NBA Trade Rumors: Teams Must Be Careful About Trading for Jose Calderon

Jose Calderon is the perfect example of a player teams shouldn't overpay for. The Spanish point guard can often times be underrated, yes, but he has a limited skill set, he is quite injury prone, the market for point guards is relatively deep and his price might be higher than expected.

That's why, when reports about Calderon drawing lots of trade interest surface, teams need to be careful not to fall over themselves to acquire him. ESPN Insider's Nick Borges writes:

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On Wednesday, Toronto Raptors head coach Dwane Casey told the Globe and Mail that point guard Jose Calderon is drawing a lot of interest around the league.

"We're trying to hold on to him and keep him, but he has played his way into a very high status as a point guard," Casey said. "A lot of teams have been calling and wanting him."

The Toronto Sun reports the "offers are piling in" for Calderon, which isn't a surprise because he has not been hurt this season and he's playing well.

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Let's see. The reports are "piling in" and Casey claims the Raptors want to keep him. If that doesn't scream for a team to make an over-the-top deal to ensure acquiring Calderon, I don't know what does. It just really looks like Casey is trying to leverage for the biggest possible return, and often times that works.

I understand that some teams (ahem, Los Angeles Lakers) desperately need a solid point guard to make a deep playoff run, and thus over-paying can be the necessary move. Throw in the fact that Calderon is on contract for next season as well, and he might be worth it.

But why not go a cheaper route? Ramon Sessions and D.J Augustin are less expensive options than Calderon, who is set to make over $10 million next season, and have been in the middle of trade talks recently.

What's more, Calderon has that dreaded "injury prone" label. He hasn't suffered an injury yet this season, but he's also failed to complete a full season in the last three years.

In what is a very condensed season, it's hard to believe he makes it through all 66 games.

But all this isn't to say Calderon is a terrible player, because he's far from it.

He's averaging 7.1 assists for his career, but that number gets closer to eight or nine when he actually starts. Couple that with only 1.7 turnovers per contest and the ability to run the pick-and-roll effectively, and you have the prototypical point guard in the right system.

His defense leaves a bit to be desired and his offensive skills aren't anything to die for, but he can shoot the ball when he needs to. 

I have no doubt that a team will trade for Calderon before the March 15 NBA trade deadline, and I have no doubt he will make that team better.

I just wonder what that team will pay to get him, and I wonder if it will be worth it. Because as each day passes, Calderon becomes more and more of a wanted man, and that means the price tag will continue to grow.

No matter how good a player is, sometimes you just have to realize the price isn't right.