a year after they bet the farm to acquire the All-Star forward from the Nuggets, especially now that head coach Mike D’Antoni has resigned. 

The resignation does not appear to be of the forced variety, but if New York management was smart, they would have kept the coach in place and still allowed Anthony to be the king of New York by trading him to the Nets for Deron Williams.

A Williams-Amare’ Stoudemire duo would be just as, if not more potent than the current ‘Melo-Stoudemire combo, as Williams would be a greater fit for the pick-and-roll style that Amare’ thrived under with Steve Nash in Phoenix. 

Yes, Jeremy Lin has emerged as a viable starting point guard in this league, but he wouldn’t be any less popular or less effective as the Knicks’ sixth man. He might even flourish in that roll. He'd be without the pressure of being a starter and the responsibility of guarding elite point guards for long stretches of time, a vulnerability that has been somewhat overlooked during the team’s 3-8 record since ‘Melo returned from a calf injury. 

Anthony would get to remain in New York and be with a team that could more easily tailor the offense to fit his talents, instead of forcing him to mix in with the Knicks’ current roster. It may sound crazy, but I’m struggling to see who loses in this scenario (other than Phil Jackson who might prefer to have a star like ‘Melo around if James Dolan hands him a blank check to save the franchise this summer).