Finding a trade partner at this time of the season isn’t easy.
Teams that have quickly fallen out of playoff contention, even if they are fairly certain that they’re not good enough to bounce back, will typically wait until at least late June before throwing in the towel and trading away a player with value.
Why? Because they want to give the team that they assembled a chance before subtracting an integral part of that roster in a trade.
That doesn’t mean teams are not willing to listen on a trade inquiry and pull the trigger if the price is right. But since there’s no lack of urgency for a potential “seller” in May, that price is commonly set extremely high.
As a result, the only teams capable of making an impact deal right now are likely to be in desperation mode. Here are five teams that could already be headed in that direction.