This post was originally published on this site.
Dec. 15 is just 72 hours and change away and, yes, stuff is starting to percolate
NBA teams are all in the 25-game range and the regular season is more than 50 days old.
And we have seen a considerable amount of losing already.
Lots of losing.
Statitudes publisher Justin Kubatko this week dropped a “50 Days In” piece covering numerous standout stats from the 2025-26 campaign so far and pointed out that, entering Thursday’s play, seven teams had won less than 30% of their games.
Which matches the 2012-13 season, per Kubatako’s research, for the NBA’s most during the season’s first 50 days.
New Orleans is 3-22. Washington is 3-19. Indiana, Sacramento and the LA Clippers are 6-18. Brooklyn is 6-17. And Charlotte is 7-17.
You are already hearing about some of those teams, not coincidentally, as Dec. 15 and the start of Trade Season dribbles ever closer. There is considerable curiosity leaguewide about the Pelicans’ willingness to field trade calls on Trey Murphy III and Herb Jones. The Nets are said to be eager to use leftover salary cap space from the summer to facilitate trades by absorbing salary in the quest to accumulate more future draft assets. The Kings are known to have multiple marquee veterans available via trade (Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan and maybe even Domantas Sabonis) and LaMelo Ball‘s future with the Hornets has been a popular early season topic.
To the latest from my notebook on what is happening all over the league and its trade market:
Charlotte is among the teams that had interest in Chris Paul this past offseason when the future Hall of Fame point guard (and North Carolina native) was adamant that he was willing to play no farther away from his Los Angeles-based family than Phoenix.
Now?