We are now 29 days away from the NBA trade deadline, and the rumor mill will be churning in the next four-plus weeks. Hundreds of deals will be discussed, dozens will come close to happening, and a few will actually go through.
The Eastern Conference is relatively wide-open with the Boston Celtics having failed to dominate in the fashion everyone expected going into the season, and the West is a 14-team race for eight spots … if you are drinking the New Orleans kool-aid that says the Pelicans are worthy of making the playoffs.
The site of dysfunction junction changes on a day to day basis, and today we nominate …. Washington. Minnesota and Philadelphia held that spot in recent days, and Los Angeles will be the site in the upcoming days and weeks if the Lakers fall any further in the West while LeBron James recovers from his groin injury.
Here is the thing about LeBron: He wants to go to a ninth straight NBA Finals, and he will push, cajole, whisper and clammer to make changes to the Lakers roster in order to make them a championship worthy team. The biggest prize is Anthony Davis, but until Anthony Davis makes it known that he wants out of NOLA, that is a status quo situation … at least publicly.
Meanwhile, there are a bunch of veterans on horrible teams who want a change of scenery and are waiting to be traded or bought out.
Keep in mind that buyouts are easier than trades, which may put a damper on what transpires between now and Feb. 7.
With that in mind, let’s have a look-see at the 10 Players Most Likely to be Traded by Feb. 7.
Jabari Parker, Chicago Bulls — It must be nice to get paid $20 million to wave a towel, unless your profession is playing basketball and you actually want to engage in your profession. Agent Mark Bartlestein has been trying to engineer a deal that gets Parker to a team that will use him, which might actually persuade that receiving team to pick up Parker’s $20 million option for next season. Bartlestein is usually pretty good about getting his players moved to places where they will have a chance. Last summer, he got the Milwaukee Bucks to withdraw their qualifying offer, which allowed Parker to get much more money than he otherwise would have.
Kent Bazemore, Atlanta Hawks — He is currently sitting out with a right ankle injury, and he will eventually need to get back on the court to show that he can still play. No team is in tank mode more than the Hawks (yes, even the Knicks, whose owner claims they are actually trying to win. Thanks on that, Mr. Dolan). Bazemore is a volume 3-point shooter, and his 1.71 steals per game rank 11th in the NBA. The Hawks are merely trying to stockpile draft picks, and they would take on dead money in a deal to get out from Bazemore’s $19.2 million player option for next season.
Zach Randolph, Sacramento Kings — He is making $11.7 million as the highest-paid player on the Kings, and he has not appeared in a single game this season. Keep in mind that the Kings are nearly $12 million below the salary cap, so they can facilitate just about anything for anyone. They have been looking to restock their empty draft pick cupboard, and the price of their cap space goes up with each passing day.
Kenneth Faried, Brooklyn Nets — Once upon a time, he was a stud for Team USA at the 2014 World Cup in Spain. He played so well in that tournament, he was the frontrunner for tournament MVP on a team that included Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis. These days, he bides his time in the Brooklyn locker room waiting for his next chance — although he did dust off his uniform and actually got into a game two nights ago at Boston when the Nets sat DeMarre Carroll and Joe Harris. Faried, making $13.7 million, has had double-doubles in each of his last two games.
Jeremy Lin, Atlanta Hawks — When folks around the league mention Bazemore as one of the most likely players to be traded, they always include Lin in that sentence, too. Also, there are those who believe center Dewayne Dedmon is getable, because the Hawks are having a firesale. Lin is on an expiring $12.5 million deal, and Dedmon is on an expiring $6.3 million deal.
Jamal Crawford, Phoenix Suns — He cannot be traded until Jan. 15, but there are plenty of teams out there who could use a veteran shooter for the postseason. If somebody wants to pony up a comparable salary ($2.4 million) rather than roll the dice that Crawford will be bought out, he can be obtained. Golden State, Portland, Philadelphia and the Los Angeles Lakers are all considered desirable destinations.
Markelle Fultz, Philadelphia 76ers — The game of chicken being played by agent Raymond Brothers and his client is not going to end up with a resolution that keeps this No. 1 draft bust in Philadelphia. At a certain point, the kid is going to have to suck it up and get back out on the court, and he had better do it sooner rather than later because the Sixers’ schedule is going to get especially tough from mid-January to mid-February. Can be had for pennies on the dollar.
Brandon Ingram, Los Angeles Lakers — Of all the kiddie corps members of the Lakers, Ingram has the most upside and thus the most trade value. Folks around the league see what type of a player Julius Randle has become since leaving L.A. for NOLA, and everyone knows the Lakers are going to make a move at some point. Their No. 1 target is Anthony Davis: Make no mistake about that.
Kosta Koufos, Sacramento Kings — He is a rotation player on a surprisingly good Sacramento team, but if they fall out of the playoff race between now and Feb. 7, somebody will add him. In the West, big bodies are needed to bang with the likes of Nikola Jokic and Steven Adams, and the same goes in the East when looking at Myles Turner, Joel Embiid and others.
Kevin Love, Cleveland Cavaliers — Many questioned why the Cavs gave him a long-term contract in the offseason after LeBron James left the team, and the simple answer is this: NBA teams have minimum team salary requirements, and the Cavs had to get there somehow. Love is still recovering from left foot surgery, and was recently cleared for “select basketball activities.” If he can get back onto the court by late-January, there is an infinitesimal chance that someone will take on the additional four years on his contract. The Cavs may have to throw in a first-round pick to get his contract off their hands.
