Best Potential Trade Scenarios, Packages and Landing Spots for Mo Williams

Veteran point guard with a penchant for getting buckets on an expiring contract? Come right down, Mo Williams, you're the latest participant in this year's version of NBA trade-block roulette.

According to ESPN.com's Marc Stein, "Rival teams believe Mo Williams is available in 'Sota if you can satisfy Wolves' wishes on a draft pick."

Furthermore, 1500 ESPN's Darren Wolfson followed up Stein's initial report by tweeting, "Teams to watch on the Mo Williams front: Cavs, Clippers, and Heat. Small chance Detroit. Nothing imminent. #Twolves return will be minimal."

Connecting the dots, it's not hard to understand why the Timberwolves would be interested in extracting the last bit of value Williams has to offer before the final year of his $3.75 million pact with Minnesota expires at season's end.

Not only is Williams' stock trending up after dropping a then-NBA season-high 52 points against the Indiana Pacers on Jan. 13, but dealing the 32-year-old floor general would also hand Minnesota an allotment of minutes to redistribute to rookie Zach LaVine. The UCLA product figures to assume backup duties when Ricky Rubio makes his return to action on Monday night against the Dallas Mavericks, according to the Associated Press' Jon Krawczynski.

Honorable Mention: Los Angeles Clippers

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There isn't a proposed trade leading the way here, namely because the Los Angeles Clippers have no salaries to feasibly part with in exchange for Mo Williams.

But since Darren Wolfson listed Doc Rivers' club among the potential suitors, it's worth hashing this thing out.

On the surface, the fit makes sense. The Clippers have one true point guard on the roster in Chris Paul and an excess of 2-guards. That leaves Jamal Crawford as the second unit's primary ball-handler. And while that's not the world's worst marriage, Crawford isn't a distributor by trade.

However, from financial and logistical standpoints, the deal feels like a pipe dream.

Not only is Los Angeles' list of tradable assets scribbled in invisible ink, but the team is also hard-capped as a result of signing Spencer Hawes to the non-taxpayer mid-level exception and Jordan Farmar (who has since been waived) to the bi-annual exception.

That means the Clippers can't exceed the league's luxury-tax threshold by more than $4 million—hence the immovable ceiling on any potential dealings moving forward.

Charlotte Hornets

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Charlotte Hornets Receive: Mo Williams

Minnesota Timberwolves Receive: 2015 second-round pick

The Charlotte Hornets were omitted from Darren Wolfson's short list of suitors, but they have an undeniable need for depth at point guard.

With Kemba Walker sidelined for a minimum of six weeks after undergoing surgery to repair the lateral meniscus in his left knee, according to Hornets PR, Charlotte is stuck with Brian Roberts and Gary Neal to do most of the ball-handling.

And considering that Charlotte's in a treacherous and aesthetically hideous battle with the Brooklyn Nets and Detroit Pistons for the Eastern Conference's final playoff spot, adding a scorer of Williams' caliber at a cheap price would be a nice way to shore up the team's deficiencies at the 1.

While Williams isn't particularly efficient—shooting 39.9 percent from the field and 33.8 percent from distance—he's the sort of volume scorer and ball-dominant presence capable of alleviating pressure in a pinch.

Consider that Charlotte already ranks No. 4 overall in pull-up points per game (21.0) and that 65 percent of Williams' shots have come via stop-and-pop looks, per SportVU, and he's undoubtedly a seamless systemic fit.

However, in order for the deal to work monetarily, a third team would likely need to join the fray to help salaries match. Since Charlotte doesn't possess any expiring salaries of near or equal value, such an agreement could prove to be a logistical hassle.

Cleveland Cavaliers

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Cleveland Cavaliers Receive: Mo Williams

Minnesota Timberwolves Receive: Brendan Haywood, 2015 second-round pick (via Boston) 

Without a doubt, the Cleveland Cavaliers are the most controversial destination for Mo Williams at this stage in the game.

Following LeBron James' departure from Northeast Ohio in 2010, Williams sent out a sequence of tweets revealing his frustration with the prodigal son's decision to bolt for South Beach. Then, in James' return to Cleveland during his first campaign with the Miami Heat, Williams appeared to snub LeBron's handshake offering.

That said, Williams could fill a need if the Cavaliers are seeking to upgrade their bench with a volume scorer in the coming weeks. Since Cleveland's bench ranks dead last in scoring, according to HoopsStats.com, an off-the-dribble creator of Williams' ilk would seem to be a logical fit.

Here's the Akron Beacon Journal's Jason Lloyd on the possibility of Williams being shipped to the surging Eastern Conference title contenders:

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Williams is a possibility because he doesn’t make a lot of money. The Cavs’ focus, as previously established, has to be on guys making around $4 million and less. At $3.75 million this season, Williams qualifies. I think there are better alternatives, and I have a hard time picturing a Williams/LeBron reunion, but his salary and the limited alternatives at point guard means he can’t be completely eliminated.

The Timberwolves reportedly want a draft pick for Williams. The Cavs have a late second rounder in this draft, but that’s about it between now and 2018. They would have to include Haywood to make any deal for Williams match financially.

"

With Haywood's contract escalating to a non-guaranteed $10.5 million that Minnesota could nix from its books over the summer, the deal would have obvious financial appeal for both sides. However, if the Timberwolves are in search of a second-round pick that will pay out future dividends, the Cavs' hypothetical offer may not be for them.

Owing its 2015 second-round selection to the Utah Jazz, Cleveland is stuck with a pick from Boston, which is protected from Nos. 31 to 55, that will be extinguished should the credit not be paid out this summer, per RealGM.com.

Detroit Pistons

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Detroit Pistons Receive: Mo Williams

Minnesota Timberwolves Receive: 2015 second-round pick, Joel Anthony 

Any deal the Detroit Pistons make will center around the team's fixation on qualifying for the postseason. Otherwise, parting with a mid-second-round selection (and an expiring contract) could prove to be a tad risky.

According to Pistons head coach and president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy, that's exactly how the franchise is approaching the replacement of Brandon Jennings, who's out for the season with a ruptured Achilles.

"We want to give ourselves every chance, so we want to get some help, but we won't mortgage anything in terms of the future," Van Gundy said, according to the Detroit Free Press' Vincent Goodwill. "We're not going to go out and give away assets, picks or anything like that. No, we're not gonna do that."

Desperate times could always call for desperate measures, though.

Detroit's offense has vacillated between mediocre and anemic since Jennings was lost, with things bottoming out during an 89-69 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers Wednesday evening.

D.J. Augustin has been thrust into service as the team's full-time starter, but the depth behind him is horribly unstable. Rookie Spencer Dinwiddie has logged nearly 70 percent of his minutes at the point thus far, but he's not a short-term solution capable of lifting Detroit into a more respectable domain of efficiency.

To date, Dinwiddie has accrued a player efficiency rating of 12.9 while recording an effective field-goal percentage of 37.9 as a floor general, per 82games.com.

Williams' advanced numbers (13.2 PER, 45.4 eFG%) aren't terribly impressive, either, but he can capably operate as the focal point of Detroit's second unit with his savvy ball-handling and pull-up capabilities.

Miami Heat

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Miami Heat Receive: Mo Williams

Minnesota Timberwolves Receive: Norris Cole, Justin Hamilton, 2015 second-round pick 

The Miami Heat own a hodgepodge of backup guards including Norris Cole, Shabazz Napier and Tyler Johnson, but none of those players are capable of providing potent off-the-dribble stylings quite like Mo Williams.

And with Dwyane Wade sidelined indefinitely due to a strained right hamstring, Miami needs all of the added artillery it can get. Enter Williams, who's capable of single-handedly propelling a team to victory should he catch fire at the right moment.

In possession of the Eastern Conference's No. 7 seed but only mere percentage points ahead of the Charlotte Hornets, Miami might be forced to make a daring deadline play.

Should it do so, matching outgoing salaries with Williams' incoming salary would mean potentially parting with youngsters Norris Cole and Justin Hamilton, each of whom has a qualifying offer that can be declined at season's end. Throw in what should amount to a mid-second-round pick, and Miami could have a stopgap savior on its hands.

With Minnesota in the market for a future asset and two pseudo-expiring contracts representing the price Flip Saunders would need to pay to acquire one, the deal makes a good deal of sense from Minnesota's perspective.

The one caveat that can't be ignored pertains to Miami's 2015 draft. Since the Heat's top-10 protected first-round selection is owed to Philadelphia, parting with a 2015 second-round selection could leave the Heat pickless should Sacramento's selection fall within the protected ranges of 31 to 49 and 56 to 60.

All statistics courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com unless noted otherwise. All draft pick information furnished by RealGM.com and all salary information retrieved from BasketballInsiders.com.