When the trade deadline (Thursday, 3 p.m. ET) forces teams to act, things start happening. And we have some ideas about what should happen.
ESPN Insiders Tom Haberstroh, Chad Ford, David Thorpe, Bradford Doolittle and Kevin Pelton present 10 trades they would like to see, involving seven All-Stars and 15 teams, including five title contenders.
The Cleveland-Boston-New York megadeal
Cleveland Cavaliers send: Kevin Love to Boston
Boston Celtics send: Jae Crowder, Brooklyn's 2016 first-round pick and David Lee to New York
New York Knicks send: Carmelo Anthony to Cleveland and Lance Thomas to Boston
Tom Haberstroh: Who's happiest about this trade? LeBron gets to play with his buddy Carmelo Anthony. Boston gets its star in Love. And the Knicks can realistically dream about a Ben Simmons-Kristaps Porzingis frontcourt.
The Knicks would have to convince Anthony (and wife La La) to waive his no-trade clause and leave the Big Apple, but the carrot of playing for a championship with his pal LeBron James would probably be enough to ease those concerns.
Love would again become the No. 1 option he deserves to be and play for a coach who recognizes his talents. The Celtics would have the defensive muscle out on the perimeter to help mask Love's issues in the pick-and-roll.
The Knicks could rebuild around Porzingis and the Nets' pick. In this draft, that's one of the most valuable trade chips in the game. Crowder is a hard-nosed stud who would fit in the triangle and give them a quality player in return. Icing on the cake: Lee comes home to New York.
Toronto's title-contending push
Atlanta Hawks send: Al Horford and Kent Bazemore
Toronto Raptors send: James Johnson, Lucas Nogueira, Patrick Patterson and the lesser of the 2016 first-round picks belonging to Denver and New York
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Kevin Pelton: Maybe they put Raptors Kool-Aid in the water in Toronto, but with Kyle Lowry about to turn 30, this could be their best chance to get to the NBA Finals, and Horford could be the missing piece. To match salaries, the Raptors would probably have to offer Patterson's excellent contract and could add the extra first-round pick they have coming, likely to be a top-10 selection.
Given all that value, the Hawks would also have to surrender Bazemore, who's likely to be overpaid this summer anyway. Toronto would immediately become the East's most versatile team, capable of playing big with Horford alongside Jonas Valanciunas or going small with Horford and a healthy DeMarre Carroll.
Houston starts over, Boston vaults ahead
Houston Rockets send: James Harden, Dwight Howard, Marcus Thornton and Jason Terry
Boston Celtics send: Nets' 2016 first-round pick, Isaiah Thomas, Kelly Olynyk, Avery Bradley and David Lee
Chad Ford: The Rockets are currently out of the playoffs and the chemistry is awful. As Kevin Pelton pointed out this week, it's Harden who seems to be the biggest problem, thanks to his matador-style defense.
With this trade, GM Daryl Morey would grab a bunch of assets from his friend Danny Ainge, sell Rockets fans on a quick rebuild and hope he can land Simmons in the draft.
Whomever the Rockets get in the draft would make them younger, along with Thomas, Olynyk and Bradley and their own talented young core headlined by Clint Capela. Meanwhile, the trade might not make the Rockets any worse for this season -- what they'd lose in star power they'd gain in chemistry.
For Boston, Danny Ainge has been looking to cash in his collection of assets for a superstar. Here he would land one plus a center who still can perform at an All-Star level.
Of course, the move would be risky for the Celtics after seeing what's happened in Houston, but Ainge has something the Rockets don't: coach Brad Stevens.
In this deal, the Celtics would be keeping contributors like Marcus Smart, Crowder and Amir Johnson to supply defensive toughness. And by hanging on to several first-round picks and young players like James Young, Terry Rozier, R.J. Hunter and Jordan Mickey, the Celtics wouldn't be giving away the farm to have a legit shot at the NBA Finals in the next couple of years.
Melo to the Lakers
New York Knicks send: Carmelo Anthony
Los Angeles Lakers send: D'Angelo Russell and Roy Hibbert
Ford: Melo's trade value won't get any higher than it is right now. With the arrival of Porzingis, Anthony is no longer the fan favorite he once was, giving the Knicks a trade window. The Lakers are one of the very few destinations that I think Melo would waive his no-trade clause for, especially if L.A. is promising to go all-out to build a contender next year.
Russell was the No. 2 pick in the draft last year, a 19-year-old scorer and playmaker who has shown improvement all season. Putting him next to Porzingis would give the Knicks two terrific young players to build around. While some fans might not feel like it's enough for Melo, this kind of move is the best long-term course of action for the Knicks. (I proposed a similar deal in December that would net Justise Winslow of the Heat for Melo.)
For the Lakers, it's a way to rebuild almost instantly rather than wait to see how the pingpong balls bounce. Add Melo, and L.A. suddenly becomes a much more attractive free-agent destination this summer.
Griffin-Millsap swap
Los Angeles Clippers send: Blake Griffin
Atlanta Hawks send: Paul Millsap and Mike Scott
Bradford Doolittle: Even when fully healthy, the Clippers as constituted are unlikely to survive a playoff gauntlet involving the three teams ahead of them in the West: the Warriors, Spurs and Thunder.
Right now, Millsap is a better fit for the Clippers and maybe a better player than Griffin. He would give them better range at the 4 and enhanced ability to match up with Golden State down the line. Given the four-year age difference, the Hawks would need to add a sweetener, and Mike Scott would provide depth, shooting and experience for the Clippers' playoff run.
Meanwhile, Griffin would provide Atlanta a younger star to pair with Dennis Schroder and Kent Bazemore going forward. And the Hawks could still package Jeff Teague and Al Horford for more young players to fill out their revamped core, such as a combination of guys from the Celtics.
Melo teaming up with Dirk
New York Knicks send: Carmelo Anthony
Dallas Mavericks send: Chandler Parsons, Raymond Felton, Dwight Powell and picks in the next two drafts
David Thorpe: Seeing Carmelo in the playoffs is just something the basketball gods would want. Seeing him under master guru Rick Carlisle would be even more special. If anyone can best utilize his still-considerable skill set, it's Carlisle and the Mavs.
Parsons would be a good fit with the Knicks' style of play and the bright lights of New York. The draft picks could be very valuable, Powell has the potential to be a solid player and the cap space the Knicks would gain in this trade would make them strong contenders to bring in elite talent.
Brooklyn starts the rebuild
Brooklyn Nets send: Thaddeus Young
Toronto Raptors send: Patrick Patterson, Delon Wright and a 2016 first-round draft pick
Doolittle: While in theory I don't think Brooklyn should make any deals without a permanent GM in place, I think this is one that the new guy would want to make anyway. In any case, the Nets' best strategy is to move their best players now for multiple pieces to help them rebuild.
In Patterson and Wright, they would receive two former first-rounders who could get big minutes the next couple of years as things get sorted out. Toronto would want to get this deal done with their own first-round pick (in the No. 25 range), but the Nets might insist on the lottery pick the Raptors are holding (the lesser of the Nuggets' and Knicks' first-round picks).
As for the Raptors, they need to upgrade the 4 to really mount a challenge to Cleveland. Young would be perfectly cast as the fourth-best player on a contending team.
Breaking up the Hawks and Rockets
Atlanta Hawks send: Al Horford, Jeff Teague and Kyle Korver to Houston; Thabo Sefolosha to Minnesota
Houston Rockets send: Dwight Howard to Atlanta; Patrick Beverley, KJ McDaniels and Donatas Motiejunas to Minnesota
Minnesota Timberwolves send: Ricky Rubio to Atlanta
Thorpe: It's time to break up the Howard and Harden show, so sending Dwight home to a fan base that loves him is fair to a man who has had his "rep" beaten up more than he deserves.
Rubio is a poor scorer and shooter but would help the Hawks enormously with his passing and defense, and he is especially suited to working with post players. Dwight's offense would grow next to Rubio and Paul Millsap, and he would make those two better players as well.
In Houston, Horford would play power forward alongside Clint Capela, which would be better for both men, and he would bring leadership skills the Rockets sorely need. Teague is a shooter and penetrator who is better playing without the ball than Ty Lawson has been, making him more suited to play with Harden. The Rockets could finish games with Teague, Harden, Korver, Ariza and Horford -- five 3-point shooters and no one for opponents to hack.
Minnesota would get multiple talented players at a good value, including perimeter defense, with Beverley holding down the starting spot until the Wolves can bring in another point guard. McDaniels would add to their arsenal of athletes with significant upside, and maybe Motiejunas finds his mojo and gives the Wolves their scoring power forward to complement Karl-Anthony Towns.
Utah gets its point guard
New Orleans Pelicans send: Jrue Holiday and Norris Cole
Utah Jazz send: Trey Burke, Alec Burks and the Jazz's 2016 second-round pick
Pelton: With Marc Gasol's injury leaving the Memphis Grizzlies vulnerable, the Jazz are consistent PG play away from realistically getting as high as fifth in the West. Unless George Hill is available, I like Holiday best of the potential fits. His size, defense and shooting allow him to upgrade the position this year without blocking Dante Exum, since the two could potentially play together.
With Tyreke Evans out for the season -- and maybe not a part of New Orleans' long-term plans -- the Pelicans get Burks to replace Evans' ability to create off the dribble, improve their guard depth and save some money.
Reuniting the Morris twins
Phoenix Suns send: Markieff Morris and Jon Leuer
Detroit Pistons send: Brandon Jennings
Haberstroh: The team most willing (or least averse?) to take on Markieff's contract might be in Detroit, where he would reunite with his brother. As I pointed out in the fall, Markieff is near All-Star level when he plays with his brother.
Stan Van Gundy waived Josh Smith, so he's shown he's willing to cut bait on a disruptive talent. But if you're in a non-destination like Detroit, you usually have to acquire talent through trades. In this trade, for taking on Morris' contract, Van Gundy would receive another stretch-4 in Leuer for his four-out system.
The Suns could do this deal to wipe their hands clean of the Markieff situation and start fresh with Jennings, whose contract expires this summer. Even if Jennings leaves, the Suns would be happy to move on from the Morris Brothers era.