Alize Johnson, who signed 10-day contract with Nets, shines with 23 points, 15 rebounds vs. Utah

The NBA trade deadline is looming at 3:00 PM ET on Thursday. Things have been a bit slow during deadline week, and there are a number of factors for that.

One issue that that teams are finding that there isn’t a lot of interest in 2024 draft picks. The 2024 draft class is projected to be weaker than most other classes. That has teams more focused on adding future picks.

That spills over to teams being increasingly wary of trading future picks. With the NBA’s new second apron rules, many contenders are holding onto their draft picks because they’ll need them to build out their rosters.

In addition, 11 teams control 75% of all future draft picks. That much draft capital being controlled by roughly a third of the league has created somewhat of a trade logjam.

There are also far more buyers than sellers on this year’s trade market. Several teams are still in contention for the postseason, whether that’s for playoff spots or spots in the Play-In Tournament. And the handful of teams that are out of contention, are asking high prices for their players, as many of those players are on long-term deals.