After months of rumors, we have finally arrived at the NBA\u2019s February 6 trade deadline. With plenty of deals happening before the eventual deadline, one might think it will be a quiet deadline. That may prove to be very wrong. The race has become tighter, and that will put teams under pressure to make moves to improve. Let\u2019s take a look.<\/p>\n
In the West, plenty of teams made a move to improve their roster. The Lakers got Luka Doncic<\/a>, the Spurs got De\u2019Aaron Fox<\/a>, and the Warriors got Jimmy Butler<\/a>. Two of those, the Spurs and Warriors, are outside of the play-in going into the NBA\u2019s February 6 trade deadline. While the Spurs have a young phenomenon in Victor Wembanyama<\/a>, the Warriors cannot be patient. Let\u2019s take a look at some of the teams that will be under pressure going into the deadline\u2019s last minutes.<\/p>\n The Warriors just made a trade for Jimmy Butler<\/a>. So, why are they on the list? Well, Butler doesn\u2019t move the needle enough for them. They still lack shooting, and unless their plan is to go after Lauri Markkanen<\/a> in the summer, they need shooting to compete this year. The point of \u00a0trading for Butler is to put a roster together that can compete.<\/p>\n Golden State traded two of their best shooters in Andrew Wiggins<\/a> and Dennis Schroder<\/a>. As crazy as that sounds, Wiggins averaged 5.8 three-point attempts on 37.9% efficiency, and Schroder had 4.8 attempts per contest at 32.2% efficiency (since joining the Warriors). Butler doesn\u2019t shoot as many threes, and the Warriors need as many of them as they can find. They are using rookie Quinten Post<\/a> as a stretch center, which is enough proof they need a big man who can shoot. They might make another move such as trading for Nikola Vucevic<\/a> by the deadline. After all, they still have plenty of draft picks and young players to trade.<\/p>\n The Minnesota Timberwolves entered this season as one of the favorites to win the West. They were in the Western Conference Finals last year and expected a growth from Anthony Edwards<\/a>. He has been great so far, but their summer trade for Julius Randle<\/a> hasn\u2019t panned out.<\/p>\n The Timberwolves have played better recently, going 6-4 in their last 10 games. They are still seventh in the West though, just outside of a guaranteed playoff spot. With teams below them making moves to improve, the Timberwolves might look to ship Randle and get players that fit better. Latest reports are that Randle is injured<\/a> and will miss about two weeks.<\/p>\n The Hawks were hit with the worst injury news recently, as breakout star Jalen Johnson<\/a> was ruled out for the season<\/a>. Stuck in a play-in position, the Hawks have several veterans they can trade for future assets. The only reason they might compete for a higher spot is to “stick it” to the Spurs. Atlanta owes its first-round pick to San Antonio without protections. They surely do not want to give up a lottery pick<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Hawks have been in plenty of trade rumors<\/a> recently, but nothing has materialized yet. They have expiring veterans like Clint Capela<\/a> and Larry Nance Jr<\/a>, as well as cheap contracts like Cody Zeller<\/a>. The Hawks might also canvas the market for Bogdan Bogdanovic<\/a>, who has a team option for 2026-27 at $16 million. His contract is of great value, but he is 32 years old and the Hawks might decide to rebuild around Johnson and Dyson Daniels<\/a>. Those two are 23 and 21 years old respectively.<\/p>\nGolden State Warriors<\/h3>\n
Minnesota Timberwolves<\/h3>\n
Atlanta Hawks<\/h3>\n