NBA Trade Deadline: Which Teams Are Feeling the Heat?

The NBA trade deadline is just two weeks away, and teams are starting to feel the pressure. With playoff positioning and job security on the line, contenders of varying levels are showing just how motivated they are to make a move. Here's a look at which teams are most desperate to swing a trade:

Phoenix Suns: The Suns are fighting for positioning in the West play-in race, and they showed just how desperate they are by trading their unprotected 2031 first-round pick for three lower-value firsts. The move gives the Suns some flexibility in their dealings now, but at the cost of mortgaging their future even further. Maybe doing so will help get Jimmy Butler to Phoenix -- sources said landing the 35-year-old forward remains the team's top objective.

Milwaukee Bucks: The Bucks have been active this trade season, sources said, with Khris Middleton, Bobby Portis and Pat Connaughton all expected to be available in potential moves to bring back an impact player. Like Phoenix did, the Bucks have only their 2031 first-round pick to trade, but they also need to shed around $6.5 million in a deal to get below the second apron to be able to combine players in a trade.

Miami Heat: Sources on both sides of the Butler saga say there's motivation to get a deal done between now and the deadline. The Heat have had conversations with other teams, but so far, the offers coming in haven't included what Miami is looking for: players who can help now, young talent, draft capital and salary that expires by the summer of 2026.

New York Knicks: While the Knicks are on pace to win 50 games in consecutive seasons for the first time in 30 years and have their best chance in a generation to break a 52-year title drought, a season-long topic of conversation around the Knicks has been the heavy minutes for New York's starters. Four of them are in the top five in total minutes played -- Mikal Bridges (1st), Josh Hart (2nd), OG Anunoby (3rd), Jalen Brunson (5th) -- while Karl-Anthony Towns is 23rd. Part of that comes down to their availability: Bridges, Hart, Anunoby and Brunson have combined to miss two games, and Towns has missed only five.

Memphis Grizzlies: The Grizzlies have vaulted back into contention after injuries derailed them a season ago, as general manager Zack Kleiman has assembled quality depth around star guard Ja Morant. But that hasn't stopped Memphis from working the phones ahead of the deadline. The Grizzlies inquired about Dorian Finney-Smith with the Brooklyn Nets, and both sides had extensive talks before Brooklyn ultimately did a deal with the Los Angeles Lakers. Memphis has the combination of draft capital and midtier salaries -- players such as Marcus Smart ($20 million), Luke Kennard ($9 million) and John Konchar ($6 million) -- to get deals done.

Chicago Bulls: Several executives who have spoken to the Bulls this month have described their motivation as "seeking change." But what does that actually mean? At a minimum, it would serve as a dramatic shift after three years of trade deadline inactivity. The Bulls have a top-10 protected pick that they owe the San Antonio Spurs, but they currently sit three games "ahead" of the Spurs -- and four ahead of the Heat, Suns and Golden State Warriors -- in the loss column, and are in the ninth spot overall.

Brooklyn Nets: For a team in asset acquisition mode, Brooklyn has yet to move the player whom league decision-makers have labeled as the most likely to be traded over the next two weeks: forward Cameron Johnson. Johnson has both a reasonable contract (roughly $65 million over the next three seasons) and is having a career season (19.4 points per game with 41.9% from 3). Johnson has been sitting an awful lot over the past couple of weeks with an ankle issue, a move that seems both very protective and very convenient, from opposing teams' perspectives.

Los Angeles Lakers: For the second straight season, the Lakers' two stars have been remarkably healthy -- missing a combined six games. But they still find themselves 2.5 games out of 11th place in the West. While Charania reported Wednesday that both LeBron James and Anthony Davis are "concerned" about the team's ability to make roster upgrades, James himself outlined the reality of what the team might be able to do about it after Sunday's blowout loss to the crosstown-rival Clippers.

Golden State Warriors: What is the desperation level for the 11th-place Warriors? Just ask Stephen Curry. "Desperate trades or desperate moves that deplete the future, there is a responsibility on allowing or keeping the franchise in a good space and good spot when it comes to where we leave this thing when we're done," Curry said recently. "Doesn't mean that you're not trying to get better. It doesn't mean that you're not active...." Nobody wants to be stale or be in a situation where you're passing up opportunities. But it doesn't mean that you're desperate just flinging assets all around the place just because you want to do something."