The Portland Trailblazers and Indiana Pacers have been dragged into the numerous NBA trade rumors in recent week.
And although the players and coaches understand the business side of things, they hope for the roster to remain intact past the Feb. 18 deadline, as well.
It would be an understatement to say that the Trailblazers (27-27) have overachieved this season. Predicted to be at the bottom of the Western Conference after losing three of their starters in LaMarcus Aldridge, Wesley Matthews and Nicolas Batum, the team won 12 of its last 15 games and is now sitting at 7th.
The team's best player, Damian Lillard, told The Oregonian that he doesn't like to see any of his teammates included in the NBA trade rumors because changing the makeup of the team would upset the chemistry.
"I think our strength is in how tight we are as a team," he explained. "We're really a unit. We hang out with each other. We talk to each other. We text each other and call each other."
"I think that's really a huge part of why we've been able to turn things around and be the team that we've been so far. So I think it's important that we understand that."
"The chemistry is great," center Ed Davis added. "One thing to keep in mind, when you start doing moves, you never know how it can go. It can go either way. So my question is: Why? Why fix something if it's not broke?"
Meanwhile, coach Frank Vogel of the Indiana Pacers (28-25) hopes that the team would survive following all the NBA trade rumors circulating around. With the dearth of marquee names this season, it seems everybody is up for grabs.
"I think we've settled on something I believe is going to help us win a lot of basketball games down the stretch and is going to be a lineup and a style of play that's going to help us win in the playoffs," he said.