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Every year there are NBA players that are whisked away just before games tip off because of a trade — or even are traded during the course of a game they are playing in. Coaches are asked questions they know they can’t answer, front-office personnel are actively trying to avoid awkward timelines that are impossible to avoid and the players are always the ones caught in the middle.
So, the question arises, should the trade deadline be moved?
Steve Kerr, the Golden State Warriors head coach who had to have a tough and awkward pregame chat with his players less than an hour before they went onto the court to play the Utah Jazz, firmly believes that something needs to change.
“I think the league should consider making the trade deadline at the All-Star break just so you don’t have to face these games where guys are getting traded half an hour before a game and you’re trying to process the emotions and trying to win a game,” Kerr said. “I don’t know if it’s possible.”
When I asked John Collins, whose name had been swirling in trade rumors for months, if he’d like a change, he said he’d be really interested in something like that.
The problem is that the deadline has changed. It used to be later in February, which meant that players could be traded through the All-Star break. That’s how we ended up with the incredibly strange situation where DeMarcus Cousins was traded from Sacramento to New Orleans while playing in the All-Star game and then learned about the trade as he was being interviewed after the game.
After that, the league moved the trade deadline to before the All-Star break, where it’s been since the 2017-18 season. No matter what, chaotic situations just seem to happen.
Some people have suggested that there be a couple of days added to the All-Star break, days that would be off days for the players and that the deadline be during that dead period. But when you start adding days and elongating the season, then you run into problems with more back-to-back games and a tighter playing schedule, which is exactly what the league has been trying to move away from.
And actually, the league has tried to build in a couple of days between the games and the All-Star festivities. Unfortunately those days end up filled with games that have to be rescheduled because of weather or other circumstances that postponed games earlier in the season.
Of course, the ultimate answer would be to create a trade window outside of the season, but frankly, that’s never going to happen. And, it’s called a trade deadline because the window lasts for months. It’s not like every team has to trade players in the final days leading up to the deadline, but that’s how things always end up happening.
It seems that there are no good answers for a problem that is clearly difficult for players, coaches and everyone involved.
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Quote of the week
“When he’s like that, he’s a — excuse me — he’s a (expletive) monster. I don’t even know how to really describe it in any other way. When he’s playing like that, he’s a killer.” — Keyonte George on Walker Kessler
From the archives
Extra points
- Jazz win as Warriors shake up roster and prepare for life with Jimmy Butler (Deseret News)
- Trading Luka Doncic to the Lakers is NBA malpractice by the Mavericks (Deseret News)
- Head coach Will Hardy and Jazz players react to trade with Clippers (Deseret News)
Around the league
- Luka Doncic traded to Lakers for Anthony Davis.
- De’Aaron Fox traded to Spurs, Zach LaVine headed to Kings.
- Trade deadline winners and losers.
Up next
- Feb. 10 | 8:30 p.m. MST | Utah Jazz @ Los Angeles Lakers | KJZZ
- Feb. 12 | 7 p.m. MST | Utah Jazz @ Los Angeles Lakers | KJZZ
- Feb. 13 | 7 p.m. MST | Utah Jazz @ Los Angeles Clippers | KJZZ