By Charles Jay
One of the interesting things that happens with NBA teams coming out of the All-Star break is that some of the participants have also been part of trade rumors. And the league’s trading deadline is set conveniently right after the mid-season classic. This year, it is February 18, and you can bet that there will be a lot of talk among general managers who are either looking to “move” salary or pick up that one player who might make the difference, say, between finishing in the top tier or the lower tier of the conference playoff queue, which will, of course, determine who gets home court advantage in a first-round playoff series.
This would also obviously mean something to NBA futures bettors at Vietbet , who may find themselves with a little extra value on one of those plays if a key man wound up on their side. In the West, it would probably be a little surprising, however, if either the Golden State Warriors (-160) or the San Antonio Spurs (+260) didn’t win the conference, although the East is a little more wide-open, as, for example, only four and a half games separate the third-place Boston Celtics and the ninth-place Detroit Pistons, and the Toronto Raptors’ recent surge has made the Cleveland Cavaliers much less of an inevitability in the conference.
The Celtics, who are in pretty good shape everywhere else, are looking for a guy who can be a little more of an intimidator in the middle, and that is one reason that rumors of a deal involving Al Horford of the Atlanta Hawks are prominent. Of course, this is all very interesting because (a) the Hawks are currently the #4 team in the East, and (b) Horford was named to replace Chris Bosh (calf injury) in the All-Star Game. And yes, the Hawks (+2500 to win the East at Vietbet) are the team that made it all the way to the East finals last season. Horford is not the only guy who is rumored to be on the move. So is point guard Jeff Teague.
With Horford it is more of a contract issue. Teague’s availability is a bit of a head-scratcher. But there are a couple of teams that are on the cusp of playoff contention who wouldn’t mind having him around. One of them is the Utah Jazz, a 200/1 shot to win the West, who are seeking an upgrade from what they have been getting from Trey Burke. Remember that Dante Exum never got to suit up for his second NBA season because of an ACL injury. Realistically, the most the Jazz could hope to move up is two spots in the standings, but they naturally want to avoid having to play Golden State or San Antonio in the first round. And of course, they don’t want to get bounced out of the playoff queue either.
As they have Rudy Gobert patrolling the middle, the Jazz don’t really need a guy like Dwight Howard, but Howard is a strong possibility to be moved SOMEWHERE. he is a different case in that he is going to be more of a “rent-a-player” than anything else. He is expected to go into free agency in the summer, so whatever team takes him would be one looking for a quick fix. That might suit Boston (+1700 to win the East at Vietbet) just fine, since the Celtics still would like to think they can chase down second-place Toronto in the conference, while Brad Stevens continues to do a remarkable job.
Howard is the kind of guy who has a habit of wearing out his welcome. And some of the things that go on with him behind the scenes are often a distraction, as they are with the Houston Rockets right now. But at the moment the Celtics may feel they can keep the toxic level down as they pursue a conference title that seems less like a pipe dream every day.
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