2021 NBA Trade Deadline: 3 teams who will be sellers
As the 2021 NBA trade deadline approaches, teams are beginning to get a better sense of what direction they’ll intend to pursue moving forward and how the market might take shape. It’s becoming that point in the season where teams are either gearing up to be buyers or sellers.
The 2020-21 NBA season has been different in a variety of aspects compared to previous years, which has affected the business side of organizations. Complications from COVID-19 could play a key factor into how teams around the league intend to do business since many may feel the need to offload players on large contracts, expiring contracts, or pending restricted free agents.
We could see some teams elect to blow their roster up for the desire to rebuild, or we could just see teams opt to save money financially. Either way, there will be plenty of phone calls between front offices about potential deals circulating around certain players in these next couple of weeks.
Anything could be on the table for the majority of the league with how close the standings have been during these unprecedented times, but here are three teams that are expected to become sellers as the March 25th trade deadline inches closer.
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Seller at the NBA trade deadline: Sacramento Kings
The Sacramento Kings are coming off a nine-game losing streak and are losing all hope on their chances of earning a playoff berth or spot in the play-in tournament. In fact, hope is beginning to slowly fade for head coach Luke Walton as well.
The pressure is rising in Sacramento with their long-lasting playoff drought continuing to stretch, and recently instated general manager Monte McNair could be directing the franchise to another rebuild. With the current roster that the Kings have assembled, they absolutely should be sellers as we approach the trade deadline.
Nobody should be safe on the roster except for rising star De’Aaron Fox and promising rookie Tyrese Haliburton. The Kings need to prioritize the future and gather any assets that can help them reshape the outlook of the team.
It’s possible that Sacramento could blow up the roster before March 25th and begin an entirely new journey with a more future-minded point of view. They have many assets that could intrigue aspiring playoff teams, so McNair should be listening to various offers.
Harrison Barnes has recently been a hot topic that’s been linked to rumors with potential buyers on the market. Barnes has been a consistent producer on the wing that’s efficiently shooting the ball and has three years left on his contract, so he could become a valuable trade piece for teams willing to absorb him.
Buddy Hield has underperformed so far this season and has been overlooked due to the immediate emergence of Haliburton, so he’s an asset that could be offloaded for future pieces as well. It doesn’t seem like Hield is a core part of Sacramento’s future plans.
The former 2018 No. 2 overall pick, Marvin Bagley III, still has question marks over his head about his presence in Sacramento. He’s had his ups and downs, but it ultimately hasn’t worked out for the big man the way most envisioned it. His father even demanded the Kings to trade his son somewhere else to start new, but that was earlier in the season and things have mostly progressed.
It’s not too late for that to happen though, and if the right offer comes into play, Sacramento may pull the trigger. Bagley has an $11.3 million team option set for next season, and the Kings might prefer to save money.
Nemanja Bjelica and Hassan Whiteside are on expiring contacts that are actively being shopped, Richaun Holmes is on an affordable expiring contract that could also be flipped for an asset, and Cory Joseph could be talked about as well.
As the Kings intend to pursue youth and the long-term future, they will have many options to sell before the trade deadline. Momentum seems to be shifting for Sacramento to be very active on the phones in March.