Stars Align: Chris Paul, Dwight Howard and 6 Stars Who Could Be Traded Next
Is there an influx of player movement among the NBA's elite?
LeBron James and many other stars departed this past summer for new teams. Carmelo Anthony and Deron Williams (and to a lesser extent, Gerald Wallace) are the latest stars to change teams through deadline deals.
The New Jersey Nets are looking to add another star to D-Will. New York wants a better Alfred than Chauncey Billups for their Batman-Robin combo. Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks are always looking to steal another star to play alongside Dirk Nowitzki.
After seeing how much better it has worked out for the Nuggets—who traded Carmelo Anthony rather than letting him walk over to the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Toronto Raptors—will other teams follow suit with their soon-to-be free agents?
Will the new CBA leave teams scrambling to cut payroll?
Here are six NBA All Stars that could follow 'Melo and D-Will on the trade and/or free-agent market...
6. Andrew Bogut
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The poor Milwaukee Bucks.
They had a breakout season last year before losing Bogut—one of the league's top centers—to injury shortly before the playoffs began. After putting up a good fight without him, they decided to go out and spend a lot of money for once. They overpaid for Drew Gooden, signed John Salmons to a pricey extension and traded for the overpaid Corey Maggette.
Unfortunately, it didn't come together and now they are barely even in the playoff discussion. Bogut has been a warrior, but is still playing through pain and they just haven't been able to put the ball in the basket enough.
The usually frugal Bucks may look at cutting back and rebuilding since they aren't winning right now. They could try to jettison one or more of their bad contracts and bring in some pieces if they were willing to trade Bogut.
The Australian former No. 1 overall pick is quietly the second-best true center in the league and would be in high demand. It remains to be seen if Milwaukee will be willing to deal their big man.
5. Andre Iguodala
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The Philadelphia 76ers have something special going on. After starting as a huge disappointment, they have been one of the underrated success stories this season.
Led by coaching legend Doug Collins and a balanced scoring attack, the Sixers have rebounded from a bad year and a slow start to go 14-4 and take a secure hold on the seven seed in the East.
Iggy was one of the hottest names on the trade block for awhile before Philly started winning again. The 76ers may have to revisit trading him again, as he and Elton Brand (and to a lesser extent, Andres Nocioni and Louis Williams) are locked into expensive contracts.
They may want to turn the keys over to Evan Turner, Jrue Holiday, and Thaddeus Young soon. To do that, they will likely have to get rid of AI2. It will be difficult to re-sign Young and give them all playing time otherwise.
They should try to get a solid big man and cap relief in return.
4. Monta Ellis
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Can Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry coexist in the backcourt of a winning team?
That is the question for the Golden State Warriors. While they have played a lot better together this year, they remain a liability on defense.
As long as Ellis and Curry remain, the Warriors will be good at scoring and bad at defense. Their owner doesn't seem too afraid to break up the core, which is why it wouldn't surprise me too much to see them trade Ellis, despite recent success.
A decent center, a replacement two-guard, and some additional depth and D would be good trade targets if they give up their high-scoring guard.
3. Dwight Howard
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And now we move to the legitimate superstars.
The big man down in Orlando has carried his team to success for several years. The Orlando Magic have tried to keep him happy by bringing in players like Gilbert Arenas, Jason Richardson and Hedo Turkoglu. Those moves may jeopardize their future though.
As assistant coach Patrick Ewing said, they would be at the bottom of the barrel without Dwight.
While rumors have him wanting to leave for the bright lights of New York or L.A., he insists he is happy in Orlando. I believe him, but the Magic must experience success if they want to keep him that way.
I see them trying to sign Superman to an extension and seeing how things play out. If he left town (much like Shaq did years ago) the Magic will be hampered from rebuilding by the contracts of Turkoglu and Arenas and their lack of young talent.
In my opinion, a Dwight Howard trade or signing would shake up the NBA more than Carmelo or Williams and as much as James. Howard is easily the best at his position and probably the only truly-dominant center in the league.
2. Steve Nash
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Steve Nash has been nothing but a good soldier as he watched the Phoenix Suns go from being in the conference finals, to losing sidekick Amar'e Stoudemire, to overpaying for role players and becoming a mediocre team. While some rumors cropped up, Nash refused to demand a trade and the Suns wouldn't listen to offers.
That may change by mutual agreement come draft night whenever the offseason happens to be. I think Nash is too good of a player to be playing for a non-playoff team at this point in his career and with likely only a couple good years left, Phoenix may want to capitalize on his trade value while they can.
New York, Atlanta, Oklahoma City and even his former team, the Dallas Mavericks, are among those who would love to have him.
Whether he is traded or not, Nash (along with Antawn Jamison) has my respect for the unselfishness of playing for a less-than-great team. They may make the playoffs after all, but it would be to their mutual benefit to see him move next year.
1. Chris Paul
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Rumors were set off this summer regarding Chris Paul when he made comments implying that he could join up with Anthony and Stoudemire in the concrete jungle where dreams are made of. Despite this, he said he never asked for a trade.
After a deep playoff run a few years ago, the Hornets have disappointed. They got off to a hot start this year, but have struggled of late. The market is also not very good, and fans prefer their NFL counterpart—the Saints.
While Paul is clearly not the same this season after his injury, he is still one of the best point guards in the league. As that is probably the most important position to fill, he will be in high demand.
It is unclear what effect the NBA's acquisition of the Hornets will have on Paul's situation. He should be the top candidate for a peremptory trade over the next year.
Other than the usual suspects (New York, Dallas), teams like Atlanta, Portland, Orlando, Houston and many more may look to make a move.
