A number of NBA executives are predicting a relatively uneventful trade deadline, and the ones who have spoken to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports echo that sentiment, calling this the quietest deadline in years.
"I'd be surprised if we see a lot of deals," one Western Conference exec told Spears. "In a short season, you can survive another 30 games and start talking trade to teams during the draft lottery."
While we may not see a blockbuster deal by next Thursday, there are still plenty of major trade possibilities out there, and Spears has updates on a few of the bigger names:
- The Dwight Howard sweepstakes continue to hold up other trades around the league, as one GM tells Spears: "Everyone has crazy ideas here and there. But teams are reluctant to make a trade until something happens [with Howard]."
- The Lakers aren't interested in trading Andrew Bynum unless it nets them Howard.
- With the Rockets still unwilling to include Kyle Lowry in a deal for Pau Gasol, Houston would probably need to recruit a third team to send Los Angeles a point guard if they hope to acquire the Spaniard.
- No changes on these fronts: The Celtics won't move Rajon Rondo unless they get a star in return, the Suns will only trade Steve Nash if he asks for it, and the Warriors prefer to deal Monta Ellis only if they can acquire Howard.