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At 3 PM ET Thursday, the deadline for NBA trades for this season will hit. Moves made after the deadline will be limited to waiver pick-ups; meaning only veterans with short deals will likely shift around. Of course, those veterans (like Joe Smith) might be moved before that can happen.There are a few parallel storylines heading into the deadline, and (unfortunately) not all of them have to do with basketball. So what should you expect to go down before the deadline hits?
Well, first, you should plan to join FanHouse's trade deadline chat at 2PM ET. We'll talk trades, rumors, expiring contracts, draft picks and the luxury tax. And maybe some basketball.
Here's a rundown of the types of trades we might expect.
* The blockbuster. The talks for Amar'e Stoudemire are dead. The biggest names on the consensus block would be Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson, two weighty contracts on teams that can't really afford weighty contracts right now. You'd expect Milwaukee to be an easier mark (given the economy and Jefferson's lesser reputation), but New Jersey has a big incentive to move Carter before 2010 (even if Brooklyn is delayed). Portland, San Antonio, Dallas and Houston are said to be the suitors in the blockbuster. Antawn Jamison, Shaq, Josh Howard, Hedo Turkoglu, Gerald Wallace, Raef LaFrentz, Ken Griffey Jr. and Wilt Chamberlain could also be involved in blockbusters.
* The shocker. There are names out on the market we haven't heard, or have heard only in rare whisper. Last year, the two shocker trades (Pau Gasol to L.A., Shaq for Shawn Marion) didn't happen at the deadline. But know that 30 NBA GMs are talking to each other today. Stuff happens.
* The fire sale. This category shares some Venn diagram territory with the above two. Bad teams have no reason to carry unwieldy contracts for older players. Contenders need help, often at all costs. (See: Gasol to L.A.)
* The tinker. We've had one miniscule luxury tax move this week, when Boston sent Sam Cassell to Sacramento to save $300,000. (Sacramento waived Cassell a day later.) Expect a few more, and don't freak out if you can't immediately grok why Damon Jones gets swapped for Steve Novak, or something.
* The shifting of deck chairs. We introduce this category so that we don't have to call the Kings-Bulls trade or last season's Cavs-Bulls-Sonics trade blockbusters.
Remember: 2PM ET. FanHouse trade deadline live chat. Be there.
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