We often think of the trade deadline from the contending teams' point of view. What will the Suns do to keep up with the Lakers? What will the Mavs do to keep up with the Suns?
But the decisions of the NBA's bottom-feeders will have just as much impact on the rest of this season as those of the top teams. There are good players on bad teams that the contenders want desperately to pry away for next to nothing. But the sellers almost always want the same thing: young players on their rookie contracts, expiring veteran contracts, and draft picks. Those are not in great supply on your garden variety 50-win squads.
Here are some of the teams that are being bombarded with calls, and will have to make decisions on which offer they deem best before Thursday:
Seattle: Has the veteran, defensive-oriented big man every contender wants, center/forward Kurt Thomas . He has both the disposition and the contract (final year, $8.1 million) that is perfect for a west team that will have to defend the likes of Tim Duncan and Shaq and Yao Ming in the playoffs. The Sonics more or less promised Thomas when they got him from Phoenix that they would do everything they could to re-route him to a winner by February. It's February.
Many teams have come knocking, but the Spurs and Magic are the top two at the moment. Orlando has any number of players with expiring deals (Pat Garrity, Keyon Dooling, Maurice Evans, Adonal Foyle) that it could package together for Thomas--and I'm guessing that Garrity and Foyle are the Sonics' top choices.
With Damon Stoudamire in the fold in San Antonio, Brent Barry is expendable. The combined salaries of Barry ($5.5 million), who came from Seattle four years ago, and center Francisco Elson ($3 million) are a near spot-on match for Thomas. Obviously, the Spurs don't need Elson if they're picking up Thomas.
UPDATE 10:18 p.m. Told you.
The Sonics also have ex-St. Joe's guard Delonte West on the block, and he's picked up a lot of interest. In one of the league's ironies, West is more tradeable than, say, Earl Watson, because he's perceived as being less high-maintenance than Watson, who chafes when he doesn't get consistent playing time. (When you're not a superstar in the NBA, this is how your life can change.) I hear Denver, desperate to get Iverson off the ball, is making a strong pitch. (Then again, the Nuggets are making a pitch for everybody, from Ron Artest to Mike Miller.)
Knicks: Supposedly have offered everybody, from Eddy Curry to Zach Randolph. The Four-Letter speculated about a supposed three-way deal with New York, Miami and New Jersey that would send Vince Carter to New York, Curry to Miami and Jason Williams, Ricky Davis and other spare parts to New Jersey. Riles, who normally says nothing about what Miami is doing, called that "blog b.s." this afternoon.
Pacers: If the Nets don't ultimately do a Carter-Jermaine O'Neal deal, don't know where J.O. would wind up. Haven't heard much interest in him around the league, which is understandable, given the $44 million left on his deal. But I am told that Indiana is pushing Ike Diogu hard. As I told you earlier, everyone but Danny Granger is available. One west contender I talked to this afternoon would love to get Jeff Foster loose, but the Pacers have always pulled Foster back in years past.
Inquirer reporter Mike Jensen is the college basketball columnist for the Inquirer. Each year, he gives a special insight into the tournament.
Inquirer reporter Jeff McLane is the beat writer for Temple. He will pick the tournament.
Inquirer reporter Tom Fitzgerald will blog about Hillary Clinton's Pa. visits March 10 &11.
Inquirer reporter Larry Eichel will post updates on Bill Clinton's March 7 visit to Media.
Inquirer reporter Tim Panaccio will write about National Hockey League trade talk. 
Inquirer reporter David Aldridge will live-blog the week before the NBA's trade deadline. 
Peter Mucha began this blog, before moving on to other writing duties.
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