On February 11, Beijing time, the trading deadline for the 2021-22 season, when this day comes, the trading door of this season will be officially closed.
With a trade deadline of seven days to go, this is the last chance for the powers to strengthen through trades this season. All previous trade rumours about this season will be verified this week, whether it is fiction or reality, the answer will be revealed.
The 2021-22 season has completed the deal
The Cavaliers, Lakers and Knicks traded, the Cavaliers got Rondo, the Lakers got the signing rights of Luis Rabaili, and the Knicks got the signing rights of Valentine, Brad Newley and Wang Zhelin.
The Jazz sent Orney to the Thunder with a second-round pick in 2028, saving wages while freeing up a roster.
The Hawks sent Redish, Solomon Hill and the 2025 second-round pick (from the Nets) to the Knicks in exchange for Knox's 2022 protected first-round pick (from the Hornets).
The Nuggets acquired Forbes from the Spurs through a three-team trade.
So far this season, the number of transactions has been small, and there has been no explosion in quality, mainly because the epidemic has disrupted the plans of the teams, and the lineup is not the norm, so it is difficult to give a comprehensive assessment, and it is inevitable to hesitate to wait and see in the transaction. At the same time, the management of each team was busy supplementing the lineup with short-term signings, which also affected the progress of the transaction.
However, because the 2022 offseason free agent market is full of unknowns, such as whether Harden, Irving, and Beal will jump out of their contracts, if they jump out of whether to prioritize the renewal of contracts with current teams, it is difficult to predict, and most teams in the league lack the salary space to sign big stars, so instead of hoping for the summer player market, it is better to make deals within their capabilities in the middle of the season to achieve the operational goals of the lineup.
As the market closes into the countdown to the final week, the market heat will increase until the final transaction.
Those trading rumors
There must be trade rumors before the trade deadline, the rumors may not come true, many are just a kind of temptation, but when a player becomes the protagonist of the rumors, it means that he is in the pending stage, whether he will change the court depends on what kind of offer the team receives.
Eastern team
Nets: Millsap is selling, and the Nets hope to get a second-round pick, or an outside shooter. The Nets don't exclude trades for Joe Harris and Clarkston, but only if they can get all-Star or starters. In addition, the Nets are interested in the Kings' Tristan Thompson.
Bucks: Di Vincenzo sparked a number of teams' interest in trading, and the Bucks sent him away on the premise of getting quality young players or high-level immediate combat power.
76ers: Interested in exchanging Ben Simmons for Bill, but didn't want to add Sable or Maxi to the deal.
Cavaliers: As a more active buyer in the market, the Cavaliers are interested in the Rockets' Eric Gordon and Pacers' LeVert, but the Cavaliers are reluctant to use the first-round pick as a bargaining chip, and they are more inclined to pay the price of two second-round picks.
Raptors: Dragic is a trade target of interest to several teams and he is likely to be sent to his new club before the trade deadline.
Hawks: The Hawks sent John Collins for the asking price for a first-round pick + starting level player.
Knicks: Kemba Walker, Fournier, Burkes and Noel are all in the trading market.
Wizards: Bill is willing to stay at wizards, he did not apply for a trade, but did not object to being traded. The Wizards don't have absolute non-selling items at the moment, and they don't refuse to rebuild completely.
Pacers: Like the Wizards, there are no non-selling items, and both Sabonis Jr. and Miles Turner can trade for multiple first-round picks, and LeVert's asking price is one first-round pick.
Pistons: There is no consensus within the Pistons on whether to trade Jerami Grant, and if they do, the hope is two first-round picks or one first-round pick + a quality young player.
Western teams
Lakers: Tucker + Nann's quotation market is cold, especially Tucker's current trading value is very low, and the trading operability of Westbrook is very low. The Lakers are also one of Tristan Thompson's intended buyers.
Suns: The team's reinforcement focus is on the flanks, with Eric Gordon being their target.
Jazz: Ingles was reimbursed for the season with a knee injury, and the Jazz focused the trade on the wing signings, with Covington, Harrison Barnes and Okogie being the targets they were considering.
Clippers: Ibaka, Batum, Zubac, Morris, Bledsoe, all traded, and the Clippers want a point guard in their operations.
Kings: The whole team is nothing more than a sale, Fox and Harrison Barnes can be traded, and the return is at least one first-round pick.
Trail Blazers: McCollum has been in the team's recent trade discussions.
Timberwolves: The team is exploring the possibility of a trade between Malik Beasley and Beverley.
Pelicans: Hayes and Nikiel-Alexander-Walker can trade. Meanwhile, the Pelicans are interested in Eric Gordon, Covington, harrison Barnes.
Rockets: Open to trade Eric Gordon, Wood, Theis, Augustine. The Rockets received some offers for The Wall deals, but the offers were not heartwarming because of Wall's contract.
How many rumors will come true?
The following week will be a period of continuous heating up of trading rumors, reaching a boiling stage, and the suspense will remain until the closing date. At last season's trade deadline, there were two relatively large operations, the Nuggets got Aaron Gordon and the Bulls exchanged Vucevic.
In the current deal rumors, Simmons is undoubtedly in the spotlight, he has been fined more than $19 million by the 76ers this season, lost such a large amount of money, still refused to play for the 76ers, the probability of the two sides repairing the rift is very low, and the question now is when to break up.
The 76ers can leave Simmons to the offseason to operate, such as replacing Harden or Lillard, but in the past six months, there is great uncertainty, and it is not good for the atmosphere in the team to keep such an "unhappy" who does not play games or communicate with teammates. Embiid played his peak season, and if the 76ers wasted the year of "The Great" because of Simmons, it is somewhat unreasonable.
The 76ers are likely to send Simmons away before the trade deadline, with the cap on Beale. Beal didn't renew his contract early, he could jump out of his contract this summer, and if the Wizards don't have the confidence to keep Beal, the likelihood of an early trade will increase dramatically. Beal could provide fire support for Embiid, and if the Wizards sent Bill away meant a complete rebuild, Simmons could serve as the cornerstone of the team. "West Emperor" shooting is not good, but the basket, passing and defense are very good, and only 25 years old, who can say that he must not be able to practice shooting?
The teams that could see a big sale before the trade deadline are, in addition to the Wizards, the Blazers and kings. Lillard underwent abdominal surgery that could result in season reimbursement. The Blazers' current roster has reached its limits, maybe it's time to hoard future-oriented team building resources, they don't plan to send Lillard away, but others such as McCollum can move, especially if they can get draft picks.
The Blazers' 2022 first-round picks can stay in their hands if they are in the top fourteen, and if they are outside the lotto zone, they have to give them to the Bulls. This could also give the Blazers "promotional" momentum, leaving a first-round pick in exchange for more draft picks, starting over around Lillard, who is healthy and reinstated, and if Lillard is reluctant to participate in a new round of reconstruction, there will be a heavier operation in the offseason.
The kings last made the playoffs, and their current top scorer, Fox, was just 9 years old. After 2006, the Kings were out of touch with the playoffs, and it was reasonable to say that the Kings should have stored a lot of resources to build the team, but it was strange that they had been in a mess for almost 16 years, and they still had not found a core player who could bring the team to the playoffs.
The Kings' current core lineup, Fox, Barnes, Hield and Halliburton, all have some combat strength, but they are not the cornerstone level that can bring qualitative changes to the team, as evidenced by the 19-34 record. The Suns' success in the last two seasons can inspire the Kings, you first have to get good enough young players through the draft, and then exchange for the veterans who have brought the whole team together. The Kings' 2022-2028 first-round picks are in their own hands, and if they can convert the player assets in their hands into more draft picks, maybe there will be a chance to turn the record around in the future.
The Pacers were once rumored to be clearing the position, but now the situation is somewhat complicated, the foot injury has caused Turner's trading value to fall to a low point, and the Pacers originally wanted to use Turner for multiple first-round picks, at least for now, which is not realistic. Turner's contract ends in 2023, and the Pacers can wait until the offseason to put healthy Turner on the shelves again and fight for the gains they want.
The situation is even more uncertain for Little Sabonis, the Pacers may not send him away, and if they choose to leave one person between Sah and Turner, the Pacers tend to leave Him.
Grant is another "big fish" in the trading market, and the Lakers are eager to get him, but the Pistons are asking for a high price, two first-round picks or a first-round pick with a quality young player. In addition to the Lakers, there are other teams that have asked the Pistons about the trade with Grant, but the offers have not met the Pistons' requirements.
The Pistons are in no hurry now because Grant has a one-year contract left at the end of the season and will keep Grant until the offseason to find an opportunity unless a plan comes up that satisfies the Pistons.
In this matter of trading, high-traffic teams are hot spots, and the situation of the three major traffic Warriors, Nets and Lakers in the league today is different. The Warriors are ready only to owe Wiseman a comeback to upgrade the inside line, even if Wiseman has not yet a relatively clear return to the game schedule, the Warriors will not easily disrupt the lineup they have formed a tacit understanding, unless there is a deal that can bring about the possibility of improving the championship, but this kind of trade usually has to take the draft pick, the Warriors 2022 and 2023 first-round signings are in hand, but considering their records, the pick will not be high, the trade attraction is limited, and the Warriors also have future-oriented considerations, and the draft picks will not be spent casually.
The Nets lost and lost after Durant was injured, the Eastern Conference ranking has fallen to sixth after 6 consecutive games, it seems necessary to trade, but the Nets have no attractive trading resources, they have overdrafted the future draft picks in Harden's trade, the first round of signings in 2022, 2024 and 2026 have been given to the Rockets, the Rockets also have the right to exchange first-round picks in 2023, 2025 and 2027, the Nets are currently determined to have the first round of signing in 2028, which is too much to look forward to the future. The Nets also have two trade exceptions worth $11.5 million and $6.3 million, respectively, which, if used, would add a significant sum to the luxury tax. The Nets currently have a luxury tax of 110 million, and if they used the 6.3 million exception, the luxury tax would have increased to 142 million.
The fundamental problem with the Nets is that they are the team that plays the giant planet, the basic game of this system is Durant, and when Adu recovers and returns, the big three are reunited, even if Irving still only plays away, the Nets are also a hot candidate for the Eastern Conference championship. Instead of trading, wait for the March 1 layoffs playoff qualification deadline to see if there is a suitable buyout player to pick up the leak.
The Lakers' situation is the most complicated, the reality of being in the play-off area makes them feel a sense of trade urgency, but they are really shy, Tucker + Nunn + 2027 first round signing all the league, but did not get a positive response. Tucker's trade value has plummeted compared to a year ago, Nunn has not yet played this season, and the 2027 first-round pick may be a lotto pick, but five years later it is a bit far away.
Given Westbrook's contract status and the performance of the sometimes "happy comedians" this season, it is basically impossible to send him away unless the Lakers are willing to bundle up the 2027 first-round pick. The Lakers spent so many resources in the offseason to get Wei Shao, and now they have to take a first-round signing to send it out, which is simply a slap in the face of management, rather than this, it is better to wait until the offseason, when the Wei Shao contract is only one year left, and the operability is greater.
The Lakers have exhausted high-quality young players and recent first-round picks in the deal between Thick Brow and Westbrook. The Lakers may deal with Jordan Jr. or Bazemore's contracts and reduce some luxury tax pressure, but the hope of a big deal is very slim, or it is more realistic to wait for a buyout of players.
The Lakers may not necessarily need a drastic lineup adjustment, and the thick eyebrow brother will play better and better after his comeback, and there is a vague state of "bubble eyebrows". James's knee injury From the current news revealed by the team, the problem is not very big, and the old Zhan played the kind of heroism in 2018 before the injury, which was quite explosive.
Wei Shao forced out the 2018 version of Lao Zhan and the 2020 version of thick eyebrows, which can also be regarded as a "windfall". If James can continue the level before the injury after his comeback, and the thick eyebrows continue to maintain the current play, the Lakers are really unfathomable.
Think about it optimistically, if you don't trade, don't trade.