The NBA season is already one quarter of the way done, which means the trade deadline will be here sooner than you think. While there hasn't been an in-season trade yet in 2021-22 -- the last deals came on Oct. 6, when the Nets swapped players with the Rockets and Pacers in two separate deals -- trade season could pick up in a couple of weeks. More than 100 players who signed contracts this past offseason will become eligible to be traded on Dec. 15, giving teams more flexibility when working deals and matching salaries.
The standings are bunched up at this early stage of the season. In the Western Conference, just half a game separates fourth place from 10th place, while the 11th-place Celtics are only four games back of the first-place Nets in the East. Making a deal sooner rather than later could be a difference-maker for a potential contender. With that in mind, we asked our NBA experts to come up with deals to put a team back into pole position in the playoff race.
MORE: Every player who can and can't be traded
Golden State Warriors add another All-Star
Golden State receives:
Indiana receives:
Andre' Snellings: I've been a proponent of the Warriors holding onto their young lottery picks to secure the future, but this deal gives them an All-Star at a position of need. Sabonis is young enough (25 years old) to be a franchise player even after the Warriors' current core starts to age. As Deandre Ayton and the Phoenix Suns just demonstrated, the Warriors can be exploited by certain matchups in the middle.