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In past years, a team like the Toronto Raptors almost certainly would have been looking to add some help for the stretch run. For the most part, Thursday's deadline came and went with most NBA teams seeming cautious, with the huge rise in the salary cap for next season - and the uncertainty of how the free-agent market will react to that over the summer - deterring clubs from making moves that might adversely affect their flexibility going forward. ''Yes, we are in a different situation from last year,'' Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri said. Continue to Article

February 19, 2016 2:43:am EST

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February 17, 2016 6:00:pm EST

Let's face it — the best and most powerful teams in the NBA don't really change from week to week. A handful of results in the middle of winter can only mean so much to a franchise's championship hopes. What does shift regularly, though, is how much interest a squad can hold over the course of a season. Every week, BDL's Most Interesting Power Rankings track the teams most worthy of your attention. This time: considering which teams are most interesting as we approach Thursday's 3 p.m. ET NBA trade deadline. THE TOP 15 1. Los Angeles Clippers (35-18; last week : 6): OK, wait, let me see if I have this right: So the Clippers would never trade Blake Griffin ... except they're talking about it. And anyone who thinks they're better without Blake is nuts ... except they have been, for about two months ... which is why they're willing to at least consider moving him this summer, if not right now ... because if you were going to trade him, you'd be crazy to do it while his value's at its lowest point ... except they're talking about it. That about sum it up? Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reported earlier this month that Griffin, sidelined since Christmas by a partially torn left quadriceps tendon and a broken shooting hand  suffered in a fight with Clippers assistant equipment manager Matias Testi , could find himself in trade talks this summer. Multiple reports suggest that timetable has moved up, with the Clippers reportedly engaging clubs in  conversations centered on the five-time All-Star. Dan Woike of the Orange County Register reported Monday that "one executive involved in any trade discussions" called the Griffin chatter "one hundred percent not true." Head coach and president of basketball operations Doc Rivers has said the same: Doc Rivers said "We're not trading Blake." — Dan Woike (@DanWoikeSports) February 16, 2016 As reasonable as that seems — I'm with SB Nation's Tom Ziller on the relative intelligence of jettisoning a 26-year-old who was the third-best player in the 2015 postseason — the combination of the fight and L.A. doing more than just treading water without Griffin, going 18-5 since he went down while scoring  and defending at top-five levels, seems to have at least opened the door to a path once considered nearly unthinkable. "The Clips are listening" to Griffin offers, ESPN.com's Zach Lowe reported Tuesday , "and they've rarely listened before." Combine that with Woj's Tuesday report that a planned deal between the Clippers and Orlando Magic to land veteran forward Channing Frye is on hold while L.A. explores "a larger trade scenario," and it sure seems like if Doc and company hear something they like before Thursday at 3 p.m. ET, the Clippers could be in for drastic changes. 2. Houston Rockets (27-28; LW: not ranked): The Rockets are a trade-deadline junkie's dream: an underperforming team with a roster full of interesting pieces on contracts with varying degrees of movability. Entering the All-Star break a half-game out of the Western playoff bracket, with an incentive to miss the postseason — if the Rockets make the playoffs, they owe the Denver Nuggets their 2016 first-round draft pick ; if they don't, they'll instead owe Denver a 2017 second-rounder — the question is: how much does Daryl Morey want to tear down what he's built? Continue to Article

February 17, 2016 10:15:am EST