NBA Trade Rumors: The Top 10 Players Who Could Be On the Move
The NBA season is just over a month old and already panic is starting to set-in down in South Beach, where everyone and their grandmother decided that they wanted to take their talents over the summer.
Greg Oden is out for the year...again.
Plus, we are starting to hear rumblings about potential trades that may or may not happen before the February trade deadline. These are the 10 best players whose names have either been mentioned in a potential trade or who could be put on the trading block as their teams fall out of contention.
10. Rudy Fernandez
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Rudy Fernandez has made his frustration with Portland well known and he wants to go to a major city. In the past few months, teams that have been rumored to have interest in the 25-year-old guard include Chicago, New York and Boston.
Nothing has come from those trade talks. But given the fact that Fernandez has been outspoken about his desire to play in a major city, don't be surprised if he gets traded sooner rather than later.
Potential Destinations: Chicago, New York
9. Aaron Brooks
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Aaron Brooks is carrying a helpless ship in Houston right now. Yao is coming off the foot surgery and he is extremely limited in what he can do and what he is allowed to do. No one else on the team, aside from Kevin Martin, is doing anything to help out.
Martin and Brooks combined average 39 points and eight assists per game. Brooks could be attractive to teams because he is young and not very expensive. However, that last factor may work against a deal because he is so cheap. The Rockets could ask for a little bit more for Brooks.
Potential Destinations: Dallas, New York, Indiana
8. Jamal Crawford
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Once he was sent away from New York. Then, this past Saturday, he dropped 21 points on the Knicks and they are interested in acquiring his services again. Only in New York, I suppose.
He is having a decent year, scoring almost 14 points per game and shooting 43 percent from the field and 35 percent from three-point range. He can be a solid role player on a contending team.
Potential Destinations: New York
7. Chris Kaman
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Kaman is a solid center in a league that doesn't have too many of those. His contract is above what the Clippers usually like to pay for people.
The Clippers aren't going anywhere fast and the two most attractive pieces that they have available likely won't bring them too much back. But it will get rid of their two most expensive contracts and free up some money in case they would like to spend on a free agent. Hey, stranger things have happened.
Potential Destinations: Plenty of teams are always looking for size like Dallas and Miami (even though they don't have anything to offer)
6. Andre Iguodala
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The "other" A.I. has been a fixture in Philadelphia since being drafted in 2004 and he has been their go-to-guy since they got rid of the original A.I. in 2006. The team surrounding Iguodala is not getting any better and the Sixers continue to struggle.
They may want to tear the current rebuilding process down and begin all over again. In order for them to do so, they will have to deal Iguodala in order to get high-level pieces back and in place so that this once-proud franchise can get back to the level that the players and fans expect.
Potential Destinations: Charlotte, Atlanta, New York
5. Baron Davis
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Remember when Baron Davis signed with the Clippers before the 2008 season? He was supposed to join Elton Brand and the two were supposed to form a tandem the likes of which had never been seen by this LA team.
Instead, Brand signed with the 76ers and Davis has been stuck in basketball purgatory ever since. The Clippers do have some talent on the team (not that you'd know it with that 3-15 record), with Blake Griffin and Eric Gordon. They just need to get a lot better in almost every other position. Davis could bring back some potential rebuilding chips.
Potential Destinations: Any team that wants an aging PG who has trouble staying healthy and whose production has slipped quite a bit.
4. Steve Nash
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He is not on the block. Yet. But if the Suns were to fall out of contention, they would at least have to broach the topic of trading their most popular player.
He is getting older and his production is not what it was when he won back-to-back MVP awards. He is still one of the better PGs in the NBA, but he is not in that Williams, Paul, Rondo tier anymore.
Potential Destinations: New York, Dallas
3. Devin Harris
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Devin Harris is a really good, young PG who got traded for an older PG who was nowhere near as talented as he is (that's the Jason Kidd trade in 2007). Now the Nets, specifically Avery Johnson, have said that Harris is a player that they would like to build around.
However, if they can get Carmelo Anthony for a package built around Devin Harris, the Nets would likely jump at that opportunity. Personally, I would keep the point guard, who is still getting better and it's much more difficult to find a PG than a SF.
Potential Destinations: Denver
2. Chris Paul
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The man known affectionately as CP3 has not demanded a trade and there doesn't appear to be any reason for New Orleans to want to unload their best player, nor should there be. However, there have been financial issues with the Hornets ownership, a situation that seems to be on its way to getting resolved.
If New Orleans is to trade him, there is only one team that has been consistently vocal about doing whatever they have to in order to acquire his services (Orlando). But if he were to be put out there, almost every team would surely call about him.
Potential Destinations: Orlando, Dallas
1. Carmelo Anthony
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The only reason that I have Anthony ranked over Paul is because I think that Anthony will get moved, as opposed to Paul, where there has only been talk that he is even on the block.
Carmelo is not happy in Denver. He wants out. The Nuggets don't appear to be in any hurry to get rid of their most prolific scorer. However, they may want to move him just so they can get something for him.
He is going to leave one way or another, either via trade or free agency. It will be interesting to see if anyone steps up and gives Denver what it is looking for in return for Carmelo.
Potential Destinations: New York, New Jersey, Dallas, Houston
