Getty Marvin Bagley, potential Bulls target
The NBA trade deadline is Thursday at 3 p.m. ET. But that’s not the deadline for roster improvement.
As is the case every season – and perhaps even more so this year — there will be a very robust buyout market. Teams, like the Bulls, that fail to move players and get something in return will be looking to buy some of them out to get in a better salary cap position or just to clear roster spots to take a shot with someone else.
“There are a lot of teams we’ve talked to about guys, and if they think they might be available after a buyout, they’re not so quick to give something up right now,” said one front-office source.
The exception might be if that soon-to-be-bought out player will have more than one suitor when he gets free.
“That’s what teams are trying to tell each other,” said a general manager. “Like, ‘You’d better give us a pick or something now, because someone else may snap him up ahead of you later.'”
Among the teams needing to shore up their roster and said to be gearing up hard for the buyout market is Chicago.
“The Bulls are worried about the guys they have coming back from injury, and I know they’d like to get something done,” one source told Heavy.com. “They just may not be willing to give up a young asset to get a deal made before the deadline.
“But you never know. The pressure of the deadline can do strange things to teams — particularly when they may be afraid of missing out on an opportunity to get better in a year where they think they have a chance to make a run.”
Among the players who could help the Bulls in the buyout market, if they can work something out with their current teams (or if they get traded): Paul Millsap (most likely candidate), Kings big man Marvin Bagley, Chicago native Patrick Beverley (if he is traded), former Bulls fave Thad Young (who might be too good for a buyout), stretch 4 Mike Muscala, center Derrick Favors and point guard Goran Dragic.
Another annual rite of February is teams getting stingy with first round picks.
“Or if they do trade a first round pick, it’s going to have a whole lot of restrictions on it,” said a team exec. “Nobody’s giving up first round picks right now. First round picks are big assets, and they become even more valuable as the draft gets closer and teams find out who’s coming out (in the draft) and they start falling in love with guys.”
Xs and Os Could Trouble Blockbuster Trade
An interesting take on the Kings-Pacers trade from one NBA coach, wondering how the X and O chemistry between Domantas Sabonis and De’Aaron Fox will work:
“I wonder if Sacramento even thought about this, but Sabonis is much better rolling to his left with a right-handed point guard,” he said. “With both of them being left-handed, Fox wants to go downhill with his left hand, and Sabonis wants to roll to his left hand. I’m going to be interested to see how that works out.”
Then again, said another coach when the idea was presented, “You’re probably going to see Sabonis staying outside more when Fox drives. That’ll open up his jumper.”
There is talk out of Indiana that Sabonis was growing tired of the club spinning its wheels. That and the desires of trade partners probably combined to free up the big man.
“Indiana’s always preferred to trade Myles Turner, so he’s been in a lot of conversations,” said a GM “But everybody preferred Sabonis, and at a certain point I think they just had to go that way.”
Schroder Deals in Order
Three quotes from NBA sources on Dennis Schroder, who was still a hot trade topic on Wednesday:
First: “Everybody talks about him getting moved, but not everybody has that ability to take that contract ($5.9 million), and not everybody has that need for a point guard.”
Then: “A lot of teams would really like to get Dennis Schroder, but the ones who have seem to get over it after a while.”
Another: “I still think they’d prefer to move him, but they want to get something they like.”