NBA Trade Deadline 2012: 6 Hottest Names Available on Deadline Day

The day of the NBA trade deadline is here, but there are still plenty of big names available to be dealt within the coming hours. We're looking at you, Pau Gasol.

These guys are especially important now that it looks like Dwight Howard is off the trading block and will stay in Orlando. Teams that were going after him will be looking in new directions.

Here are some of the hottest NBA trade targets still available today.

Pau Gasol

Pau Gasol played a nice game in what could have been his last one as a Laker Wednesday night against the New Orleans Hornets, scoring 18 points and recording 10 rebounds.

It appears Gasol will remain a Laker, especially if no other team gets more seriously involved than the Chicago Bulls.

Still, L.A. will shop Gasol around to the end. He's very valuable, and they'll look into every option.

Jamal Crawford

Jamal Crawford is one of the best bench scorers in the NBA, and teams are most definitely talking with the Portland Trailblazers about him.

It appears that Crawford is definitely on his way out, especially after a report that he and Raymond Felton led a mutiny against head coach Nate McMillan. Felton is also on the trading block.

It may hurt his chances to be traded a bit, but Crawford could be successful somewhere else. Portland just hasn't been a good fit.

Ramon Sessions

Right now, Ramon Sessions is probably the hottest target in the NBA as far as point guards go.

Wednesday night, apparently preoccupied with the rumors, he missed eight shots and scored just two points. Hopefully, Sessions will know soon where he is going and can get back to playing the impressive brand of basketball he has played all season.

Michael Beasley

A 6'10" guy who averages double-digits off the bench and is shooting over 43 percent from three, Michael Beasley is clearly a valuable player.

It appears more and more likely that the talented forward will end up with the Los Angeles Lakers, and it could happen in a three-team deal that would send Steve Blake back to Portland and Jamal Crawford to Minnesota.

Beasley is the spark the Lakers need off the bench. He makes them better immediately.

Rajon Rondo

The most interesting thing about the Rajon Rondo trade saga is the fact that the Boston Celtics GM Danny Ainge has said continuously that Rondo is not going to be traded.

Yet the rumors about him being dealt persist. Where there is smoke, there is fire.

Ainge may want us all to think that he hasn't shopped Rondo around, but that thought shouldn't be bought. The truth is that he is probably still shopping him.

All that being said, it's still probably a long shot that he gets traded.

Ray Allen

Ray Allen may be the NBA's all-time leader in three-point shooting, but this season he's shooting the highest percentage from downtown of his career. That's a big part of why many teams are interested in the sharpshooting veteran.

While it appears that he and the rest of the Big Four will likely stay put, it all depends on what offers the Celtics get. Allen is the most valuable trade piece on that team not named Rajon Rondo.