What are the best and worst moves that teams can make before Thursday's 3 p.m. ET trade deadline? And what could be the most shocking thing to go down?
Our experts answer those questions and more, including how big trades could shake up this season's title race.
1. What's the best thing an East team can do on Thursday?
Amin Elhassan, ESPN Insider: Toronto upgrading at power forward. Windows of opportunity are not static -- they open unexpectedly and close unexpectedly -- and right now, Toronto has to feel somewhat optimistic about its chances of winning the East despite having only one playoff series victory in franchise history. The right upgrade could put it in the driver's seat.
Tom Haberstroh, ESPN Insider: Boston trades for Ryan Anderson. The Celtics need a second scorer to pair with Isaiah Thomas. Their offense tumbles from top-five in offensive efficiency to bottom-five when Thomas steps off the floor. Not only would Ryno help them get better, but it would also keep him away from their top East foe in Cleveland.
Kevin Pelton, ESPN Insider: Toronto or Boston loading up for the Eastern Conference playoffs. The urgency isn't quite the same for the Celtics as the Raptors, but there's an opening for either team. I'm most partial to the Raptors dealing for Al Horford, as I suggested Monday.
Bradford Doolittle, ESPN Insider: While I've advocated for Toronto to make a move for Thaddeus Young, the real game-changer for the Raptors would be to land Anderson, as apparently the Pelicans are suddenly eager to move him. The Raptors have closed their margin-of-victory deficit to Cleveland to 1.5 points, although the Celtics are nipping at their heels. Acquiring Anderson could close that gap with the Cavs and make the East a lot more interesting.
David Thorpe, ESPN Insider: I'm taking a detour here. It's mystifying to me that every buyer isn't looking to add players with at least one more year left on their contracts, considering the windfall of money coming and the dearth of available players this July. A player making less than $10 million, as long as he can walk and shoot/rebound/defend, may very well be a huge bargain as we hit free agency.
The idea that all teams want to increase cap space so they can get the superstar they almost certainly will not get is an absurd plan. So, for instance, for Detroit to add Markieff Morris would make sense because his pay is far below what his value would be in the right atmosphere.
2. What's the best thing a West team can do on Thursday?
Pelton: The Portland Trail Blazers getting something of value for their cap space. Not only would adding salary save the Blazers money by getting them to the salary floor, there is the potential to get picks or young players in exchange for easing other teams' luxury-tax burdens.
Haberstroh: Rockets trade Dwight Howard to an East team. Whether it's the Wizards, Bulls, Heat or Hornets, my feeling is the Rockets would pry the most value out of a team looking to topple the Cavs. Of all those teams, I feel like Charlotte is most likely to take him, especially if the Hornets don't think Nic Batum stays this summer.
Thorpe: I continue to see OKC as the top dark horse to win the West (after my Houston call this past October proved to be a mistake). Anything the Thunder can do to add depth in the form of shooting, athleticism or just savvy playmaking could end up being the difference between winning it all (and keeping the core intact) and losing everything.
Going after someone like Philly's Robert Covington makes a lot of sense, though it likely would cost them a good prospect like Cameron Payne (the Sixers won't be just giving him away). In the playoffs, athleticism, length and energy can change the direction of a game even more than in the regular season.
Doolittle: I'm sticking with my Clippers mantra: Get Channing Frye. Anderson would be ideal, but other teams going after him have more to offer. Getting Frye would not only improve Doc Rivers' overall depth but also add several lineup combinations that the Clips need to throw at the beasts ahead of them in the West.
Elhassan: Oklahoma City finding a real, two-way shooting guard, although I'm skeptical of that happening. You wish the Thunder had the assets to get in on that Courtney Lee deal, who would have been a fine fit for them at starting shooting guard. As is, OKC (and the rest of the West outside of Oakland, for that matter) are just rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.
3. What's the worst thing an East team can do Thursday?
Thorpe: I know the 76ers moved their rookie of the year in Michael Carter-Williams in his second season, and with Jerry Colangelo in place now as the chairman of basketball operations, they might be even less committed to draftees who followed him, thus making Jahlil Okafor expendable. But I think that would be a big mistake.
As defenses get better every year at contesting 3s, while offenses look to take more of them, having a paint bucket-getter may very well end up being more important than ever in the next few years. If nothing else, Okafor is that. In a big way.
Oh, trading Kevin Love would confuse me, as well -- if that happens and the Cavs don't win a ring, the unemployment line there could be mighty long.
Doolittle: I'm hoping the buzz about Love is just smoke because it would be a huge mistake to break up the Cavaliers' big three before they've gone through a playoff run together. The Cavs need to upgrade their second unit, but otherwise leave well enough alone. Love is criticized because of what he was in Minnesota rather than celebrated for what he is in Cleveland.
Haberstroh: Orlando continues to shed salary like it's actually going to be a destination this summer. The Tobias Harris deal potentially saves the Magic cap space, but since when have they landed a big fish in free agency? T-Mac and Grant Hill? That was 16 years ago. They'll be at the back of a long line of suitors in this summer's free-agency frenzy.
Elhassan: Atlanta throwing in the towel on its current incarnation. I know Horford presents a flight risk at the end of the season or, at best, a difficult free-agency decision as far as paying him what he's worth on the market, but we've established that the East is a lot more open this season, and for a team that has been to the East finals just once since moving to Atlanta (last season), the Hawks owe it to their fans to get one last run out of this group before potentially breaking it up.
Pelton: Orlando making a win-now move. It's understandable that the Magic want to make the playoffs after several years in the post-Dwight Howard wilderness. It's just not realistic with the number of teams ahead of them in the standings. Fortunately, it seems Harris was the last young player Orlando will deal for now.
4. What's the worst thing a West team can do Thursday?
Doolittle: From the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" file: Golden State should not change a thing. General manager Bob Myers and his staff should think of their roster as an overbuilt stack of Jenga blocks that somehow stands solid in the middle of a crowded bar. But I'm sure they don't need me to tell them that.
Thorpe: I can't fathom the "trade Blake Griffin" talk I hear. What? Unless there is some compelling reason to do so that we don't know, moving him would be disastrous. As mentioned above, bucket-getters are so rare, yet so needed, and he is a gifted passer who helps make DeAndre Jordan even more productive. Griffin is part of the solution, not the problem.
Elhassan: The Clippers making any sort of Blake Griffin trade. Here's the deal: No matter how well they've played without him, they are a far superior team with him. Trading him for whatever set of assets that don't include a Kevin Durant-caliber net might result in a deeper team, but it's one that won't beat the Warriors. And finally, if you're going to hit the nuclear button, the older Chris Paul should be the one to go before Griffin.
Haberstroh: Pelicans hold on to Anderson. The Pelicans might feel like, "We can make a playoff run again when we're healthy, just like last year!" But you're not catching lightning in a bottle twice. New Orleans should cut bait and build for the future. The question is: Will GM Dell Demps actually have that long-term vision?
Pelton: Same answer as with the East, different conference: Sacramento sacrificing future picks and young players for a veteran like Pau Gasol. The Kings aren't going to make the playoffs this season, and they'll have more options to try to build a .500 team heading into their new arena come this summer.
5. What's your favorite trade deadline shocker for Thursday?
Haberstroh: OKC trades for Horford. I'm not sure if a similar deal for Pau Gasol would qualify, but either way, I'm keeping an eye on Thunder GM Sam Presti at the deadline to make a big splash. With the urgency surrounding KD's first summer of free agency, the Thunder are ripe to swing a deal that definitively vaults them into the Warriors and Spurs stratosphere.
Doolittle: The Bulls pull the plug on the Derrick Rose era and unload him on . . . anyone, really. Sacramento, Brooklyn, Philadelphia. The unraveling we've seen in Chicago this season is going to get only worse from here. A Bulls reset isn't a reset if Rose is still around. It's time to start fresh.
Elhassan: The rumored deals I've heard have been pretty lackluster. Miami getting Howard might be interesting. But all in all, the dominance of the Warriors takes the wind out of a lot of sails around the league.
Pelton: Chicago trading Rose. As long as Rose is around, the Bulls will cling to the hope he can return to form. That almost certainly isn't happening, and Rose will have to deal with less baggage in terms of expectations elsewhere.
Thorpe: How's a Love for Patrick Beverley, Terrence Jones and Trevor Ariza deal sound for a shocker? It would give the Rockets a reason for Howard to come back, as Love would complement his game more than perhaps any other player in the league, and his outlet passing would get the Rockets running more, too.
With this deal, Cleveland's athleticism and defense would improve, leading to better chances at making things harder for Steph Curry in the Finals. Beverley is a big upgrade on Matthew Dellavedova as a defender, and Ariza could play as a power forward next to LeBron James as a center to help combat the Warriors' lineup of death.