TAMPA, FLORIDA – APRIL 05: Gary Trent Jr. #33 of the Toronto Raptors celebrates with teammates. … [+]
The NBA trade deadline is February 9th, which is right around the corner. This piece examines four teams that should be sellers next week.
Click this link to find out who should be a buyer.
Toronto Raptors
There is so much smoke surrounding the Raptors, that right now it seems impossible that the trade deadline will pass without a trade on their side.
Fred VanVliet could leave after this season. So Gary Trent Jr. OG Anunoby doesn’t seem to want to be there, and Pascal was in the middle of a career year and didn’t have as much trade value as he does now.
Sell sell, sell, sell.
Anunoby brings back several unexpected first-round picks and a big return of young players. Something in the same ballpark. Trent and VanVleet will be smaller, but the latter could still take someone out of the first round, contract situation aside.
Hang on to Scotty Barnes, and start a full rebuild similar to how the Utah Jazz traded away both Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert.
While Barnes isn’t a superstar, there’s no doubt he’s a top-tier starter off the line, and maybe even more so when it comes to himself. You don’t just need to build with it. At 21 years old, he has plenty of time to jump.
Chicago Bulls
Look, let’s be honest. The bulls aren’t going anywhere. Lonzo Ball is not coming back this year, and DeMar DeRozan is entering the final year of his contract this summer.
It’s time to get real, and use this list again. Whether that includes hanging on to Zach LaVine remains to be determined, but Chicago needs to focus on getting young.
Fortunately, they have two very attractive trades in DeRozan and Alex Caruso, both of whom should be able to bring in a lot of first-round picks (although Caruso’s status is protected).
Like Nikola Vucevic, who is having one of the best seasons of his career, it would be worth extending him, if only to turn it into a more attractive trade. With Vucevic expiring at the end of this season, adding years to his contract would make it easier for teams to trade him in the summer.
If the Bulls walk away from DeRozan and Caruso, they could also try to get something for Javonte Green, who is due to expire after this year.
As for Lavin, never say never. If an offer comes in to help Chicago fill their vacant possession, it’s worth a listen.
Detroit Pistons
This is not as controversial as the Bulls or the Raptors. The Pistons are clearly bad, and clearly aiming for a high lottery pick. But even so, as they get deeper into their rebuilding process, they have pieces to sell that should give more assets.
Their former forward Bojan Bogdanovic averages over 21 points per game and is highly sought after by contending teams. The Pistons hope to squeeze a first-round pick with as little protection as possible from someone looking to make a roster overhaul before the deadline.
Bogodanovich isn’t the only veteran the Pistons have to offer.
Alec Burks, a veteran wing, is hitting 45% of his three-pointers this season, and should be an offensive upgrade for any backcourt in the league. Burks has a team option worth nearly $10.5 million for next season, which could provide trade partner opportunities during the offseason.
Pistons center Nerlens Noel is looking to move, but isn’t expected to bring much in a trade. Regardless, the Pistons should be open to several offers in the coming week.
Dallas Mavericks
On the surface, this seems illogical. After all, Luka Doncic always makes the playoffs and the Mavericks made the Western Conference Finals last season. Why are you selling?
Simply put, the Mavericks have failed to build an adequate team around Doncic, and now is the time to take a step forward in order to take more steps in the coming years.
That means getting rid of Reggie Bullock and Dwight Powell and losing Maxi Kleber and Tim Hardaway Jr. Calling on Futures replaces them with Jaden Hardy and Josh Green, both of whom should get more roles to watch. The Mavericks could strike gold with some deep potential young players.
The problem, of course, is that Dallas is unlikely to get anything significant in return for the aforementioned players on the trade market. Rather, it is a pay game. Take as many players off the roster as aren’t worth their contracts, so the Mavs can start filling out the roster in a different way, right around Doncic.
Before they can take that route, Dallas will need to buy out their Slovenian star, and needless to say, that’s the biggest challenge of all.
All statistics are through NBA.com, PBPs, Clean the glass Or Basketball-Reference. All through salary information Spotter. All opportunities are courtesy FanDuel sports book.