Honorable Mentions
Philadelphia 76ers
Any mention of the trade deadline warrants a discussion of the Philadelphia 76ers for obvious reasons. They are clearly not a championship-caliber team without Ben Simmons. Trading the perennial all-star could get Joel Embiid the co-star he needs to reach the promised land.
Memphis Grizzlies
The Memphis Grizzlies have been one of the biggest surprises of the season thus far. Almost halfway through the season, Memphis is the fourth seed in the West with an impressive record of 25-14, only three games back of the third-seeded Utah Jazz and a comfortable four and a half game lead over the fifth-seeded Dallas Mavericks.
The Grizzlies front office has done a masterful job putting together this team and developing their young prospects. The logical thing to do is to keep doing what they’ve been doing: develop their players and bring in guys that fit their style. Well, the Grizzlies shouldn’t settle. They should go all out to try and win a championship this year.
Grizzlies winning the championship? That sounds crazy I know, but through the NBA’s 75-year history, it has taught us that a team’s window ends up being a lot smaller than originally anticipated. Ja has been unbelievable so far this season and deserves all-NBA consideration, but with his style of play, we don’t know if he will stay healthy down the line. The same goes with Jaren Jackson Jr who has struggled with injuries his entire career.
If you’re Memphis, why not look into upgrading out on the perimeter with a wing like Jerami Grant that can provide instant offense and lockdown defense and would fit right in with Memphis’ blue-collar style. Or even going after Ben Simmons. Simmons could play an amped-up version of what Draymond Green does for the Warriors. Could u imagine how scary a Morant and Simmons pick and roll would be for opposing defense?
The Grizzlies certainly don’t need to make a move. Finishing in the top four in the West and earning home court in the first round would be deemed a successful season by most for Memphis. All I’m saying is, why not go for it all?
Chicago Bulls
The Bulls, even more so than the Grizzlies, don’t need to do anything at the trade deadline. Currently, Chicago is the one seed in the east with a record of 25-10. DeMar DeRozan is playing at an MVP level and Zach Lavine has blossomed into one of the best scorers in the league. Chicago is a legitimate title contender even if they don’t do anything at the trade deadline. Which very well might be the right move.
When things are going so well, it’s hard to want to change things up with a trade. So, it’s perfectly understandable that Chicago comes out of the trade deadline with the same roster they had going into it. But, one area they could upgrade at that would be crucial in the playoffs is a perimeter defender capable of guarding the likes of Kevin Durant and Giannis Anteokounmpo.
Jerami Grant would be a perfect fit on this Bulls team and could be the piece that puts them over the top.
Chicago, at the very least, should look into tweaking their roster before the deadline, so they are better suited to make a deep playoff run.