NBA Trade Rumors: Trade Targets, Trade Chips For Every Team
The NBA season is in full swing and teams are beginning to identify their strengths and weaknesses. As teams begin to jockey for position, we will learn who buyers and sellers are.
This is a rundown of every team's best trade chips and what it could mean for them if they acquire that missing piece.
The NBA season is in full swing and teams are beginning to identify their strengths and weaknesses. As teams begin to jockey for position, we will learn who buyers and sellers are.
This is a rundown of every team's best trade chips and what it could mean for them if they acquire that missing piece.
Boston Celtics
1 of 30
What They Want: A big body inside that can bring valuable minutes and add rebounds.
What They Can Trade: Nate Robinson is a nice contributor off the bench and might be able to bring some value back. Other than that, anything besides the "Big Four" is likely to be on the table if it can get them a rebounder.
What It Would Mean: They need someone on the inside to bring up their rebounding totals, currently 29th in the league. If they can find that, they will be on their way to making the road through the Eastern Conference playoffs come from Boston.
New York Knicks
2 of 30
What They Want: They want everything and will do what they have to in order to get it. They need a defender at the point, even though Mike D'Antoni doesn't like defense.
What They Can Trade: Anyone not named A'mare Stoudemire.
What It Would Mean: The Knicks are improving and will make a run at Carmelo Anthony. That will be good for box office but won't help their biggest problems. If they can acquire a defender at the point or in the middle, they can make a real run at the playoffs.
Toronto Raptors
3 of 30
What They Want: They just acquired Peja Stojakovic. They need a PG to run the offense.
What They Can Trade: With arguably the worst roster of talent in the league, they will listen on anyone.
What It Would Mean: This team needs to go into full-blown rebuild mode and try building with pieces through the lottery for the next couple years. If they can develop some of their players now as decent role players or acquire some bit players for guys they have now, they can compete in a couple of years.
New Jersey Nets
4 of 30
What They Want: Carmelo. They have been linked to him more than any other team since 'Melo demanded a trade.
What They Can Trade: It seems clear that they will listen on anyone except Brook Lopez for Anthony.
What It Would Mean: Acquiring Anthony would likely set the franchise back even further, assuming that they would have to give up everything that has been reported. Harris is at worst a solid PG, Favors is young but has talent.
They have a solid core with Lopez and Harris. If they can get someone to take Troy Murphy and his $11 million off their hands, they would do that in a heartbeat.
Philadelphia 76ers
5 of 30
What They Want: To rebuild and to get rid of their big contracts (Iguodala, Brand)
What They Can Trade: Anything except Evan Turner, who they should look to build around.
What It Would Mean: By getting rid of their two best players, they may alienate an already upset fan base but this team is going nowhere fast and needs to start over. They just drafted Turner to be the face of the team, and they need to focus on his growth and development.
Chicago Bulls
6 of 30
What They Want: Another defender on the outside.
What They Can Trade: They have talent to make about any deal but are not likely to give up necessary pieces for that kind of player.
What It Would Mean: They are an interesting team because they will go to the playoffs and will likely win their division. If they get the right matchups, they can make a deep run into the playoffs. They won't beat Boston, they would have a shot with Orlando, depending which Magic team shows up.
Indiana Pacers
7 of 30
What They Want: A go-to scorer who can add some flare to a scrappy nucleus.
What They Can Trade: Mike Dunleavy, possibly Josh McRoberts and Dahntay Jones.
What It Would Mean: This Pacers team is very underrated. They aren't an elite team but they can make the playoffs and give teams fits because of how they play.
If they can get someone who can take over a game, they can compete with the big boys in the East. Problem is there aren't a lot of those guys out there.
Cleveland Cavaliers
8 of 30
What They Want: A lot. Losing LeBron James was always going to kill them, but they need to blow the whole thing up and start over.
What They Can Trade: Anyone on the roster to get out from a lot of the bad contracts that they have.
What It Would Mean: A full-blown rebuild is needed for the Cavaliers. Cleveland is never going to attract big-time free agents, so they have to make the most of their draft picks and trades.
Milwaukee Bucks
9 of 30
What They Want: Scoring, scoring, and more scoring. Also, a PG to run the offense.
What They Can Trade: They should dangle Andrew Bogut just to see if anyone would take him. He is making $11 million this year and should be a backup center.
He does average 11 points and 10 rebounds plus he is 7 feet tall, so someone would likely take a shot and give at least a decent backup PG which Milwaukee could use.
What It Would Mean: Like many teams in the NBA, the Bucks need to go into full-blown rebuild mode to get some new flavor into that organization. They have just been treading the same bad waters for the last few years.
Detroit Pistons
10 of 30
What They Want: Anything. The Pistons rank in the bottom half of the league in scoring, rebounds, assists, points allowed, and field goal percentage.
What They Can Trade: They can, and should, try to trade any piece that they can get rid of.
What It Would Mean: The Pistons are going nowhere fast; they need to tear the whole thing down and build it back up to where they were five or six years ago: one of the most hard-nosed, tough-minded teams in all of basketball.
Orlando Magic
11 of 30
What They Want: They desperately want Chris Paul and have made no secret of that.
What They Can Trade: In order to get Paul they have said that they will trade anything except Dwight Howard.
What It Would Mean: The Magic would become an instant favorite with Paul and Howard, assuming that they could keep two of their key role players like Redick and Pietrus.
It's doubtful that they get Paul, especially since New Orleans is winning, so they can turn their attention to a scorer in the mold of Hedo Turkoglu. He was the biggest reason they went to the finals in 2009 and didn't get back in 2010.
Atlanta Hawks
12 of 30
What They Want: A big body inside to help improve their 22nd ranking in rebounding.
What They Can Trade: They want to trade Jamal Crawford, and Crawford wants to get traded.
What It Would Mean: Crawford is attractive because he has an expiring contract so that might be able to get them some value for him. If they can get a body inside to matchup with Howard or Garnett, the Hawks can give those teams problems.
Miami Heat
13 of 30
What They Want: A PG and/or a big body on the inside.
What They Can Trade: Not much. Maybe a Joel Anthony deal, but I doubt you get any significant piece for him.
What It Would Mean: The Dream Team is having issues because they don't have that big body inside, nor do they have a guy who will run the offense and set things up for James, Wade, and Bosh.
If they can find one of these two things, it would improve them, but will it be good enough to win a title?
Charlotte Bobcats
14 of 30
What They Want: Scoring and rebounds.
What They Can Trade: They should listen on anyone who calls about any player.
What It Would Mean: That playoff appearance last year was a mirage. This team is going nowhere fast, and they need to gut it and start over with lottery picks and trade away bad/expiring contracts.
Washington Wizards
15 of 30
What They Want: To get rid of Gilbert Arenas and his HUGE contract.
What They Can Trade: Anyone not named John Wall.
What It Would Mean: John Wall is a stud at the PG position and anytime you have that, you can get back into contention sooner rather than later.
Given the years and money owed, Gilbert Arenas is likely immovable unless they can find a contender who is desperate enough to take a chance and think they can get him back to his pre-suspension days.
If they can get rid of him and free up cash to get a big-time player to join Wall, the Wizards could challenge Orlando in that division.
Utah Jazz
16 of 30
What They Want: A rebounder to do some of the grunt work.
What They Can Trade: Ronnie Price, Mehmet Okur, Raja Bell
What It Would Mean: The Jazz are a very good team all around. They need to improve in rebounding where they are near the bottom of the league, but there is no reason that they can't compete for the second spot in the Western Conference.
I don't see them being able to beat the Lakers, but they could beat anyone else in the conference.
Oklahoma City Thunder
17 of 30
What They Want: An outside defender who can help improve their 28th-ranked 3-Point defense and 22nd-ranked field goal percentage defense.
What They Can Trade: An interior player like a DJ White or Cole Aldrich, possibly James Harden as well.
What It Would Mean: The weight of expectations has likely led to the Thunder's slow start this year. If, and when, Durant finds his shooting stroke, this team could get back to where they were last year when they looked like the second-best team in the West.
If they can acquire a defender to improve their shooting defense, they could move past the Jazz in the Northwest Division.
Denver Nuggets
18 of 30
What They Want: Carmelo to be happy and to sign an extension.
What They Can Trade: If they move Melo, they might as well blow up everything else, too. Chauncey Billups is still good but he is getting older, and it's better to move a player before the production slips to the point that they have no value.
What It Would Mean: Carmelo isn't going to re-sign with the team, so they might as well take the best offer they get for him. They aren't going to win a championship this year anyway, so it's not going to hurt.
The fans may be angry at first, but at least they will get something for him as opposed to letting him just walk away.
Portland Trail Blazers
19 of 30
What They Want: To keep their best players healthy and on the court for 82 games.
What They Can Trade: Rudy Fernandez wants out and wants to play in a big city.
What It Would Mean: By trading Fernandez, the Blazers rid themselves of an unhappy player and could fetch something that could help them, possibly off the bench.
The Blazers, on paper, have as much talent as anyone. They have health issues with those players and the window for them to be able to contend and to live up to that potential they showed a few years ago is closing fast.
Minnesota Timberwolves
20 of 30
What They Want: To continue the rebuilding process and find defenders to go along with a solid offensive nucleus.
What They Can Trade: Darko Milicic, Luke Ridnour.
What It Would Mean: The Timberwolves have a lot of good, young talent. Michael Beasley is playing like the player we all thought he would be coming out of K-State.
Kevin Love is a beast on the inside and Jonny Flynn is a good, young PG. If they can find someone to help on the defensive side of the ball, they can become one of the more dangerous teams in the Northwest Division.
Los Angeles Lakers
21 of 30
What They Want: Not a whole lot needs to be done with this team.
What They Can Trade: Bench players that they feel might bring them more depth.
What It Would Mean: The Lakers are one of the two best teams in the NBA, they have the best player, Kobe Bryant, and probably the best lineup 1-5 in the league.
If, and it's a big if, Andrew Bynum can come back healthy, that would be as good as any trade that they could make.
Phoenix Suns
22 of 30
What They Want: The same things that they have needed for the last six years: a rebounding presence and a defensive presence.
What They Can Trade: Maybe they can talk Orlando into a Turkoglu trade, that would at least rid them of his salary. Hakim Warrick is a decent piece, but likely a product of the Suns style of play.
What It Would Mean: We all love Steve Nash, but they need to change things soon. He is getting older and he is no longer one of the three best PG's in basketball. They should change things up in the next year or two, otherwise they will fall on hard times.
Golden State Warriors
23 of 30
What They Want: Like the Suns, the Warriors need defense.
What They Can Trade: Dan Gadzuric, possibly Monta Ellis if the issues between he and Stephen Curry are true.
What It Would Mean: I like this Warriors team. They have been playing well since Lee came back and they bring some excitement to the Bay Area. If they can get any defense, they would be a playoff team; the problem is, they haven't found any.
Sacramento Kings
24 of 30
What They Want: A PG so Tyreke Evans can move to the SG.
What They Can Trade: Aside from Evans, anyone on the roster is in play.
What It Would Mean: They have one of the most exciting young players in basketball in Tyreke Evans. Now, they need to surround him with the talent that he deserves. Building through the lottery is going to be their best shot to get into contention once again.
Los Angeles Clippers
25 of 30
What They Want: Fans want new ownership; ownership wants inexpensive talent.
What They Can Trade: Baron Davis and Chris Kaman are their most attractive trade pieces.
What It Would Mean: They have the young inside presence in Blake Griffin. Now they need to get players that complement him and his skill set. They need a young PG that they can groom alongside Griffin to give them that inside-outside combo that every team covets.
San Antonio Spurs
26 of 30
What They Want: Given where the Spurs are now, they will likely look for depth to take pressure off their key players during the middle months of the year.
What They Can Trade: James Anderson, Matt Bonner
What It Would Mean: They will likely look for another big guy to take pressure off of Duncan and keep him fresh for the playoffs. If they stay healthy they will challenge the Lakers for the top spot in the West. They are playing like the team that everyone thought they would be last year.
Dallas Mavericks
27 of 30
What They Want: It's the Mavericks and Mark Cuban, they want anything.
What They Can Trade: I am convinced that anyone except Nowitzki could, theoretically, be moved if they felt it would make them better.
What It Would Mean: The Mavericks have really changed their style of play the last few years. They used to play that outscoring game, now they don't score as much but their defense has gotten a lot better.
If Dallas can acquire a complementary scorer to go along with Dirk and not sacrifice their defense, they can challenge in the West.
New Orleans Hornets
28 of 30
What They Want: Scoring presence either on the inside or the outside.
What They Can Trade: Willie Green, Marco Belinelli
What It Would Mean: If they can move some role players to get a better scorer, that would make this Hornets team a very interesting team out West.
If Chris Paul can get a consistent shooter to go along with his skill set, that team would make life difficult for a lot of teams.
Memphis Grizzlies
29 of 30
What They Want: More production from their backcourt.
What They Can Trade: O.J Mayo has not been made available, yet. If he were to be put out there some team would likely take a gamble on him given his age and talent level.
What It Would Mean: Mike Conley has been solid but unspectacular. The shooting guard spot has been a disaster for the Grizzlies this year, and they need to find someone to take control of that spot.
Mayo lost his starting spot and could be on the move sometime soon, though the team denies that he is available.
Houston Rockets
30 of 30
What They Want: A defender in the middle.
What They Can Trade: Anything but Kevin Martin, probably Yao as well.
What It Would Mean: This Rockets team needs to build around Martin and get some hard-nosed player who can play defense for them. They are currently the fifth-worst defensive team in terms of points allowed per game.
