Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Trade Rumblings

With the trade deadline quickly approaching (2 weeks away), let's take a look at some teams/players to keep an eye on.

Orlando Magic: Dwight Howard is the BIG name being thrown around right now. Do the Magic keep him, do the Nets get him, do the Lakers get him, is there REALLY a mystery team?

From what I've seen, the Magic (despite being consistent with "we want to keep him" messages) are going to trade him. The most logical team seems to be the Nets since according to most sources, the Magic don't see that large of a difference between Lopez and Bynum, and with Lopez, they also get a bevy of draft picks.

Monta Ellis The Warriors are steadfast in their saying he will not be traded (except for Dwight), but all signs point to this being a story to watch. Lee is also a potential trade candidate. He's not playing UP to his contract, but it's not an egregious contract anymore. He's played real well this year.

Boston Celtics While the Celtics have received plenty of offers for Ray Allen, according to Wojnarowski, the most likely Celtic to be moved is Paul Pierce. At this point I wouldn't be surprised if any Celtic (KG, Allen, Pierce, Rondo) were traded. I think barring some sort of 2-week resurgence, Ray Allen is going to be moved.

Steve Nash Portland seems to be the most likely destination given all the chatter, but Phoenix says they won't trade him unless Nash demands a trade. Nash is far too classy to do that, but Phoenix should look to make that deal as it doesn't look like he will be re-signing with them at seasons end.

Michael Beasley It seems like the T-Wolves are open to moving Beasley. Smart, considering he likely isn't in their future plans and his stock is relatively high. The Lakers rejected a trade offer of Beasley for a 1st round pick, but that's more due to the fact that the Lakers are over the salary cap and would essentially be paying double Beasley's salary. I do think that they could potentially get a 1st rounder for him (think Sixers)

Sixers The Sixers may not have been in trade discussions with anyone, but they have a LOT of young pieces and aggressive new ownership. There is a shot that they package some of those pieces and get a major piece to make a run this year/in the future. They will not, however, mortgage their future for this season. They could be a sneaky player in the Dwight Howard talks.

Lakers I wouldn't be shocked (barring Kobe) if anyone got traded from this team. Keep an eye on Pau Gasol, he is unhappy and is still a top-20 player in this league and he can be had. Smart GM's will realize this and look to make a move (Daryl Morey of Houston loves him). Rumors of a Rondo/Pau swap are greatly exaggerated, by the way.

Jazz As crazy as it sounds, the Jazz would be willing to move Big Al or Milsap. With Favors/Kanter waiting in the wings, the Jazz would be willing to move one of those 2 in order to gain a point guard (Rondo??) or a wing player.

JJ Hickson JJ Hickson is open to being traded and actually would prefer it. He's in a walk-year so it's likely he is moved for the right deal. Still a very talented player in my opinion.

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