NBA Players Whose Trade Value Will Never Be Higher
The trade market during the 2014-15 season has been as bullish as any in recent memory.
The price for doing business is high, but deals are still taking place. Several front offices are desperate to take their teams from good to legitimate contenders, and they're hitting the market, looking for the missing piece that would accomplish that. The Cleveland Cavaliers, Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies and Houston Rockets have all already been shopping.
With buyers in the market, teams with pieces to move may be able to get a slightly better haul in return than they would in other years. Expiring contracts are particularly valuable, as the teams acquiring them are able to save long-term money. Teams that are looking to cut costs would much rather pay someone $10 million for one year than $30 million for three.
This slideshow presents some of those expiring or near-expiring targets that may be worth more in this market than they would be at any other time.
Goran Dragic
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In 2013-14, Goran Dragic had a breakout campaign that culminated in winning the league's Most Improved Player of the Year award. He was part of an explosive one-two punch with Eric Bledsoe that kept opposing backcourts on their heels.
This summer, the Phoenix Suns added a third productive point guard in Isaiah Thomas, creating a logjam on their perimeter and trade rumors around the league.
CBS Sports' Ken Berger wrote:
"Multiple teams already are inquiring as to what it would take to break up the Suns' three-guard rotation of Dragic, Eric Bledsoe and Isaiah Thomas -- with Dragic, a prospective free agent, garnering the most attention. Coincidentally, executives have gotten the impression that Dragic is the one Phoenix would most like to keep if they do, indeed, decide to make a move.
The anticipated rise in the salary cap resulting from the NBA's $24 billion TV deal has bolstered Phoenix's hopes of re-signing Dragic, which they fully intend to do, a league source said. But in the meantime, they'll listen to offers as they try to establish his value on the open market and what it will cost to pay him.
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Phoenix may be putting out the vibe that it intends on re-signing Dragic, but the fact that the front office is entertaining callers means there's at least a chance he moves.
If the Suns get a compelling offer from a team that is desperate to bolster its point guard rotation and feel it does more for them long-term than spending on Dragic, they could pull the trigger.
David Lee
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With legitimate title contention already in their sights, the Golden State Warriors don't necessarily need to make a move right now.
But for the sake of their future, they might need to at least entertain the idea of trading reserve big man David Lee.
Their current starting power forward, Draymond Green, is proving extremely valuable—so much so that ESPN.com's Ethan Sherwood Strauss recently wrote about the possibility of him garnering a max contract:
"During Golden State’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Jan. 9, analyst Jeff Van Gundy made a bold prediction about Draymond Green on the broadcast: 'I really think he's going to be a max player.'
Green might not boast gaudy traditional stats, but one stat in particular loudly agrees with Van Gundy's assertion. Real plus-minus, which measures a player by how his team does when he’s in the game, lists Green as the 10th-best player in the league. He’s first among wings, ahead of even LeBron James. Of course, Green isn't technically a wing this season; he’s starting at power forward. But that ambiguity of position reflects the value he brings. Against the Mavericks, he ably guarded Dirk Nowitzki and Monta Ellis in the same game.
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If Green's versatility does indeed lead to a max offer, the Warriors would be in much better shape to match it if they weren't on the hook for Lee's contract as well.
Despite being supplanted by Green in the starting lineup, Lee has still been productive since coming back from injury. His player efficiency rating of 19.5 is the highest it's been since the 2011-12 season, and he's averaging 18.3 points and 10.3 rebounds per 36 minutes.
Wilson Chandler
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The Denver Nuggets may have been poised to take a run at the playoffs when this season started, but reality, and plenty of losses, have turned them into sellers on the verge of a complete rebuild.
The Timofey Mozgov trade was the first domino to fall, and according to ESPN.com's Ramona Shelburne, teams around the league are hoping the Nuggets aren't done. Shelburne tweeted, "Since Mozgov trade, everyone is calling Denver on [Wilson] Chandler and [Arron] Afflalo."
Both are on the hook for around $7 million in 2015-16, but Chandler's deal should be slightly more attractive since his second year isn't guaranteed, while Afflalo's is a player option.
Chandler's numbers don't immediately jump off the page, but he could be a solid option for a team in need of some depth in its wing rotation. He's currently shooting 35 percent from three-point range and is the Nuggets' third-leading scorer at 14.1 points per game.
Thaddeus Young
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After moving Kevin Love this past summer, the Minnesota Timberwolves are even further down the rebuilding path than the Nuggets, but they still have plenty of veteran pieces they can move.
One whose name is already churning in the rumor mill is Thaddeus Young. According to ESPN's Marc Stein, the "Wolves are willing to move Young as part of ongoing rebuild, and Young is said to be high on list players Brooklyn covets."
As stein reported, the Nets, battling to stay in the Eastern Conference playoff picture, are one of the teams interested in Young. He'd be able to provide a bit more offensive punch and is more than 10 years younger than Kevin Garnett.
| Kevin Garnett | 38 | 21.3 | .447 | 7.2 | 1.8 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 7.1 |
| Thaddeus Young | 26 | 31.4 | .432 | 4.6 | 2.5 | 1.8 | 0.5 | 13.3 |
If a deal with the Nets doesn't get done, other teams in need of a little offense from their second unit could look into Young now that he's available.
Kendrick Perkins
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Kendrick Perkins is directly attached to the rumors involving the Nets and T'Wolves. His expiring contract could be the key to getting it done. ESPN The Magazine's Chris Broussard reported:
"The Brooklyn Nets and Oklahoma City Thunder are involved in discussions about a trade involving Brook Lopez and Kendrick Perkins...
Sources tell ESPN.com's Marc Stein that the Nets strongly covet Minnesota forward Thaddeus Young and, if they commit to trading Lopez to the Thunder, are likely to try to recruit the Wolves as a third-team participant or simply offer Perkins' expiring deal for Young in a separate transaction.
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Perkins for Lopez? On the surface, that seems ludicrous, but this is a perfect example of how valuable expiring contracts can be in the NBA.
| Brook Lopez | 26 | 19.7 | .551 | 13.5 | 4.9 |
| Kendrick Perkins | 30 | 7.9 | .452 | 16.3 | 3.3 |
By using Perkins' deal to facilitate a Lopez-for-Young swap, the Nets could potentially save nearly $17 million in 2015-16.
Any team that is looking to save money would be wise to take a look as well.
Unless otherwise noted, all stats and salary figures are courtesy of NBA.com and Basketball-Reference.com and are current as of Jan. 16, 2015.
Andy Bailey covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him @AndrewDBailey.
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