NBA recap: 2019 trade deadline, buyout market and games to watch

The 2019 NBA Trade Deadline is nearing and there seems to be plenty of big names available, but will any of them actually move midseason?

Two of the most viral times the NBA grasps the headlines come off the court. The summer free agency frenzy garners the most attention, but the trade deadline is not too far behind in terms of generating buzz and stories. This year is arguably the most rumor-filled deadline in recent memory with a superstar requesting a trade, one star prospect getting traded already and plenty of other names being thrown out as being available.

Trade season got off to a sudden start with one of the worst-kept secrets in the NBA being revealed, as Anthony Davis informed the New Orleans Pelicans he wishes to be traded elsewhere and won’t sign an extension with the franchise. The obvious trade partner has been the Los Angeles Lakers, but the Lakers are pessimistic that a deal will be done despite offering their three biggest prospects and draft capital, according to ESPN‘s Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne.

While the AD request continues to dominate the news cycle, Kristaps Porzingis had his own discussion with the New York Knicks brass that led to him being traded to the Dallas Mavericks last week for a package headlined by Dennis Smith Jr.

This move gives the Mavs their two cornerstone players moving forward. KP and Luka Doncic leading a franchise for the next decade is an unbelievable haul for a franchise watching Dirk Nowitzki near retirement.  A Luka-KP pick-and-roll is a bigger version of the Mavs’ last star pairing in Steve Nash and Dirk, one that owner Marc Cuban admitted was his mistake and won’t let happen to Luka and KP (I mean, look how happy they are).

Porzingis is out for the season rehabbing a torn ACL from last season, but the swiftness of a deal including a player of Zinger’s stature and potential was shocking despite the Knicks accomplishing their goal of clearing enough cap space for two max contracts (Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving?)

Mike Conley and Marc Gasol are available as the Memphis Grizzlies continue their free fall in the Western Conference standings, but finding a suitor to take Conley’s massive contract warns off some teams. The Utah Jazz have shown interest in acquiring Conley, but no deal has come to fruition at this point.

Gasol has a player option for next season worth roughly $26 million and teams are cautious to trade for a 34-year-old big with an injury history of foot problems like Gasol’s without him declining his player option. Gasol wants to be traded, but waiving his option is the best way to accelerate the process of him leaving Memphis, which surely signals the end of the Grit-N-Grind era.

There are players that can help a team in the playoff hunt, but striking a deal is proving to be difficult. From teams wanting to maintain cap space to pushing for postseason basketball, the rumors may outweigh the actual action this trade deadline.