NBA Trade News & Rumors: Feb. 19 Deadline Moved to Earlier Date?
The NBA's Feb. 19 in-season trade deadline is being negotiated for an earlier date, according to reports.
"Some executives have already pitched an earlier trade deadline in informal discussions with league officials," reported Pro Basketball Talk, explaining that the new Collective Bargaining Agreement has changed the mechanics of the trade universe.
It explained that contracts struck by players with the league's teams are much shorter now, thus diminishing the value of the contract itself. The question is: If a certain team plans to remove a player when his contract expires next season, why would you opt to steal him for a higher price this time?
Moves are done earlier now, too. Thus, if the last days will not see any movement, why should the NBA have to bore its fans and not choose to move the deadline to an earlier date?
"...[I]f teams are going to add talent, they're going to do it sooner -- both to increase chemistry-building time and the number of games a new player helps the team win," Pro Basketball Talk explained.
But Dan Feldman, who wrote the report, is on the other side of the fence. There is just no huge impact to gain from moving the schedule, he said.
Popular names like Rajon Rondo, Iman Shumpert and Dion Waiters lead a host of other big and small trade deals already closed, and the few weeks remaining are still filled with possibilities, the report added.
In fact, just on Jan. 28, New York Daily News reporter Frank Isola's tweet revealed that Reggie Jackson figures in another deal after nearly going to the Denver Nuggets, with the move to be closed "before the deadline."
Cleveland.com also reported that the Detroit Pistons might be eyeing Miami Heat point guard Norris Cole. The Pistons might also be interested in the New York Knicks' Pablo Prigioni, ESPN's Marc Stein revealed on Twitter.
There are many more exciting trades that may happen in the NBA. On Jan. 26, the Bleacher Report was still able to assemble a legion of 10 most coveted NBA players -- including Joe Johnson, Jose Calderon, Miles Plumlee, Deron Williams and Lance Stephenson. Thaddeus Young tops the list.
After players like Timofey Mozgov, Jeff Green and J.R. Smith were traded, it noted, "we're not done yet ... [because] some quality options at reasonable prices do still exist. "
"So, it's not as if the trade market is dead," Feldman noted. "I don't see a point to mandating the trade market move this direction." He added that the third-week date also perfectly regulates nonplayoff teams from tanking via dumping their players to the playoff teams.
The comments agree with Feldman, with one saying: "Some of these executives can't seem to stay out of their own way. The trade deadline belongs right where it is."