As NBA playoff eliminations loom, so do tough trade decisions

A long list of teams faced with serious offseason hurdles to clear to renovate their rosters is about to get longer

Trae Young. Karl-Anthony Towns. Paul George, even.

With their teams facing 3-1 deficits in the first round of the NBA playoffs, could these marquee stars soon find their names circulating as authentic trade candidates?

It's a question increasingly asked leaguewide as various teams with grandiose expectations near Round 1 exits.

There were several franchises already — teams that didn't even reach the playoffs — whose offseasons could be classified as both critical and uncertainty-filled. Will the Mavericks re-sign Kyrie Irving and successfully manufacture the additional roster upgrades needed around Luka Dončić? Can the Trail Blazers finally build a contending team around Damian Lillard … or would Portland actually entertain the prospect of trading him? How do the Pelicans proceed with Zion Williamson after his four injury-ravaged seasons?

In the East, furthermore, Toronto just fired coach Nick Nurse after a season of incessant trade speculation surrounding most of its core players ... and Washington just ousted GM Tommy Sheppard with Kyle Kuzma soon to hit free agency and Kristaps Porziņģis seeking a contract extension ... and Chicago, just like Washington, has decisions to make about its own high-priced trio (Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan and free agent-to-be Nikola Vučević) after falling short of .500.

NBA teams that face a 3-1 deficit in a best-of-seven series go home 95.2% of the time. We repeat: NBA teams that go up 3-1 in a series, according to WhoWins.com, have an all-record in those matchups of 258-13. So …

Barring comebacks that are unlikely in the extreme, we're about to see the Hawks, Timberwolves and Clippers join that same crowded club. As with the aforementioned array of teams that didn't even reach the NBA Tournament, there are no easy fixes for the trio facing elimination in their Game 5s on the road.