5 NBA Teams That Should Already Be Looking to Make a Trade
In the NBA, complacency is only a good thing when your team is just rolling along, allowing the "Why mess with a good thing?" inquiry to come into play.
But for teams that are struggling to meet expectations—or just struggling in general—during the early portion of the 2014-15 season, complacency can't be a positive. It's never too soon to begin tinkering with a lineup or a roster, making adjustments that potentially lead to better results.
For five squads throughout the Association, it's already time to start working the phones and looking into some possible trades.
Of course, it's worth noting that not all of these teams have to make trades in order to turn their seasons around. A number of them are talented enough that they can expect natural progression and improvement even if a deal would be advantageous and speed along the process.
Looking around at the market never hurt anyone, right?
Note: All stats, unless otherwise indicated, come from Basketball-Reference.com and are current as of Nov. 10.
Charlotte Hornets
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The Charlotte Hornets still have to find a way to score the basketball.
Their offense should improve dramatically when Lance Stephenson rediscovers his jumper, as he's shot under 10 percent from beyond the three-point arc through his first seven games in purple and teal. But there's still not enough scoring talent for the former Bobcats to remain all that competitive throughout the season, especially when they're matched up against great defenses from the Western Conference.
After all, Charlotte's scoring was so putrid in a Sunday night affair against the Los Angeles Lakers that it put up only 92 points and gave the Lakers their first win on the young season. That was a defenseless team that couldn't stop a nosebleed before the Hornets came to town, and the loss dropped Charlotte's offensive rating to just 99.9 points per 100 possessions, the No. 25 mark in the Association.
Something has to change in order for Steve Clifford's squad to make the leap to the next level, one occupied by teams with a legitimate chance of advancing through their conference's postseason gauntlet. Trading a veteran like Marvin Williams or parlaying some of the youth (Cody Zeller, perhaps?) into more offensive talent on the wings and in the backcourt would certainly be advantageous.
The Hornets could wait and hope that their offensive chemistry blossoms. They could sit tight and wait for players to start hitting shots.
But there's no guarantee either of those strategies works.
They could also get aggressive and leave no doubt they're not playing around as a middling squad any longer.
Cleveland Cavaliers
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How many players—starting-caliber players, to be specific—are worse fits for the Cleveland Cavaliers than Dion Waiters?
It's hard to think of many given Waiters' ball-stopping ways that interrupt the flow of David Blatt's improving offensive system. He might have some good games off the bench, as he did on Nov. 7 against the Denver Nuggets, but he can be a distraction and doesn't have a mentality that allows him to take a backseat when doing so is necessary.
J.R. Smith might be a worse fit. Jamal Crawford, too, though the aging offensive machine on the Los Angeles Clippers provides more positive production.
As Bleacher Report's Dan Favale responded when I posed that initial question on Twitter, "Avery Bradley or Iman Shumpert, as of now, would be such (such) good fits for Cavs."
Both players can provide defense and some three-point shooting, which would allow them to become perfect fits on this Cleveland roster. Bradley in particular seems like he'd be a nice addition, as his defense can completely change the mentality of the team and make guards work for every inch against him.
Do the Cavaliers need to make a trade? Absolutely not.
Even though they've struggled at the beginning of the year, building a championship-contending squad is a process. There's too much talent on this squad to press the panic button this early in the season, and they shouldn't do so.
But if some team wants to take Waiters off their hands? Well, that's something they should seriously consider even with the season still in its opening salvo.
Denver Nuggets
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The Denver Nuggets are proving that it's possible to be too deep.
After all, take a look at this depth chart:
- Point guard: Ty Lawson, Nate Robinson, Erick Green
- Shooting guard: Arron Afflalo, Randy Foye, Gary Harris
- Small forward: Wilson Chandler, Danilo Gallinari, Alonzo Gee
- Power forward: Kenneth Faried, J.J. Hickson, Darrell Arthur
- Center: Timofey Mozgov, JaVale McGee, Jusuf Nurkic
That's 15 players who deserve playing time. Even with Green and Harris inactive when everyone else is healthy and not paying for their actions with a suspension, it's too hard for Brian Shaw to manage such a deep team.
The Nuggets, who have struggled mightily with their shooting during the opening portion of the 2014-15 campaign, desperately need to make a move, if for no other reason than establishing an identity and allowing for the rotations to become more consistent. Going 12 or 13 deep doesn't work, and it's awfully difficult to keep players happy if that type of depth is maintained throughout the course of an entire season.
Denver doesn't need to target any specific style of player, just something or someone that isn't going to steal minutes from those who remain on the roster. Chandler, for example, could be sent away for a prospect who doesn't need to do anything but sit on the bench and develop or for a draft pick that could be used on a draft-and-stash candidate down the road.
Depth is typically a good thing for a team to have at its disposal, and it's unlikely general manager Tim Connelly would ever think he has too much after last season's injury woes. But this team does, and a trade would help avoid any ill feelings down the road.
Detroit Pistons
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"I could (not) care less what the crowd thinks about shot selection," Detroit Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy said after a Nov. 6 loss to the New York Knicks, via Vince Ellis of Detroit Free Press. "I've heard all day now about, obviously Josh [Smith] went 2-for-17, but nobody's talking about one of the top three scorers went (5-for-21), only got to the free-throw line four times and he (Smith) got 10 rebounds—and he had five assists."
Josh Smith suffered through a rough initial go-round with the Detroit Pistons during the 2013-14 season, but the arrival of Van Gundy was supposed to help turn things around. He was going to be placed in more advantageous situations, surrounded by shooters and forced to stick to his strengths.
So much for that.
Through six games, Smith is averaging 14.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists, but he's shooting a putrid 33.7 percent from the field and has missed all nine of his three-point attempts. His player efficiency rating is a below-average 13 for the 2-4 Pistons, and the team has been 23.3 points per 100 possessions worse when he's on the floor.
He's just not working well with this current lineup, and there's no way around that. Sure, Smith provides some quality production on the defensive end, and he's a good rebounder, but he's not a fit for this Detroit roster.
The team isn't going to recover from years of lottery fruition until changes are made.
Los Angeles Clippers
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Unexpectedly, the Los Angeles Clippers have been somewhat of a mess during what was expected to be a season in which they competed for the Western Conference's top spot.
During the six games that have seen LAC win four times despite producing a negative point differential, the results haven't been all that promising. In fact, the Clippers rank No. 9 in offensive rating and just No. 23 in defensive rating.
Under the supervision of Doc Rivers, the defense will turn around naturally, especially once DeAndre Jordan's rotations get crisper, allowing him to resemble the Defensive Player of the Year candidate that he was in 2013-14.
The offense, however, might need one more piece.
While the Clippers have some solid frontcourt options, especially now that Spencer Hawes is in place for the second unit and there are shooting threats galore, the biggest limitation is a lack of ball-handlers. Rivers should have ultimate confidence in Chris Paul and Jamal Crawford, but beyond that, the options are extremely limited, especially with Jordan Farmar experiencing so many early-season struggles.
But what if the Clippers could shop someone like Matt Barnes or Reggie Bullock for a backup point guard, one who was perfectly comfortable operating with the rock? That would pay large dividends for the Clippers even though a trade now is ultimately more of a luxury than a necessity.
