NBA Trade Speculation: 5 Stars in Need of an Impact Sidekick

There are some stars in the NBA that shoulder the burden of their teams almost exclusively. These teams range from some of the best in the NBA to some of the worst.

In each of these cases there's a need for a second player to be the guy. That's not to say all of these players are doing it all alone, but some of these teams need a second high quality player who can help take the burden off the shoulders and bear some weight. 

Steve Nash

You know who the No. 1 scorer on the Phoenix Suns is? Marcin Gortat! 

I mean it's almost as though the Suns are playing a game with Steve Nash where they give him less and less talent each season and see how little talent he can have around him and still average 10 assists. They haven't gotten to that point yet. 

There are those who knock Nash, but what point guard in the NBA could average 10.1 dimes a game with the "talent" Nash has around him right now. 

Andre Iguodala

Andre Iguodalla might be one of the best all-around players in the NBA but he's not a great scorer. He's a good scorer, yes, but he's not a great scorer. 

What he needs on his team is a pure scorer, a guy who can create and make a shot at will.

There are other good scorers like Louis Williams and Jrue Holliday on the team, but until they get "that" guy it's going to be hard for them to get to the next level. 

Yes, they have a great record and an outrageous margin of victory, but their opponents have an average record of 5-9.

When Philadelphia plays some of the better defenses you'll see them struggle. 

Kevin Love

There are those who doubt that Kevin Love has the kind of talent to lead a team a title. Here's a tidbit for you: Kevin Love averaged 20 points and 15 rebounds last year.

There are 13 other players who have done that in the history of the NBA. Of those, 12 are in the Hall of Fame, and 10 won an NBA title at some point in their career. 

Yes, Love has the potential to carry a team to a championship. He has a point guard now who can facilitate, but the team still needs a shooting guard who can be a go-to scorer and defend.

The Wolves should look into swapping Michael Beasley for OJ Mayo. That would make this team a contender. 

Dwight Howard

Dwight Howard and a bunch of other average guys is even too much for most NBA opponents, and yet there are reasonably good players around the Magic's big man.

In fact there are plenty of players who can score, and Ryan Anderson has been an absolute revelation this year. 

What the Magic need though is someone who will help Howard defensively.

He has three times as many defensive win shares as anyone else and his defensive rating is 10 points lower than anyone else who is a regular part of the rotation. 

Give the man some help on defense if you're not going to trade him Otis Smith.

Deron Williams

Deron Williams has the least help of any player in the NBA. The second-best player on the team is MarShon Brooks, who is just a rookie averaging 14.6 points per game.

After that things get even worse. This team is just awful on both ends of the ball. I know that Brook Lopez is hurt, but still, how much can you hang on that hook?

Offensively they are bad, but defensively they are even worse. The Nets are literally giving up the worst effective field-goal percentage in the history of the NBA.

That's bad. Give D-Will some help or you're going to lose him.