10 Teams That Need To Make A Move Before The Deadline

The NBA Trade Deadline is This Thursday (March 15) at 3 PM ET. A lot of different rumors are out there, and a lot of different teams are in circumstances where a trade could bolster them for their playoff run or future. Here are my list of teams that need to make a move before the trade deadline.

#1. Orlando Magic: Here is the deal, the Magic are being held captive by Dwight Howard, and they seem frozen at the moment and unsure about what they want to do. Do they trade Howard? Do they bring somebody else in? What do they do? The truth of the matter is they can't get frozen here, let the deadline pass and do nothing. If you're planning on keeping Howard, then trade some other pieces like Jason Richardson, Jameer Nelson, Hedo Turkoglu, or some draft picks in addition to a few of those guys to add somebody to help Dwight Howard. If they don't get the feeling that such a move like that is realistically going to up their chances of keeping Dwight, then they need to read Dwight Howard's poker face and decide whether or not he plans to stay. If they don't think their chances are higher than 75% that Dwight stays, then the Magic should deal him and take the best offer. But regardless of which route they go (Deal Dwight or Keep Him), they gotta make a trade.
#2. Los Angeles Lakers: I understand that Ron Artest may be waking up from his slumber, which COULD put the Lakers back in the mix to win the west, but the reality is that the Lakers need to make a move. Even if it is to bolster their bench a little bit. They gotta do something. I actually think their best piece to trade for something like that could be Ron Artest. Some other teams may want him, and they could get a couple of solid bench guys back for him. Of course if the Magic are calling, dangling Dwight Howard in front of their noses, they'll have to really consider that at the expense of Gasol or Bynum.
#3. Los Angeles Clippers: They've already made a big trade this season, but now with Chauncey Billups out, they gotta pull one more good deal off. Jamal Crawford would be the perfect addition to them, and they wouldn't have to give up too much.
#4. Portland Trailblazers: This team is snake bit, and they've fallen a great deal from where they were entering this season. Remember those talks of Portland winning the west? Those talks seem like ages ago. But maybe with a good move, they could get back in the picture. The problem is who to deal. In many ways, maybe dealing Gerald Wallace wouldn't be a bad thing if they got something good for him. But I'd be hesitant to deal him. Maybe trading Crawford makes more sense because they wouldn't give up as much. Regardless of what they are thinking, they gotta do something.
#5. San Antonio Spurs: The Spurs are slipping with the retirement of TJ Ford, and the injuries that Manu Ginobili keeps incurring. Spurs are still in the mix, but they better trade for a big real quickly, otherwise, they are out of the race early once again.
#6. Dallas Mavericks: Something tells me this Lamar Odom saga isn't ending very well. Deal Odom to a team not called the Lakers (perhaps the Clippers?) and get something good back for him. The Clippers is where he started off, that'd be a nice place for him to end his career. In the opposite locker room from Kobe.
#7 Chicago Bulls: Let's face it, Rip Hamilton has not delivered the goods for the Bulls. He is old, injury prone, and not producing when in the games. They need to do something to get Rose scoring help in the back court. Kyle Korver is a nice shooter, but he has been shaky all season.They got guys to move, but where will they move them is the question. They don't have to make a push for Dwight Howard, but that would be an awesome duo with Rose and Howard. Miami would sure as hell be in some trouble. They can go big and shake it up, or they can fine tune their team through some smaller trades. But either way, the Bulls need to do something by the deadline.
#8. Oklahoma City Thunder: As well as they are playing, they need to deepen their bench a little bit, or add another good scorer to their bench. Maybe Rip Hamilton would succeed in OKC better, and the Bulls could get some nice young assets in exchange to use in the future. A Bulls/OKC trade smells good to me for both sides.
#9. Golden State Warriors: Is it Curry? Is it Ellis? Which one is it gonna be? I'm tired of hearing all these talks about Stephen Curry/Monta Ellis on the trading block. The reality is they have to make a move and get over with it.
#10. New Jersey Nets: Deron Williams won't stay unless they land Dwight Howard. Period. Nets better get creative with their offers, or they're rebuilding in 6 months.