The List: 7 teams to watch at the NBA trade deadline

The NBA trade deadline is upon us and we’ve already had a superstar blockbuster involving Blake Griffin, as well as the conclusion to the Niko Mirotic saga in Chicago. The obligatory Zeller/Plumlee deal also went down as Tyler Zeller was shipped to Milwaukee.

As we head toward the finish, here’s a handful of teams that might be willing to do business.

Cleveland: If any team really needs to make a deal, it’s the Cavs. They have a surplus of players at multiple positions and no one’s happy. Minutes are getting squeezed, tensions are high, and nerves are frayed. It’s not as if the current mix clicked all that well either, especially on the defensive end where the Cavs don’t look disinterested or bored. They just look bad.

While everyone wants them to do something huge, this feels a like a situation where less would be more. Ideally, general manager Koby Altman would make a deal that clears out some of his cap-clogging contracts and addresses their defensive needs. Barring an absolute blockbuster involving the Brooklyn pick, my George Hill vigil continues.

That may not be enough to keep LeBron James in Ohio forever, but ask yourself: What player would tip the scales back toward the Cavs in a potential rematch with the Warriors? Right. That player either doesn’t exist or isn’t available.

Los Angeles Clippers: Having traded Griffin to the Pistons, one would think the Clips would be motivated to deal DeAndre Jordan who is a player option away from becoming a free agent this summer. And what of Lou Williams, who is having a career year and also set to be a free agent?

Keep in mind that Jerry West is not in the habit of giving players away just to move them. A first rounder for Williams is the minimum buy-in at the moment, just as it is for Tyreke Evans and the Grizzlies. (My bet is someone will cough up a first for Evans.)

Jordan is a different story. While big men of his ilk are being phased out, Jordan is still effective and durable. The Clips are said to be eying the Cavs’ Brooklyn pick for DeAndre and if that’s the barrier for entry, other teams will have to up their ante.

(Keep an eye on Portland, who is treading water in the West’s lower half of playoff contention.)

Boston: While not official yet, Danny Ainge has cleared one bit of business by using a the team’s disabled player exception on Greg Monroe. That exception was created by Gordon Hayward’s injury and it’s worth noting that Monroe does not preclude a Hayward comeback.

Ainge could still be in the market for more offensive punch at the deadline although he is in no hurry to part with a first-rounder for Evans or Williams, and taking on one or the other would require sending out players in return. The Cs would like to keep all their draft goodies in the event that a mega-star becomes available down the line (see: Davis, Anthony). But that’s at least a year away, if not longer.

There’s smoke around Marcus Smart, currently out while he mends a lacerated hand after having an unfortunate meeting with a glass frame. Smart is a restricted free agent at season’s end, but the Cs love what he brings on the defensive end. That one is worth watching.

Utah: This has been a disappointing season for the Jazz, but they’re not ones to panic in the face of adversity. This deadline could help serve as a useful transition period between the team they left behind last season and the one that’s just about ready to emerge led by Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert.

Rodney Hood is the player drawing the most interest as the deadline draws near. Hood is another pending restricted free agent and the Jazz can’t pay everyone. Hood still shouldn’t come cheap. He’s averaging better than 16 points a game and shooting over 38 percent from behind the arc.

He’d look great in Oklahoma City, and you know Sam Presti is always aggressive at the deadline. Presti is handcuffed a bit in this pursuit, given that he can’t deal a first rounder until 2024 and that pick would have to be unprotected, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

Prying Tony Allen loose from the Bulls would cost less in picks, but might entail moving some salary around. Interesting call for Presti.

Los Angeles Lakers: Now here’s a dilemma. The Lakers need to shed salaries if they are going to clear enough cap space to make a run at securing two max free agents this summer. The cost of dumping Timofey Mozgov last summer was former No. 2 overall pick D’Angelo Russell, so this is a prohibitively expensive ploy.

Julius Randle is yet another player who will become a restricted free agent. Larry Nance and Jordan Clarkson would have appeal for teams, but the Lakers are playing really good basketball right now. They have to decide what kind of franchise they’re going to be, one that builds with youth or one that chases high-end free agents.

We know what kind of team they want to be, but they’ve spent years working on this young core. Trading youth and coming up empty this summer would set the rebuilding effort back considerably.

Denver: The Nuggets have a lot of guys and not all of them are in the rotation. Vets like Kenneth Faried have fallen out of favor and young players like Malik Beasley are having a hard time carving out consistent minutes. Paul Millsap is set to return after the All-Star break, which further muddies the frontcourt situation.

Emmanuel Mudiay’s name has been out there for a while, but it’s hard to see what he would bring in return after three disappointing seasons.

Charlotte: The Kemba Walker talk has cooled, which is a good thing. Kemba is a star and those guys are really hard to find. If the Hornets need a course correction, they’d be better off packaging some of their vets and pressing reset rather than burning it to the ground.

Any team with cap space: This would be your Brooklyn’s, your Atlanta’s, and maybe the Bulls who already took on Omer Asik’s dead money deal. Cap space is a serious commodity in this day and age, so teams with space to burn can pick up a few spare assets along the way. Exciting stuff, to be sure.

The feeling is that this will be a typical deadline with a few small deals before buyout season kicks into gear. Now watch everyone get traded at 2:59 p.m.