We pulled our Team Transactions Data over the previous 10 Trade Deadline periods to examine the levels of activity in period leading up to the deadline.

The below is an annual average of the number of players acquired by each team (click on any of the below links to see a year-by-year infographic).

Sacramento Kings: 2.7
New York Knicks: 2.3
Houston Rockets: 2.2
Oklahoma City Thunder: 1.8
Cleveland Cavaliers: 1.7
New Orleans Hornets: 1.7
Denver Nuggets: 1.6
Memphis Grizzlies: 1.6
Charlotte Bobcats: 1.6
Atlanta Hawks: 1.5
Brooklyn Nets: 1.5
Milwaukee Bucks: 1.5
Portland Trail Blazers: 1.5
Chicago Bulls: 1.4
Golden State Warriors: 1.3
Boston Celtics: 1.2
Orlando Magic: 1.2
Los Angeles Clippers: 1.1
Phoenix Suns: 1.1
Washington Wizards: 1.1
Dallas Mavericks: 1.0
Minnesota Timberwolves: 1.0
Toronto Raptors: 0.9
Philadelphia 76ers: 0.8
Utah Jazz: 0.7
Indiana Pacers: 0.6
Los Angeles Lakers: 0.6
Miami Heat: 0.6
Detroit Pistons: 0.5
San Antonio Spurs: 0.5

The following are the collective breakdowns by year:
2003: 14
2004: 36
2005: 48
2006: 44
2007: 22
2008: 45
2009: 45
2010: 51
2011: 51
2012: 29 

The Memphis Grizzlies kicked off the NBA’s trading season with a bang this week. After making a relatively minor deal to supply the Cleveland Cavaliers with a bench, they finally pulled the trigger on moving Rudy Gay in a massive three-team trade on Wednesday. There were “basketball reasons” at play, but financial considerations also clearly played a huge role.

From the Dallas Mavericks to Oklahoma City Thunder and now Memphis, we’ve seen teams make personnel decisions with one eye firmly placed on the league’s stiff new luxury tax penalties. The penalties are an economic straightjacket that make very little sense for a sport with so much money pouring into it, but that’s the price we all have to pay to keep guys like Robert Sarver in business. As a result, as anyone who has played around with the NBA Trade Checker knows, it’s very hard to create win-win trades that also make sense financially.

In reality, any remaining trades are more like to resemble the Marreese Speights deal than the Gay one. But where’s the fun in that? Here’s four deals, with varying degrees of plausibility, that would actually affect the balance of power in the league.

Pau Gasol for Shawn Marion, Chris Kaman, Dahntay Jones

A possible spark for two of the most disappointing teams in the NBA. The Los Angeles Lakers and the Mavericks have shown signs of life in recent weeks, but they’re going to need a lot more than that to dig themselves out of the holes they’re currently in. This could be a game-changer for both.

For the Lakers, it satisfies their two main priorities: adding speed and shooting around Dwight Howard while not taking on any more additional long-term salary. Marion is signed for only one more season, while Kaman and Jones are on expiring contracts. Marion is 34, but his game has aged well. He’s been the Mavericks best player this season and he’s the ideal small-ball 4 for Mike D’Antoni’s system. Marion and Jones would dramatically improve the Lakers team speed (kind of a sad when you can say that about two 10+ year NBA veterans in their 30’s), while Kaman could be useful in limited minutes as Howard’s backup.

For Dallas, it’s a belated acknowledgement of reality. Dwight Howard isn’t coming and Chris Paul isn’t either. You think “Cliff Paul”, State Farm spokesman, is happening in Dallas? You think Adidas wants Howard to leave the most high-profile franchise in the NBA? Gasol has had a tough season, but he’s still only 32, and he has the size and skill to age as well as Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett have, if he can play center. The Mavericks would need to add some speed around them in the offseason, but the Gasol/Dirk tandem is their best chance of throwing together one more elite team around Nowitzki before it’s too late.

Josh Smith for Meyers Leonard, JJ Hickson, Nolan Smith and a first-round pick

Everyone focuses on Josh Smith’s iffy shot-selection, but he can play some basketball too. He’s an Atlanta native who has spent the first nine years of his career playing for one of the most poorly run and nondescript franchises in the NBA. More than anything else, he needs a change of scenery.

Portland would be the ideal fit. It would force LaMarcus Aldridge to play at the 5, but with the NBA game becoming smaller and more perimeter-oriented, that’s a natural transition. Aldridge and Smith’s games mesh perfectly: Aldridge can stretch the floor and allow Smith to operate closer to the basket, while Smith’s passing ability would create easy shots for a big man who can finish from any part of the floor. A front-court with those two and Nic Batum is only the progression of Damian Lillard and a bench away from being an elite team.

For Atlanta, the same logic about a fresh start applies. Re-signing Smith locks them into the same team with the ceiling of a second-round exit they’ve been for almost half a decade. Leonard is still very raw, but he’s an athletic 20-year-old center whose holding his own as a rookie. A two-way center on a rookie contract is about the best deal you’re going to get for a disgruntled star. With Leonard, Al Horford and Jeff Teague to build around, the Hawks could focus on finding wing players in the draft and free agency.

Kevin Garnett for Kawhi Leonard, Tiago Splitter and Boris Diaw

Now, here’s where we get speculative. The Celtics are keeping up a brave face, but they were barely a playoff team with one of the NBA’s best PG’s playing 40 minutes a night. In all likelihood, Rondo won’t be at or near 100% for at least 12 months, which means two essentially rebuilding years for Boston. At that point, Paul Pierce will be 37 and Garnett will be 38. Dealing them now would accelerate the rebuilding process around Rondo and it could be sold as a way to give two Hall of Famers one more chance at a ring.

For the Celtics, Kawhi Leonard is the key piece in this trade. He’s an athletic 6’7, 225 small forward who can match up with multiple positions, rebound and stretch the floor. That’s exactly the type of player I want around Rondo: someone who can run the break and provide spacing in the half-court without compromising the team defensively. Splitter and Diaw are there as expiring contracts. They could help Boston’s depth upfront, but the Celtics would probably waive them to “give Jared Sullinger an opportunity” a.k.a. move up in the draft.

Giving up Leonard would be difficult for the Spurs, but their primary concern should be maximizing Tim Duncan’s final years. When he’s gone, a team built around Leonard and an aging Tony Parker isn’t going anywhere. Garnett would be the absolute perfect piece: he’s precisely the combination of interior defense and perimeter shooting they’ve been looking for since Robert Horry retired. How awesome would it be to watch the two greatest power forwards of all-time ride off into the sunset together?

Paul Pierce for Javale McGee, Wilson Chandler and Quincy Miller

Hold on. I can explain.

I’ll admit that Boston dealing one of the most storied players in franchise history for the right to pay JaVale McGee $30 million dollars looks off. However, while McGee is still racking up gifs on a nightly basis, he’s also starting to come into his own with Denver. The guy is a 25-year-old, 7’1 center with a 21.5 PER who can single-handedly change the complexion of a game defensively. What if his career trajectory follows Tyson Chandler’s? He’s all upside and Rondo could be the perfect PG to maximize his abilities.

Wilson Chandler and Leonard would form one of the most athletic forward duos in the NBA and they’d have the shooting ability to make it work offensively. Along with McGee, that’s a trio of frontcourt players who would look awfully good next to Rondo, whose spent his entire career shackled to veterans who want to play in the halfcourt, where his lack of a jumper is more of a problem than in transition. Quincy Miller, the Nuggets second round pick out of Baylor, is the wildcard. There’s a reason he was once the No. 2 player in the country. At 6’10, 220 with a 7’1 wingspan, he’s got a combination of skill, size and athleticism you can’t teach.

For Denver, the move would realign their rotation and give them a puncher’s chance in the West while also re-setting their cap situation going forward. Pierce is no longer the player he once was, but he would give the Nuggets their best shot-creator since Carmelo Anthony; on the other end of the floor, Iguodala could protect him by taking the more difficult assignment on the wings every night. Just as important, the option on Pierce’s contract next season would allow Denver to blow everything up if things didn’t go right and operate with a clean slate financially going forward.

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As has been the case in previous seasons, I open the season with my tiered power rankings. Please remember that these are not based on anything but projected regular season success. The concept is that teams could finish in any configuration within a tier and I would be surprised if they finished outside of that tier, excluding major personnel changes. 

Western Conference

Tier One:

Los Angeles Lakers: One of the single biggest talent upgrades I have seen for a high-quality team, and that includes how highly I think of Andrew Bynum. While Steve Nash has his major defensive flaws and there are still major questions on how this team will handle the last few minutes of ballgames, the Lakers again have the talent to run over most teams from now until the second round of the playoffs.

San Antonio Spurs: It feels like people are forgetting that the Spurs actually had the best record in the Western Conference last season and had a seemingly commanding lead on the Thunder before the series shifted completely. The Spurs are getting older, yet also have players like Kawhi Leonard that are ready to grow their roles and keep this team trucking, especially in the regular season.

Oklahoma City Thunder: With the recent roster changes, it may take a little longer for the Zombie Sonics to get in gear. Despite receiving quality contributions from their core, Oklahoma City needs to get get more all-around contributions from their bench (especially Eric Maynor and the bigs) in order to have a better shot at getting the top seed. 

Tier Two:

Denver Nuggets: Without too much argument, the Nuggets stand out as the deepest team in the NBA going into the season. The addition of Andre Iguodala gives Denver a cohesive identity that they have not had since the Carmelo Anthony trade and they have the upside to make a series run at tier one in both the regular season and the postseason. I would pay good money to see a Nuggets/Thunder series in any round.

Los Angeles Clippers: If the Clippers can go into the playoffs with a healthy squad, they will be an incredibly tough out. My biggest concern is that they do not have the depth to withstand injuries of meaningful length to their top guys, which is why they sit right here despite their starting lineup. As much press as their two All-Stars get, DeAndre Jordan could end up playing a pivotal role if he plays within himself and makes the right kind of impact game to game. 

Tier Three:

Memphis Grizzlies: The question for Memphis has to be whether Rudy Gay and the rest of the team can make up for not really replacing what OJ Mayo brought to the squad over the last few seasons. If they can do that, and keep Marc Gasol healthy, we could see something more like the 2011 iteration than the 2012 playoffs.

Houston Rockets: The massive upgrade they got over the summer was completed with the acquisition of James Harden this weekend. Look for him to mesh well with Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik as the Rockets battle with a series of injury-riddled teams for the last few seeds in the West.

Golden State Warriors: For the first time in a long time, Golden State has a starting five that resembles the rest of the league in both logic and quality. Andrew Bogut could be the most meaningful addition to any team in the West other than Howard, while Stephen Curry has the opportunity to define his role in the NBA.

Minnesota Timberwolves: The dual injuries to Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio could end up being long enough to keep this team out of the postseason for one final year, but I think Minnesota finally has the talent to compete with the best and brightest at full strength. Any improvement out of Derrick Williams would help a ton, particularly in the early part of the season when the team will need a boost.

Utah Jazz: A playoff team last season that did not lose much in the way of talent, the Jazz should serve as an interesting test case of the difference between building with new talent and improving by gelling and being on the right side of the aging curve. Derrick Favors needs to break out and will have no better time than this season.

Dallas Mavericks: Dirk Nowitzki's recent knee scope will hurt their chances of developing early chemistry and get a jump on one of the final spots in the playoffs. That said, I love how the Mavs got younger (and likely better) by being aggressive and procuring both OJ Mayo and Darren Collison. Roddy Beaubois should have an opportunity as well to create a niche on the team, while Elton Brand will have a shot to make an impact at the start of the season.

Tier Four:

New Orleans Hornets: My #1 NBA League Pass team to start the season, the Hornets have a compelling assortment of talent and the right level of intrigue to make them worth watching all year long. Austin Rivers has the chance to show the basketball world what he can do and where he can play, while Anthony Davis gets the opportunity to define himself on both sides of the ball after one of the best calendar years of hoops ever for a young player.

Portland Trailblazers: Possibly the most fascinating concoction of young talent because of two lottery picks (Meyers Leonard and Damian Lilllard) along with two “young veterans” in LaMarcus Aldridge and Nicolas Batum. This core should get a few years to try and make it work and I for one will be watching to see how it all starts. 

Tier Five:

Sacramento Kings: Considering they possess the big man with the highest ceiling in the entire league (DeMarcus Cousins), it still feels weird to have the Kings in the lowest tier in the West. However, their petrifying lack of swingman talent outside of Tyreke Evans and strange PG situation makes it hard to argue that they will move beyond this grouping this season. Still fascinated to see where they go when they get a little more high-end talent.

Phoenix Suns: While clearly better than the Bobcats, it seems hard to figure out exactly how the Suns will reliably beat other teams. Their offense and rebounding will be fine but not dominant, while their defense leaves plenty to be desired. Jared Dudley gets to make a statement that he can be more than a role player while Goran Dragic will get the reins of a team full-time. 

Eastern Conference

Tier One:

Miami Heat: Truly in a class by themselves when it comes to the Eastern Conference. What makes Miami so terrifying is that they do not even need homecourt in order to run rampant through this conference in the playoffs, yet they should have it anyway without breaking much of a sweat. Ray Allen’s role on this team should be fun to watch from start to finish. 

Tier Two:

Indiana Pacers: The Pacers are potentially the most underhyped team heading into the 2012-13 season. Indiana has a logical and effective starting five that features quality players at each position even though George Hill needs to continue to find himself as a PG. Roy Hibbert will be playing with a bigger contract and therefore be under a bigger microscope but has the talent to deliver all season long.

Boston Celtics: Boston moves down a few slots, not because of replacing Ray Allen with Jason Terry, but rather for the simple fact that Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett are still the lynchpins of this team, and Rajon Rondo is not dominant enough to counteract Father Time. That said, I do like the additions of Courtney Lee, Jared Sullinger, Jeff Green (sort of) and Fab Melo from a talent perspective. If Garnett and Pierce can turn back the clock, Boston could be a brutal out in the playoffs.

Philadelphia 76ers: Andre Iguodala was one hell of a player and may have been underrated during his tenure in Philly because of his offensive numbers. You know who else is one hell of a player? Andrew Bynum. Their offseason changes make a more cohesive and dangerous team on both sides of the ball while also retaining the nastiness that made them work last season.

Brooklyn Nets: Despite carrying some notable flaws, the Nets have the talent to stick in this tier as long as Deron Williams stays healthy most of the year. Joe Johnson and Gerald Wallace would have been a much better backcourt half a decade ago, yet still should be able to make teams sweat for the next few seasons. They need Brook Lopez to become more than he has been in order to go beyond the second round. 

Tier Three:

Chicago Bulls: The Bulls break my tier rules because I have absolutely no idea where they will end up. A fully healthy team sits as the second-best team in the conference, even after executing the bench mob that helped make them so successful last season. Derrick Rose, Luol Deng, Joakim Noah and Tom Thibodeau are just that good. However, who knows if and when we will see the whole gang together again. 

Tier Four:

New York Knicks: I will undoubtedly get some heat for having the Knicks here (and below their newly closer neighbors), but this stands as the correct placement for them. The incredibly disappointing move to not retain Jeremy Lin and instead go with Raymond Felton kneecaps what could have been a much more potent all-around team and likely wastes the best years of the Melo/Amare/Tyson triumvirate.

Atlanta Hawks: While ESPN The Magazine apparently thinks this team can finish second in the East, I am dubious despite loving Al Horford considerably. This Atlanta team needs both an identity and late-game production that can win them close games. The gaping hole at small forward and lack of depth at the big man spots scare me enough to leave them firmly right here. 

Tier Five:

Toronto Raptors: As a believer in Jonas Valanciunas, I feel the Raptors can be a relevant team immediately, even though they are still incredibly flawed. The addition of Kyle Lowry gives them better point guard play than they have had recently and that could yield some benefits for a swingman group that needs breakout stars.

Milwaukee Bucks: A full year of the Brandon Jennings/Monta Ellis backcourt experiment will be a blast and a half. My biggest problem with the Bucks is that their talent does not fit together well and it seems hard to piece together how they can win enough games to outpace this tier.

Cleveland Cavaliers: Kyrie Irving is the real deal. Unfortunately for him, the Cavs have the worst swingman group in the entire league (and yes that includes the Bobcats). Any production from those guys would go nicely with a solid enough big man rotation and get this team on the road to what counts as prosperity without King James.

Washington Wizards: Another underrated team in the East, the Wizards finally have a roster that makes sense even if it needs more offensive firepower. Trevor Ariza, Emeka Okafor and Bradley Beal each add something Washington has needed in recent years and now is the time for John Wall to become the franchise player he was drafted to be, even if he still cannot shoot. 

Tier Six:

Detroit Pistons: Adding a high-upside big like Andre Drummond helps keep the Pistons on the path to long-term success. Unfortunately, the rest of the team does not have the talent or production to keep the team in the playoff hunt until Drummond is ready for prime time. Look for Brandon Knight to create a more clear-cut role for himself this season.

Orlando Magic: While the Pistons have some talent that could guide them out of the wilderness, the Magic just traded themselves deep into it. This should be a rough year for Orlando since their talent suddenly does not make since due to the lack of a certain elite big. If they go anywhere this season, Arron Afflalo should be the one to do it since he has the all-around game to help them forge an identity. 

Tier Seven:

Charlotte Bobcats: The Bobcats were so bad last year, even a meaningful improvement leaves them down here by themselves again. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is a great piece for an eventual playoff teams, giving the team exactly one player that fits that description. 

Award Predictions

Most Valuable Player: LeBron James

Coach of the Year: George Karl

Rookie of the Year: Anthony Davis

Defensive Player of the Year: Dwight Howard

Sixth Man of the Year: Lou Williams

Most Improved Player: Kawhi Leonard 

Playoff Predictions

Western Conference

First Round:
Lakers over Warriors in five
Spurs over Rockets in seven
Thunder over Grizzlies in seven
Nuggets over Clippers in six

Second Round:
Lakers over Nuggets in seven
Thunder over Spurs in seven

Western Conference Finals:
Lakers over Thunder in six 

Eastern Conference

First Round:
Heat over Hawks in four
Pacers over Bulls in seven
Celtics over Knicks in six
76ers over Nets in seven

Second Round:
Heat over 76ers in six
Celtics over Pacers in seven

Eastern Conference Finals:
Heat over Celtics in five

NBA Finals: Heat over Lakers in six
Finals MVP: LeBron James