NBA Trade Rumors: Five Players Who Will Command Multiple Players In Exchange
The NBA hot stove is hotter than ever, so don't touch it! Carmelo Anthony is the hottest trade rumor in the country right now, and has been linked to teams all over the country, no matter how true the rumors may be.
This has been the 2010 free agency period all over again, with endless hearsay, tweets and wild-ass guesses coming across as news, so of course I'll be adding more fuel to the fire. What can I say, I'm a hypocrite.
Oodles of teams are looking to shed salary cap space in hopes of keeping their books as low as possible before the lockout and it's ramifications come along, while others are trying to put their team over the top with a blockbuster trade.
So far, we have seen two former franchise players and three more good players on the move, as the Orlando Magic swapped Rashard Lewis for Gilbert Arenas and Vince Carter and some other pieces for Hedo Turkoglu and Jason Richardson.
The NBA season is centered around the trade deadline more than any other sport, so trade talks and rumors will be all the rage over the next few months.
So, I'd like to take a look at some of the players that have been linked to a trade rumor or two who would be the center of one of those blockbuster deals, and would mean the other team would have to give up multiple pieces in order to get hold of one guy.
5. Yao Ming's Expiring Contract
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If there is one thing that the Rockets would like to get out of Yao Ming this season, it's his enormous contract coming off their books so they can use it to sign some players this offseason.
There seems to be very little chance that the Rockets would trade the Great Wall of China, but that's not to say that they won't entertain some offers.
Yao has a contract worth over $17 million, and that coming off of the payroll would be a benefit to any team in the NBA.
There may even be a few teams out there who want to trade for him in order to show that they want him to play for their team, and give themselves a head-start on signing him next summer, lockout willing.
If anybody wants to trade for this monster of a contract, it will probably take at least an ugly contact player, along with a few young guys or possibly multiple draft picks and some cash.
A high price for a guy that might not even play the game again.
4. Andre Iguodala
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Everyone and their brother seems to think that Andre Iguodala can be the savior of a franchise, but in reality, he is probably a great complimentary piece at best.
Iggy is the do-it-all stat stuffer that he has been in years past, but he doesn't seem to have the leadership skills to take a team on his back and push them to a great season; he's more of the, "Here, just let me do it," type of player.
Nonetheless, he is a great basketball player, and if a team wants to acquire the high flying AI Pt. 2, they're going to have to cough up some players.
He is worth at least two promising young players or an established veteran guy and a first-round pick from a mid-level team.
Iguodala could be the perfect complimentary piece for many franchises out there, but he won't be coming at bargain prices.
3. Gerald Wallace
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A week ago, Larry Brown got fired and it seemed as if the Bobcats could end up having a fire sale to appease the basketball gods, and Michael Jordan in the process.
He is frustrated with the play of his team, and would find no problem with trading a single player at this point, meaning everyone is more or less available.
Gerald Wallace is a great player. He can score at will and get to the rim like only a few in the NBA can. He can defend with the best of them and rebound as good or better than anybody at his position.
He is a borderline star and could be one given the right cast of role players around him, but it seems that he doesn't have the complete game that other stars boast.
At the very least, he is a guy that would be excellent in a system with a point guard that is a stellar distributor and good three-point shooter a la Steve Nash, one that would cover up for his weaknesses.
The right team could make Wallace into the player we all thought he could be, but it would take multiple trade pieces and probably multiple teams involved to get him on the move.
2. Steve Nash
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Steve Nash trade rumors are flaring up like a herpes outbreak (yep, that's the comparison I'm going with), they stick around heavy and hot for a while and then they just fade away for a while.
Before trade deadline comes and passes, you had better bet that those rumors are going to flare up yet again.
The Phoenix Suns are struggling, they have an offense that doesn't exist when Nash isn't on the floor and a defense that is mediocre at best even with their new additions Marcin Gortat and Mickael Pietrus.
This is not another team that Nash can strap to his back and drag to the Western Conference Finals, it has nowhere near the amount of talent as his previous teams.
For that reason, the Suns are sitting at only 13 wins and you had better believe that nobody on that team is safe from a trade, including Nash.
He is their most viable and marketable player, but building for the future is definitely in their mind, and there is not a long future for a 36-year-old point guard.
Steve Nash, as he has a few years left yet on his contract, would take multiple draft picks to grab, and probably a few role players or older guys in exchange.
1. Carmelo Anthony
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Shocker, I know.
Carmelo Anthony has been subject to more trade rumors than any other player in the history...probably, I don't know, I don't just have a trade rumor database sitting around, but it seems improbable that teams were clamoring this much about Michael Ray Richardson back in his coke-fueled days.
In the 'Melo sweepstakes, New Jersey stands out as the immediate favorite to trade for him, as it seems New York is convinced that they can acquire little pieces this season and grab him in free agency, while New Jersey wants to woo him away from the Knicks' clutches with dreams of Brooklyn greatness.
In order to get Carmelo in a trade, teams are going to have to be willing to pony up the dough, as he is a pretty decent player as it turns out.
New Jersey has already been linked to giving away a young player, expiring contracts and draft picks in exchange for the do-it-all forward from Syracuse.
This is the type of trade that, if it works out for the better, the team could end up in the NBA finals within two seasons, and if not, they could be mired in the bottom of the league for a decade.
