NBA Trade Deadline: Latest Buzz Surrounding Possible Blockbuster Deals

The NBA trade deadline is approaching fast, but the closer Thursday afternoon gets, the less likely it seems that an earth-shattering deal happens.

The market does not lack buyers. The problem is sellers are hesitant to ship a major piece, and potential buyers in some cases are concerned about what they’d be getting in return.

In the East, the Atlanta Hawks been mentioned in numerous trade talks but have reportedly been asking for “borderline ridiculous” returns for their core players, per Chris Mannix of Yahoo, via CSNNE.com.

In the West, the Los Angeles Clippers and Houston Rockets both have chemistry issues and star trade candidates. However, Los Angeles says it doesn’t want to move Blake Griffin, per Andrew Han of ESPN.com, and Houston is having trouble finding a partner for Dwight Howard, per Marc Stein of ESPN.com.

This climate has made it difficult for teams to find enough common ground to make a trade work. If things don’t change significantly before 3 p.m. ET Thursday, many of these teams will probably keep things as they are.

Hawks center Al Horford has been at the center of nearly every major trade rumor. Boston is reportedly one of the main teams trying to make a move for Horford.

CLNS Radio reported early Wednesday that Horford is Celtics GM Danny Ainge’s “ideal choice":

Atlanta doesn’t seem interested in moving the All-Star center though, unless it’s for a ridiculous offer, per Mannix.

Mannix said on his The Vertical podcast, via Kurt Helin of ProBasketballTalk.com, that Atlanta is “not really serious” about trading either Horford or Jeff Teague if it doesn't get back great value:

Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes that it is more likely the Hawks make a minor move for another shooter than trade one of their core pieces:

Atlanta appears to be doing its due diligence by listening to inquiries, but the Hawks are less than a year removed from going to the Eastern Conference Finals with most of the same roster. If they can get some momentum over the final two months of the season, these trade rumors may seem silly in hindsight.

However, the Hawks have been connected to another big name on the trading block: Howard. Atlanta and the Miami Heat are the two teams most linked with Howard in trade rumors, per Dan Feldman of ProBasketballTalk, via Helin:

Atlanta is Howard’s hometown, which is sure to be appealing to him. Any deal for Howard would likely mean shipping Horford to Houston though, and it’s unclear if the Hawks would be willing to do that since they’d be swapping one center on an expiring contract for another.

Zach Lowe of ESPN.com writes that Miami “has questions about Howard’s character and fit.” Plus, this summer they would have to try to re-sign Howard and Dwyane Wade while also maintaining enough cap space to pursue Kevin Durant. That would be incredibly difficult.

The biggest superstar being mentioned in the rumor mill is Griffin. The star forward is currently out as he recovers from a broken hand—an injury he suffered when he punched a team equipment manager. The Clippers are 18-5 without him in the starting lineup this season.  

But ESPN.com's Han reports that Clippers coach Doc Rivers said Tuesday that any trade rumors involving Griffin are “completely untrue”:

Rivers could be creating a false trail, but Lowe also writes in his trade deadline column that “the smart money is on L.A. waiting until the summer to really get busy on the Griffin front.”

All of these teams seem to be assessing market. But getting a deal that both sides can agree on is hard, especially when it comes to big-name players like these. That’s why, at 3:01 p.m. Thursday, fans who have been waiting for blockbuster deals may be disappointed.