2021 NBA Trade Deadline: 4 teams primed to make moves

The NBA’s annual trade deadline is always a must-follow event for its league-altering potential, but this season brings with it a few added wrinkles that have the chance to add even more layers of intrigue.

By this point of the season, a handful of teams can typically rule themselves out of the playoff conversation. But with the addition of the play-in tournament that adds two teams in each conference, more teams can convince themselves they have a shot.

As the NBA’s trade deadline quickly approaches, four teams, in particular, appear primed to make a deal as either buyers or sellers.

Sellers in previous years are now looking to be buyers, which means a lot more competition for the players who find themselves on the trade market. And the more teams are looking to improve, the more potential trade scenarios materialize with a greater chance at some of them coming to fruition.

Of course, the play-in tournament doesn’t wipe out the seller’s market completely. Whether due to injury or pending free agents, several teams find themselves better suited to plan for the future, which would mean parting ways with any number of players who don’t fit that plan.

Every team must fall somewhere on either end. Regardless of where they sit, here are four teams most likely to be active come the trade deadline.