NBA Trade Rumors: One ideal, realistic deadline target for every contender

NBA Trade Rumors: Exploring one ideal and realistic trade deadline target for every contender in the NBA.

The 2023 NBA Trade Deadline is Thursday, February 9. We’re less than a month away from one of the bigger transactional days in professional sports. It’s a time when contenders will look to take another step forward to solidify their chances of winning a championship and also a time when some teams will look to sell off some of their veteran assets ahead of the offseason.

It’s easy to see why that may come off as a bit chaotic. There are a ton of moving parts and is generally one of the more exciting times in the NBA calendar.

Which contenders will make a move at the NBA Trade Deadline?

It’s tough to really gauge who the contenders are at this point in the season, but we settled with 11. I believe there are five teams that are equipped to win a championship right now and six teams that, if they make the right move at the trade deadline, could emerge as a serious contenders during the second half of the season.

We begin with a team that has been one of the biggest surprises in the league, certainly in the Western Conference.