Coach Jeff Hornacek and the Phoenix Suns are moving up without any superstars.

Top five keeps rolling as trade season begins

By John Schuhmann, NBA.com
Posted Dec 16, 2013 11:23 AM

Dec. 15 has come and gone. Most players who were signed to new contracts last summer are now eligible to be traded. All reports indicate that Omer Asik will be sent packing by Thursday.

So now is when things get interesting. Wannabe contenders are looking to make upgrades. There a lot of good-but-not-great teams in the West and a few desperate teams in the East. At the same time, there are plenty of teams looking to, uh, plan for the future.

It remains to be seen if the Rudy Gay trade makes the Kings better and the Raptors worse, or vice versa. And Toronto could certainly be making more deals to go in one direction or the other. How bad the Eastern Conference is just complicates things.

While all the off-court speculation picks up, there are two huge matchups on the schedule this week. The Pacers visit Miami on Wednesday and the Thunder travel to San Antonio on Saturday. That will certainly tide us over until Christmas.

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