NBA Rumors: Players Not Named Chris Paul or Dwight Howard Who May Be Dealt

While Chris Paul and Dwight Howard are garnering all the headlines, there are other star players that are on the trading block. What's more, some of them are All-Star caliber players if not very close to it. 

Monta Ellis and Andre Iguodala are two players who are in similar positions. Both have become replaceable by younger players who have similar skill sets. 

For Ellis, that player is Stephen Curry. For Iguodala in Philadelphia, it's Thaddeus Young. Also, with both players, fans have given up on them being "the man" who can put them into contender status. Ironically, both players provide what the other team needs.

Ellis is a go-to scorer, who can drain 25 points per game, which is what the 76ers are in need of. In turn, the all-around game and defensive presence that "Iggy" brings to the game is precisely what Golden State needs, particularly with the mindset that new coach Mark Jackson plans to bring to the table. 

These two players were discussed as a trade possibility last summer, and those talks are likely to resurface if they haven't already. 

Rudy Gay is another player named in trade talks for Monta Ellis. Last year, surprisingly, the Memphis Grizzlies improved when their star player went down. The loss forced them to change philosophies, turning towards their big men in Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph.

While publicly the Grizzlies are saying that they are planning to keep him, the aforementioned talks to the Warriors speak otherwise. It's entirely possible that Gay is being shopped around. 

Rajon Rondo is in a similar situation to Gay. It seems that, on the surface, the Celtics are saying they are going to keep him. However, rumors keep popping up around his name. First, he was supposedly being shopped to Oklahoma City in exchange for Russell Westbrook, then to New Orleans for Chris Paul. 

Josh Smith, who is Rondo's good friend and former high school teammate, called the Rondo rumors "sick." Smith is involved in his own set of rumors. He came to Atlanta, was 30 pounds lighter and asking for a trade. One thing you have to give him credit for is that he made it easier for other teams to want to trade for him. 

Losing the weight should make him a lot quicker, which should help with the whole "tweener" forward situation that he's in. If he can play the pure small forward role, he's a much more attractive target.

Udonis Haslem is also a name that came up in trades. If it's true, it's sick. Even as a non-Heat fan, I think it would be awful to see the team trade him only one year after they talked about loyalty and got him to turn down $14 million to stay in Miami. Haslem laughed off the trades and hopefully that's all that there is to them.