With the Miami Heat, Golden State Warriors, and Sacramento Kings all expected to make moves ahead of the trade deadline, they could find common ground on a blockbuster 3-team swap.
The Warriors are looking to add talent around their best player and have already done so by acquiring Dennis Schroeder from the Brooklyn Nets last month. However, they are still near the bottom half of the Western Conference standings and could very well miss the playoffs again this season without further reinforcements.
That is unacceptable considering that they have franchise icon Steph Curry, who was still playing at a high level. With Golden State still very much trying to win, they would need to make another big trade to level up in the Western Conference standings.
The Heat are seemingly stuck being a middling Eastern Conference team and are waiting to see how the Jimmy Butler situation plays out. Butler has requested to be traded, but the Heat don't seem to have any rush in moving him ahead of the deadline.
Thus far, they haven't gotten strong offers for one of their best players, and that has likely caused a delay in him being traded. That being said, if the right deal came along, then they would probably be more than willing to move on from him and begin a new era centered around Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo.
The Heat are unlikely to go through an extended rebuild, and any deal that would allow them to remain competitive as they figure out their next move would make plenty of sense. Especially considering they have better building blocks than teams and their position.
The Kings have been much better of late after firing former coach Mike Brown and replacing him with former Kings player Doug Christie. As of writing, they are 8-2 and have made up some ground in the Western Conference standings. Be that as it may, they still face an uphill battle to make the play-in tournament, let alone the playoffs as currently constructed, and are in desperate need of a big trade to shake up their roster.
They have been frequently mentioned in trade talks. With rumors of De'Aaron Fox being available, they likely will try to hold off on trading him in hopes of building a winner around him and Domantas Sabonis. That probably isn't realistic, but they can improve with a big trade, depending on what they are willing to give up.
Them making a trade is a risky proposition since Fox could leave in free agency after next season, and the Kings are already down several picks after making moves to build their current roster. Even so, there may be a potential trade that could help the Kings get back on track.
The Warriors, Heat, and Kings all have reasons to make a trade, and a tantalizing proposed deal would potentially solve all three teams issues. Next, let's take a look at a proposed deal involving Sacramento, Miami, and Golden State and see whether each team would agree to the deal as is.