As NBA free agency slows to a crawl, and we enter the mid-summer doldrums from a transaction standpoint, there isn’t all that much to explore from one day to the next anymore.
But there are several teams that still appear to have a number of key, unresolved roster choices to make; preferably before training camp begins in early October for most clubs.
With that in mind, here are the five teams most in need of a move or two.
The Heat and Trail Blazers
It goes without saying that Miami and Portland, who’ve been in communication concerning a deal involving superstar Damian Lillard, still have a lot in flux at the moment. The Heat have lost two key rotation pieces in Max Strus and Gabe Vincent this summer, and will have to give up a handful of first-round picks and more—likely Tyler Herro, Kyle Lowry and a prospect like Nikola Jović —to get Dame in a Miami uniform.
From Portland’s standpoint, it’s not merely Lillard that would need a new landing spot, either. There wouldn’t be much point in keeping center Jusuf Nurkic—who has three years and $54 million left on his deal and has been a Blazer for the past six and a half seasons—if the club turns the page by trading Lillard.
Raptors
One-time All-Star and NBA champion Fred VanVleet ventured south for a massive three-year, $130 million contract with the Rockets—a jarring move if only because Toronto declined to previously extend the point guard’s deal, then get assets for the 29-year-old via trade.
In any case, now that VanVleet is gone for nothing, it raises the question of what comes next in Toronto. Should the team, which surprised many of us by standing pat despite having a ton of talent and appearing to be out of contention, now move on from 29-year-old Pascal Siakam? He made the All-NBA team just a season ago and is entering the last year of his contract. Reports suggest that Toronto appears uninclined to sign him to a max extension, and that a handful of clubs—the Pacers, Magic and Hawks, among them—would have interest in dealing for him.
Geoff Burke/USA TODAY Sports
Rockets
Man, does Houston have a lot of forwards or what? Even before the club drafted 6’ 7” forwards Amen Thompson and Cam Whitmore, they had a pair of All-Rookie selections in Jae’sean Tate (2022) and Tari Eason (2023). Then they went out and signed veteran small forward Dillon Brooks.
It’s a strange logjam to have—particularly with so much youth and a perceived lack of discipline on the roster, dating back to the past year or two—but perhaps it gives the Rockets some assets to play with, and a chance to fill other holes via trade in the months to come.
Magic
If Houston has too many small forwards, then Orlando certainly has too many shooting guards.
The Magic already had point guards in Markelle Fultz and Cole Anthony, and shooting guards in Jalen Suggs, Gary Harris and Caleb Houstan on the roster before the draft, then added Arkansas star Anthony Black with the No. 6 pick and Michigan star Jett Howard at No. 11. Black is a point guard and Howard is a shooting guard.
The additions make Orlando—home to Franz Wagner and Rookie of the Year Paolo Banchero, who serve as the club’s best players—one of the most wing-heavy teams in the sport. And it likely wouldn’t hurt the Magic to use one or two of those young players to get a talented big man.
