Amongst a flurry of activity in the NBA, it seemed a proper time to take an initial look at the NSL trade deadline.  During a year of extensive, and unexpected movement of stars in the NBA, many around the NSL believe we might have a hard time keeping pace this time around.  While we may not see a blockbuster deal that can rival the Luka-AD trade, there are still a grip of highly impactful players being shopped, and a nice balance of competing and non-competing teams.  In this article we will highlight a few teams who may or may not be buying win-now players to bolster their run.  

East Contenders:

Milwaukee Bucks

The Bucks have been one of the most active teams dating back to the finish of last season.  Out was Paul George, Myles Turner, and a couple of peripheral role players from the championship team, and in came a host of new pieces, seemingly half of which have already been moved on(Mitchell Robinson, Tyler Herro, amongst others).  The Bucks find themselves in a peculiar spot after years of limited moves.  They are meshing new pieces into the lineup including Andrew Wiggins, and the injured Jabari Smith Jr., and looking to see what they have.  If early signs aren’t of a good nature, I fully expect Milwaukee to be back on the market looking for additional win now help.  GM Ethan has been steadfast about his interest in wanting to maximize SGA’s championship window, so if this team isn’t built to win it all, expect more win-now changes to come.

Washington Wizards

The Wizards are mainly comprised of familiar pieces.  Still bookended by Devin Booker, Lebron James and co. they are looking like a team who is ready to run it back as is.  But not so fast.  Reports from around the league suggest Washington has considered major changes leading up to the deadline, some even say, they’ve considered moving on from the King himself.  Now, I wouldn’t go as far to say Lebron will be moved come week 15, but I would say the Wizards are a team to watch come the deadline.  They could shake things up in a manner that we have not seen in years from the Washington front office. 

Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cavaliers lit up the league on the win column initially, then lit up the league from a commentary standpoint after their recent trade to bring in Julius Randle.  Many around the league regarded the trade as “ill-advised” with some comments going as far as to say, “why would you mess with a good thing?”  Shams has been a wizard at the controls and in the trade market, so it is hard to question him here.  Early signs are that the team will continue to run much the same.  But what if they don’t?  I expect the Cavs to stay put, mostly as is, barring a major drop off or injury.  They do have a log jam at the center spot, with Andre Drummond, Onyeka Okongwu, and Missi all providing good options there.  The depth is plenty in Cleveland, so I can’t rule out a major trade to bring in one more star piece to complete the equation. 

The rest of the Eastern Conference Contenders:

Chicago seems keen to continue on with the build as is.  They have not indicated any pressure to bring in additional win now pieces, and it’s hard to blame them given the play they’ve received from their depth players.  For some time they were shopping Ty Jerome, but the block on him never materialized the way their GM expected.  All indications point to Chicago holding off on additional moves.

Charlotte and Toronto seem in similar boats in the sense that they are all moved out.  With their core teams in place, and without much assets to spend in the way of young players or picks, it’s hard to see where a needle-moving trade could come from with either squad.  Both teams have had their share of injuries, and both teams seem to believe they will be competitive in the end if health permits.  Hard to disagree with those assertions either.

West Contenders:

OKC Thunder

The Thunder seem to have made one of the more interesting, and impactful trades of the season when they traded Okongwu and more to Cleveland, bringing DeAndre Ayton to OKC.  Ayton has been a 2k beast for years, and he’s no different in 2k25.  They have a star-studded starting group led by Trae, Anthony Edwards, and Ayton, but the depth leaves a bit to be desired.  Caruso is a great defensive piece, but he’s missed some time this year.  Grimes just got traded to a new home in Philly, where he may thrive, or may add to the disfunction that is the 2025 76ers, and Brandon Clarke has a colorful injury history as well.  I wouldn’t expect a major move for a star, but it would not surprise me to see a peripheral piece or two added to OKC for this run.

Utah Jazz

The Jazz might be the surprise team of the year.  Not because of where they sit in the standings, as many had them picked to finish at or near the top of the West this year, but because of how they’ve done it.  If you had told me they would miss Embiid, Franz, and others for large swaths of the year, I’d suspect them to be fighting for a play-in spot, not the #1 seed!  But here we are.  Utah has made plenty of moves this season to offset some of those injuries, including the recent trade that sent Dejounte Murray and Jabari Smith Jr. elsewhere.  In comes Kristaps Porzingis, and we will see soon how he fits next to Embiid with Embiid’s return impending.  Utah has some depth and some pieces to utilize, and it would not totally shock me to see them look to make 1 more move to bring in a top level defender.  For a team that used to hang it’s hat on defense, only Dyson Daniels, Porzingis, and Embiid(in the rare times he is healthy) profile as plus defenders. 

Minnesota Timberwolves

Minnesota is in a prime spot to be one of the major shakers of the 2025 NSL trade deadline.  They hold the coveted 2-way player that is Jimmy Buckets, who’s been shopped since the beginning of the GM’s tenure.  While nothing has materialized yet, the league is often reactive to what goes on in the NBA, and a trade from the NBA Heat could see Jimmy’s market skyrocket.  He remains a top 2-way wing in the NSL even at age 35 and would prove a valuable piece to just about any contender.  Remember when I said above, the NSL might be outdone by the NBA finally?  Well, the Wolves hold some of the keys to that proving true…or not.  Recent reports around the league have pointed to the Minnesota GM being open to the idea of trading AD.  NSL AD has got to be about equivalent to NBA Luka in terms of output, so AD and Jimmy are major names to watch as we lead up to week 15, as one of the few true hopes to rival the craziness that has been the NBA deadline. 

2 more names to watch:

Houston and San Antonio have both shopped big names in recent weeks.  Tyrese Halliburton and Zach Lavine have been shopped, amongst others.  Both teams appear postured to give it their all down the stretch run of the 2025 season.  Jurries out on what either is looking for, for their respective talent, but both guys should be monitored down the stretch, and considered likely to move. 

Beyond those teams, there are additional teams who through one means or another can be considered as teams looking to amass talent at the deadline.  The Kings and Suns franchise’s have never been one for the long game.  Both teams look competitive, squarely entrenched in the play-in conversation, and in recent days names such as Damian Lillard, Jakob Poetlt, and anyone in Sacramento not named Tyler Hero have graced the trade block.  Indiana flips back and forth between building for the present and future by the day.  They present a true wildcard leading up to the trade finish as well.  Boston has underwhelmed in the win-loss column again but appear to be fine with another year of internal development.  While injuries in Detroit and Philadelphia have seemingly led those GM’s to consider turning towards a more rebuild or retool minded approach.  The Lakers are the Lakers, about as predictable as the Pacers.  The Grizzlies are the last team worth profiling, after a highly underwhelming start and a plethora of tinkering at the controls.  Something about the personnel doesn’t mesh, and the GM knows it, but perhaps doesn’t want to believe it.  He’s been reluctant to make any moves as per our sources, but been semi-active on the trade front in the past.  Memphis is another true wild card come the deadline, though unlikely to be major sellers, they could be buyers if there is a change come week 15. 

This article was the first of a 2-part series.  Tune in next time for an in-depth look at some of the most available pieces leading up to week 15.