by After taking stock of the trade situation in the Eastern Conference, we now turn our attention to the West as teams prepare for the February 6 trade deadline. Next up is the Northwest Division.
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Denver Nuggets
Status: Competitive
Approach: Open it to shuffle the deck of cards
We all know that Nikola Jokić is the best player in the world – and if you don’t know, now might be a good time to get up to speed.
But a great player doesn’t automatically make him a champion, especially if the team he plays for tends not to be proactive when it comes to adding outside talent to the roster.
Now, the Nuggets have done a pretty good job of developing their own talent, which has merit, but they are a far cry from the team that won the 2023 championship.
Luckily, they seem to be aware of this and are reportedly looking to Chicago’s Zach LaVine — which is, frankly, a great idea — to bolster their offense and potentially help mitigate the dip in their net rating if Jokić sits.
The Nuggets can’t afford not to optimize Jokić’s prime, even if this year’s “one step back, two steps forward” plan isn’t necessarily a bad one. Jokić is playing the best ball of his career and challenging the greats for one of the best seasons in history.
The Nuggets need to embrace Jokić’s role and do everything in their power to get him as much help as possible.
Trade Probability: Large
Minnesota Timberwolves
Status: Competitive
Approach: Flexible
Despite impressive, strong postseason success in last season’s NBA playoffs, the Wolves made drastic changes to their roster, sending Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks as part of a deal for Julius Randle, who could become an unrestricted free agent next summer.
Naz Reid, last season’s Sixth Man of the Year, is also eligible to become a free agent, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker is already in the final year of his contract.
This is all a long-winded way of saying that changes could happen this summer instead of that deadline if Wolves want to take this slowly.
If they don’t do that and are willing to give up some of the players mentioned above to get some quality in return, that would be a totally smart strategy too.
In many ways, this team can act as both a seller and a buyer, depending on what information they have about the retention of some of their own players. This kind of flexibility is an advantage in itself.
Trade Probability: Respectable
Oklahoma City Thunder
Status: Competitors
Approach: Buyer
There’s no reason to play the usual “OKC is still young and has a lot of time” card. That may be true, but when you’re already this good and have such an arsenal of assets, there’s no time to waste.
The Thunder need shooting, a lot of it, and this date is the best time to do it. Lu Dort’s $16.5 million deal is a strong card, as are the approximately nine billion draft selections the team has accumulated in recent years.
Exactly who the Thunder should choose is basically up to them, as long as they can come up with the money to attend. The above draft picks will help balance the values, meaning the Thunder can sign a whole host of big-name players if they so choose.
It would be interesting to see Thunder Target Bulls guard Coby White, who is 6’3″ tall and can play on and off the ball. However, Chicago may not want to engage in trade talks after being ripped off in the Alex Caruso-Josh Giddey trade over the summer.
Anfernee Simons of the Portland Trail Blazers is another interesting name, and the Thunder may even be able to get him at a reduced price considering he’s struggled this year.
Whoever the Thunder call, it’s time to pull the trigger and give it their all this season.
Trade Probability: Large
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Portland Trail Blazers
Status: reconstruction
Approach: Sell, sell, sell!
There is no reason to beat around the bush. The Blazers aren’t going anywhere and they have four centers, most of whom will likely be on other rosters in 12 months.
Robert Williams is a prime candidate for relocation. Although injury-prone, he is an athletic, defensive-minded center with strong playmaking abilities who would fit well on at least a handful of teams around the league.
Should a good offer come in for Deandre Ayton, Portland should look to clear the way for rookie Donovan Clingan.
It’s also time to leave Jerami Grant. He’s good, but he’s approaching 31. There’s no point in keeping him on a team that’s still missing a clear franchise player.
These Blazers should be entering the trade deadline, and any outcome that results in them doing nothing would be a failure.
It’s time to get leaner, people.
Trade Probability: Significant
Utah Jazz
Status: Pseudo-reconstruction
Approach: Salesperson
The Jazz aren’t all that different from Portland in the sense that they, too, have players on their roster that make no sense to bring with them into the summer.
Jordan Clarkson is 32 and still inefficient. Next year he will receive another $14.2 million. So if the Jazz can get him off the books due to an expiring contract, they should take him on and never look back.
It’s also about Collin Sexton, a strong, athletic and efficient scorer with a decent contract that the Jazz can get value from. They don’t need to turn away from him now, especially if they end up moving Clarkson, but he’s a card they can play if an interesting situation arises.
John Collins is having a strong season and it would be interesting to see how Utah plays this one. The 6-10 forward has a player option worth $26.5 million for next season, and given his improved play, there’s a chance he declines that option in hopes of securing money long-term. Does this make Utah more likely to move him now to get ahead of this situation, or are they interested in perhaps offering Collins an extension in hopes of trading him down the road while he’s locked into a contract that doesn’t require him to leave justified? Risk?
Lauri Markkanen will likely feature in the news here and there, but keep in mind that he cannot be traded this season due to the timing of his contract renegotiation and extension. No Markkanen transfer can happen before the Jazz finish their season, and even if such a scenario were to occur, it will likely be a late summer move. The Finn will stay, at least for a while.
Trade Probability: Gigantic
