NBA Trade Rumors: As the NBA Trade Deadline draws near, we predict two surprising buyers and two shocking sellers that will arise over the next few weeks.
The NBA Trade Deadline is approaching. We have already seen some big moves, mainly coming from Toronto, in the form of OG Anunoby and Pascal Siakam trades. I guarantee these will not be the only moves made at the deadline.
The midway point in the season is here and is a great time to do some self-reflection and evaluate where each team currently stands. This season is showing as much parity in the league as ever. There are big market teams underperforming and small market teams exceeding all expectations.
The deadline provides an out for those teams who aren't Championship ready and provides an opportunity, for those who are playoff-ready, to prey on the underperforming teams. As noted above, there is a fair amount of parity in the league this season. This means that there will be some surprise buyers and some surprise sellers this February 8th.
Let's take a look at two surprise buyers and two surprise sellers at the deadline this season.
Brooklyn Nets: Surprise buyers
The Brooklyn Nets have seemingly gone with the Toronto Raptors' approach in roster construction, "sign every forward 6-foot-4 - 6-foot-10 that we can and put them in the lineup." It has not worked out for the Raptors, but it can for the Nets.
The Nets are seven games under .500 at 16-24 and sit in 11th place in the Eastern Conference. Neither of these numbers is great, and would probably suggest the Nets should sell come deadline time. I disagree with that notion. The Nets have a good core with Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, and Nic Claxton. They also have good role players in Dorian Finney-Smith and Royce O'Neale.
The Nets do not have a superstar, but they do have a superstar salary to match any incoming stud along with a lot of draft assets acquired from the Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant and James Harden trades.
Ben Simmons is owed $37.8M this year and $40M next. This means that he is essentially an expiring deal. Expiring salaries are becoming bigger assets in today's NBA, which makes Simmons' short-term money easier to swallow. The Nets also have seven trade exceptions in their arsenal, which will allow them to easily acquire a player, or multiple players without having to match salary for salary.
All of this is to say that the Nets can go all in if they so choose. I believe they should. There are a ton of big names still floating out there and many more to be unearthed. Dejounte Murray, Keldon Johnson, and Terry Rozier are just a few names the Nets could target. They realistically have the means to target multiple of these players.
The Nets are 6.5 games out of the playoffs. Making a big move or two could put this team right back into the playoff and the Championship hunt.