NBA Trade Rumors: Pelicans, Pistons, Kings Looking to 'Upgrade Their Rosters'
The Detroit Pistons, New Orleans Pelicans and Sacramento Kings are reportedly the most aggressive teams trying to "upgrade their rosters" through the NBA trade market.
Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com reported the update Wednesday and noted the Pelicans are particularly working hard to improve their team to convince superstar center Anthony Davis, a potential unrestricted free agent after next season, to sign a long-term contract extension.
In November, Davis hinted toward his desire for more help when he told Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports that he had to "play almost perfect every night to give us a chance to win."
"But my teammates do a great job," he added. "Even the games I didn't play, those guys have been battling night in and night out to get victories. … I don't try to put too much pressure on myself, but I know it's there."
New Orleans is off to a sluggish 14-15 start, which is 11th in the highly competitive Western Conference but leaves the team just 5.5 games from the top spot. So there's still time to make a serious charge up the standings if the front office can bolster the rotation around Davis.
Meanwhile, Windhorst reported Pistons owner Tom Gores "badly wants to get back to the postseason" and the Kings are "thinking big" since they don't own their first-round pick in the 2019 NBA draft.
Detroit (13-12) could use help in the backcourt and on the wing to pair with the prized frontcourt duo of Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond.
Sacramento (14-12) is in the opposite situation. De'Aaron Fox, Buddy Hield, Iman Shumpert and Bogdan Bogdanovic are off to a strong start in the backcourt, but Willie Cauley-Stein could use help up front while the team waits for Marvin Bagley III to develop.
The number of sellers may be low given the overall closeness of the standings, but that should steadily change in the coming weeks.
In turn, it sounds like the Pistons, Pelicans and Kings will lead the pack of buyers well before the February 7 trade deadline.
