NBA Notebook: Four teams that should be active during trade season

Trade season got going last week in the NBA, where we covered the Celtics’ options as well as a number of potential sellers. What teams around the league should be active in the coming weeks beyond a number of clear-cut lottery teams? I went through some franchises that should be active in the market ahead of the deadline in the first week of February.

Milwaukee: How exactly does a team on pace to win 70 games need to make a trade? It all comes down to the postseason. A look at Milwaukee’s roster shows a ton of depth across the board but lacks some firepower behind Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton for the big stage. Eric Bledsoe has been a shell of himself in the postseason for two straight years now and that can not be expected to improve as he moves into his 30s. Elsewhere there is a lot of veteran talent that can’t be counted on as game-changers in the course of a seven-game series (Brook Lopez, Wesley Matthews, Robin Lopez, Kyle Korver). The Bucks have ammo to add to this group with the Pacers’ first-round pick and some expendable salary to move with some talent that isn’t even in the rotation (DJ Wilson, Dragan Bender) or could be good for matching salary (Ersan Ilyasova).

They never really found a true weapon to replace Malcolm Brogdon this offseason after electing to trade the point guard to Indiana and that is a hole that could come back to bite the franchise in the spring. With the main priority now needing to be making a deep enough run in the playoffs to get a commitment from Giannis Antetokounmpo over the long-term with an extension offer waiting this summer, the Bucks need to show their star a willingness to maximize their resources on that front. That includes spending some money (i.e. going into the luxury tax for an upgrade) and using assets acquired in the Brogdon trade to help replace his impact. Failing to do either of those things and coming up short in the postseason will turn things into a stressful summer for the franchise.

Philadelphia: This was one of the more predictable storylines of this regular season after an eventful offseason in the city of Brotherly Love. On paper, the Sixers start does not look that bad (21-10, one game out of second place in the East). However, a league-high 17 home games combined with an easy schedule over the opening two months are reflective of a team with a flaw that can be exposed on many nights on the offensive end. The addition of Al Horford here for big money this offseason was a big boost to the frontcourt but did not replace the shot creation needed following the departure of Jimmy Butler.

Instead, the Sixers have been left with a league-average offense through 30 games that features some subpar 3-point shooters among their high volume guys (Tobias Harris, Joel Embiid, Horford). There simply isn’t enough reliable shooting to spread the floor when Philly’s five best players are on the floor and Ben Simmons (2-of-5 from 3-point range on the year) isn’t trying to get shots up to help solve that issue. Over the long term, it’s safe to wonder whether a big like Embiid and a non-shooter such as Simmons are good long-term fits for each other and that could lead to a blockbuster deal this offseason involving Simmons while he still has strong value at age 24. For now GM Elton Brand needs to make a deal to find more perimeter shooting to mix into this bunch, otherwise the Sixers will be reliant on the spot-up shooting of guys like Horford/Harris, which doesn’t seem to be a good formula to get to the Finals.

Oklahoma City: The Thunder have been a pleasant surprise over the first two months of the season out west despite an offseason overhaul. They currently sit in the seventh seed out West with a treasure chest of future draft picks at their disposal following the bounties received for Russell Westbrook, Paul George and taking on Chris Paul's contract. The huge price tag attached to Paul for the next few seasons (nearly $120 million over three years) makes him a long shot to be dealt in the present. However, there are a number of veteran players on this roster right now that are at the peak of their trade value and are not part of OKC’s long-term plans. Danilo Gallinari should provide a valuable boost to any contender with his outside shooting (39.5 percent on seven attempts per game). His $22 million expiring contract should be able to fetch a first-round pick at least if the Thunder are willing to take back some less than appealing deals. Dennis Schroder’s long-term deal suddenly looks movable as he’s playing his best basketball in years, averaging 17.8 points per game while shooting a career-high 46.8 percent from the field. With just one year remaining on that deal, it’s very conceivable that some team would be willing to give back some value for the 28-year-old.

For now, GM Sam Presti has a building block in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander but not much more beyond that in terms of long-term pieces. While there will be plenty of draft picks upcoming, Presti should take a page out of Danny Ainge’s playbook in the coming weeks and try to build up the asset chest in order to move up in this year’s draft or snag a young piece that could become available in trade. Standing pat and sticking in the middle with this group only to get blown out in the first round in the West doesn’t seem like a scenario that will help the franchise much in the present or future.

San Antonio: The Spurs have lost plenty of front office personnel over the last decade and that drain of brain power appears to be coming back to bite them finally. They gave away Davis Bertrans who is having a career-year in order to sign Marcus Morris (who walked away from a deal). They signed DeMarre Carroll, who has already fallen out of the rotation. Trey Lyles has been underwhelming. LaMarcus Aldridge and DeMar DeRozan are trending in the wrong direction. For an 11-17 team, there simply isn’t much to get excited about here for the short or long-term. They have been bad on both ends of the floor and given their good health so far, there doesn’t seem to be any indicator right now that they can turn this ship around.

A subpar bottom of the Western Conference has kept them just two games out of a playoff spot for the time being but a shakeup would appear to be in the team’s best interest here with the pieces not seeming to fit this time around. Aldridge or DeRozan could be shopped and the same goes for veteran forward Rudy Gay. There are also plenty of young cheap bench pieces here that could fetch a first-round pick from a contender looking for a cost-efficient addition. Greg Popovich is not going to be looking to tank at this stage of his career but he’s better off starting to plan for the 2020-21 season at this point since it’s hard to see him bringing too much of this core back.

Other NBA News and Notes

—John Collins will be back from his 25-game PED suspension on Monday for the Hawks. Unfortunately for him, Atlanta’s season is essentially over already after a 4-21 stretch with him sidelined.
— Potential No. 1 pick James Wiseman elected to leave Memphis in the midst of a 12-game suspension for violating NCAA recruiting rules. He will train on his own for the next few months but hard to see his stock rising much with no good ways to evaluate him against live-action for scouts.
— The Raptors will be without three key pieces for two matchups with the Celtics this week (Christmas, 12/28) as Pascal Siakam, Marc Gasol and Norm Powell have all been ruled out indefinitely.
—Kyrie Irving doesn’t appear to be any closer to returning just yet as his absence from a shoulder impingement has extended to the two-month mark. Spencer Dinwiddie has looked like an All-Star in his absence, getting Brooklyn back above the .500 mark.
—A fascinating proposal from the NBA for their midseason tournament that would reward players with a $1 million bonus for winning the whole thing. That type of change may not impact stars’ motivation factors but it’s enough cash for the bench players I bet to get the big names to give it their all for the benefit of their teammates.