Well, part of the process has to be trying to figure out who is going to unexpectedly collapse next year. And you also have to think about who's going to want to shed salary.
-The Jazz are going to have a tough time transitioning from Millsap/Jefferson to Favors/Kanter; their moves at the deadline and this offseason will have an impact, but I doubt they'll be able to make a ton of noise in FA.
-Philly is a bit of a mess and I can see them falling apart if Bynum doesn't deliver or walks. But I would think they aren't interested in tanking.
-Phoenix is bad and will likely be bad for a while. I don't know exactly where their heads are at with regards to salary.
-The Grizz want to shed salary for sure.
So then, before this trade deadline:
1. Send Lowry to Utah. This would probably have to be based around Marvin Williams, but take back Marvin (or other salary) plus picks. Hopefully Utah's 2014 and/or the Warriors pick (top 7 protected this year, top 6 next year). The Jazz are in win-now mode for the playoffs and desperately need a PG.
2. Trade Jose and either Demar or Fields to someone looking to shed salary and willing to give up a pick to do so. This could look something like this:
http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=bdgfaoqAnd maybe say we get Minny's pick, and if necessary, Minny gets a future pick from Memphis. This works with Fields out instead of Demar. Whatever needs doing to get picks in our hands. But the essence is packaging Jose plus Demar/Fields for salary + picks.
Then, this offseason:
3. Amnesty Bargnani. $10.75mm space freed up.
4. Send Kleiza's and Gray's $7.3mm in expirings and use the Bargs space for another bad contract (s) plus a pick. Say for Frye and Beasley plus a Suns pick?
Honestly, I haven't done a thorough job here, but if there is a will, there is a way. It would take some creativity and the cooperation of ownership, but it would also take a GM who has no attachment whatsoever to the current roster, one who can objectively assess each player on his (or her) own merits, as the case may be.
The likelihood of any of the picks hitting the jackpot is slim... but why not amass the greatest probability possible?