The NBA Trade Deadline is fast approaching and teams are jockeying to position themselves as title contenders. There’s one thing every team needs this time of year, the same thing every team always needs: shooters.
There’s no skill more important in today’s game than the ability to space the floor and pop a shot from the perimeter. The old adage is that defense wins championships, but shooting is a required skill too.
The deadline isn’t here yet and many teams are still deciding whether they will be buyers or sellers, an equation complicated by the permanent installation of the play-in tournament. Still, choices must be made.
With the NBA trade deadline on the horizon, it’s the perfect time to rank the top shooters available on the market.
It’s not too early to fully evaluate what the trade market is going to look like in just a couple of weeks. There’s already a sense of who some of the shooters will be available to the highest bidders.
The trade deadline is on Feb. 9 at 3:00 PM ET. Some of the expected sellers ahead of the deadline include the Detroit Pistons, San Antonio Spurs, Charlotte Hornets, and Houston Rockets, with the Oklahoma City Thunder and Orlando Magic potentially in a similar position. If the Indiana Pacers, Utah Jazz, Toronto Raptors, or Chicago Bulls jump into the seller fray, we could be in for one of the nuttiest trade periods in some time.
Let’s rank the best shooters expected to be available in a trade this winter.
(All stats updated through Jan. 27)