The NBA's trade deadline for the 2017-18 season is at 3 pm eastern time today, February 8. Hopefully some significant moves will be made to shake things up and make the league overall more interesting.
The biggest question is probably whether or not the Cleveland Cavaliers will make any changes to their roster being that the three time defending Eastern conference champions have struggled as of late. It has been speculated they could move PF Tristian Thompson, PG Isaiah Thomas, or a few other players (Lebron James's name has even come up in conversations, although the chances of him being traded are slim to none).
-Tristan Thompson's play has fallen off since he dated a Kardashian, so maybe the Cavs will be able to move him and his bad contract to LA for Deandre Jordan (image from ESPN).
As an Oklahoma City Thunder fan, I would like to see them move Carmelo Anthony. The team is coming together nicely, but I believe trading for Anthony before the start of the season was a mistake. The chemistry between Russell Westbrook and Paul George is building well despite Anthony being an impediment to that from the beginning. His shot selection is poor and he is still too focued on playing iso ball. Still, Lebron has always been interested in playing with Carmelo, so maybe there is a chance OKC and Cleveland can work something out. Cleveland seemed interested in trading Kevin Love until he recently suffered a broken hand, which will keep him sidelined for the next month or so. That said, I would not be opposed to my Thunder trading Anthony for Love, JR Smith, and Jay Crowder. OKC did beat Golden State the other night without Anthony, who jacked up a few terrible shots before leaving with an injury.
A move I think the Thunder have to make, especially if they do not make any other, is acquiring Tony Allen to replace their defensive specialist guard Andre Roberson, who was recently lost for the season with a ruptured tendon. Allen was recently acquired by the Bulls in a trade with the New Orleans Pelicans, but insiders say they will probably release him if they cannot move him today. Allen's defensive presence could be very important to OKC if they are to make a post season run.
Something else to watch for is whether or not the LA Clippers trade center Deandre Jordan. Jordan's contract expires at the end of the year, but his rim protection and rebounding could greatly help a contending team.
Today is the last chance for teams to make a deal to position themselves for a post season run, and it is also a time for struggling teams to throw up the white flag in hopes of shedding bad contracts and hoping to end up with a higher draft pick. It will be interesting to see what moves are made. I just hope some are.