As a companion to the Eastern Conference Buyers & Sellers, it is time to look at which Western Conference teams are Buyers, Sellers, Either or Neither as the Trade Deadline approaches. All places in the standings are through the All-Star break.

- Dallas Mavericks (12th place, 3 games out): Either. After a rough start, the Mavericks are just three games behind Denver for the final spot in the Western Conference playoffs. With Deron Williams and Andrew Bogut on expiring contracts, Dallas could move either to contenders who are looking for experienced help for their own playoffs runs. You can also envision the Mavs adding a piece or two to aid their own postseason push. Two things are certain: Dallas won’t tank as long as they have Dirk Nowitzki and they won’t take on bad long term money for a short term gain.

- Denver Nuggets (8th place): Either. Denver is in perhaps the most awkward spot of the entire NBA. They would love to make the playoffs for the first time in four seasons and are poised to be in the mix for the rest of the year. On the other hand, the Nuggets have several tradable pieces that are very attractive to contenders. Players like Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, Jameer Nelson and Kenneth Faried could all provide a nice to help Denver in the long run, or the Nuggets could trade some of their assets to strengthen their run at the playoffs this season. The best bet is that Denver makes a small move and remains cautious with what they have already built.

- Golden State Warriors (1st place): Neither. The Warriors are highly unlikely to get involved in any sort of action at the deadline. They don’t have tradable pieces to add any help and they certainly aren’t selling either. Expect Golden State to instead be players on the buyout market, as they can pick up veteran ring chasers to bolster their depth.

- Houston Rockets (3rd place): Buyers. Houston can best be termed as cautious buyers. They had interest in Serge Ibaka, but had no desire to part with any of their young players on good contracts. They’ve dangled Corey Brewer, but no one is biting. The Rockets will add help if they can get it, but they won’t do it at the expense of their core of their blossoming young backups.

- Los Angeles Clippers (4th place): Buyers. The Clippers would love to add help and will be aggressive if they can find something that works. If there is a Carmelo Anthony trade to be made, the Clippers will probably jump on it. That remains highly unlikely, so expect to see the Clippers chase minor upgrades for their bench. Los Angeles is limited in what they can trade, so don’t expect much.

- Los Angeles Lakers (14th place, 7 games out): Sellers. The Lakers will move some of their veterans if they can find the right deals. Lou Williams has garnered a ton of interest around the NBA as a bench scorer, and Los Angeles is likely to find a new home for him by the deadline. The Lakers have already begun to pivot towards this being a season of growth for their young players by starting Brandon Ingram and benching Luol Deng. Giving even more minutes to their young core is on deck for the rest of this year.

- Memphis Grizzlies (6th place): Neither. Without a lot of tradable pieces, the Grizzlies will likely stand pat at the deadline. They’ll focus on balancing health and rest with winning the rest of the way. When the entire roster is healthy, which they currently are, Memphis has as deep a team as anyone and could make some noise in the playoffs.

- Minnesota Timberwolves (13th place, 3.5 games out): Neither. The Wolves aren’t out of the playoff race just yet, but aren’t likely inclined to add much to push either. Minnesota is sitting on as much cap space as anyone in the league and could be used as a facilitator to help other deals along. Beyond adding a veteran wing for themselves, there isn’t much the Timberwolves are pushing for at the moment.

- New Orleans Pelicans (11th place, 2.5 games out): Either. New Orleans has hung around the playoff race despite up and down play all season. That says more about the eight seed in the West than it really does about the Pelicans. They’ll be opportunistic if the right deal presents itself to add some help around Anthony Davis. They are known to be looking for an offensive-minded center to pair with Anthony Davis up front and have some extra guards they could move to make that happen. The Pelicans could also make a move that takes a short term step back to allow for a step forward in the future.

- Oklahoma City Thunder (7th place): Buyers. If Oklahoma City can find some help in the form of a wing scorer, they’ll make a move. If not, their big “addition” will be Enes Kanter returning from his broken arm. Kanter was playing like a Sixth Man of the Year candidate before getting hurt and OKC is banking on him returning to form when he gets back. One limiting factor for the Thunder in trades, is taking on any sort of long term salary. This summer extensions kick in for Steven Adams and Victor Oladipo next season, while Andre Roberson will be a free agent. Oklahoma City has to keep payroll in mind with any move they make at the deadline.

- Phoenix Suns (15th place, 7.5 games out): Sellers. Phoenix is staring a top pick in the face and could begin tanking to assure themselves of solid draft position at any point now. With veterans like P.J Tucker, Brandon Knight, and Tyson Chandler garnering varying levels of interest around the league, the Suns could pick up future assets, while also helping their goal of gaining of a high pick this year. Despite some rumors to the contrary, it is unlikely Phoenix will move Eric Bledsoe unless a team vastly overpays in trade.

- Portland Trail Blazers (10th place, 2 games out): Buyers. The Trail Blazers find themselves sitting outside the playoffs at the deadline, as their season has not gone according to plan. Last year’s upstart darlings have struggled with inconsistency and injuries for most of the season. They just made a move to bring in Jusuf Nurkic to help stabilize the center position going forward, but could also look for additional help. If that help comes in a way that it can also reduce future salary on the Portland cap sheet, so much the better.

- Sacramento Kings (9th place, 1.5 games out): Either. Sacramento is challenging for their first playoff appearance in over a decade, but injuries are threatening those hopes. The Kings are extremely shallow on the wing as Rudy Gay, Omri Casspi, Garrett Temple and Malachi Richardson have all gone down. Sacramento has extra bigs they can deal and would love to bring in a scoring wing if they can find one, but they won’t overpay and hurt future flexibility. With a big extension a possibility for DeMarcus Cousins in the near future, the Kings will balance both short term goals and building around their franchise center for the future.

- San Antonio Spurs (2nd place): Neither. As per usual, the Spurs will probably sit the deadline out. They have established themselves as the second best team in the Western Conference and will spend the remainder of the season putting their players in the best position to make a run at the Warriors. That will mean both rest and Gregg Popovich experimenting with lineups to find which ones work best and in which situations.

- Utah Jazz (5th place): Buyers. Utah will look for experienced depth if they can find it, but isn’t going to overpay to get it. The Jazz love their core and believe they can make a run in the postseason as currently constructed. This summer shapes up to be far more interesting for Utah than anything they will do at the deadline.