2025 Eastern Conference Buyers and Sellers at the Trade Deadline

Keith Smith
Keith Smith, Resident NBA ExpertJanuary 27, 2025
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#nba #nba trade deadline #eastern conference #buyers #sellers
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We’re just over a week out from the NBA trade deadline on February 6. Like the past couple of seasons, NBA teams are falling into defined tiers this year. However, those tiers are a little different from the traditional ones of title contender, playoff team and tanking team.

What the Play-In Tournament has done is create a handful of different races. There are a handful of teams in each conference that are still competing for the top seed. But from there, we have a couple of other races to watch. Teams compete for homecourt advantage, but are also competing to simply be in the top-six in their conference to snag one of the assured playoff spots.

After the contenders, several teams are fighting for positioning, or even just spots, in the Play-In Tournament in each conference. (This season, this is truer of the Western Conference than the Eastern Conference.) And then, of course, you have teams that are prioritizing ping-pong balls, if we put it kindly.

That makes each team’s approach to the trade deadline endlessly more fascinating. Today, we’ll cover where each team seems to stand as far as being a buyer or seller, or either or neither, at the deadline. We’ll also give some thoughts on where we think each team should be at.

Atlanta Hawks

Approach at the deadline: Buyers

Let’s call the Hawks cautious buyers. Atlanta doesn’t have a lot of room under the tax to add salary. They aren’t good enough to go into the tax yet, so that limits what they can do. They’re looking for upgrades, but nothing major seems on the horizon.

Ideal approach at the deadline: Either

Atlanta shouldn’t be making any all-in moves, nor should they be trading any young core players. But if someone wants to make a run at Clint Capela or Larry Nance Jr., the Hawks should listen. This could be a way to continue rebalancing the cap sheet, while adding talent to keep Atlanta in the playoff race.

Boston Celtics

Approach at the deadline: Neither

Boston doesn’t have the tradable salary to do anything all that meaningful at the deadline. Their top-nine playoff guys are also fairly set too. They’re always looking around, but nothing seems imminent here.

Ideal approach at the deadline: Neither

Despite a blah last month or so, the Celtics are still the champs. Everything is set up to make another title run. There are no major needs. They’ll probably move Jaden Springer’s expiring salary to kick the can down the road with another guy who has a year or left, but don’t expect much more. Mostly, Boston will just keep things moving along.

Brooklyn Nets

Approach at the deadline: Sellers

The Nets have already started this process, but there’s more to come. Cam Johnson, Nic Claxton, D’Angelo Russell, Bojan Bogdanovic and…well…just about anyone can be had for the right price.

Ideal approach at the deadline: Sellers

Brooklyn hasn’t landed on their next franchise guy yet. They’ve got a few interesting young guys, but none of them screams out as the guy who will lead several years of playoff runs. That’ll come through the draft. Maximize assets over the next few years is the way forward for the Nets.

Charlotte Hornets

Approach at the deadline: Sellers

Charlotte already moved Nick Richards, and he was their best trade asset. They might be able to get something for Cody Martin, as more and more teams are looking for perimeter help. But the Hornets are looking at smaller deals now.

Ideal approach at the deadline: Sellers

Could Jeff Peterson jump in and help as a facilitator again? It’s possible. If they Hornets can snag some more additional assets to help move some money around, they’ll probably do it. The reality is that there just isn’t a lot of tradable salary left here. The bigger deals belong to the guys who Charlotte is building around. This should be a quiet deadline.

Chicago Bulls

Approach at the deadline: Sellers

The Bulls are sellers. Wait…really? It appears so. They are still open to moving Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic in the right deal. Patrick Williams is still very available. Basically, anyone but Matas Buzelis, and possibly Josh Giddey, shouldn’t be investing in long-term real estate in Chicago.

Ideal approach at the deadline: Sellers

The Bulls should be selling. No doubt about it. They might not get monster returns for LaVine or Vucevic, but if they could take on some undesirable money to plus-up the return packages, Chicago should be open to that. It’s been years since they’ve leaned fully into rebuilding, but it’s beyond time to pull the plug on this iteration. Mercifully, it seems that process is finally beginning.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Approach at the deadline: Buyers

Cleveland is poking around and looking for help. They aren’t touching the core, but the guys who orbit around them can be had in return for upgrades. The Cavaliers are looking for perimeter help and wouldn’t mind adding a versatile backup big too.

Ideal approach at the deadline: Buyers

The Cavs have the movable salary to get something done. Ideally, they’d make a move or two to add talent, while also getting out of the tax. Cleveland projects to be very expensive for years to come. No reason to start that clock any earlier than necessary.

Detroit Pistons

Approach at the deadline: Either

This Pistons are operating with an air of mystery right now. Their very good play has them looking for some upgrades. Their $14 million in cap space has them open to eating some salary. If there’s a way to do both, Tajan Langdon will jump on it.

Ideal approach at the deadline: Buyers

Detroit hasn’t won a single playoff game (game, not series) since 2008. Young Pistons fans could complete their entire run of K-12 schooling without seeing a single playoff win. Langdon has the ability to add help and should be active. It doesn’t have to be a crazy, sell-the-farm kind of deal. But this group has earned an upgrade or two to aid in the postseason push.

Indiana Pacers

Approach at the deadline: Neither

Indiana is in a good place. They don’t really need a whole lot, beyond staying healthy. The Pacers have stayed focused on the players they have. Myles Turner rumors abound (wouldn’t be a deadline without them!), but that seems to be more speculation that reality at this point.

Ideal approach at the deadline: Neither

If there’s a deal that comes up that can allow Indiana to get off a long-term salary for a fringe rotation guy (they don’t have any bad salary), they should be on it. The Pacers project to hit next summer without much room under the luxury tax. If they are going to re-sign Myles Turner, they need to clear some room eventually, as they aren’t likely to play the tax. Now, if they aren’t going to re-sign Turner, then they should probably think about moving him by the deadline. But that’s not the direction this will probably take.

Miami Heat

Approach at the deadline: Either

The Heat are trying to find Jimmy Butler trade that brings back win-now talent, but no long-term salary. That’s a tricky needle to thread, but maybe they can pull it off. Until Butler’s situation is settled, and possibly after, don’t expect much else from Miami.

Ideal approach at the deadline: Either

Miami is progressing along as they should be. There’s no reason to rush a Butler trade and take back a less-than-desirable return. See that through, play out the rest of the season, then pick up the pieces this summer for the long-term.

Milwaukee Bucks

Approach at the deadline: Buyers

The Bucks are always active and there’s nothing different happening at this deadline. Milwaukee is looking for more scoring help, and they’ve got some tradable salary to make it happen. They’ll have to dance around the second apron, but it’s doable with a salary-shedding more or two.

Ideal approach at the deadline: Buyers

Milwaukee is doing the right thing. They should be trying to maximize the time they have with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard playing at superstar levels. That might mean saying goodbye to some key franchise guys, but reunions down the line are made for showing love for the past. If you want to compete for another title, moves have to be made.

New York Knicks

Approach at the deadline: Buyers

New York is looking for some help. They’d like a more reliable backup for Karl-Anthony Towns. They’d also like a bigger perimeter defender too. The issue is that their draft capital is just about spent, and the Knicks only sizable matching salary belongs to oft-injured Mitchell Robinson.

Ideal approach at the deadline: Buyers

I’m calling the Knicks bargain shoppers. They don’t have much wiggle room under the second apron. That means a small move, or moving Robinson. I wouldn’t rule out either one, but not sure whatever they do is going to get folks all that fired up in New York.

Orlando Magic

Approach at the deadline: Buyers

The Magic are best termed as cautious buyers…again. Forever and always, it seems. Orlando can use help. They desperately need more shooting. But whatever vortex players pass through when they land in the Magic Kingdom seems to sap even good shooters of that particular ability. Still, the Magic are looking to see what they can do. Just don’t expect to hear a lot in advance. Jeff Weltman and crew keep things pretty quiet.

Ideal approach at the deadline: Buyers

Orlando should be looking to buy. There’s no question about it. The team is mostly healthy again and they still need shooting. The target for the Magic needs to be a shooter who fits now and over the next few years. They’ve got the tradable salary and draft picks to make it happen. A deal now could be the difference between a first round win and going home after one series.

Philadelphia 76ers

Approach at the deadline: Either

This is a mess. It’s hard to predict what the Sixers will do, because they don’t even really seem to know what their season will hold. News came out last week that ownership would like to take a few weeks to evaluate the team, but that’s after the deadline. A top-six protected pick doesn’t actually seem to be a real factor. So, look for maybe a move or two to bolster the rotation until the stars can get on the court more often.

Ideal approach at the deadline: Sellers

This doesn’t mean Philadelphia needs to move any of the three stars. Those guys can stay, unless someone gets really, really silly with an offer for Paul George (not happening). But moving role players should be on the table. Even if the 76ers aren’t going to start tanking, they can still get some future assets to help build these team back up again this coming offseason.

Toronto Raptors

Approach at the deadline: Sellers

The Raptors are still rebuilding and figuring things out. Bruce Brown and Kelly Olynyk are available. Chris Boucher might be available. Most of the young players are off the table, as those are the guys Toronto is building around.

Ideal approach at the deadline: Sellers

Toronto is staying on the path they set ahead of last trade deadline. Their solid play as of late is fun, and bodes well for the future, but this team is playing for a high draft pick and a potential star to add to their young core. They should listen more on Jakob Poeltl than it seems like they will, but they don’t have to give him away either.

Washington Wizards

Approach at the deadline: Sellers. The worst team in the league is shopping their veterans. This is a full-scale teardown happening exactly as planned. Kyle Kuzma, Malcolm Brogdon, Jonas Valanciunas and Jordan Poole can all be had for a decent return package. If you throw in better assets, Washington will eat some bad long-term salary too.

Ideal approach at the deadline: Sellers. Everything the Wizards are doing is super ugly, and they are 100% correct in the path they’ve chosen. The kids are playing plenty and the team is zooming towards top lottery position. If they can get a nice return for any of the vets, they should do so. Keep an eye on Richaun Holmes too. His contract was designed to be traded, and something might happen there to help another team move some money around.

 


#nba #nba trade deadline #eastern conference #buyers #sellers
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