Over the past couple of weeks, we've looked at more than 30 players who could be traded before the Feb. 18 trade deadline.
For players like
Phoenix Suns forward
Amare Stoudemire, the trade talk continues to heat up. For others, like
Portland Trail Blazers point guard
Andre Miller, the talk has died down; in Miller's case, GM Kevin Pritchard declared recently that the team doesn't want to trade him.
[h4]TRADE OF THE WEEK[/h4]
Who could use help for the playoffs? How about the defending champs?
Here's a potential deal for the Lakers.
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Trade Machine: Propose a deal
This week we adjust our gaze to another question: Which teams are most likely to make a deal before the deadline?
Someteams are looking for the missing piece. Others are throwing in thetowel and looking to rebuild. And for a few others, the trade deadlineis an opportunity to save some serious cash.
Here's a look at the 10 teams most likely to deal:
[h3]The contenders[/h3]
One piece away from a championship?
Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cavs are sporting the best record in the league and have swept theWestern Conference favorites, the Lakers, 2-0. But after last year'splayoff collapse, you can be sure GM Danny Ferry will take everyprecaution. And Cleveland has another big reason to make a deal:
LeBron James can be a free agent this summer, and the Cavs want to do everything in their power to persuade him to stay long term.
The Cavs have some good assets, including
Zydrunas Ilgauskas and
Shaquille O'Neal, whose contracts are expiring, and the semi-retired
Wally Szczerbiak, a sign-and-trade candidate. They also have a young player,
J.J. Hickson, in whom some teams have shown interest. Plus, the Cavs would be willing to give up this year's first-round pick.
Butthose assets are of value primarily to teams trying to clear cap room.Hickson and a late first-round pick alone won't net a star.
As trade targets, the Cavs have been concentrating mostly on 4s who can spread the floor. The Wizards'
Antawn Jamison and the Pacers'
Troy Murphyare reportedly at the top of their list. While both the Wizards andPacers have some financial reasons to make a deal with Cleveland, bothteams are seeing whether they can get something more from another team.
Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers, like the Cavs, are perched atop their conference at themoment, and they are favored to win a second straight NBA title. So whywould they mess with a good thing?
Thereis a growing fear in L.A. that the point guard position has become areal problem. Starter Derek Fisher looks as though he's run out of gas,and reserve
Jordan Farmar, while decent, is hardly world-class. If the Lakers can acquire even an average point guard, they may have to do it.
They, too, have assets for a team that needs to save money. Both Fisher and
Adam Morrison come off the books this summer, for a total of more than $10 million in expiring contracts.
The three big names mentioned in connection to Los Angeles have been
Devin Harris, Andre Miller and
Kirk Hinrich.The Nets want more than expiring contracts for Harris, so I thinkthey're out. The Blazers aren't eager to move Miller, especially downthe coast to a Western Conference rival. That leaves the Bulls, whowant to get further under the salary cap to make a run at two freeagents this summer. Hinrich has been solid in a backup role for theBulls, but he's expendable. While the Lakers would have to commit tothe remainder of Hinrich's contract, it's a deal that makes a lot ofsense for both sides.
Orlando Magic
The Magic were a preseason pick of many, including me, to make it to the Eastern Conference finals and perhaps beyond.
Vince Carter was supposed to be an upgrade over
Hedo Turkoglu. The addition of
Brandon Bass and
Ryan Anderson was supposed to give them depth inside. And a healthy
Jameer Nelson was going to put them over the top.
Ithasn't happened yet. The Magic have been shaky, playing roughly .500ball for the past couple of months. Several GMs have told ESPN that theMagic have been aggressive in their efforts to shake up the roster andregain their swagger.
They have a number of assets. They could find takers for several of their reserve bigs, including
Marcin Gortat and Bass.
Rashard Lewiswould also garner interest if he were available. And while they wouldbe interested in moving Carter, sources around the league say that themarket for VC is lukewarm at best.
Dallas Mavericks
Mavs owner Mark Cuban has always broken the bank to put a quality teamon the floor. This year's Mavs, for instance, have the third-bestrecord in the West and the league's second-highest payroll.
So, despite what he's already spending, Cuban will try to add another piece to put them over the top.
Jason Kidd,
Dirk Nowitzki and
Jason Terry aren't getting younger. The Mavs need to win now.
The team has a number of unusual and intriguing assets.
Josh Howard is a valuable player, and his contract isn't guaranteed for next season. Likewise, a team can trade for starting center
Erick Dampierand decide whether to pay him in 2010-11. Between Howard and Dampier,any team (Mavs included) could get about $24 million off the books fornext season.
But the Mavs don't have the kind of young talent ordraft picks normally needed to sweeten such trades. Because of the Kiddtrade, the Nets own the Mavericks' first-round pick this year.Therefore, given NBA rules, the next first-round pick they can trade istheir 2012 pick, which doesn't have much value now.
What do the Mavs want? According to the rumblings out there, they are looking for an athletic wing like Philly's
Andre Iguodala or the Kings'
Kevin Martin. Or they'll save their assets to make a move this summer.
[h3]Playing the lottery[/h3]
Looking to next season
Washington Wizards
The Wizards as we knew them appear to be history. Before the season,many of us had them pegged as a potential playoff team. But all of thatwas on the assumption that the team would have
Gilbert Arenasfor the season. Now that Arenas has been suspended for the rest of theseason and with his future appearing very shaky, the word is thatWashington is contemplating a fire sale.
The Wizards will explorethe market for Arenas, of course, but, with four more seasons remainingon a huge contract, he's going to be very difficult to move.
And we've all heard the rampant trade talk about Jamison,
Caron Butler and
Brendan Haywood, whose contract is expiring. Basically no one is safe on the roster at the moment.
Rightnow, it's not clear exactly how the Wizards want to play this. Willthey insist on getting talent back for players like Jamison and Butler,or are they willing to settle for immediate cap relief? If the latter,the chances that the Wizards are active between now and Feb. 18 arevery, very high.
Indiana Pacers
The Pacers thought that if everyone stayed healthy this season, theymight have a shot at the playoffs. But the team has been adisappointment. While injuries have played a major part in theirstruggles, there are other problems.
T.J. Ford has been awful, second-year guard
Brandon Rush has struggled, and
Mike Dunleavy has been slow to return to form.
With so many teams interested in both Murphy and big man
Jeff Foster, it looks as though the Pacers are primed to make a move that could set them back in the short term and help in the long term.
Thequestion is, what do Pacers execs Larry Bird and David Morway want inreturn? If they want cap space, there are plenty of willing suitors. Ifthey want more -- and that would be understandable given their dearthof talent -- it may be harder to find the perfect combination.
Whateverthey choose, the Pacers' best play appears to be forgetting about thisseason and looking to the future, even if it means more losses now. Thedraft might be their quickest route to getting an elite talent, such asJohn Wall or another high lottery pick, to play alongside
Danny Granger.
Detroit Pistons
After Detroit's disappointing 2008-09 season, Pistons GM Joe Dumarsknew that the days of his team making the Eastern Conference finalsevery year were over. But he didn't expect
this.
The Pistons, fresh off spending a boatload of money this summer on
Ben Gordon and
Charlie Villanueva, have been awful. Injuries have played a significant role, but the Pistons' pain goes deeper.
Detroit,known for its gritty defense for most of the past three decades, hasbecome a team interested more in outscoring teams than in stoppingthem. The talent is also unbalanced, with a loaded backcourt and adesperate need for big men who can guard elite bigs and command adouble-team in the post.
Moving
Richard Hamiltonwould be ideal, but there's probably no way the Pistons can trade hiscontract right now, especially with Hamilton still trying to get backto full strength. So
Tayshaun Prince has become the primary bait. But I'm willing to bet everyone but
Rodney Stuckey is available -- and even Stuckey might be had at the right price.
Dumarswill be patient as his team returns to health, but ultimately he wantsto get the team back into championship contention. His current rosterappears to have a ceiling no higher than fifth-best in the East. So Ithink Dumars will do what it takes to put a stop to the slide.
[h3]The tax man cometh[/h3]
A penny saved is more than a penny earned
Utah Jazz
Jazz GM Kevin O'Connor continues to insist that the Jazz are interestedin making only basketball moves, not cap-related moves. Still, the Jazzcould save millions of dollars by moving
Carlos Boozer (or another highly paid player) and getting under the luxury-tax line.
Whilethe Jazz have made cost-saving moves in the past, O'Connor seems tohave more swagger this year. But will things change as we get closer tothe trade deadline? Knowing O'Connor, I doubt it. Ultimately, though,that might be ownership's decision.
Philadelphia 76ers
It sounds as if the Sixers are very motivated to make a deal that givesthem salary relief right now. They've been dangling Iguodala, once thecornerstone of the franchise, to any team willing to take
Samuel Dalembert, too.
Cleveland,Dallas and Houston have been mentioned as possible suitors. WhileIguodala might be a little overpaid (and Dalembert is way overpaid),both players could help a team. Given that, I have to believePhiladelphia is going to find a way to make this happen.
Golden State Warriors
The Warriors have been stiff-arming all trade rumors and declaring thatthey like the young guys they have and just want to be patient and letthem develop together.
Atthe same time, general manager Larry Riley recently said, "We're in asituation where we need to look very strongly at change." And the windsmight be shifting for another reason: If owner Chris Cohan isinterested in selling the team, as reports have suggested, then asalary dump becomes more likely.
That may be why
Monta Ellis and
Corey Maggette, despite having strong seasons, are appearing more and more in trade talk. And if names like
Anthony Randolph and
Stephen Curry start coming up in trade discussions, you'll know that the Warriors are contemplating big changes.
