With less than a month left until the trading deadline and many teams either underachieving or not quite where they think they could be, it?s time to talk trade. Teams will undoubtedly be looking to increase their stature in the league in the coming weeks, whether through the addition of an impact player or through a careful tweak that lines up a bountiful offseason.

As we saw with the recent Sixers/Jazz' trade that sent Kyle Korver packing to Utah for Gordan Giricek and a first-round draft pick, teams are willing to unload superior talent if it means they can receive cap flexibility along with some kind of asset in return. This is a tradition that?s been going on for a while and that is especially prominent in the NBA, where contracts are guaranteed; a contract that is expiring during the coming summer is an extremely valuable trading chip. The team trading the player with the expiring contract can amass more talent in return for taking on more salary, and the team receiving the expiring contract can gain cap space for a big free-agent run or it can avoid the dollar-for-dollar luxury tax that?s recently plagued a number of high-payroll franchises.

Whether through meticulous calculation or sheer luck, teams often find themselves having an abundance of expiring contracts at any one time or having one enormous one. Such teams gain importance as trading partners over the course of the season, when teams start looking to rebuild. In the Eastern Conference, there are about three teams able to use their expiring contracts, attached to talent or otherwise, to make a big splash before the deadline. The fundamental issue is if those teams should act on their situations and pull the trigger or keep their expiring contracts and cash in this summer.

- Miami Heat -

Both Ricky Davis and Jason Williams are coming off the books this summer for an approximate $15.7 million. That kind of money can either be spread out to accommodate two or three rotation-worthy players or combined to bring in a maximum-salaried talent. At this point, the sputtering Heat definitely need an upgrade at the positions Williams and Davis play and maybe even a young centre for the inevitably Shaq-less future.

Williams? statistics have suffered since his Memphis days; no longer the eight-assist per game wonder we once knew, he?s now a spot-up shooter and Dwyane Wade?s relief in terms of handling the ball. He?s also 32 years old, making it unlikely that a change of scenery would return him to his former self. What he?s gained over the last couple seasons is greater calmness, evolving from the player who had to be pulled during the clutch for fear of his making an utterly moronic pass into one who can be trusted whenever necessary. More or less, he?s the kind of player a playoff team would love to have as its first guard off the bench while also having that always-valuable expiring contract. Unfortunately for the Heat, they are nowhere near being a playoff team this season, and they do not have the luxury of being able to play him off the bench.

Davis is an enigma. Anyone watching him can see the obvious, that he?s a great athlete with a myriad of different offensive skills and who can play a little defense when Pat Riley?s using the whip on him. Anyone can also see that he?s been accused of questionable decision-making both on and off the court and that his effort is often misguided. He?s a player who many have accused of going for flash instead of substance and of not putting in the work in terms of passing and rebounding. He?s another player who would be a nice addition to a playoff team?s bench, or he could even be a stop-gap starter for a struggling team. Either way, he does have at least some value (remember, it took a first-round pick to get him, and that included taking back Mark Blount?s putrid contract that expires in 2010), and there will be teams interested in Davis?s abilities and cap relief come the deadline.

If Riley is looking to ship Williams and/or Davis, they have to think long and hard about what kind of package he?d like in return. At this point, with Wade?s contract reaching deserved heights and Shaq still making a ludicrous $20 million per year, it?s hard to see the Heat being major players in the free agent market. It might be worth it to pick up a young player or two who could complement Wade and could improve down the line. Conversely, there?s always the old adage that if you?re going to be a bad team, and the Heat certainly qualify for that right now, you may as well cut costs. It?s a tough dilemma so it?ll be interesting to see what Riley?s thinking. He can attempt to salvage this season; he can look to acquire contracts expiring in or before 2010 in order to have a whole brigade of expiring contracts in the 2009-2010 season; or he can keep his expiring contracts and let them pay back team owner Mickey Arison for the recent seasons of high expenditure.

The Verdict: I?d be inclined to go with the second option. The Heat won?t have any significant cap space this summer even if Williams and Davis expire. However, there?s no point in taking back a player who?s past his prime, and there?s definitely no way to regain contender status in the Eastern Conference, in which the Celtics and the Pistons are looking as tough as they have in a while. It?s still worthwhile to trade Williams and Davis, then, so long as the players received in return have the potential to improve and don?t have any excessively long contracts.

- Orlando Magic -

Orlando?s expiring contracts attached to Carlos Arroyo, Pat Garrity, and Keyon Dooling all have something in common: whichever team trades for them will likely be trading for the cap relief more than for the player. It?s a reality that is commonplace in NBA war rooms, as when the terminally-injured Chris Mills was used as a valuable trading chip twice in the same season because his contract was not only expiring but also partially covered by insurance. What?s interesting in these scenarios is whether the team receiving the expiring contract is content with cap relief or wants some sort of sweetener, perhaps a draft pick, to balance out the loss of talent.

Arroyo, Garrity, and Dooling are all expendable in the Magic rotation. None of them average over twenty minutes per game (although Arroyo chips in some quality backup point guard time) and none average double-figure points or intimidate on defense. Given the Magic?s need for an impact player, it?s quite understandable that they?d look to trade more players than they receive. All three and maybe also a prospect or a pick could go for a single player, and that player could be pretty good.

Where the problem lies is in the Magic?s Howard-centric roster. Set at the centre spot for pretty much forever and certainly paying enough at small forward, the Magic don?t have a starting-quality point guard, shooting guard or power forward. Jameer Nelson would be a good player to have as the first guard off the bench but that arrangement would invalidate Arroyo?s place on the team; JJ Redick is still finding himself as a NBA player and the Keith Bogans/Maurice Evans tandem isn?t fooling anyone. Brian Cook, the team?s supposed answer at power forward (perhaps at backup power forward?) is still a lousy rebounder who hasn?t developed an inside game.

It?s tough to imagine the Magic suddenly turning from a thin team into a deep team, even with the hopeful return of starting power forward Tony Battie. There are simply too many holes for it all to change in one shot, although owner Rich DeVos?s previous spending habits indicate that the team will have the carte blanche to accumulate assets over time. This is still a young team, just one with some decisions to make.

The Verdict: The Magic should absolutely make a trade or two! The Rashard Lewis signing basically guaranteed that the Magic will have no cap room for many years to come, and the self-explanatory reality of expiring contracts is that they?ll soon be gone. What the most important thing for the Magic to do right now is to think to the future; Battie will return eventually and players can always be had with the mid-level exception. For now, although the Magic can?t really be picky and the priority is to garner a starting-caliber player, a shooting guard should be at the top of their list. Nelson can hold down the fort until a better point guard becomes available in the offseason, and Hedo Turkoglu is a just good enough rebounder to do likewise at power forward until Battie comes back or until a better option emerges. Act wisely, Orlando, but act soon.

- Washington Wizards -

The Wizards are in an odd predicament. Unlike the Heat, whose expiring contracts are attached to supplement-type players, and the Magic, whose expiring contracts are just that, the Wizards? expiring contracts are attached to two of their best three players. With all indications being that Gilbert Arenas will opt out this summer in order to gain long-term financial security, his contract added to Antawn Jamison?s monster of a deal means that Washington has a staggering $28 million in expiring contracts.

That could bring in plenty of talent. Of course, the dilemma is that Arenas and Jamison already are plenty of talent. Arenas has been the team?s leading scorer on a consistent basis, gaining league-wide repute as a player who will get his thirty and maybe forty. Jamison is having a career year, notching in excess of twenty points and ten rebounds per game. Arenas is also a dynamic personality who puts fans in the seats and sells merchandise, making an already dedicated Washington fan base clamoring for more Wizards' news. Jamison is the more reserved type but one who has a reputation of being a good character guy and a positive influence in the locker room. Both on and off the court, they?re difficult to replace.

That still doesn?t change the fact that the Wizards are starting DeShawn Stevenson at shooting guard and that they have virtually no bench. Andray Blatche is emerging as the player the Wizards thought he would be, but Etan Thomas is still out with heart problems, and Antonio Daniels has never reached the level he wanted. Roger Mason is inconsistent, and Nick Young is still only a rookie. Some way or another, the Wizards will need to bring in one or two more guys who can spell their starters. Arenas, Caron Butler, Jamison, and Brendan Haywood can only play so many minutes, and as we?ve seen in the case of Arenas, injury can strike.

The Wizards? recent Arenas-less success has to make fans wonder whether the team would be better off with a more balanced scoring attack. Butler and Jamison seem to enjoy sharing the ball with each other, and Arenas alone (or even packaged with one of the team?s less desirable contracts) could quite possibly fetch a couple of starting-caliber guards. Jamison, although playing as well as he ever has, will probably never have a higher trade value than he does now, and he could probably net a couple of starters, as well. If the Wizards make a trade involving one of these two, it?ll be a blockbuster.

The Verdict: Arenas and Jamison are both so talented that unless the Wizards come across a dynamite offer that improves the team both now and in the future, there?s not much motivation to make a trade. The team is happy, it?s winning, and the guys are getting along. Why bother tinkering with that? Well, if there?s a proposal involving a couple players who bring defense, intensity, and an even more winning attitude, that just can?t be refused?

Teams in need of expiring contracts

Expiring contracts wouldn?t be valuable unless teams actually wanted them. Let?s look at a couple Eastern Conference teams that could really use some cap relief:

New York: The Knicks have the league?s second-highest payroll accompanied by continuous losing. The contracts of Zach Randolph, Eddy Curry, and Jamal Crawford all run until 2011. They could use some cap relief, but unlike in the Korver trade it might the team giving up the talent that needs to add the sweetener. Isiah Thomas, or whmoever his replacement may be, will have to tread carefully. Any trading partner, be it one of the above teams or someone else, will have to make sure that taking one of the Knicks? contracts will be worthwhile.

Indiana: The team isn?t bad, but the cap situation sure is. Jermaine O?Neal alone makes $60 million over this season and the next two. Mike Dunleavy Jr. and Troy Murphy have been solid but not to the extent that they?re worth a combined $22 million? in 2011. The team?s decent play means that it could make some moves at the deadline; if so, watch for at least some effort to pare down that massive payroll.