NBA Mid-Season Review: Teams That Need The Playoffs

            The NBA is right around the halfway point, and we are breaking up our annual mid-season power rankings into three parts. Today we will look at teams that desperately need to make the playoffs (spoiler alert: it’s the smallest group).

 



24. New Orleans Pelicans

16-25, 12^th in Western Conference
Good News = Anthony Davis officially made “THE LEAP”, and is a bona-fide franchise player New Orleans can build around for the next decade.
Bad News = The roster around him currently makes no sense, they were fleeced in the Robin Lopez deal with Portland, their most trade-able asset (Ryan Anderson) is likely out for the season, and oh ya, they don’t own the rights to their number one pick in the most loaded NBA draft in over a decade during a season they are definitely going into the lottery.
What They Should Do = New Orleans went all-in for an effort to make the playoffs when they shipped next year’s first round pick for Jrue Holliday (not to mention this year’s first round pick, Nerlens Noel, who should be solid when he recovers from ACL surgery), but unfortunately a deep Western Conference has done them in. The goal should be to try to build a contending team by the end of 2016 so they can convince Anthony Davis to resign. Anderson was going to net the greatest haul, as it wouldn’t of been hard to convince a desperate club to ship a first round pick to land a stretch four. Moving Eric Gordon for a future first rounder would help (he’d fit nicely in Indiana if the Pacers were willing to flip them Danny Granger. New Orleans would clear a ton of salary in this move. We’ll talk more about possible Granger landing spots later), as his shaky injury history makes him a risky player to build around. Whatever New Orleans can do to solidify their strength in the 2015 and ’16 drafts, plus clearing cap space, is the best course of action.

21. Cleveland Cavaliers

15-26, 10^th in Eastern Conference
Good News = They were able to parlay Andrew Bynum (who was miserable during his short stay with the Cavaliers) into Luol Deng, who besides being a player who can help drag them into the top eight in the east, also is an expiring contract.
Bad News = Besides the next team we’re about to discuss, there isn’t a more dysfunctional roster in the NBA, highlighted by the hatred between Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters. Things aren’t helped by Anthony Bennett, who’s currently on pace to be the worst first overall pick since Kwame Brown.
What They Should Do = Unlike 60% of the teams in this group, Cleveland actually owns their first round pick, so the logical thing to do would be to tank. Unfortunately, Cavs owner has made it abundantly clear that he wants his team in the playoffs this year. Furthermore, a playoff berth could go a long way in luring Lebron James back to Cleveland. Despite all the dysfunction, Cleveland with Lebron James would be better than Miami with James next year. Unloading Waiters for a future draft pick could immediately make the team better, but they would need some form of perimeter shooting in return. If things really go south and they are too far out of the eighth spot, Anderson Varejao would draw interest from any of the championship contending clubs. Standing pat makes the most sense, as there is enough talent here to get this team into the playoffs. It would be irresponsible for them to ship out their first round pick this year, unless they are solidly in the top eight shortly before the trade deadline.

19. New York Knicks

15-27, 11^th in Eastern Conference
Good News = Somehow they are only 2.5 games out of the eighth seed.
Bad News = J.R. Smith used up any good luck he had last season, as he’s had an abysmal 2013-14 campaign. Amar’e Stoudemire is the most un-trade-able asset in the league. Lastly, Carmelo Anthony can opt out after this year. Yikes.
What They Should Do = This will never happen (because the Knicks ownership is too stupid), but they should really blow this thing up. Just to show some light at the end of the tunnel, look at the money that currently is slated to be coming off of their books at the end of the 2015 season.

Amar’e Stoudemire - $21.7 million

Carmelo Anthony - $21.4 million per year (has a player option that he can exercise to become a free agent this year, which will likely happen)
Tyson Chandler - $14.1 million
Andrea Bargnani - $11.9 million

            For those of you that are not mathematically inclined, that’s $69.1 million. If I were running the Knicks, I’d be willing to move any of these guys. Stoudemire won’t be an option for trade until next year (when he officially will be referred to as Amar’e Stoudemire’s Expiring Contract), but the other three have value. Anthony would net the greatest haul. Here are a couple of fun hypothetical salary dump trades courtesy of the ESPN.com Trade Machine.

Anthony to the Phoenix Suns for Emeka Okafor ($14.5 million expiring contract), Marcus Morris ($1.9 million for the next two), the rights to their first round pick this year and the Wizards first round pick this year, plus a future protected first round pick

Anthony to the Dallas Mavericks for Shawn Marion ($9.3 million expiring contract), Brandon Wright ($5.0 million for two years), Wayne Ellington ($2.7 million for two years), Jae Crowder ($0.8 million for two years), and two future first round picks

            Both Phoenix and Dallas are struggling to hang on to playoff spots in the West, and while Dallas would probably get a negligible boost this year, but would finally have another star to pair with Dirk Nowitzki. For my money, Phoenix is the most interesting destination. Okafor would provide major salary relief, and it’s never a bad thing to stock up on draft picks from a team that is never a consistent contender. Neither of these deals will probably happen (you might’ve been able to talk Phoenix into it if Eric Bledsoe hadn’t of gotten hurt), but it’s fun to dream. Chandler would be the premier defensive big-man on the trade market if New York puts him there, and Bargnani has value as a stretch four or five. I forecast the Knicks stubbornly hanging onto their core and either sneaking into the playoffs or finishing ninth in the East. 

17. Brooklyn Nets

18-22, 7^th in Eastern Conference
Good News = Somehow they are currently locked into a playoff spot in the Leastern Conference.
Bad News = Their all-star center is done for the year, their all-star point guard is in and out of the lineup with a bum ankle, and their former all-star point guard is a shitty head coach.
What They Should Do = I’m genuinely disappointed with what has happened with the Nets this year, as injuries never let the roster get off the ground. Even with the infusion of old Celtics, the team was still built around Deron Williams and Brook Lopez. Williams looks like he’ll never regain his elite form from his days in Utah, but if he can ever figure out his ankle issues he’s not to old to have a resurgence. Brooklyn is severely limited in what they are able to do for the foreseeable future, with only Paul Pierce’s contract coming off the books for next season. Even with him making $15.3 million that still leaves them roughly $28 million over the salary cap. Pierce is their only realistic trade chip, but unless he would fetch a first round pick, it’s not worth shipping him out of town. Brooklyn’s best bet is to plug away with what they have, make the playoffs (remember, no first round pick next year, or for approximately the next fourteen), and try to regroup after the off-season.

11. Minnesota Timberwolves

20-21, 11^th in Western Conference
Good News = Kevin Love has righted himself after an injury plagued 2012-13 campaign.
Bad News = Ricky Rubio is historically awful and shooting, and Kevin Love is probably leaving after next year.
What They Should Do = Minnesota is like the classic Phillip Rivers’ era Chargers teams where the advanced metrics say they are good, but their record is mediocre. The Timberwolves have the fifth best point differential in the Western Conference, but incredibly are 3.5 games out of a playoff spot. They still have their first round pick, which makes tanking an option, but they need to make some sort of impression on Kevin Love to convince him that Minnesota is the place for him to sign long term. Unlike any other team in the league, I’ll recommend that the Timberwolves should actually shop their first round pick. Statistics say that Minnesota’s record should stabilize and put them into a playoff spot, and an upgrade at small forward would help them. Furthermore, there is the chance that their pick ends up in the lottery, so they could get an immediate starter in return. We’ll end this post with some fun trades that will probably never happen.

Timberwolves trade Dante Cunningham (expiring contract), Shabazz Muhammad (troubled lottery pick, but still talented), Ronny Turiaf, A.J. Price (expiring contract), and 2014 First Round Pick to Celtics for Jeff Green – Celtics pipe dream trade that would net them another draft pick

Timberwolves trade Corey Brewer, J.J. Barea, Dante Cunningham, and Ronny Turiaf to Pacers for Danny Granger – Indiana adds depth to their bench, and if Granger returns to 80% of his former self, Minnesota gets almost an All-Star caliber 3. I don’t think Minnesota would have to throw in their first round pick for this offer to be fair.

Timberwolves trade Dante Cunningham, A.J. Price, Robbie Hummel (all three are expiring contracts), and 2014 first round pick to Jazz for Gordon Hayward – Let’s get this trade to the commissioner’s office right now. It makes too much sense.