Post by Oklahoma City Thunder on Feb 1, 2009 4:32:21 GMT -5
As the deadline nears, teams will begin to jockey for playoff position by making last second trades to help make a run before the deadline passes. Others will be selling; collecting draft picks, youth, and expiring contracts.
The Buyers:
| Portland Trailblazers: Portland is in dire need of a starting center. Diop, who the Blazers have starting at center currently, is just not cutting it. He is a very good backup on a playoff team, but a starter? Not so much. Portland posses a deep bench and could come up with a very good package & picks to land a center.
Possible Candidates: Andrew Bogut (MIN), Chris Kaman (NYK), Kendrick Perkins (DEN), Stromile Swift (LAC), & Rasheed Wallace (LAL)
| Golden State Warriors: In a not so strong middle of the Western Conference, the Warriors still have a solid shot to make a deep run in the playoffs with a few changes. In the East, id say they would be sellers, but its completely different out west. They currently sit a game behind the Rockets for the 8th seed. Now, the team has been playing much better since their 3 way trade, but a few tweaks could help. GSW should look to improve their big man situation. Charlie V is a very nice scorer, but he is a "Small PF" and cant defend the tough PF's out west. To top it off, the Warriors have Ben Wallace, a "small center" starting at the 5. It makes it hard to defend with a lack of size.
Possible Candidates: Chris Kaman (NYK), Udonis Haslem (LAL), Rasheed Wallace (LAL), & Chris Wilcox (HOU)
| Washington Wizards: They need a PG badly. They started out the season with Tinsley at the PG, but after a slow start, they switched to the veteran Brent Barry. Its helped a little bit, but if they want to make any serious noise, they will have to acquire a real PG. They have 3 similar players in Stephen Jackson, Gerald Wallace, & Mike Dunleavy they could move in a deal for a PG.
Possible Candidates: Stephon Marbury (OKC), Mike Conley (CHI), Mo Williams (ATL), Allen Iverson (LAL), Jarrett Jack (SAC), Raymond Felton (SAS), & Chris Duhon (PHI)
| Boston Celtics: Boston, just like Washington, needs a true PG. They have tired numerous combination's, but nothing seems to work perfectly. Either, the PG takes shots away from Kevin Durant or he doesn't do enough. The C's have not found the right balance. They tired Joe Johnson and he had a few good games their, but nothing that would make you think he could do it in the post season for a playoff team. They currently have Boris Diaw at the point. He does cause match up problems for the opposition due to the skill set he posses at 6'9'', but I personally do not think he can start at PG for a playoff team.
Possible Candidates: Stephon Marbury (OKC), Mike Conley (CHI), Mo Williams (ATL), Jamaal Tinsley (WAS), Jarrett Jack (SAC), & Raymond Felton (SAS)
The Sellers:
| Atlanta Hawks: Atlanta has a lot of pieces that are viewed valuable around the league, especially for playoff bound teams. It has been a good season in terms of where they were last year. Al Horford has made major strides, but the team is still a ways off. Look for the contenders to start asking the Hawks for some of their players. Mike Miller, Mo Williams, Leandro Barbosa, Kurt Thomas, & Ricky Davis could all help a potential playoff team and all could be on the move. All have fairly big contracts, so if the Hawks can unload some of them, they can be a major player in the upcoming FA.
| Los Angeles Lakers: The Lakers have been playing well as of late, but that should not fool anyone. The run can only last so long with a team that is not very deep. The bench has very few players that would be contributors on playoff contenders. When the likes of Danny Fortson and Sarunas Jasikevicius are your best bench players, you might have issues and the Lakers do. When the starters go out of the game, the game is lost right there. The Lakers might want to take this deadline and this upcoming off-season to take time and build up a solid 9 man rotation. Look for Rasheed Wallace, Udonis Haslem, & Allen Iverson to get a lot of attention as the deadline nears.
| New York Knicks: The Knicks have to build around their 2 young stars, Monta Ellis and Andre Iguodala. In a fairly big upcoming free agent class, the Knicks would do well if they could clear some cap. 1 player they could trade is Chris Kaman. If he were to be put on the block, he would draw a ton of interest as their are 3 or 4 playoff contenders that are in need of a center. Other players that could be on the block and would help a playoff team; Luther Head, Hakim Warrick, Jeff Foster, and Maurice Evans.
| Charlotte Bobcats: The Bobcats are in a tough situation. They are on the fringe of becoming a playoff contender, but I think they are still a year away. Derrick Rose and Andris Biedrins are the foundation of this team and are the only players that are untouchable, one would assume. With that said, the Cats have a lot of experienced guys that could help a winner. Players like Al Harrington, Cuttino Mobley, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, & Eddie Jones could all be on the move for expiring contracts & draft picks.
The Buyers:
| Portland Trailblazers: Portland is in dire need of a starting center. Diop, who the Blazers have starting at center currently, is just not cutting it. He is a very good backup on a playoff team, but a starter? Not so much. Portland posses a deep bench and could come up with a very good package & picks to land a center.
Possible Candidates: Andrew Bogut (MIN), Chris Kaman (NYK), Kendrick Perkins (DEN), Stromile Swift (LAC), & Rasheed Wallace (LAL)
| Golden State Warriors: In a not so strong middle of the Western Conference, the Warriors still have a solid shot to make a deep run in the playoffs with a few changes. In the East, id say they would be sellers, but its completely different out west. They currently sit a game behind the Rockets for the 8th seed. Now, the team has been playing much better since their 3 way trade, but a few tweaks could help. GSW should look to improve their big man situation. Charlie V is a very nice scorer, but he is a "Small PF" and cant defend the tough PF's out west. To top it off, the Warriors have Ben Wallace, a "small center" starting at the 5. It makes it hard to defend with a lack of size.
Possible Candidates: Chris Kaman (NYK), Udonis Haslem (LAL), Rasheed Wallace (LAL), & Chris Wilcox (HOU)
| Washington Wizards: They need a PG badly. They started out the season with Tinsley at the PG, but after a slow start, they switched to the veteran Brent Barry. Its helped a little bit, but if they want to make any serious noise, they will have to acquire a real PG. They have 3 similar players in Stephen Jackson, Gerald Wallace, & Mike Dunleavy they could move in a deal for a PG.
Possible Candidates: Stephon Marbury (OKC), Mike Conley (CHI), Mo Williams (ATL), Allen Iverson (LAL), Jarrett Jack (SAC), Raymond Felton (SAS), & Chris Duhon (PHI)
| Boston Celtics: Boston, just like Washington, needs a true PG. They have tired numerous combination's, but nothing seems to work perfectly. Either, the PG takes shots away from Kevin Durant or he doesn't do enough. The C's have not found the right balance. They tired Joe Johnson and he had a few good games their, but nothing that would make you think he could do it in the post season for a playoff team. They currently have Boris Diaw at the point. He does cause match up problems for the opposition due to the skill set he posses at 6'9'', but I personally do not think he can start at PG for a playoff team.
Possible Candidates: Stephon Marbury (OKC), Mike Conley (CHI), Mo Williams (ATL), Jamaal Tinsley (WAS), Jarrett Jack (SAC), & Raymond Felton (SAS)
The Sellers:
| Atlanta Hawks: Atlanta has a lot of pieces that are viewed valuable around the league, especially for playoff bound teams. It has been a good season in terms of where they were last year. Al Horford has made major strides, but the team is still a ways off. Look for the contenders to start asking the Hawks for some of their players. Mike Miller, Mo Williams, Leandro Barbosa, Kurt Thomas, & Ricky Davis could all help a potential playoff team and all could be on the move. All have fairly big contracts, so if the Hawks can unload some of them, they can be a major player in the upcoming FA.
| Los Angeles Lakers: The Lakers have been playing well as of late, but that should not fool anyone. The run can only last so long with a team that is not very deep. The bench has very few players that would be contributors on playoff contenders. When the likes of Danny Fortson and Sarunas Jasikevicius are your best bench players, you might have issues and the Lakers do. When the starters go out of the game, the game is lost right there. The Lakers might want to take this deadline and this upcoming off-season to take time and build up a solid 9 man rotation. Look for Rasheed Wallace, Udonis Haslem, & Allen Iverson to get a lot of attention as the deadline nears.
| New York Knicks: The Knicks have to build around their 2 young stars, Monta Ellis and Andre Iguodala. In a fairly big upcoming free agent class, the Knicks would do well if they could clear some cap. 1 player they could trade is Chris Kaman. If he were to be put on the block, he would draw a ton of interest as their are 3 or 4 playoff contenders that are in need of a center. Other players that could be on the block and would help a playoff team; Luther Head, Hakim Warrick, Jeff Foster, and Maurice Evans.
| Charlotte Bobcats: The Bobcats are in a tough situation. They are on the fringe of becoming a playoff contender, but I think they are still a year away. Derrick Rose and Andris Biedrins are the foundation of this team and are the only players that are untouchable, one would assume. With that said, the Cats have a lot of experienced guys that could help a winner. Players like Al Harrington, Cuttino Mobley, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, & Eddie Jones could all be on the move for expiring contracts & draft picks.