Buying or Selling Latest NBA Trade Rumors
NBA trade season is officially upon us, and the rumor mill is churning night and day.
It includes a lot more players with December 15 in the rearview, as anyone signed during this past offseason is now eligible to be moved.
Teams interested in improving, unloading contracts or maybe just shaking things up will be all over the phones between now and the February 19 trade deadline.
Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski reported on those who are already making calls, tweeting, "Among most active teams on phones: (in no order): Celtics, Pistons, Suns, Timberwolves, Hornets, Clippers, Pacers, Nets, Nuggets, Rockets."
The Boston Celtics, Minnesota Timberwolves and Houston Rockets are among the teams on that list who've already made deals. Boston sent Rajon Rondo to the Dallas Mavericks, and Houston plugged Minnesota's Corey Brewer into a trade exception, per Wojnarowski.
There's bound to be a few more deals and a lot more speculation over the coming months. Discerning between what's real and what's just chatter is the purpose of this slideshow.
Each of the rumors here will either be bought or sold based on the needs of the teams involved and whether or not the individual players make sense on a different team.
Buy: Lance Stephenson Already on the Move
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This season's ultimate example of buyer's remorse goes to the Charlotte Hornets, who a few months after signing Lance Stephenson to a three-year deal, are already trying to gauge his trade value.
Nothing's turned up so far, as ESPN.com's Chris Broussard and Ramona Shelburne reported, "The Charlotte Hornets have decided to keep the volatile guard 'for now,' according to league sources."
It may be holding off now, but if Stephenson remains ineffective into February, Charlotte may become more desperate to move him. It just doesn't look like the right fit there.
Charlotte needs floor spacing for its Al Jefferson-centric offense, and Stephenson's shooting an abysmal 15.1 percent from three-point range. He's also a ball-dominant player, something Charlotte already has with Jefferson and Kemba Walker.
A better fit would be a team in need of playmaking. Broussard and Shelburne reported that the Brooklyn Nets and Miami Heat are interested, but with Deron Williams and Dwyane Wade in place, they don't really make sense either.
The one situation where it might work is back in Indiana with the Pacers. Owner Herb Simon has said, "I'd be OK with it, but it's not up to me. Larry (Bird) has to decide if he fits," according to the Indianapolis Star's Candace Buckner.
Stephenson is already familiar with Frank Vogel and his system, and Indiana could send Charlotte a couple of shooters in return.
Chris Copeland and C.J. Miles are struggling to fit in Indiana, but both have shown the ability to space the floor in the past. Copeland's a career 38.9 percent three-point shooter, and Miles has hit 37.3 percent over his last three seasons.
Sell: Deron Williams to the Utah Jazz
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The Brooklyn Nets are a mess. So much so that the team has made its three best players available. According to ESPN.com's Marc Stein and Ohm Youngmisuk:
"The Brooklyn Nets have begun reaching out to teams to let them know that former All-Stars Deron Williams, Brook Lopez and Joe Johnson are available via trade, ESPN.com has learned. ...
The exploratory discussions with various teams are the strongest indication yet that the Nets are looking to shake up their roster.
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All three players are on massive, multiyear deals, and finding a suitor for any might be a challenge. But Bleacher Report's Howard Beck spoke with an Eastern Conference scout, who shared one possible spot for Williams:
"Utah needs a point guard. There's the team for Deron Williams, seriously. Trey Burke is at best an average backup. [Exum] has struggled. He can't make a shot. I think he was overrated. He's 19. We'll give him time.... They have enough talent to be .500 maybe, or better than they are. I think what's holding them back is point guard.
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Williams would obviously be an upgrade over Burke, and his contract expires in 2017, just when Exum might be ready to take over.
But Utah is a rebuilding team and has shown patience throughout that process. Burke's career has gotten off to a very rough start, but he's still just 22. The Jazz will give him more time.
And according to Jody Genessy of the Deseret News, "There's nothing behind the Deron Williams-to-Utah rumor. Jazz haven't discussed trading for the ex-Utah guard, and it won't happen."
Buy: Los Angeles Lakers Moving Steve Nash's Contract
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For almost all intents and purposes, Steve Nash has already retired from the NBA. His back will prevent him from playing a single game for the Lakers this season, but he's still collecting paychecks from the last year of his contract.
His expiring deal could hold a lot of value for a team looking to save money over the next few seasons, and the Lakers know that. According to Shelburne, they've already put his name out there. She tweeted, "Sources tell ESPN the Lakers also offered Boston multiple picks & Nash for Rondo."
That offer may have been made in vain, but that was just one of 30 teams in the league. Nash's name will come up again before the deadline, and some team will pull the trigger on the opportunity to shed a contract in 2015.
Sell: Kosta Koufos to the Cleveland Cavaliers
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Following the addition of LeBron James and Kevin Love, the one missing ingredient for the Cleveland Cavaliers appears to be competent rim protection. And the trade chip they're hoping will net them a defensive big is Dion Waiters.
According to Stein, one target is the Memphis Grizzlies' Kosta Koufos, who averages two blocks per 36 minutes for his career:
"Cleveland, sources say, has been inquiring with the Memphis Grizzlies about the availability of reserve center Kosta Koufos among their various trade pursuits.
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Sources say that the Cavs are well aware landing a quality big man likely depends on selling on potential trade partners to take back polarizing shooting guard Dion Waiters. Cleveland rates Waiters' talent highly, but sources maintain that the Cavs have let a number of teams know they are prepared to surrender him if they can acquire a difference-making center in return.
It's difficult to see where Waiters fits on a Grizzlies team that is in the hunt for a top-four seed in the Western Conference. It already has Courtney Lee, Tony Allen, Vince Carter and Quincy Pondexter on the wings, all of whom are likely better suited for the "Grit-n-Grind" style in Memphis.
Buy: Phoenix Suns Could Move a Point Guard
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The three-headed point guard monster assembled in Phoenix still looks OK on paper, but it hasn't translated to many wins.
Goran Dragic, Eric Bledsoe and Isaiah Thomas are the Suns' top three scorers, but their extreme lack of size makes it hard to play them together defensively.
Beck thinks one of them may have to be moved, "Caveats aside, there is every reason to believe the Suns will trade Bledsoe or one of their other flashy point guards, in the next few months. It's the logical move, competitively and financially."
The Suns are in the bottom half of the league in defensive rating and could use someone better equipped to match up with opposing wings. The Thomas/Bledsoe/Dragic lineup is certainly fun theater, but practical application is another thing.
Bleacher Report's Adam Fromal explored some potential trade scenarios involving the three guards, suggesting that a return to Houston could make sense for Dragic, "He's already found some success in Houston earlier in his career, and he'd be able to form quite the dynamic tandem with James Harden..."
Sell: Greg Monroe on His Way Out of Detroit
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Speaking of positional logjams, the Detroit Pistons have one on the opposite end of the lineup. They have three bigs in Josh Smith, Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond starting together.
Spacing is a nightmare with that lineup, as all three are at their best when they're in the paint. So naturally, their names have come up in trade rumors.
One in the Sporting News drew particular attention from Monroe. According to MLive's David Mayo, "Detroit Pistons center Greg Monroe was perturbed by a report that he wants to be traded at virtually any cost, calling it 'completely false' and 'annoying' to have to answer about."
Just because Monroe debunked the current rumor doesn't mean he's off the market, but a deal with him is complicated because of his upcoming free agency and the fact that he has a no-trade clause. Any team making the move would have to secure some kind of assurance that he'd be willing to re-sign this summer.
Buy: Wilson Chandler to the Oklahoma City Thunder
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When Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant were out with injuries, it became painfully obvious that the Oklahoma City Thunder need at least one more player capable of creating scoring opportunities.
Wilson Chandler's averaging 14.8 points and shooting 39.3 percent from three-point range in 30.7 minutes, and according to Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix, "League sources said the Thunder have inquired about swingman Wilson Chandler."
There's no word on what the Thunder might give the Denver Nuggets in return, but the fit with Chandler in OKC makes plenty of sense.
He can guard multiple positions and can either start at shooting guard between Westbrook and Durant or be the lead scorer off the bench.
Sell: Detroit Pistons Unloading Josh Smith or Brandon Jennings
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If I classified the Monroe slide as a "tentative sell," I'd probably go with confident, bordering on definite for this one on Smith and Brandon Jennings.
According to Beck, "Both are firmly on the block, per rival executives." But their contracts and inefficient play will make moving them an extremely difficult task.
Of the 88 players who've attempted at least 250 shots this season, Smith and Jennings are 80th and 87th in field-goal percentage. And they both have multiple years left on their current contracts. Jennings will make $8.3 million next season, and Smith will make $27 million over the next two.
It's hard to imagine any general manager wanting to take that on, though not impossible. According to Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News, "The Sacramento Kings are still interested in Smith."
Considering the reasons behind the Kings' firing of Mike Malone, dealing for Smith wouldn't necessarily shock me.
Buy: Golden State Warriors Moving David Lee
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In Sekou Smith's Hangtime Blog, NBA.com's Steve Aschburner said it best, "David Lee done got 'Wally Pipped' in Golden State—the team didn’t miss him and might be better without him—so he’d be a likely suspect to move, if someone were willing to swallow his contract."
Lee's played a total of seven minutes this season, and the Warriors have cruised to first place in the loaded Western Conference without him.
Draymond Green has been fantastic as the starting 4, averaging 13.1 points and 8.1 rebounds and playing a level of defense Lee simply isn't capable of.
When you consider that Green and Harrison Barnes will both need new contracts in the next couple of years, and that Lee is set to make over $15 million next season, at least trying to move the latter seems inevitable.
Unless otherwise noted, all stats and salary figures are courtesy of NBA.com and Basketball-Reference.com and are current as of Dec. 18, 2014.
Andy Bailey covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him @AndrewDBailey.
