The trade deadline is less than three weeks away (Feb. 21), but instead of poring over rosters, a lot of NBA executives are spending their time with spreadsheets and financial statements.
 
Now more than ever, trades are more about fitting salaries under the cap and creating financial flexibility -- and the economic outlook for the near future is cloudy at best.

  "We have gotten some updates from the league, but we really don't know what the final numbers are going to look like," said Alan Ostfield, the Pistons' senior vice-president for finance and the team's capologist.

  The Pistons are about $800,000 under the $42.5-million salary cap for this season. But there is a lot of uncertainty as to where the cap will be next season, and whether the league's luxury tax will kick in this summer.

  There is a strong possibility the cap could stay at $42.5 million for next year, or even go down slightly.