5 Most Likely NBA Players to Be Traded During the 2017-18 Season
Fear not, NBA transaction fiends. The opening of the 2017-18 campaign won't calm the always-swirling trade winds.
In fact, it should increase their ferocity.
As the gap between the league's haves and have-nots widens, the latter grow more incentivized to convert their current talent into future assets. Add in the draft lottery changes coming next season and a handful of tank-worthy players atop the 2018 board, and this year's race to the bottom could be furious.
Three players on our list of this season's most likely trade candidates come from potential tankers. The other two have seemingly had one foot out of their current locker room doors for years.
Enough explaining, let's start reading tea leaves and constructing this season's trade block.
Kent Bazemore, SF, Atlanta Hawks
1 of 5
The Atlanta Hawks have made 10 consecutive playoff trips; they've already abandoned plans for an 11th.
They won't acknowledge that publicly—transparent tanking is a tough sell to fans—but they don't have to. Three of their top four scorers from last season are gone. Paul Millsap and Tim Hardaway Jr. walked in free agency. Dwight Howard was technically traded, but he brought back less than pennies on the dollar (Miles Plumlee and Marco Belinelli).
The Hawks are rebuilding around the likes of Dennis Schroder (24 years old), Taurean Prince (23), DeAndre' Bembry (23) and rookie John Collins (20). Kent Bazemore, who signed a four-year, $70 million deal just last summer, already looks out of place due to his age and his salary.
"Kent Bazemore no longer fits the Hawks' timeline," Bleacher Report's Dan Favale wrote. "He's 28, and Atlanta has younger wings to test out in DeAndre' Bembry and Taurean Prince. ... Paying out the $50 million-plus left on [Bazemore's] contract doesn't make sense for the Hawks."
But for a club with hopes of contending, Bazemore would be a two-way boost.
While not a three-point sniper (career 34.9 percent), he's still a viable spot-up threat (39.3 percent on catch-and-shoot threes in 2015-16). And he can be a menace on the defensive perimeter, where his near-7-foot wingspan and insatiable motor form a prolific package. Opponents shot 2.6 percentage points worse against him than their average last season.
He's still a valuable player—just not for Atlanta. If a trade could spur their rebuilding efforts with cap relief and draft considerations, they'd be smart to get it done.
Eric Bledsoe, PG, Phoenix Suns
2 of 5
Eric Bledsoe is getting anxious. He hasn't made a playoff start in his career or even advanced to the second season since he was Chris Paul's understudy with the 2012-13 Los Angeles Clippers.
With his 28th birthday looming in December, his basketball clock is ticking. He's had three significant knee injuries already, and so much of his value is tied to explosive athleticism.
But the Phoenix Suns aren't on the same calendar. Their future is tethered to Devin Booker, Josh Jackson, Marquese Chriss and Dragan Bender—none of whom have celebrated their 21st birthday. There are no playoff pictures forming in the desert, which puts Bledsoe in a difficult spot.
"I love everything about [Phoenix]," Bledsoe said in July, per azcentral.com's Scott Bordow. "At the same time I want to win."
The Suns haven't exactly held tight to Bledsoe. They've had past trade talks with the Cleveland Cavaliers, per The Athletic's Jason Lloyd, and the Denver Nuggets, per ESPN's Chris Haynes. And they'll continue to answer when suitors call, according to ESPN.com's Zach Lowe.
While there aren't many win-now teams with point guard problems, those that have them should all be eyeing Bledsoe.
He's one of only six players to average at least 20 points, six assists and four rebounds in each of the past two seasons. Last year, he ranked in the 87th percentile of pick-and-roll ball-handlers and averaged the ninth-most drives per game (10.3). If he had more scoring help, he could become a more efficient shooter and a potentially relentless defender.
Kenneth Faried, PF, Denver Nuggets
3 of 5
The Denver Nuggets have a Kenneth Faried problem. Actually, it's more like Kenneth Faried has a Denver Nuggets problem.
They're overloaded at his position, a post that will now be dominated by All-Star free-agency addition Paul Millsap. Faried can feel the walls closing in and used media day to make his case for a starting spot—in Denver or elsewhere, per Mark Kiszla of the Denver Post:
"I'll just put it out there for everybody. I'm not a bench player. I've been saying that for the longest. I'm a starter.
"... If this team doesn't want, or respect me enough, to play me the minutes that I think I deserve to play, then I understand that. Hey, there's 29 other [teams]. Maybe I'll go somewhere else and do what I need to do there."
Tell us how you really feel, Manimal.
This shouldn't be surprising. Faried never seems far removed from the trade rumor mill, and the Nuggets haven't helped that by hoarding power forwards. Millsap is obviously ahead of Faried. Where Trey Lyles, Darrell Arthur and rookie Tyler Lydon fit is anyone's guess. And forget about spot minutes at center for Faried, since Nikola Jokic, Juan Hernangomez and Mason Plumlee are clogging the 5 already.
Faried won't be the easiest to move, since he's neither a shooter nor a shot-blocker. But his motor and athleticism are both top-notch, making him a factor on the glass and above the rim. In the right setting—surrounded by shooters and defenders in an uptempo system—he could outperform the $26.6 million he'll collect through 2018-19.
Jahlil Okafor, C, Philadelphia 76ers
4 of 5
No, your eyes aren't deceiving you. The Philadelphia 76ers still haven't traded former No. 3 pick Jahlil Okafor.
But, as Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer explained, it hasn't been for a lack of trying:
"The Sixers had trade discussions about Okafor with several teams last season—including the Chicago Bulls, New Orleans Pelicans, Portland Trail Blazers, and Denver Nuggets—leading up to the Feb. 23 trade deadline. Okafor was even held out of two games, Feb. 11 at home against Miami and Feb. 13 at Charlotte, because the Sixers said they were close to a trade. He didn't even accompany the team on the flight to Charlotte.
"Okafor was also the center of trade discussions during, and the summer after, his rookie season."
Philly doesn't need him.
It already tied its future at the 5 to the mega-talented-but-oft-injured Joel Embiid. Richaun Holmes—currently nursing a fractured wrist—has impressed as a floor-spacer and a rim-protector. Newcomer Amir Johnson can man the middle, and head coach Brett Brown is reportedly considering plugging Dario Saric in there as well, according to Sarah Todd of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Okafor deserves a chance elsewhere. He's clearly a gifted scorer (career 20.1 points per 36 minutes on 51.0 percent shooting), and he won't even turn 22 until December. His limitations are hard to hide in the modern game (not enough range or lateral quickness), but good luck matching his combination of size, length, soft hands, phenomenal footwork and interior touch.
He no longer looks like a star on the rise, but he's ready and able to be a strong second-team scorer somewhere.
Kyle O'Quinn, C, New York Knicks
5 of 5
One person is surprised to see Kyle O'Quinn on this list—Kyle O'Quinn. While the rest of us connect the dots with the New York Knicks' overcrowded frontcourt, the 27-year-old believes there's still a place for him in Gotham.
"I haven't got a sense that I won't be here," O'Quinn said, per Newsday's Al Iannazzone. "I feel I fit in. I'm not on the outside. If a deal has to be done and I'm in it, obviously I have to deal with that. I don't feel I'm one of the pieces they're determining has to be moved to do this or that."
The problem is someone needs to be cleared out of the traffic jam at center.
Willy Hernangomez grabbed hold of the starting gig last season. Enes Kanter (probably) jumped in behind Hernangomez after arriving in the Carmelo Anthony deal. Joakim Noah is going nowhere thanks to declining skills and an escalating salary ($55.9 million over the next three years). And that's before factoring in any minutes at the 5 for Kristaps Porzingis, who's spent a quarter of his career there.
No one needs a fourth center, and O'Quinn is too talented to bury like that anyway. He paced all reserves with 96 rejections and ranked 12th among players 6'10" or taller with 3.4 assists per 36 minutes last season. He's averaged a per-36-minute double-double during four of his five years in the Association.
And O'Quinn's value extends to the financial books. He's owed just $4.0 million this year and holds a $4.2 million player option for 2018-19. He won't be difficult to move, and if he can fetch at least a decent second-round selection, he'd help further the 'Bockers youth movement.
Unless otherwise indicated, all stats from Basketball Reference or NBA.com. Salary information obtained via Basketball Insiders.
Zach Buckley covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: @ZachBuckleyNBA.
