5 NBA Trades We Want to See Before the Deadline

Before you start wildin' out in the comments, hear us out first:

These are completely hypothetical and fun trades we'd love to see happen before Thursday's 3 pm ET NBA trade deadline hits. Some are rooted in the rumors we've all read from NBA insiders while others could most definitely be classified as wishful thinking. Regardless, we just hope to see Woj bombs lobbed at a record-breaking pace because while the chances of a totally lame trade deadline are high, chaos and calamity are preferred.

Were we able to ship DeAndre Jordan out of Los Angeles? What contender in the West got some much needed under-the-radar help in their quest to dethrone the Warriors? How did we shake up the Cavaliers? Peep the five trades we'd like to see happen before the deadline.

Teams Involved: Cavaliers, Hornets, Hawks

Players Involved: Nicholas Batum, Kent Bazemore, Kemba Walker, Jeremy Lamb, Dewayne Dedmon, Tristan Thompson, Iman Shumpert, Isaiah Thomas, JR Smith, Jae Crowder, Frank Kaminsky, Ante Zizic

Wins Gained by Cavaliers: 2

Wins Lost by Hornets: 7

Wins Lost by Hawks: 20

The Cavs are a mess. The roster doesn't make sense and it's pretty clear that Isaiah Thomas isn't going to fit with LeBron James. With that in mind, this three-team trade between the Cavs, Hornets, and Hawks fixes issues for everyone. The Hornets get a 1st round pick in the deal while getting off the Batum contract. It's not yet fair to think IT is done for good and a restart in Charlotte will likely do him some good. The Hawks get off the Bazemore deal while picking up draft incentive for next season. They also get Jae Crowder on a good deal, along with Frank Kaminksy, who has shown promise at times. For the Cavs, this is a no brainer. They get a new PG for LeBron while adding some depth on the wings and in the middle. — Zach Frydenlund

Teams Involved: Cavaliers, Clippers

Players Involved: DeAndre Jordan, Tristan Thompson, Iman Shumpert

Wins Gained by Clippers: 4

Wins Lost by Cavaliers: 5

Cleveland ranks as one of the worst defensive teams in the league and DeAndre is one of the more athletic defensive big men out there, so snatching him up can help make up for Cleveland's poor play this season. Shipping Tristan to LA will also bring him closer to his growing family and would make appearances on any and all Kardashian shows easier. Shump is the perfect starter for a team trying to rebuild. This, of course, won’t make Isaiah Thomas into a lock down defender and they should probably trade him, too, because Danny Ainge finessed Cleveland in the Kyrie Irving deal. The Cavs need a shot on the arm and this could be it. What they really need are a couple guys who don’t mind being role players. There’s too many IG thots on that team. — Angel Diaz

Teams Involved: Celtics, Grizzlies

Players Involved: Marcus Smart, Tyreke Evans

Wins Gained by Celtics: 10

Wins Lost by Grizzlies: 10

Off the bat, this one's overly simplistic. Boston's already one of the best defensive teams in the NBA and what they need for a truly deep run, all the way into June possibly, is more offense. Tyreke Evans is the best available scorer on the market so let's ship Marcus Smart, who is under control for another year and relatively cheap ($6 million), for Evans and his expiring contract after this season. Danny Ainge needs to throw in a draft pick for this to work but he's got so many of them it's not like he's going to miss it. — Adam Caparell

Teams: Trail Blazers and Clippers

Players Involved: DeAndre Jordan, Juwan Evans, Moe Harkless, Ed Davis, Shabazz Napier

Wins Gained by Blazers: 0

Wins Lost by Clippers: 3

If the NBA Playoffs started tomorrow (get ready to hear that a zillion times between now and April), the Trail Blazers would be in the postseason for a fifth straight year. But just barely. Worse, they would likely end up playing the Spurs, Rockets, or Warriors in the first round, which means they would have next to no chance of winning more than a game or maybe two during their first-round matchup. Adding Jordan wouldn’t guarantee playoff success, but it would: A) give the Blazers a better chance of actually making the playoffs, B) inject some intrigue into their first-round matchup, and C) show Damian Lillard they want to keep him happy by continuing to build around him. That last one might prove to be the most important reason to pull the trigger on this trade and could make it worth it in the end, even if Jordan decides to opt out of his current contract following this season. — Chris Yuscavage

Teams Involved: 2

Players Involved: Patrick Patterson, Terrance Ferguson, Avery Bradley

Wins Gained by Clippers: 0

Wins Gained by Thunder: 0

Believe it or not, the Thunder haven't been the same since Andre Roberson went down for the season seven games ago. ESPN's Royce Young did a good job of breaking it all down. Go read it. Before OKC blitzed the Warriors Tuesday night, the team was on a four-game losing streak and the defense was taking a hit without one of its top defenders blanketing the opposition. The Thunder don't need anymore offense come April and May. They need to replace Roberson's tenacity on the other end of the court. While I have my reservations that the Clippers would deal the recently acquired Avery Bradley to a conference foe, they're basically tearing it down and if they can coerce OKC to send the highly regarded Terrance Ferguson—which, real talk, might be asking too much from OKC—then the Clippers have to pull the trigger on this deal. — Adam Caparell