NBA Insiders Jan 8, 2025, 08:00 AM ET 19659003 All eyes will be on Wednesday’s huge match (and a possible NBA Finals sneak peek) in between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Cleveland Cavaliers in a clash in between the league’s leading 2 groups. 19659004 Both boast the very best records in their conferences and both are riding excellent winning streaks (OKC’s 15 to Cleveland’s 10). Both have All-Star skill in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland. 19659005 Off the court, the buzz around the NBA has actually been on Jimmy Butler and what the Miami Heat will finish with the unhappy gamer ahead of the Feb. 6 due date after suspending him for 7 video games recently. The Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers got the trade action began in December, and with less than a month to go till the due date, anticipate offers to get as groups jockey for postseason push or restoring strategies. Today, we asked our NBA experts to take a look at one trade choice– some sly, some less so– for all 30 groups, whether it’s to fill a glaring lineup hole or include some depth ahead of the 2nd half of the season. 19659007 Here are the upgraded rankings for all 30 clubs. Keep in mind: Team rankings are based upon where members of our panel (ESPN’s Tim Bontemps, Jamal Collier, Michael Wright, Tim MacMahon, Dave McMenamin, Ohm Youngmisuk, Chris Herring and Kevin Pelton) believe groups belong this season. 19659009 Previous rankings: Preseason|Oct. 30|Nov. 5|Nov. 13|Nov. 20|Nov. 27|Dec. 4|Dec. 11|Dec. 18|Dec. 25|Jan. 1 19659010 Dive to a group: 19459009 ATL|BOS|BKN|CHA|CHI|CLE 19459009 DAL|DEN|DET|GS|HOU|IND 19459009 LAC|LAL|MEM|MIA|MIL|MINUTES NO|NY|OKC|ORL|PHI|PHX 19459009 POR|SAC|SA|TOR|UTAH|WAS 1. Cleveland Cavaliers 2024-25 record: 31-4 19659013 Previous ranking: 1 Next video games: vs. OKC (Jan. 8), vs. TOR (Jan. 9), vs. IND (Jan. 12), @ IND (Jan. 14) Obtaining Cameron Johnson and Maxwell Lewis from the Nets for Caris LeVert, Georges Niang and draft capital would provide the Cavs a desired two-way gamer. Johnson is on a sensible agreement for years to come, while LeVert is on an ending offer. Cleveland has actually been so great that this isn’t an outright should move– the Cavs front workplace hesitates to disrupt the chemistry because locker space for any limited offer, sources informed ESPN, however Johnson appears like he might suit anywhere with his video game and behavior. ยป … Learn more
