What every NBA contender needs for a deep playoff run - ESPN

As NBA teams prepare for the Feb. 8 trade deadline, let's consider what the league's best teams should be seeking in deals.

Determining which teams are contenders is tricky in a season where nine teams are on track to win at least 48 games. It would be the most teams in that category since 2019-20, and that group doesn't include three of the preseason favorites in the West — the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns, all languishing in play-in tournament range or worse.

For now, we'll use the current title odds at ESPN BET, which have nine teams at +2000 (20-to-1) or better to win the title. That group includes the surprise teams atop the Western Conference ahead of the defending champion Denver Nuggets, the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Oklahoma City Thunder, but also the Lakers and the Suns by virtue of the likelihood they'll act like contenders in pursuit of a deep playoff run with veteran rosters.

Let's go team by team through this group to see what weaknesses have been apparent from the first half of the regular season and how that could influence their approach to the deadline.

Boston Celtics (+300): One more rotation player, maybe?

The title favorites have the NBA's strongest rotation through six players, and coach Joe Mazzulla's next two options — Sam Hauser and Payton Pritchard — both rank among the NBA's top 100 players in my wins above replacement player (WARP) metric this season. What do you get the team that has everything? Perhaps one more option. If one of Boston's frontcourt players misses time in the playoffs, there's a drop to Luke Kornet and Oshae Brissett, neither of whom has ever logged regular postseason minutes. But the Celtics are the favorites precisely because they have so