NBA Trade Rumors: Older Contenders That Are Best Served Staying in Place
With the end of the NBA lockout, it's time to start speculating on roster moves that could happen.
When trying to figure out a trade, what's the best thing to do? Well, take a look at ESPN's list of free agents. But we're not looking at the 2011 list. No, we're looking at the 2012 list.
Veteran players in the final year of their contracts are natural targets. But instead of looking at teams that need to make moves, let's look at ones that must leave their teams alone.
With Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett in the final year of their contracts, we can expect these rumors to come up just about every time the Celtics lose a game.
Last July, Chris Forsberg of ESPN speculated on whether or not the Celtics should deal either Allen or Garnett. Now that that actually can happen, this discussion is quite relevant.
But since there's nothing more serious than that right now, I would like to take this opportunity to squash this rumor before it really gets started.
This is the last chance that this group of Celtics' players has to win a championship. If anything, the short season will only help this aging team. They need to let the season develop before doing anything with their contracted players.
As of right now, Boston's focus needs to be squarely on signing their existing free agents, like Glen Davis and a restricted Jeff Green.
Much of the same logic applies to the Spurs that applied to the Celtics. Tim Duncan is an unrestricted free agent next season.
But rather than looking at Duncan, Stephen Smith of CBS sports was one person to report that the Spurs explored the idea of moving Tony Parker last summer. Granted, that surrounded the draft, and picks, but the possibility of moving Parker is worth exploring.
Like the Celtics, the Spurs are an old team with a short window. Also like Boston, they are a team that will benefit from the short season.
They need to keep their group of players completely intact, at least until the season gets going.
In June, The Orlando Sentinel detailed Jeff Van Gundy's claims that the Heat might be better off moving LeBron James or Dwyane Wade. That's a thought that's gained no traction, which is a good thing.
Miami is best served to leave their team alone. Frankly, I am not even all that crazy about Brian Windhorst's report that Mike Miller is putting his house up for sale. This team is best left alone.
What's the point of making any move with them? Even with all of their talent, they were a brand new team last season that was two games away from winning the NBA Championship. In time, they will win titles.
Don't move any of the Big Three. Don't move any role players. The Heat must do what they can to keep this group intact.
