NBA Rumors: Stephen Jackson and Frustrated Players Who Must Be Dealt

While Julius Caesar was warned to beware the Ides of March, basketball junkies everywhere are eagerly anticipating March 15^th.  This is the last day NBA teams can shake up their roster and emphatically define their season as a rebuilding effort or a championship run.

Just as eagerly, NBA GMs are hoping that by then they can nab what could be the final piece to their championship puzzle or can finally jettison the team headache or the cap-crippling contract.

Who will take a chance on the talented headcase, and who will take thirty cents on the dollar for a marquee player just to get him off the team? Here are seven players that should be sporting new jerseys on March 16^th. 

Stephen Jackson

Though Jackson has not been an ideal fit with any of the seven teams he’s been with, his marriage to Milwaukee has been particularly dismal.

A tumultuous season which began with Jackson demanding a contract extension has further degraded with Jackson’s recent suspension and increasingly sparse playing time due to clashes with Bucks head coach Scott Skiles.  Throw in a sprinkling of misdemeanors and a dash of bad reputation, and you have a recipe for a chemistry-killing disaster.

So what would compel any remotely competent NBA GM to kick the tires on Jackson?  Simply put—scoring. 

Despite his plentiful flaws, Jackson has proved he has a knack for putting the ball in the hoop.  With a career average of 16.6 points per game, Jackson could draw interest from contending teams looking to boost offensive firepower.

Dwight Howard

Dwight Howard’s standing trade demand isn’t the elephant in the room in Orlando.  It’s the blue whale in the crawlspace.  As Orlando fans fight the horrible déjà vu that a big man wanting out has created, Magic GM Otis Smith has the unsavory task of deciding how to handle the Dwight situation.

If history has taught us anything, it’s that keeping mum on a superstar’s trade request and dealing him as soon as you reasonably can is the best route to take. 

Case in point, the Utah Jazz.  The Jazz dealt disgruntled guard Deron Williams to New Jersey before it had even been confirmed that Williams wanted out.  Utah received an impressive package of Devin Harris, Derrick Favors and two first-round draft picks for Williams. 

Conversely, Cleveland and Toronto decided to let the season play out with their superstars despite the increasingly likely possibility that LeBron James and Chris Bosh respectively would flee for greener pastures.  All Cleveland and Toronto have to show for this strategy are legions of bitter fans and half-priced Bosh and James merchandise. 

Unless Otis Smith is confident Howard would consider re-upping with Orlando for the long haul, he would be behooved to start listening to offers and keeping trade negotiations on the DL.

Steve Nash

There quite possibly has never existed a better teammate and a more consummate professional than Steve Nash.  Nash has consistently preached loyalty to the Phoenix Suns despite the team’s clear lack of talent and need to rebuild.

Though Nash is all smiles and high-fives on the outside, inside he has to be at least a little frustrated.

Nash’s chance for a title is rapidly shrinking, and his current team is clearly going nowhere.  From a business standpoint, the logic in the Suns trading Nash is more obvious than Chris Andersen’s tattoos. 

The drawback to trading for Nash is the fact that his contract expires at the end of the season.  Will any team competing for a title this year be willing to gamble on Nash being a 2-3 month rental?  Will the Suns be offered anything close to fair value for Nash considering the risk of Nash jetting after the season?  Situations like this will only serve to add to the trade deadline intrigue. 

DeMarcus Cousins

The case of one DeMarcus “Boogie” Cousins is a unique one. Unlike the aforementioned “Captain Jack,” Cousins is still in his NBA infancy.  Tremendous upside and freakish athleticism combined with a hair-trigger temper and an exasperating lack of maturity. 

The team that takes this royal pain off Sacramento’s hands doesn’t have to be a team in the title hunt as is the case with previously mentioned trade possibilities.  If the Kings decide dropping Cousins in the clearance bin will be worth getting rid of the headache, any team who has the assets could justify taking the chance that Cousins will put his maturity issues behind him.

Cousins has the potential to be a key piece for a team looking to invest in their future and could provide significant contribution to a team immediately if his maturity issues can be held in check.

Devin Harris

The lightning-bug point guard, only a few years removed from an All-Star game appearance is clearly a bad fit for the current scheme Tyrone Corbin is running in Utah. 

Utah’s offense is predicated on quick and intelligent ball movement, hard screens, hard cuts and timely and accurate passes.  Defense is also of particular importance at the point guard position.  Harris is a subpar-at-best defender and is not even the assist leader on his team, despite starting at the point guard position.

Harris has had a frustratingly inconsistent season, both for himself and for Jazz fans.  The time is right for Utah to get Devin into a system where his blinding speed can be put to better use. 

Deron Williams

Though he keeps himself busy gallivanting on jet skis and attempting to unseat Russian president Vladimir Putin, Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov still makes plenty of time to ponder the future of the Nets.  One thought that probably hasn’t yet gone through his mind is trading Deron Williams. 

It sounds a little ridiculous at first, but dealing Williams makes a ton of sense for New Jersey, though it would certainly be an unpopular move. The Nets and their fans have long dreamed of a Deron Williams-Dwight Howard pairing and having two marquee players just in time for the relocation to Brooklyn would be ideal. 

The problem is New Jersey simply doesn’t have the ammunition to acquire Howard.  It’s all but a necessity for Orlando to acquire a young big man to take Howard’s place.

The Nets had an ideal candidate for the swap in Brook Lopez, but a significant preseason foot injury has sidelined Lopez for the entire season thus far and casts serious doubts on his durability. 

Is a package centered around Lopez, the impressive but young MarShon Brooks and New Jersey’s 2012 first-round pick enticing enough for Orlando to pull the trigger?  It seems unlikely.

Trading Williams would allow New Jersey to acquire the requisite draft picks and young pieces to either obtain Howard via trade or lure him via free agency.  Also, Williams himself is a free agent after this season. 

Even if New Jersey trades Williams this year, wouldn’t Williams be more likely to sign with New Jersey after they acquire Howard and improve their depth?

Andray Blatche

As if it’s not bad enough that Wizards tickets can be bought online for pocket change, the oft-outspoken Andray Blatche’s friction with Wizards interim coach Randy Wittman has rubbed salt in the wounds of fans of the woeful Wizards. 

To make matters worse, Blatche is now out three to five weeks with a calf injury.  As if there wasn’t enough justification for Washington to deal Blatche, his sizeable contract (four years, $30 million) should make ditching Blatche at almost any cost a priority for Washington.

Blatche is still young and will occasionally throw up impressive stat lines that remind potentially interested teams that there is a quality player behind all the drama.  Dealing Blatche would provide a team with improved frontcourt production and would free up playing time for younger players such as Jan Vesely.  I’d be shocked if Blatche was still a Wizard after March 15^th.