NBA Trade Rumors: Chris Paul and Other Impact Scorers Being Shopped

Only a few days from now, the NBA world will be subjected to more trade rumors and free-agent signings than ever before, as teams will only have a short period to create their roster in time for the December 25th season opener.

The short period to sign and trade players will mean that a flurry of moves will have to be made in order for all 30 teams to be ready by the start of the season, which translates to a number of questionable moves set to be made due to the quick thinking.

Mostly, we're just hoping that this trade talk comes to an end. The public has been left in great suspense over the past week with talks of certain All-Stars demanding trades and then rescinding those claims while organizations also offer up certain stars as potential trade bait in order to bring in another star or possibly some role players.

These five impact scorers are sure to be mentioned as organizations begin to make tough decisions on whether or not they're going to stand pat with their team or if they're going to enter a rebuilding phase.

For teams looking to improve their offense, these five players would prove highly beneficial.

Dwight Howard

At 23 points per game, the Orlando Magic's Dwight Howard would lead all centers in scoring after showcasing great improvement in his post play thanks in part to summer workouts he had with post legend Hakeem Olajuwon.

Before receiving work with Olajuwon, Howard was as one-dimensional as they came, as he relied solely on his athleticism for his points by utilizing his strength and backing down his assignment. It was a dominant move, but a center needs to add more to their offensive repertoire than just posting up on a player every time you attempt a shot.

What Olajuwon tried to pass along was new ways for Howard to score and thrive in the post by introducing him to aspects that he had either never tried or previously worked on. Besides the sky hook that he showcased last year, Howard has also begun to develop a 15-foot bank shot which is more effective and consistent than you'd like to think.

Howard has the influence to change a game—thanks in part to his size—and it doesn't even matter if the ball is in his hands.

Usually it takes a double team to limit Howard, and that means players getting open along the perimeter if the team plays the inside-outside game.

Dwight has been at the center of trade rumors for a while and has been mostly linked to the New Jersey Nets, Los Angeles Lakers and Chicago Bulls. With Howard set to become a free agent next offseason and facing the idea of leaving the Magic, the team may very well trade him and get something in return before allowing him to walk away with nothing to show for it.

Monta Ellis

While names like Dwight Howard, Chris Paul and Deron Williams have stolen his thunder as trade targets, the Golden State Warriors' Monta Ellis continues to be at the forefront of trade rumors. The Memphis Grizzlies are the most recent team to be included in the mix.

Over the summer, the Warriors heard from a number of teams including the Philadelphia 76ers, who were close to exchanging Andre Iguodala in favor of the extremely athletic and quick Ellis.

Ellis has been with Golden State since being drafted out of Lanier High School in 2005. He has only shown improvement since joining the team—from averaging seven points per in his rookie year to averaging as much as 25 points per game in the 2009-10 season.

He nearly did himself better this past season by averaging 24 points per while also developing a three-point shot as he converted on a career best 36 percent from deep.

Becoming that prolific of a scorer on a team like the Warriors may seem easy due to the way the offense is run, but there are a number of circumstances that could also hold Ellis back. Most prevalent is that he is on a team with a number of terrific scorers in Stephen Curry, Dorell Wright and David Lee.

Ellis has overcome the scoring output by the number of other scorers on the squad and has managed to lead over the past two seasons.

However, Ellis may finally be on the move as the team begins to covet the services of their third-year guard Curry instead. With potential suitors waiting at the door and offers already being made, the Warriors may eventually deal their top scorer in favor of some defensive help or a new post threat to replace Andris Biedrins.

Paul Millsap

Just recently becoming a part of this madness that is the NBA offseason and all that accompanies it, Utah Jazz forward Paul Millsap has found himself among trade rumors with the team possibly looking to move in a new direction with Derrick Favors.

Millsap has been linked to the Indiana Pacers and the team does have the young talent and the money to possibly entice the Jazz into a trade that would send Millsap to the Midwest.

The 26-year-old is coming off of his fifth year with Utah and his best season yet after averaging 17 points and eight rebounds per in his first consistent starting job in the NBA. 

He started at power forward last season in one of the NBA's strongest frontcourts with featured Andrei Kirilenko at small forward and Al Jefferson at center.

Presently, the Jazz are facing a dilemma with how they're set to run their rotation as they have two highly promising young big men set to come off the bench with Millsap and Jefferson currently holding down the fort.

We're not exactly sure how the team is going to integrate recent draft pick Enes Kanter into the lineup, but the team could get Favors into the rotation by trading Millsap. In return, they could seek a player who can strengthen the weak backcourt that currently features Devin Harris and C.J. Miles as the starters.

Millsap is a skilled scorer that can provide bruising presence in the middle with his 6'8", 245-pound frame. He's built for scoring around the rim and grabbing rebounds amongst the taller members of the frontcourt.

Chris Kaman

Another perennial member of the trade rumor club, Los Angeles Clippers center Chris Kaman has found himself constantly in the news.

Since the conclusion of the 2010-11 season, Kaman has been linked to the likes of Philadelphia. The two were near to staging a trade that would have swapped the Clippers center with small forward Andre Iguodala.

However, it seems that the ship has now failed with the 76ers selecting center Nikola Vucevic in the first round of the draft and fulfilling the big man need.

This doesn't mean that Kaman still can't be traded, though. He's been injured in three of the past four seasons and has played in 32 games or less in two of the past three with a 32-game season most recently. It was extremely disappointing to see Kaman hit the bench once again, especially after a 2009-10 campaign where he averaged a career-high 19 points per to go along with nine rebounds per.

Kaman is one of the most offensively gifted centers in the league and can score from the inside and the mid-range at a high efficiency.

With Kaman sidelined, it allowed DeAndre Jordan to get the start. He would take advantage by showcasing his athleticism on both sides of the ball, averaging seven points, seven rebounds and two blocks per in the first starting job of his three-year career.

Jordan's only 23 years old at the moment and could very well be the starter on this team as his athleticism complements the rest of this team very well.

Now that Jordan is expected to be the possible starter after an impressive season last year, Kaman could be on the move before he hits free agency next year.

Chris Paul

The most prevalent name over this short off season to frequently show up, New Orleans Hornets point guard Chris Paul has already been linked to many teams to name including the New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers, and Los Angeles Clippers just to name a few.

With Paul set to become a free agent next year and with the direction of their franchise, the New Orleans Hornets may begin to seriously contemplate on whether or not they should trade their All-Star floor general. Paul has been at the center of trade rumors since the conclusion of the lockout with the Knicks appearing to be the most possible option after word came in that he demanded a trade to the team.

Those reports were later denied by CP3 himself.

Still, it could be in the best interest of the Hornets to possibly trade Paul to a team that's willing to give up a lot in return such as the Lakers. New Orleans has to realize where they stand as a franchise at the start of the season upon the conclusion of their period to begin signing and trading for players and see if they have a team that's capable of keeping Paul around.

Re-signing David West would be a healthy start, but Paul is looking for more than just West. He and David have been leading this team since he was drafted in 2005 and it has resulted in the two becoming one of top duos in the league while also winning a division and a franchise record 56 wins in 2008.

However, the Hornets have only regressed since then and are coming off a first round loss to the Lakers in six games where Paul was basically the focal point of the offense and received little support.

Paul is one of the top scorers to have his name brought up in trade rumors as he is possibly the most dangerous. He has the capability to take over in a number of ways whether it's his facilitation of the offense in accordance of his court awareness or vision or his ability to score on his own from the outside and near the basket.