NBA Trade Rumors: Anonymous GM Expects 'Brisk' Market This Season
Following an offseason filled with blockbuster deals, the 2019-20 NBA regular season could feature plenty of trades.
An anonymous general manager told Sean Deveney of Heavy.com:
"We've been getting calls all summer. There are a lot of things we are considering. The dust settles a little, you're aware of your weaknesses and your holes and so you find ways to address that. I think we're going to see more of that than usual. I think if you look at the market, there is going to be a very brisk trade market this winter for a few reasons."
It's no coincidence teams are expected to be more active now that both the Eastern and Western Conferences are up for grabs.
The Golden State Warriors are in a transition period following the offseason departures of Kevin Durant, Andre Iguodala, DeMarcus Cousins and Shaun Livingston. Though they acquired 2019 All-Star D'Angelo Russell, five-time All-Star Klay Thompson is expected to miss much of the regular season after he tore his ACL in June.
While the Warriors are weakened, a number of teams have gotten stronger. The Los Angeles Lakers added Anthony Davis and Danny Green, among others. The Los Angeles Clippers brought in Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. The Houston Rockets acquired Russell Westbrook.
All of those moves and more have created hope for teams around the league. As a result, there could be midseason trades to solidify rosters in preparation for playoff runs.
Meanwhile, a different front-office executive told Deveney the pressure to live up to expectations could drive franchises to be aggressive: "A lot of teams made big moves and spent a lot of their owners' money. If things don't start the way they want, you're under pressure to make some short-term decisions and that should drive a lot of trade talk the whole year."
That, combined with a weak free-agent class next summer, could prompt teams to wheel and deal ahead of the 2020 NBA trade deadline, which falls on Feb. 7, 2020, at 12:30 a.m. ET.
