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The off season trades are ongoing in the NBA. So far, the biggest move has been Rudy Gobert to the Minnesota Timberwolves from the Utah Jazz. A bit unexpected, the move certainly raised more than a few eyebrows as to 'why' it happened more than anything else.

I mean at the surface it does appear that Gobert certainly made the Jazz a better team, even though one cannot really take things at surface value, but the trade certainly got me thinking about the possible reasons teams may consider making moves in the market.

Of course strengthening the team is always the number one priority. Each team wants to be competitive and possibly win the championship. It would be ridiculous for a team to enter a full season without ambitions of performing well, even though that team is the Houston Rockets. Every team Aspires to do well, and bringing in players that can deliver is always at the back of everyone's mind.

Of course there are some other circumstances that Warrant trades to be made beyond strengthening. Money certainly plays a big part. Due to salary caps, teams are always conscious of avoiding that luxury tax penalty, especially the smaller teams that cannot afford to go all out and have several big names on their roster.

There's also the case of roster space which mandates a maximum of 15 players on a roster and two on 'two way' contracts. The brunt of those space limits are filled by rookies or players on minimum contracts. Sadly, these same players are also those affected when space needs to be cleared for a trade to happen, or superstars to make their way in.

The Absurd

There is one reason I have noticed though, which makes no sense to me. Again, this is just my intuition and I may be wrong, but it seems like some teams make trades so as not to 'feel left out' despite not having a reason to do so. I mean if you have a strong team with fair contracts and are yet to max out on roster spaces, why make some trades?

It is a given that the league is competitive and as such high level teams should seek to get stronger. But does stronger necessarily mean new acquisitions? How about improving a solid team with a high ceiling and making them an even bigger force to be reckoned with.

A team like the Miami Heat that reached the Eastern Conference final for instance. What's the point of going after Kevin Durant and sacrificing a bunch of young, hungry players who got them that far in the previous season. Mind you the Brooklyn Nets didn't even win a playoff game, eliminated in the first round.

I would love to see teams like the Heat and Raptors keep their players and possibly watch them flourish next season with better experience and performance.