Several should-be playoff contenders have struggled through the earlier parts of the season, either due to injuries or pieces not fitting together. While in-season moves don’t usually pick up until after the New Year, closer to February’s trade deadline, several teams appear to be scouring the market for help. The Bucks are chief among those teams, stumbling out to a 4-8 record in the early part of the season.
In an Insider-only piece , a group of ESPN writers agree that the Bucks’ most likely course of action is to see if their three-point shooting evens out. Milwaukee doesn’t have much flexibility, but players like Damian Lillard , Brook Lopez and Gary Trent Jr. are shooting below their typical averages.
Waiting it out might be the best and only course of action for now, although Jamal Collier notes that they’ve expressed interest in a defensive wing. The Heat have several questions about their future after not agreeing to an extension with Jimmy Butler . Butler’s ankle injury has clouded those questions further, but Tim Bontemps writes that the Heat aren’t in any rush to make moves.
They entered the season wanting to see how their team looked in the first half of the season, and according to Bontemps, that thought process hasn’t changed. While New Orleans has flexibility to make a trade, its season is hampered by numerous injuries. Michael C.
Wright indicates that the Pelicans seem more likely to stand pat this season and not make major moves since they’v.