Mike Lowry wrote: Mon Jun 23, 2025 12:03 am
Heading towards the deadline, what trades make sense to you?
Who should be buying?
Who should be selling?
Who should be moving?
In my head, there are 5 playoff locks in the East (Bucks, Bullets, Nets, Bulls, Cavaliers) and five in the West (Kings, Jazz, Warriors, Lakers, Blazers). There are two "borderline" teams in the West (Clippers, Sonics) because of how tough the conference is. There are several Eastern teams vying for the #6 spot but none of them is going to be able to make a deep run.
So trades that make sense to me are, generally, teams named above "buying" and teams not named above "selling," especially if you've got a 30+ year old on an expiring contract; if that player isn't leading you to the playoffs now, you don't have time to build around him. However, I think the problem with that is that teams gunning for a title know that player isn't a long-term solution either and aren't willing to give up a ton for that player, so perhaps a better candidate to sell would be a star player signed to a longer contract (Dan Roundfield of the Hawks comes to mind).
As far as proposing a legal trade, I'm going to look at the Bulls, who have quite a bit of cap space (just over half a mill), a ton of picks, some highly-paid, redundant wings, and clearly-defined "want" - they want another big. The 76ers have a good big man that fits right into that half-mill salary slot in Jack Sikma; I can see the 76ers asking for a couple of future-facing assets in return; let's say Craig Hodges and a couple of first-round draft picks for Sikma. The 76ers get younger and don't have to pay Jack while the Bulls get their desired boost in front-court depth.