Our writers discuss which team should make a trade before Thursday’s deadline.
Happy trade deadline day! A few trades have already gone down, with potential blockbuster moves rumored. But of the lottery teams, which one needs to make a trade the most. This question was posed to TLM’s writers, and as you’ll see, their answers vary:
Daniel Coughlin – Philadelphia 76ers
Maybe my trade proposal doesn’t suit you, but we all know that some combination of Okafor, Embiid, and Noel could bring back more established talent which will be their next step in progress toward being a viable free agency destination.
Ryan Weinkauf – Sacramento Kings
The Kings simply need to do something. The smart move would be to trade off some of their assets for rebuilding pieces, but if they have a desire for adding immediate contributors instead, I would also support that decision as the status quo is not working. The team’s record has plummeted recently, and the mess with the employment status of George Karl showed the dysfunction in the front office. I don’t think there is a trade out there for them that would move significantly move the needle, besides the very unlikely trade of Boogie Cousins, but if there isn’t a shakeup in the front office there needs to be one on the court.
Zach Reynolds – Brooklyn Nets
The Nets’ Czar Mikhail Prokhorov recently wrote an open letter to the public on Yahoo Sports’ The Vertical, where he detailed what he has learned over his first six years as an NBA owner. Without a GM in place, Prokhorov needs to give the go-ahead on rebuilding deals centered around Brook Lopez and Thaddeus Young. No player on the roster should be untouchable, as the Nets need to salvage some future assets and add some young prospects to start the rebuild. Without a first round pick coming this year or 2018, and swapping backwards with the Celtics (most likely) in 2017, it is imperative that the team starts to plan ahead now.
Gabriel Allen – Phoenix Suns
Josh Cornelissen – New Orleans Pelicans
They currently sit 6.5 games out of the playoffs, and their roster is littered with injury-prone veterans and in dire need of a talent infusion. If they are locked into making a playoff push, they should look to upgrade the roster in some way. Horford, Howard, Markieff Morris – I’m not sure who they can realistically add, but the current team is not going to magically get healthy enough to catch Utah or Portland.
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