Oct. 30

NBA Power Rankings: Under-the-radar trade moves for all 30 teams

Jan 8, 2025, 08:00 AM ET

All eyes will be on Wednesday’s big matchup (and a possible NBA Finals preview) between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Cleveland Cavaliers in a clash between the league’s top two teams.

Both boast the best records in their conferences and both are riding impressive winning streaks (OKC’s 15 to Cleveland’s 10). Both have All-Star talent in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland.

Off the court, the buzz around the NBA has been on Jimmy Butler and what the Miami Heat will do with the disgruntled player ahead of the Feb. 6 deadline after suspending him for seven games last week. The Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers got the trade action started in December, and with less than a month to go until the deadline, expect deals to pick up as teams jockey for postseason push or rebuilding plans.

This week, we asked our NBA insiders to look at one trade option — some sneaky, some less so — for all 30 teams, whether it’s to fill a glaring roster hole or add some depth ahead of the second half of the season.

Here are the updated rankings for all 30 clubs.

Note: Team rankings are based on where members of our panel (ESPN’s Tim Bontemps, Jamal Collier, Michael Wright, Tim MacMahon, Dave McMenamin, Ohm Youngmisuk, Chris Herring and Kevin Pelton) think teams belong this season.

Previous rankings: Preseason