The calendar has turned to March, which means -- for this season at least -- it's time for trades.
There have been only three in-season trades so far in 2021: the move that sent Derrick Rose to the New York Knicks, the Houston Rockets' acquisition of Kevin Porter Jr. from the Cleveland Cavaliers, and, of course, the four-team megadeal that sent James Harden to the Brooklyn Nets.
The NBA trade deadline is a little more than three weeks away, and while league insiders are predicting a quiet deadline, there is still plenty of time between now and March 25 for things to change.
Teams that are on the fringes of the playoff race could slide in the standings, turning them into deadline sellers. Contenders could decide they need to make one big move to chase a championship. Players such as Andre Drummond and Blake Griffin, who've been held out by their teams in advance of the deadline, could suddenly find themselves in demand.
With that in mind, our NBA experts took a swing at playing GM, setting up five big trades they'd like to see go down this month, starting with a shake-up at the top of the Eastern Conference.