10 Potential 2015 Trade Deadline Targets Who Could Shape the Championship Race
None of the players on the NBA's trade block this year is going to turn a lottery team into an immediate contender. The market isn't exactly flush with studs, though it's still brimming with quality players who can push teams into the next tier of contention.
Will any squads reach the level of the Golden State Warriors or Atlanta Hawks by making a deal or two? That's unclear now, but the moves that come before the Feb. 19 deadline will certainly help shape the championship race.
Need a shooter? There are plenty available, whether you're looking for wing players or big men who can stretch the court. Quality defenders and well-rounded contributors abound as well.
These players aren't stars, if only because there are red flags attached to them in some cases. But each one—given that he lands on the right squad—could have an impact that lasts well beyond the end of the regular season.
Arron Afflalo
1 of 10
Team: Denver Nuggets
Position: SG
Age: 29
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 15.1 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 0.6 steals, 0.1 blocks, 12.2 PER
Returning to the Denver Nuggets has been a bit of a struggle for Arron Afflalo, and not just because he's no longer serving as a No. 1 option, as he did with the Orlando Magic. The shooting guard has always felt uncomfortable in Brian Shaw's offensive schemes, as Matt Moore notes for CBS Sports, which hasn't boded well for his production.
But Afflalo is still a great secondary—or, better yet, tertiary—option for a contending team, as he can score in a variety of ways. The 29-year-old loves posting up and working with a turnaround fadeaway jumper from the blocks, but he can also light up the scoreboard from the perimeter.
Such a player is an asset on the right squad, and there are plenty of those out there.
Denver is an absolute mess at the moment. Given the topsy-turvy nature of the organization, it may not even take that much to lure Afflalo out of the Mile High City. He's an aging veteran who isn't guaranteed a part in the future plans, regardless of his personal relationship with Ty Lawson.
The UCLA product may be struggling this year, but we're not too far removed from the 2013-14 campaign, when he averaged 18.2 points per game while slashing 45.9/42.7/81.5.
Brandon Bass
2 of 10
Team: Boston Celtics
Position: PF
Age: 29
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 9.7 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 0.5 steals, 0.5 blocks, 15.9 PER
Brandon Bass has finally worked his way back into a starting spot for the Boston Celtics. During the last nine games, all of which have seen him in the opening lineup, he's averaged 12.1 points and 7.0 rebounds per game while shooting 46.7 percent from the field.
Correspondingly, general manager Danny Ainge has voiced a rather unexpected opinion.
"Right now, Brandon is with us and Brandon may be with us next year and the year after that as well," the GM told CSNNE.com's A. Sherrod Blakely, who also reports, via an anonymous league source, that "the market on Bass has been 'pretty cold' thus far, but added that could change in the days leading up to the trade deadline."
All it takes is the right deal to change Ainge's mind. Bass may still have untapped potential, but younger pieces and better draft picks could surely tempt the rebuilding C's into parting ways with this 29-year-old power forward.
Bass' primary asset continues to be his mid-range jumper, which he's perfectly capable of hitting off the bounce. Though he's struggled from between 10 and 16 feet—quite uncharacteristically, given his stellar work there in previous years—he has managed to knock down 45.9 percent of his two-point attempts from beyond 16 feet.
Surely that could help someone with a need for a stretchy forward who also feels comfortable crashing the boards.
Wilson Chandler
3 of 10
Team: Denver Nuggets
Position: SF
Age: 27
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 13.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 0.7 steals, 0.4 blocks, 12.2 PER
Wilson Chandler doesn't necessarily stand out as a major plus or minus in any one specific area, even though he's hauling in over six rebounds per game for the first time in his career.
While the small forward doesn't truly excel anywhere, he can do just about everything on the basketball court, whether he's attacking the rim, knocking in perimeter jumpers, swinging the ball to teammates or settling in on the defensive end of the floor.
Now, he just needs a team that's capable of bringing out the best in him, which most certainly hasn't been the identity-less Denver Nuggets. In the right system, he can qualify as a "three and D" standout capable of raising his team's level of play on both ends of the floor.
"A number of teams have expressed interest in Wilson Chandler, including the Los Angeles Clippers and Portland Trail Blazers," Alex Kennedy wrote for Basketball Insiders. "It's believed that Denver wants a first-round pick back in any deal involving Chandler."
If a contending team is willing to ante up—and for the Clippers, that's impossible without somehow involving a third team—it won't regret it.
Chris Copeland
4 of 10
Team: Indiana Pacers
Position: SF
Age: 30
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 7.2 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 0.3 steals, 0.2 blocks, 7.4 PER
Quite inexplicably, the Indiana Pacers have buried Chris Copeland in their rotation, a move that doesn't exactly make sense for an organization that could use more of an offensive spark. During the team's last 11 outings, this 30-year-old small forward had five games where he did not play by coach's decision and spent only 3.6 minutes per game on the floor when he did get the nod from Frank Vogel.
Strange, right?
We're only two years removed from Copeland averaging 8.7 points per game as a late-blooming rookie, and he did so while shooting 47.9 percent from the field and 42.1 percent from beyond the three-point arc. Since then, he's been glued to the Indiana bench, even though he was leading this team in scoring early on in this year's proceedings.
Copeland is by no means a primary scorer, especially on a competitive team. But he can help as a floor-spacing option who's counted on for just a handful of shots during the average game, especially because he's not a glaring liability on the defensive end.
Someone needs to free Copeland, and the asking price can't possibly be too high at the moment.
Channing Frye
5 of 10
Team: Orlando Magic
Position: PF
Age: 31
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 7.7 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 0.7 steals, 0.5 blocks, 8.9 PER
The Orlando Magic are in transition, with former assistant James Borrego now serving as the interim head coach and replacing the recently fired Jacque Vaughn, as first reported by Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski. Could that be the first of several moves meant to reshape the identity of this franchise?
If so, the logical next step is trading away Channing Frye, even though the veteran stretch 4 only just signed with the Magic this offseason. Doing so opens up more minutes for Aaron Gordon at power forward, and it also lets Kyle O'Quinn and Andrew Nicholson get a bit more run in the void left behind.
Frye is a high-quality player in a competitive frontcourt, even if his numbers this season don't necessarily make that clear.
When he's a complementary piece who opens space for talented offensive teammates, he's quite valuable. But when he's the only shooter on the floor, as has often been the case in Orlando, that's not exactly true anymore.
Imagine Frye's five three-point attempts and 39.5 percent conversion rate on the Memphis Grizzlies, a team that doesn't have the tools necessary to pose much of a threat from the perimeter. Picture them on the Charlotte Hornets, helping provide more of an offensive spark for a squad with great defense but not much scoring ability outside of the now-injured Kemba Walker and Al Jefferson.
Though Frye's drilling triples in Orlando all the same, it's easy to see him functioning as a more valuable asset elsewhere.
Gerald Green
6 of 10
Team: Phoenix Suns
Position: SG/SF
Age: 29
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 13.0 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.7 steals, 0.2 blocks, 16.2 PER
During the Phoenix Suns' past 10 games, Gerald Green has suited up nine times and averaged only 15.6 minutes on the court. He's posting 8.7 points and 2.6 rebounds per outing as Jeff Hornacek has him falling out of the rotation in favor of the Suns' three-headed point-guard monster and the Morris twins.
His reduced playing time is so inexplicable that we now have conspiracy theories trying to explain it!
It's time for a change in scenery, even if the desert allowed this uber-athletic 29-year-old to revitalize his career after he stagnated during a lost season with the Indiana Pacers.
His defense is lackluster at best, but Green still has springs in his legs that allow him to create highlight-reel dunks whenever he's given a clear path to the basket. He can finish around the hoop nicely, and the combination of his athleticism and three-point stroke makes him one of the better floor-spacing wing players in the league.
In fact, Green is one of only six qualified players to take at least 5.5 three-point attempts per game while shooting 37 percent or better during each of the past two seasons, joined by Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Kyle Korver, Wesley Matthews and Klay Thompson. Only 11 more players have joined the club even once.
So, who couldn't use a player like that? Other than the Suns, of course.
Brook Lopez
7 of 10
Team: Brooklyn Nets
Position: C
Age: 26
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 15.3 points, 6.2 rebounds, 0.6 assists, 0.6 steals, 1.6 blocks, 19.6 PER
Since returning on Dec. 23 from his latest injury, this time one to his back, Brook Lopez has averaged 14.7 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game while shooting 50.6 percent from the field. Over his past dozen outings, he's posted 16.0 points, 6.3 boards and an identical 1.5 rejections per contest, though his field-goal percentage has slipped 2.2 ticks.
The concerns that have existed for a while now are still there.
Lopez is a slow, plodding center who has to remain right around the rim on the defensive end of the court. He's prone to injury, and the multiple maladies that have plagued his feet are quite problematic. His contract is enormous, and that makes it hard to come up with a trade for him that won't set back a contending team.
But for all his flaws, Lopez is an extremely talented offensive center who's only 26 years old. He can score in a variety of ways, using his height and length to flip the ball into the basket over the outreached arms of most defenders. There's certainly value here, even if you have to accept the bad that inevitably comes with the good.
Is trading for this center a risky proposition? Absolutely. But for a strong team with a need for offensive production in the frontcourt, it's a risk worth taking.
Kevin Martin
8 of 10
Team: Minnesota Timberwolves
Position: SG
Age: 32
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 20.5 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 0.8 steals, 18.3 PER
Kevin Martin can still light up the scoreboard in efficient fashion, thanks to his impressive shot-making ability from the perimeter and his continuing knack for working his way to the charity stripe. Even at 32 years old and during a season in which he suffered a major wrist injury, he's taken 5.1 free-throw attempts per game.
Any guesses how many players are averaging at least 20 points per contest with a true shooting percentage above 58 percent? Along with Martin, we have James Harden, Anthony Davis, Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler, Klay Thompson, LeBron James and Kevin Durant.
That's quite the elite group, as you may have noticed.
Landing Martin would give any team competing for the Larry O'Brien Trophy a distinct boost on offense, though he definitely wouldn't average more than 20 points per game on a team that features more scoring options. And if he's going to a contender, that will inevitably be the case.
In fact, the shooting guard is best suited coming off the bench. That allows him to be paired up with defensive players in situations where his matador-like play won't hinder his new squad to the same extent, and it also gives him a chance to use more possessions.
He may not put up the numbers he's earned with the Minnesota Timberwolves, but he'd be more valuable in that new location while opening up minutes for the many young guns on Flip Saunders' roster.
Lance Stephenson
9 of 10
Team: Charlotte Hornets
Position: SG
Age: 24
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 9.3 points, 5.9 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 0.7 steals, 0.1 blocks, 9.4 PER
Lance Stephenson just doesn't fit with the Charlotte Hornets. Not with Kemba Walker and Al Jefferson both in the lineup. Not with only Walker. Not with only Jefferson.
No matter the situation, he's struggled immensely and is now knocking down only 37.7 percent of his shots from the field and 13.6 percent of his deep looks. The last person who played in at least 30 contests, took more than 10 shots per game and had a true shooting percentage below 42 percent, as Stephenson is doing, was Kendall Gill in 2000-01 with the New Jersey Nets. Before that was Mark Macon in 1991-92 for the Denver Nuggets.
But Stephenson still has plenty of dormant talent, even if he's on pace to do something only achieved twice since the '90s began.
In a new spot, he could easily break out and become the walking triple-double threat he was with the Indiana Pacers, taking up some possessions to attack the rim while settling in on defense for just about every possession. Lest we forget, the Pacers were 2.6 points per 100 possessions better when he was on the court in 2013-14.
Much as is the case for so many of these trade candidates, acquiring Stephenson is risky. No one really expected him to flame out like he has with the Hornets, and he could very well do the same with yet another new team.
But what if he flourishes?
Thaddeus Young
10 of 10
Team: Minnesota Timberwolves
Position: SF/PF
Age: 26
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 14.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.8 steals, 0.4 blocks, 14.8 PER
Over the last two years, Thaddeus Young has been forced into a role that he's not meant for. He was really the only option during his last go-round with the Philadelphia 76ers, and he began the season in Minnesota as the established veteran and go-to threat for the Wolves.
But that's not his optimal role. Prior to those two seasons, he was on more competitive Sixers squads, and he submitted much more efficient campaigns, thriving as a tertiary option who could attack the rim in transition without defensive attention centering around him in the half-court set.
Let's get him back to that.
It makes sense for Minnesota to trade Young, as the 26-year-old combo forward still has quite a bit of value, especially since he's become comfortable stretching out the court in recent years. Removing him from the roster would allow the plethora of up-and-coming prospects to gain even more responsibility, and Flip Saunders would then be able to experiment with a bit of positional versatility.
And, of course, it makes sense for contenders to target him. He'd still be a great fit on a team like the Houston Rockets—or even the Memphis Grizzlies, who could use a power forward comfortable with stretching out the defense.
Note: All stats, unless otherwise indicated, come from Basketball-Reference.com and are current heading into Feb. 5's games.
